These delicious quinoa-granola bars without sugar are super quick and easy to make. Making bars or squares yourself has two benefits. You always have a sugar-free snack on hand when your stomach growls again and you know exactly that you are doing something good for yourself and your body when you reach for the quinoa-granola bars.
Did you know that quinoa is a real superfood? In the Andes region of South America, the nutty, aromatic grain has been cultivated for over 6000 years. Among the Incas, quinoa was considered a staple food and was given the name “mother grain” because the grains nourished and strengthened the people of the highlands – just like a caring mother does. Not for no reason did the Incas revere quinoa as a miracle plant; it stood for strength, energy and resilience. The small grains are true powerhouses and unique in terms of their nutritional composition. Quinoa is gluten-free, has a high protein content and is one of the few plant foods that contain all nine essential amino acids in sufficient quantities. Of note is the content of lysine, an amino acid otherwise found primarily in meat and fish. This makes quinoa interesting as a healthy source of protein for vegetarians and vegans. In addition, quinoa is rich in fiber, magnesium, B vitamins, iron, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin E and various beneficial antioxidants. There are numerous varieties of quinoa in different colors. The miracle grain of the Incas is extremely versatile in the kitchen. Like grains, quinoa can be ground and soaked for use in mueslis, it can be used as a side dish with fish and vegetables, in salads or as a patty. We used puffed quinoa for our healthy granola bars. This is great for baking.
The nice thing about this recipe is that it can be adapted any way you like. You can basically add all the dried fruits, nuts, kernels and seeds that you want or just have at home.
Enjoy baking!
Ingredients for Quinoa-Granola Bars without Sugar
- 200 g rolled oats
- 50 g puffed quinoa
- 125 g cashews
- 100 g almonds
- 75 g coconut flakes
- 50 g raisins
- 40 g sunflower seeds
- 40 g pumpkin seeds
- 3 tablespoons rice malt
- 3 tablespoons rice syrup
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 3 tablespoons peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
Preparation of the Quinoa-Granola Bars without Sugar
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 150 degrees convection. Line a baking tray (39×26×4 cm) with baking paper.
Step 2
Toast 200 g oat flakes and 50 g puffed quinoa in a pan without fat over medium heat until golden brown, remove and let cool.
Step 3
Finely chop 125 g cashews and 100 g almonds and add to a bowl with 75 g coconut flakes, 50 g raisins, 40 g sunflower seeds and 40 g pumpkin seeds and mix well. Add quinoa and oats.
Step 4
In a saucepan, simmer 3 tablespoons rice syrup, 3 tablespoons rice malt, 1 pinch sea salt, 3 tablespoons peanut butter and 3 tablespoons coconut oil over medium heat until everything is completely dissolved. Mix the liquid ingredients with the dry ingredients.
Step 5
Pour the mixture into the baking tray lined with baking paper and press firmly. Bake in the preheated oven (convection oven: 150 °C) for about 30 minutes. Remove the baking tray from the oven and allow to cool. Only then carefully cut into equal-sized pieces with a sharp knife.
Tip:
Finally, we like to put the granola mixture in the refrigerator for about 2 hours. This hardens everything and makes it easy to cut the granola mixture into bars. Right out of the fridge, the bars are hard because they are cold. If you let them sit for an hour, they will warm up to room temperature and soften a bit. Stored in a cool, dry place in a tight-fitting tin or plastic box, these healthy granola bars will keep for about two weeks. For longer storage, you can also freeze them very well.
2 thoughts on “Healthy Recipes: Quinoa-Granola Bars without Sugar”
Dear Melinda
Thank you for your question. We changed it to yummi peanut butter 🙂 sure you can use peanut butter. Best André.
What is peanut cream? Does peanut butter work as substitute?