These Healthier Date Bars are a less indulgent take on the traditional date bar we all love. The perfect wholesome homemade snack, packed with simple and nutrient rich ingredients.
Finding healthier snacks can be a struggle, that’s why I love creating simple recipes to make for my family and share here for all of you! I try to always keep healthy grab-and-go snacks that will nourish my body, easily accessible to help keep me on my A game (as much of an A game as I can have as a sleep-deprived mom haha!).
How to Make a Healthy Bar
Granola bars from the grocery store often contain a lot of unnecessary refined ingredients, so cutting down on added sugars when making them homemade is important (and not hard). The base of this bar is oats which are really rich in fibre (specifically beta-glucan) and dates are one of my favourite naturally sweet fruits to use loaded with fibre. I also added hemp hearts which add a mild nutty flavour and are FULL of nutrients including healthy fat and protein.
Like most of of my other bar recipes, I love using tools like my trusty food processor or Vitamix to get me the perfect final product and consistency.
Baking with Medjool dates
I love baking with dates, and Medjool dates are rich in natural sugars, fibre, and several vitamins and minerals. Adding them into your baking can help satisfy those sugar cravings with nutrient-rich dates that also help boost energy! Don’t forget to remove the pits before using them in this (and other) recipes.
Healthy Family Snacks
My children will always be my priority, but when days don’t go as planned in the food department I like to keep an arsenal of grab-and-go snacks like these date power bars, to help fuel the whole family. I love creating “healthier” versions of comforting classics we all know and love. These bars stick together so nicely thanks to the ground almonds and honey or agave syrup (your choice – brown rice syrup works awesome too) and can be put in the freezer once cut up, to include in your lunch or to grab with your morning coffee or tea heading out the door!
You can try out my Peanut Butter Jam Bars and Apple Oat Bars for some other great heathy bar recipes.
Date Power Bars
Healthier Date Bars
These Healthier Date Bars are the perfect wholesome homemade snack, packed with simple, nutrient rich ingredients.
Ingredients
- 20 pitted Medjool dates, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
- 1 cup almonds, toasted
- 2 cups large flake oats
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/3 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/4 cup agave syrup or honey
- 3/4 cup melted coconut oil or butter
- 1/4 cup hemp hearts
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a 9x9" (if you want them thicker) or a 9x13" (if you want them slightly thinner) baking dish or pan with parchment paper (I grease the pan first to let the paper stick).
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Place the dates and the water in a medium saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat until the dates are soft and break down, approximately 20 minutes. Stir in the vanilla, orange zest and set aside. You can blend it with an immersion blender for a smoother filling if desired.
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Add the almonds, oats, whole wheat flour, baking powder, sea salt, cinnamon, brown sugar and coconut to the your food processor or blender. Pulse until oats and almonds are finely processed. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the agave syrup or honey, coconut oil and hemp hearts and mix together with a large spoon until the mixture sticks together.
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Take 3/4 of the oat mixture and firmly press it evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan. I use a flat-bottomed cup for this part at the end to get it completely smooth.
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Spread the date mixture evenly on top of the oat base with a rubber spatula, and sprinkle on the remaining oat mixture on top of the date layer.
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Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the bars are golden brown. Cool completely, remove from the pan (by lifting the edges of the parchment paper) and cut into 24 squares.
This looks amazing and I’d love to make some
For myself. Any suggestion on a different nut to sub in for the almonds?
You could use walnuts, hazelnuts or pecans it will just change the taste!
Hey Tori, what do you think about using the berry flavoured greens+ instead of original? Would it ruin the flavour?
Hey Meighan I didn’t try it but thought it would over power it…but you could try, I don’t think it would taste bad!
Hi Tori – do you think spirulina could work here instead of the greens plus?
Hi Tori – do you think you could sub spirulina for the greens plus? Thanks!
Hi Sarah I’m not sure but you could give it a whirl it may work well!
Hey tori I have been following you and Jillian for a while now, absolutely love you guys!!!! Anyways I’d like to make these bars for a school snack but can’t add nuts, will it turn out the same or do you have any other suggestions in place of the nuts?
