Tahini Hemp Seed Bars
on Feb 24, 2020, Updated Mar 28, 2026
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These baked vegan tahini hemp seed bars are easy to make and have the most amazing chewy texture and sweet, nutty, sesame flavour. Perfect for a whole-food snack or dessert! These are a popular, 5-star reviewed and tested recipe so you can make them with confidence.
Top Review
These are soooo yummy! I didn’t have the coconut, so I just left it out. I did add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of vanilla, plus sprinkled a handful of dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips on top before baking. I will definitely be making these bars again! Thank you for the recipe.
Why You’ll Love Tahini Hemp Seed Bars
Tahini makes a wonderful addition to desserts. It’s nutty, sesame flavour pairs well with sweet ingredients like the maple syrup and dates you’ll find in these delicious bars. Here’s why you’ll love them:
- You’ll need just 6 ingredients and a few minutes of prep time.
- The make an excellent alternative to store-bought bars.
- They’re made with simple, whole food ingredients and naturally sweetened.
- They’re great for a pre-workout snack, camping, road trips, hiking, cycling, bike packing and adventures!
- They travel well and are easy to pack.
- Crisp around the edges with a soft, chewy inside.
- They’re kitchen tested by a real recipe developer (me!) so you can prepare them with confidence.
You can also try tahini in these Vegan Tahini Sesame Cookies, Vegan Tahini Date Cookies and Salted Caramel Tahini Cups.
🔍 Recipe at a Glance
Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 30 min
Servings: 16
Nutrition: 200 calories each
Diet: Vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free
Difficulty: Easy, simple ingredients
Ingredient Notes
Below is a quick overview of what you’ll need to make the recipe and any substitutions you can make. Use the recipe card with the full list of ingredients and measurements at the bottom of the post when you’re ready to make the recipe.
- Tahini. Good tahini will be wonderfully creamy with a nutty flavour that’s not overly bitter. Look for tahini with just one ingredient: sesame seeds. Can be substituted with peanut butter, almond butter or sunflower seed butter.
- Hemp seeds. High in protein, iron, vitamin E and antioxidants, hemp seeds really pack the nutrition into these bars. Hemp seeds are sometimes called hemp hearts. You can also use hemp seeds in these Hemp Seed Maca Balls or Chocolate Energy Bars.
- Coconut. Use unsweetened fine or medium shredded coconut. It may be labeled as desiccated coconut.
- Maple syrup. The maple syrup acts as a binder and sweetens the recipe. You can substitute agave, honey or brown rice syrup but I wouldn’t recommend switching to a granular sweetener.
- Dates. Soft, moist dates are best for this recipe. I recommend medjool or sayer dates. If your dates are very dry, soak them in hot water for 15 minutes then drain well before using, however, I recommend using dates that are moist and soft.
- Oats. Use quick oats, rolled oats or old fashioned oats. The oats will be processed into a grainy oat flour so any oat variety except steel cut oats works. If you need the recipe to be fully gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free certified oats.
Extras and Variations
These bars are fairly flexible so you can adjust the recipe to make your own creation!
- Chocolate Chip: Add up to 1/2 cup chocolate chips or cacao nibs.
- Chocolate Topping: Use the ganache from these No-Bake Cashew Cookie Dough Bars or simply spread melted chocolate over top after baking.
- Crunch: Add chopped walnuts, almonds or pecans.
- Fruit: Add dried fruit like cranberries, chopped apricots or dried cherries.
How to Make Tahini Hemp Seed Bars
Step 1. Blend the oats into a coarse, grainy flour in your food processor. They don’t have to be as fine as oat flour but they should be mostly broken down. This should only take a few seconds. You can do this in a blender, food processor or mini food-processor.
Step 2. Add the rest of the ingredients and process into a thick dough. You have a couple of ingredients for mixing the dough. If you have a large food processor you can toss everything in and pulse a few times to combine.
If not, add the dates to the oats and blend to combine, then transfer to a mixing bowl and mix with the rest of the ingredients.
Firmly press the dough into a baking pan, bake, cool for 15 minutes then slice and enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
I haven’t tested it myself but readers have made them without coconut with success. You can either omit it completely or replace the amount with a mixture of hemp seeds and oats.
No. I wouldn’t recommend steel-cut oats here. You can use quick oats, minute oats or rolled oats.
No. You can store them at room temperature for a few days or in the freezer. I do like to store them in the fridge though, they stay firm and get extra chewy!
Yes. You can use peanut butter, almond butter or sunflower seed butter instead of tahini.
