Sugar free and vegan puffed quinoa bars made with raw cacao, dates, and nut butter. These no bake snacks are a healthy gluten free riff on a prairie classic, puffed wheat squares. Skip to the recipe →
A midweek pick-me-up! I’m bringing a prairie classic, puffed wheat squares, over to the healthy plant based world today with some chocolate puffed quinoa snack bars. You know what? I love them even more than the corn syrup laden version I grew up (obsessively) eating. You can find puffed quinoa online and in most grocery/health food stores.
This version is sugar free, made with dates to hold everything together and adding that much needed caramel flavour. Using puffed quinoa makes these gluten free and a little healthier than puffed rice. I think quinoa has a nicer texture as well – I don’t usually buy it but Graham brought a bag home from work and this recipe has been on my list for a long time!
The bars take about five minutes to make, then half an hour in the freezer – sorry! – before they’re ready, but still, no bake and so simple. Not eating the whole thing before it makes it to the bar stage is the hardest part. I usually choose peanut butter for these but other nut and seed butters will work the same way, and if you ever have hazelnut butter around, make sure to use that. These are oil-free as well.
If you like rice crispy squares, you’ll like these puffed quinoa bars. They’re not super crisp but have the same kind of idea behind them (if you have had puffed wheat squares, they’re spot on). Same goes for if you like chocolate, nut butter, and eating several bars in one sitting and feeling good about it. We finished this batch in two days, mostly me, but I blame it on hormones. As if that would’ve made a difference, hah. So good!
I know I’ve been on a bit of a chocolate snack kick lately – these breakfast brownies and flourless chocolate PB cookies are some examples – but it’s what’s happening in my kitchen right now. I’m starting to feel a bit desperate for warm weather and chocolate is always a good idea, especially when it’s so good for you.
There’s an older recipe I shared a few years ago for peanut butter puffed wheat squares made with kamut puffs, but I used honey or brown rice syrup there to sweeten them. I think these are even better and definitely prefer the date-sweetened version these days.
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Chocolate Puffed Quinoa Snack Bars
Sugar free and vegan puffed quinoa bars made with raw cacao, dates, and nut butter. These no bake snacks are a healthy gluten free riff on a prairie classic, puffed wheat squares.
Ingredients
- 100 grams / 3 cups puffed quinoa
- 130 grams / 1/2 cup soft dates, packed
- 130 grams / 1/2 cup nut butter
- 125 ml / 1/2 cup nondairy milk*
- 20 grams / 1/4 cup cacao powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt**
Instructions
- Line a 20cm / 8 inch square baking tin with parchment paper and place the quinoa into a large mixing bowl.
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, add the dates and nut butter. Blend on high until smooth, then add the milk, cacao, cinnamon, and salt. Pulse until fully combined.
- Add the date mixture to the quinoa puffs and mix until combined, then press into the lined baking tin. Use damp hands to really press it in and try to make it as even as possible. Place the tin in the freezer for 30 minutes, or refrigerate for a couple of hours, before cutting into 16 squares. Keep refrigerated in a sealed container.
Hi Alexandra, I made these yesterday but had to use puffed millet (I also added some puffed amaranth and some cornflakes which I thought might deliver some crunch). I liked the taste, chocolaty and not too sweet, but mine were soft, so they were not like the rice crispy squares. Could this be because I used puffed millet instead of puffed quinoa? I followed the recipe and kept them in the freezer.
Hi! Is there any substitute you'd recommend that can be used instead of dates?
Hi there! If you're looking for a date-free alternative, you might want to try this recipe instead: https://www.occasionallyeggs.com/2014/12/peanut-butter-puffed-wheat-squares.html and sub puffed quinoa for the wheat.
Hi Yvonne, in my experience millet tends to be quite soft and suck up a bit more moisture, that might be the problem. They are on the softer side than rice crispy squares but not crazy soft, more chewy.
Sorry to burst you bubble on this one. Watch out with dates. There is 93g of sugar per serving. Otherwise these sound yummy.
I wouldn’t say there’s a bubble to burst, Heidi, but thanks for your comment! Dates actually have 63g of sugar per 100g, and I wouldn’t say 100 grams is one serving of dates. It certainly isn’t in this recipe, and unlike other sources of sugar, dates also contain a significant amount of dietary fibre (32% of daily requirements in 100g), which helps to process the sugars, and some other nutrients like magnesium and vitamin B-6. So while they’re certainly not something you should eat in excess, or every day, but are a better option as a treat than something like highly processed corn syrup.
Yum! I didn’t have any puffed quinoa, so I used a quinoa cereal that I had (ingredients are just quinoa and they are shaped like cheerios). I used sunflower butter too and they turned out delicious! A perfect afternoon treat 🙂
Thanks for the recipe! I needed something sugar-free and the dates are perfect in this.
Sounds delicious! Love the idea of using a cereal like that.