Hi Cherissa! Thank you! I would try adding more oats and possibly some extra oil to the mixture to make it stick together. I haven’t tried it but that’s what I would do, let me know how it goes!
Hi Tori,
Thanks for this recipe – I love date bars! I’m curious if you’ve tried it with a GF flour or perhaps almond flour instead of WW flour? If so, any adjustments you’d recommend?
Love your blog and always enjoy trying your recipes. Thanks 🙂
– Richelle
Hi Richelle! I haven’t tried it, but I think you could sub it 1:1. Sorry for the delay! And thank you for the kind message, happy holidays! Tori
These look delicious. I think I am going to try and make them tonight for my kids to take to daycare tomorrow since I have all of the ingredients at home.
Amazing! Enjoy Lilly.
Hi Tori – how do you toast the almonds? Does it matter if the almonds are skin on or skin off?
Hi Angela – You can skip this step if you wish but I just place them in the oven at 300F for around 10 minutes or until they are fragrant. And you can have skin-on either will work! Tori
Thanks Tori! I made these that day and they turned out amazing. I was making another batch right now and misread the instructions and put everything in the blender rather than adding the butter, hemp seeds and honey afterwards. Will that cause any issues? I was wondering why it was not working as well…
Hi Tori,
Thanks for this recipe – I love date squares!! Just curious if you have tried any GF versions, with either almond flour or GF flour? If so, any adjustments you’d recommend?
Love your blog and always enjoy trying your recipes. Happy holidays!
Richelle
Hey Richelle! I haven’t tried it yet. If you try it let me know how it goes? Happy baking!
Hey Tori! Just did a gluten free version and they turned out amazing ! Wondering though how long are they good for (out of the freezer)?
Thanks!
Hi Nicole! They are probably good for around 2-3 days at room temperature and about a week in the fridge! So glad they turned out gluten free- did you just sub a 1:1 GF flour?
Mmmm looks delicious! Is there any chance you would be willing to do a live video with these?
Instead of one cup of almonds, could I just use a cup of almond flour? Thank you!
Hi Stacey! Sorry for the delay – I think you could … I haven’t tried but I’m pretty sure it would be fine. Would love to hear if you do try it with that variation!
Would maple syrup work instead of honey?
Hi Veronique sorry for the delay. It would likely work – I haven’t tried it but would love to hear if you do! Brown rice syrup is a good option too and is more sticky. I’ve found it works really well in bars.
What are hemp hearts?
And what can I sub for coconut as I’m not a big fan?
They are technically a nut, but also referred to as a seed. They are rich in fat and contain some plant protein as well (they are sold in the natural food section of most grocery stores or in the cereal aisle). You can just add a bit more oats or ground nuts instead of the coconut!
Hi tori, I can’t seem to find medjool dates, can I just sub regular dried dates? Thx!
They should be fine so long as you pit them!
I just made these, and they are delicious! The only thing I would change is omitting the orange zest, I find it overpowers the squares. But other then that 👌🏻 Will make again.
Hi Kristina thanks so much for the feedback that’s a great option for those who aren’t orange lovers!
Hi! On the cupcake recipe, do you chop or purée the carrots and beets?
Hi Cindy sorry which cupcake recipe is that? The Sneaky Mommy Muffins calls for grated carrots and beets!
Can’t wait to try this! How long can they be kept? In the fridge or room temp?
Thank you 🙂
So good! Just made them for the first time. Thanks Tori!
Thank you Natalie so happy you liked them!!!
I am just about to make these but only have deglet noor dates- which I know are smaller. Next time you make these would be awesome if you could perhaps at a weight to the 20 medjool dates 🙂 Im just going to add in a handful more and hope for the best. thanks for always making recipes a little bit healthier, helps me justify my baking sometimes!
Made last night and turned out great! Kept the orange and cinnamon in and didn’t feel it overpowered the flavor at all. Also, the dates I used were quite dried out but they rehydrated fine with the water on the stove and worked great, a good use for old dates! I used a 13×9 pan and the thickness was pretty close to fig newtons. We also added some chocolate chips on the top since everything is better with chocolate, right? Might not have been as healthy though! Thanks!
Thank you Donna! I love these too, so happy you enjoyed them!