I love baking with oats and I’m always on the hunt for the perfect muesli bar recipe. I have tried quite a few in the past with varying degrees of success…sometimes they are too sweet and sometimes they completely fall apart when I go to cut them! I am also trying to bake using minimal oil and since discovering The Vegan 8 this is becoming more of a reality!
What I love about muesli bars is that you can really mix it up depending on what you have in the house. You can make them time and time again using different flavour combinations so the taste never gets old! I also love how versatile they are. Perfect for that mid-morning snack, afternoon ‘pick me up,’ or even crumbled onto fruit and yoghurt for dessert! Plus, a great treat for kids to have in their lunch boxes. All in all, they are a tummy pleaser. 😀
This recipe has been adapted from Nadia Lim. Of course, feel free to use that link instead if you would like a nut-free version. I wanted to use a little less oil and also add nuts, hence why I changed it a little!
Ingredients: (Makes 12 squares)
- 50g Coconut oil or Olive oil
- 50g almond butter (or any other nut butter you have)
- ½ cup of agave syrup or maple syrup. (I used US cup measurements but you could use UK if that’s all you have)
- ½ cup dried apricots chopped finely
- ½ cup cranberries
- ½ cup desiccated coconut
- 1 ¼ cup gluten-free fine oats (these hold together better than the jumbo oats)
- ½ cup of ground almonds
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds mixed (or one or the other!)
- Pinch of salt
Optional Add-ins: Dark choc chips, walnuts, flaxseed, whole almonds, dates, sultanas
Method:
Preheat oven to 170 degC/340 Fahrenheit. Line a square (18-20cm) baking tin with baking paper or use a silicone brownie mould (my personal favourite!)
- Chop the dried fruit.
- Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Melt the coconut oil in the microwave. Mix this in with the nut butter and agave/maple syrup and stir well to combine. If the nut butter is thick pop it into the microwave so it goes a little runny!
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir everything together with a wooden spoon until well combined.
- If the mixture is a little dry and isn’t holding together add in some water, a little at a time until the mixture is sticky.
- Using the back of a spoon, firmly press the mixture into lined the baking tin and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown on top. When it comes out of the oven, press down on it with the back of a spoon again to make it firmer (so it doesn’t crumble apart).
- Leave to cool in the tin then refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours until firm, before removing and cutting into 8 bars or 16 squares. Will keep in an air-tight container for about a week. Or can be frozen in an airtight container for months.\
If you’ve tried this recipe I would love to hear from you! Please leave a comment below or SUBSCRIBE via email so you never miss a delicious recipe again! 😀