These oatmeal trail bars are insanely good. I’m totally obsessed…oh, and they happen to filled with healthy goodness too!
This post was updated from the original that was published December 4, 2017. This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Basically it’s an oatmeal bar, topped with chocolate and tahini and then sprinkled with trail mix. Not sure what you call it besides incredible!
Decadent and healthy…a match made in heaven, if you ask me! These oatmeal trail bars are a favorite in our house…for dessert, sure, because chocolate. BUT…they’re also a great little afternoon pick me up (hello healthy topping) and I’ve even had one for breakfast. Yeah, you heard that right.
Why you will love these:
- Chocolate. Plus sea salt. Winning combo.
- Protein: nuts and seeds, plus some tahini!
- Healthy fats: nuts, seeds, tahini…shining superstars.
- No refined sugar! Dates provide fiber along with the sweetness and coupled with the healthy fats and protein, these won’t spike your blood sugar. Plus, the oatmeal acts as a stabilizer too.
- Stash them in your freezer so they’re always available for breakfast, snack, dessert…whatever time of day you need a little pick me up.
Base layer ingredients
- almond flour
- cacao powder
- natural sweetener: dates + maple syrup
- tahini
- old fashioned rolled oats
Topping Ingredients
- Nuts: I used a combo of pistachios, almonds, pecans. You do you…toast up whatever nuts you love and have on hand.
- Seeds: I used sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds and hemp seeds. Find your perfect balance.
- Dried fruit: Just one tablespoons unsweetened dried cherries brought so much texture and sweetness. You could also use raisins, dried cranberries, dried figs or dried apricots. Look for brands that have no added sugar or sulfites.
How to make chocolate oatmeal trail bars:
First, preheat the oven to 350 and line a square 8×8 baking pan with unbleached parchment paper.
Then, put all the base ingredients into the food processor and process until crumbly. Dump mixture into prepared pan and then use wet hands to press into an even, compacted, layer. Bake for 10 minutes.
While that is baking, place all the nuts and seeds onto a rimmed baking sheet and add to oven for 10 minutes.
- Base layer of oatmeal mixture baked for 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle with chocolate chunks and place back into warm oven that’s turned off. After 4 minutes, remove and spread evenly over top.
- Spoon the tahini over the chocolate in dollops and then swirl with a toothpick.
- Sprinkle on the toasted nut, seed, dried fruit mixture. Then let cool in the fridge for at least 30 minutes so the chocolate hardens.
Remove from pan by carefully lifting parchment paper and setting onto a cutting board. Cut in large or small squares, or into rectangular bars. Enjoy cold or at room temperature. Personally, I prefer mine straight from the freezer!
More energizing snacks:
- Savory spiced nuts
- Chocolate Cherry Smoothie
- Pumpkin spice balls
- Crunchy baked granola bars
- Chocolate cookie dough balls
- Grain-free energy bars
- Vanilla chia pudding
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📖 Recipe
Chocolate Oatmeal Trail Bars
Ingredients
Bottom Layer
- 1 cup almond flour
- 2 Tablespoons cacao powder
- 6 dates
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- ¼ cup tahini
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup old fashioned oats.
Second Layer
- 6 oz chopped dark chocolate or about 1 cup chocolate chips
- 3 teaspoons tahini
- ½ teaspoon flakey sea salt I use maldoon
Topping
- 3 Tablespoons raw pistachios
- 3 Tablespoons sliced raw almonds
- 3 Tablespoons cup raw pecans
- 2 Tablespoons raw pepitas
- 2 Tablespoons raw sunflower seeds
- 1 Tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 Tablespoon hemp seeds
- 1 Tablespoon unsweetened and unsulfured dried cherries chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and line a 8 x 8 square baking pan with parchment paper
- Make bottom layer: Put all ingredients of bottom layer into food processor and process until crumbly. Scrape into pan and use fingers to pat down evenly. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Place all ingredients (except dried cherries) onto baking sheet and add to oven for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, turn oven off. Remove nuts/seeds to cool. Sprinkle chocolate over bottom layer and put back in oven for 4 minutes. Use offset spatula to spread chocolate evenly. Glob tahini onto chocolate and use a toothpick to swirl it into chocolate. Sprinkle with sea salt and then the nut/dried cherry mix.
- Let cool in fridge for 30 minutes for chocolate layer to harden before cutting into squares. Store in fridge for two weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months—if they last that long!
Nutrition
Note
The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.
Renee
These look seriously delicious and oh, so healthy!! Yummy!
Debra Klein
All of the above for sure!
Mary
Thanks for the ideas! Will definitely try the Trail Bars with friends.
Your mother’s Nevada friend, Mary Bobbett
Debra Klein
Awesome Mary…..maybe you can share some with my Mother!!
Elly McGuinness
These look amazing! I have lots of delicious slice recipes but they are really not suitable for the trail because they need to be in the fridge or freezer (they fall apart at room temperature). I will definitely try these because the healthy ones on the market are usually very pricey. Thanks Debra!
Debra Klein
You’re welcome! We absolutely LOVE these…..great options when trail mix alone isn’t enough!
Alyson Morse Katzman
Haven’t made these in a long time and was so pleased with how yummy they are. The only problem was that they were really crumbly when I cut them…. what did I do wrong?
Debra Klein
I’m not sure…but my first guess would be that your tahini was on the dry rather than drippy side. It’s important when you first open a new jar to mix THOROUGHLY so it has a uniform consistency. So, it’s possible your bottom layer was a bit too dry.