Tri-Colored Quinoa Nutty Snack Bars -

Tri-Colored Quinoa Nutty Snack Bars

Crunchy snack bars with quinoa, nuts, and honey. A healthy homemade treat.

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, homemade snack bars, quinoa snack bars, tri-colored quinoa snack bars

Servings: Servings

Calories: 252kcal

Author: Mary Krick

5 Medjool dates pits removed
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats gluten-free if needed
3/4 cup uncooked tri-colored quinoa or any color you prefer
1/2 cup chopped mixed nuts I used roasted and salted
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds raw or roasted but not salted
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1/2 cup almond butter or other favorite nut butter. I think cashew and natural peanut butter would be nice options too.
1/3 cup honey I used raw local honey.
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2-3 Tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips melted

Preheat the oven to 300. Line an 8 or 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. This really makes removing the bars from the pan easy.
In a large mixing bowl add quinoa, oats, chopped nuts, pumpkin seeds, and chia seeds. Stir to mix.
Add pitted dates to a food processor and pulse to form a smooth paste. Add almond butter, vanilla, honey, and salt. Pulse to mix completely.
Add processed mixture to dry mixture and mix with your hands. I used gloves; it's very sticky but much easier to mix this way.
Press mixture firmly in the prepared baking pan.
Bake for 23 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack before removing it from the pan. This could take up to an hour. Drizzle melted chocolate overall. Remove from pan and cut into serving pieces.