Dark Chocolate Peanut Oat Bars

These Dark Chocolate Peanut Oat Bars are a perfect snack to grab on the go or a healthier treat option. They’re packed full of nutritious and delicious ingredients such as dates, oats, peanut butter, flax seeds and coconut oil. Not to mention they are super simple, requiring no baking and can happily live in your freezer for up to 3 months.

What makes this recipe a “healthier” treat option?

These Dark Chocolate Peanut Oat Bars contain a multitude of ingredients that can benefit you in different ways.

Dates are a key ingredient in this recipe and although they are high in sugar, they are also high in fibre, which helps to slow down digestion and may prevent blood sugar level spikes. For further reading, check out The health benefits of dates by BBC Food.

When choosing peanut butter make sure to go for a high quality peanut butter, one of my favourite brands is Totally Nutz. The cheaper, lower quality peanut butters tend to contain additives whereas higher quality peanut butter should only contain peanuts and possibly salt. One of the main fats in peanut butter is oleic acid. When substituted for other fats in your diet, oleic acid is shown to help maintain good cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure. To read more, check out Peanut Butter: Is It Good For You? by WebMD.

I make my own ground flax seed by taking whole flax seeds and grinding them in a coffee grinder. A small food processor would work too. Ground flax seed is easier to digest than whole flax seed as your intestines cannot break down the tough outer shell of the seeds. Flax seeds are a good source of plant-based protein, have been proven to lower blood pressure and contain omega-3 fats, lignans and fiber. To read more about the benefits of flax seeds check out Top 10 Health Benefits of Flax Seed by Healthline.

Okay so more about these Dark Chocolate Peanut Oat Bars?

They really couldn’t be easier! In just a few simple steps you can make these Dark Chocolate Peanut Oat Bars at home.

To begin, start off by adding chopped dates to a small bowl or jug. Pour over just enough boiling water to cover the dates. Leave this for at least 10 minutes to soften the dates, then blend with a hand blender or food processor to make a paste. To this, add the melted coconut oil, vanilla extract and peanut butter. Mix well. To a large mixing bowl, add the oats and ground flax seed and pour over the date mix. Mix this until everything is combined and press firmly into a lined loaf tin. Place this into the freezer for 30 minutes or until frozen.

When the bars are frozen, melt the dark chocolate and coconut oil. If you are doing this in the microwave, start by heating for 1 minute on medium and then heating in 10 second bursts until the chocolate is smooth and fully melted. Remove the bars from the freezer and slice into roughly 10 slices. Place these slices cut side up on a wire rack set over a baking tray. Pour the chocolate carefully and generously over each slice. You may need to collect the extra chocolate that has dripped onto the tray and remelt it to coat all of them. Alternatively, you could drizzle the chocolate on top of each slice or just leave them uncoated if you prefer.

Allow the chocolate to set for 10-15 minutes before removing from the wire rack. Store in the freezer in an airtight container or a Ziploc bag.

For more Chocolate Recipes, check out my Chocolate Category, here.

Maybe you want to check out more Vegan Recipes? See my Vegan Category, here.