Seed Bars ! A basic, simple recipe for nut-free, oil-free, refined sugar-free, paleo approved energy bars that are super crunchy, energizing and addicting!
Here’s a simple recipe for sugar-free, Seed Bars – nut-free, grain-free, oil-free, paleo energy bars that only take 5 minutes of hands on time before baking in the oven. High in protein and fiber, these energy bars make for a simple breakfast on the go or an energy boosting midday snack! Because they are full of little scrubbing seeds they do a great job of keeping one regular, which I’m hearing can be an issue with Paleo or Keto diets.
What I personally love about them is how convenient they are as a “grab and go” snack- keeping me feeling energized and fueled whether I’m running errands,hiking or cross-country skiing. Easily transportable, I keep a little zip-lock bag tucked away in the glove compartment of my car for hunger emergencies. Pretty handy.
Watch the quick video for the lowdown.
Super Seeds- pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds , chia seeds , sesame seeds , flax seeds , and hemp seeds are packed full of nutrients – fiber, protein and health boosting vitamins and minerals – nutritional powerhouses!
Keep these Seed Bars vegan and use real maple syrup if you like, but my personal favorite is using honey. The flavor is better here and honey seems to be a better binder.
We are on our third batch this month. I just make the Seed Bars and leave them out on the counter in the kitchen for easy snacking. They magically disappear!
Also, leaving them out, uncovered also keeps them nice and crisp.
Tell me what you think … I hope you love them as much as I do.
And remember to tag your photos #feastingathome so I can see!
Seed Bars
Seed Bars – nut-free, oil-free, grain-free, paleo approved energy bars that only take 5 minutes of hands on time before baking in the oven. High in protein and fiber, these all natural bars make for a simple breakfast on the go or energy boosting midday snack!
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 55
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 10 1x
- Category: gluten free snacks
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: northwest
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds ( raw)
- ½ cup sunflower seeds ( raw)
- 1 heaping cup large flaked coconut (unsweetened)
- ¼ cup sesame seeds
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- ¼ cup flax seeds ( or sub hemp seeds )
- generous pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup honey ( warmed for easier mixing- heat jar in a hot water bath) or maple syrup– see notes
Instructions
preheat oven to 325F ( be exact)
Mix the seeds and salt together in a medium bowl. Stir in vanilla and warm honey, until uniformly combined.
Place a piece of parchment in an 8 x 8 baking pan ( all the way up the sides too) . Spray lightly with oil.
Pour seed mix into lightly greased, parchment-lined pan and using a wet metal spatula, spread it out, into corners and edges and press down firmly until you have a compacted, smooth surface at a uniform depth.
Place in the oven for 40-50 minutes. Check at 40 minutes. For a chewy consistency, take out at 40-45 minutes, for a crispier crunchy consistency, let it cook the full 50 -55 minutes. Keep in mind, all ovens are different, so heat may vary. The key is….You want to take them out when they are perfectly golden, before they get too dark. So keep a close eye on them after 40 minutes. If you take them out too early ( before they are golden) they may be too chewy and sticky. Pay attention to the color.
For example: I’ve cooked these in two different ovens. In the gas oven, 50-55 minutes delivered perfectly golden bars. In the electric oven, 45 minutes were enough for perfectly golden. 55 minutes would have burnt them.
Remove from oven, and cool completely. You could place in the fridge to cool faster. When it’s completely cooled, take the parchment out of the pan, turn it over and remove parchment. Flip back over and cut into desired shapes or bars. Store at room temp. To keep them crisp, store uncovered, on the counter.
Notes
You can easily make these vegan by substituting maple syrup and add 1 tablespoon ground flax. They will be slightly more crumbly, but not too bad.
If you don’t have an 8×8 pan, you could make “crackle” on a sheet pan. Basically place mixture on a parchment lined sheet pan, pressing down hard with spatula, into an 8-10 inch round. It will spread out and become thin in the oven. Check at 35-40 minutes and pull it out when it is deeply golden. Let it cool completely. Break apart into crackle.
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How can they be sugar free when you use 1/2 cup of honey?
They are refined sugar-free.
Yes.
these are yummy – I added natural peanut butter and sprinkled with chocolate chips out of the oven then spread after they started melting. Totally didn’t need to add as the bars are great all on their own but I love PB & chocolate with bars!
★★★★★
Yum!
These are really yummy. I may try using raw date syrup to replace the honey. It may be more Paleo approved.
★★★★★
These are really yummy. I may try using raw date syrup to replace the honey. It may be more Paleo approved.
★★★★★
Please let me know how that works…been meaning to try it with Date syrup too!
According to this post: https://ultimatepaleoguide.com/is-honey-paleo/ REAL honey is paleo – just don’t by the refined stuff. “The kind of honey that is available in most supermarkets today is overly processed and devoid of nutrients because it has been processed at high temperatures, but if you purchase good quality, raw honey that has been produced by a local bee farmer, you will be consuming a product with some pretty impressive health benefits. Getting honey from a local farmer ensures that it’s as fresh as possible, with all of its nutrients still intact.”
Very tasty. Mine are crumbly, I think the packing it in hard is critical, I didn’t catch how important when I first tried it. Next time will definitely pack it in hard.
Can you freeze them
★★★★★
Can you freeze them
★★★★★
Yes! Should freeze well!
Hi! Do you have experience with these lasting for a week unrefrigerated? Looking for a bar that will last for up to a week while backpacking..
They should ok, not refrigerated, but may get crumbly if jostled a lot. 🙂
Great pre workout bar.
★★★★★
These bars are a wonderfully nutritious treat when you can’t eat sugar or gluten, and they are so easy to make. I added 14 dates (which I blended with the honey and vanilla in my nutribullet) and 2 Tbsp. cocoa which resulted in a very tasty and less crumbly bar and added a boost of magnesium!
★★★★★
Thanks for sharing how you adapted these to meet your needs.Love it!
If I’m to spray the parchment with oil…. how are these oil free?
Well that is a good point! I guess I assumed that it wouldn’t go into the bar itself.
Loved these! Hubby loved these. We ate them all in a week.
I bought ingredients to make today and could not find this recipe, so I made a similar inferior recipe. ☹️ I will eat them, but I saved this recipe because it is the best!
★★★★★
thanks! glad you found it again!
I didn’t expect much from these energy bars – but still tried them 👍😊. They are surprisingly tasty. One word of caution – I didn’t use the oil on my parchment (in fact I used foil) BIG MISTAKE – oil is needed to be able to lift off the energy bars from the paper.
Love the recipe but they needed toured half way Thu”the cooking stage. They are awesome.
★★★★★
Any ideas for coconut replacement? My son is fruit ( coconut included) intolerant and I am looking to make a variety of healthy snacks.
Perhaps replace with more seeds or nuts?
Yes, coconut and dates tend to help bind bars so I was looking for input on a “binding” replacement as I can’t think of one. Plan to use 1/2 agave and 1/2 maple syrup in hopes they are not too crumbly. Making them tomorrow.
Thanks!
Ground flax seed could help.
Mine has come out really crumbly. Does anyone know why? I thought I patted it down but maybe not hard enough? Also maybe not enough honey? Not sure what it is that makes it solid. Nice and tasty though.
Im so sorry about that! It might have been either, or a combo both- not pressing hard and not enough honey.
Absolutely delicious and so easy to make. Better than any other snack bars I have purchased.
★★★★★