The bars are made with whole-food ingredients like tahini, hemp seeds, dates and naturally sweetened with maple syrup. They provide healthy fats and carbohydrates with some protein and fibre making them good for active days. They are still energy-dense though, so portion size matters depending on your goals.
Yes. You can replace the 1 cup of oats with a heaping 3/4 cup oat flour.
How to Store and Freeze
Let the bars cool completely before storing, then:
- Store at room temperature in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
- Store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Freeze in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container for 3-4 months. Enjoy straight from the freezer or let thaw at room temperature.
More Tahini Desserts
- No-Bake Cashew Tahini Bars
- Chocolate Tahini Energy Bars
- Tahini Sesame Cookies
- Vegan Tahini Date Cookies
- Salted Caramel Tahini Cups
If you make this recipe, please consider leaving a comment and a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the comment section below. It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe, and I love to hear from you. Thanks for trying my recipes! – Deryn
Tahini Hemp Seed Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup quick oats or rolled oats, 100 g
- 1 cup hemp seeds, 160 g
- 1 cup packed, soft pitted dates, 220 g
- 1/2 cup unsweetened fine shredded coconut, 50 g
- 1/2 cup tahini, 120 g
- 1/4 cup maple syrup, 75 g
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare a 7-8 inch square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray or line with parchment paper so it sticks out over the edge. Parchment is best so you can easily lift the bars out of the pan once baked.
- Place the oats in a food processor and pulse a few times to create a grainy oat flour.1 cup quick oats or rolled oats
- You have a couple of options for mixing the rest of the ingredients. If you have a large enough food processor, add everything to the oats and blend until fully combined. The dough is heavy and thick, so a powerful food processor helps. If not, you can add the dates to the oats and blend to combine, then transfer to a large mixing bowl and mix in the rest of the ingredients by hand.1 cup hemp seeds, 1 cup packed, soft pitted dates, 1/2 cup unsweetened fine shredded coconut, 1/2 cup tahini, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1/2 tsp sea salt
- Press the dough into the pan, taking a few minutes to press it into all corners and getting it as flat as you can. Bake for 30 minutes then let cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before handling or slicing to let them firm. Slice into bars.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published August 15, 2016.
Just made them! Very good and nutritious. I used hemp hearts as this is what I had on hand.
I noticed a typo in the recipe – for the maple syrup, it says 750 g in the conversion :-). Also when you choose 2x ou 3x the ingredients, the conversions don’t change.
I know, thanks, I’m not able to have the grams increase if you double or triple the recipe unfortunately. Thanks for the heads up on the maple syrup though! Glad you enjoyed them.
I love these.
I’ve made these many times and they’re always a winner. I want to experiment with adding in some dark chocolate mini chips!
Chocolate would be an amazing addition to these. Glad you love them!
Delicious! I didn’t have dates or coconut so I added organic cocoa powder and it was turned out great. I love the idea of using hemp seed in recipes!
Incredible but mine crumbled apart easily. Any idea what I did wrong? I live at 8,000 ft so maybe I needed more moisture?
Just wanted to remark on my earlier comment about the bars falling apart. They became firm after allowing to cool! Just needed more than 15 minutes. More like 30-45 minutes.
Thanks for following up and your feedback! Glad you enjoyed them.
Hi!
I’d love to try these but I can’t eat oats. Could I use quinoa flakes instead? Just wondering about the texture.
You should be able to, yes. I haven’t tried it though so I can’t say what the texture will be like.
Any ideas on a substitute for the coconut? Or a similar and easy recipe to try instead?
I think you can just omit it or replace with a bit of extra oats and hemp seeds. I haven’t tried it though! I don’t have else anything baked like these but some of the no-bake energy bar recipes may work for you.
Do you think this would work with steel cut oats?
I wouldn’t recommend steel cut oats for this recipe, sorry! Any other kind works though.
I’m out of regular oats! I have made this recipe a bunch of times and it’s my fav!! Guess I’ll be running to the store 🙂
I was just thinking maybe you could steel-cut if you blended them really well. I just don’t want them to be hard in the bars for you and I haven’t tried it myself. If you do end up trying it, let me know!
Loved this recipe! Easy, tasty and fun to eat. Deryn adds such helpful notes for substitutes and for alternative methods to try (for example, the “small food processor” adjustment).
I’ve made this recipe at least 50 times. It is so good, so easy. I think the quality of the result depends on the quality of the tahini. You really want good tahini. That and don’t over cook!!
I’m so glad you love them! Yes, so true…good tahini makes a big difference. Thanks for adding that!