Vegan Chocolate Tahini Energy Bars with Hemp Seeds

These nut-free, gluten-free, vegan chocolate tahini energy bars are made with just a handful of simple, whole food ingredients and they don’t require any baking. You’ll need tahini, dates, cacao powder, hemp seeds and plant-based protein powder. These wholesome ingredients combine into the most delicious homemade energy bars that are a breeze to make and will have you looking forward to snack time day after day. With such a rich, fudge-like texture, it’s hard to believe these bars made with just a few healthy ingredients!  

Why I love Tahini

If you’ve been following Running on Real Food for a while, you know what tahini is one of my favourite ingredients. I love it in both sweet and savoury recipes and I’m never without it my kitchen. If you’ve never had tahini before, it’s simple a paste made from sesame seeds, much like peanut butter or almond butter. I love it because it’s high in iron and calcium and has the most amazing, creamy consistency and delicious flavour.

Best Tahini To Buy

Tahini varies brand to brand but a good tahini should be smooth, drippy and should slightly sweet without a bitter aftertaste. I like Arz Fine Foods, Soom Tahini and Alkanater. I don’t love the Nuts To You Organic Tahini, I find it to be too dry with a bitter taste. There are plenty of other brands but these are the most often available here in Canada. I’m sure in the US there is a larger selection so if you have a favourite, leave a comment below as a heads up to other readers.

Make Your Own Tahini

You can also easily make tahini at home with sesame seeds and a good blender. You’ll also need a bit of olive oil to get the right consistency. To make it, simply blend 1-2 cups of hulled sesame seeds in a high-powered blender until starting to get creamy, then slowly blend in 2-4 tablespoons of olive oil until you reach a thick but creamy consistency. Store it in the fridge for up to 2 months.

Health Benefits of Tahini

Yes, tahini tastes amazing but what I really love about it is it’s iron and calcium content, making it a wonderful food for plant-based eaters. It’s also a good source of  vitamin E, potassium and magnesium and has a higher protein content than most nuts. I love my nut butters, don’t get my wrong but tahini makes a regular appearance both on toast and in recipes and of course, my favourite, lemon tahini sauce.

Vegan Chocolate Tahini Energy Bars

These bars are definitely closer to dessert than energy bar. The texture is very rich and fudge-like so they tastes much more decadent than they are.

They’re easy to make in a food processor. You’ll need:

1. Tahini for flavour, nutrition and holding it all together.
2. Soft, fresh dates for natural sweetness, fibre and the base of the recipe.
3. Cacao powder for chocolate flavour and nutrition (you can use processed cocoa powder if needed).
4. Plant-based protein powder for the added protein. I used Vega Performance Protein.
5. Hemp seeds for healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and protein.
6. Sea salt for that perfect sweet and salty flavour.

I also added a little cinnamon and pure vanilla extract but they’re both optional.

About the “Dough”

Once you’ve made the dough, things are going to get a little messy. I apologize but I promise it will be worth it! The dough is sticky and you may need to use wetted hands to press it into the pan. Use slightly wetted hands to spread and press the dough into the pan until you have a smooth surface. Once they set in the freezer they’ll firm up and won’t be messy or sticky when ready to eat.

Storing These Bars

These bars need to be stored in the freezer as they’ll melt at room temperature. They should be okay in the fridge but I always keep them in the freezer. They don’t freeze solid and they’re amazing straight from the freezer. So. dang. fudgy.

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