No Bake Chocolate Almond Oat Bars

I love these no-bake breakfast bars because they’re not only good for you, they’re also easy to throw together. I make these with almond flour, which is simply made up of ground almonds, so there’s no baking required. The coconut oil adds a hint of coconut flavor, which blends perfectly with the chocolate and almonds, making these a tasty treat in the morning or anytime a snack is calling.

I make these even easier by lining an 8×8 pan with plastic wrap so that once the bars are chilled, I can easily pull the whole slab out of the dish and cut them into bars. This not only makes clean up a breeze, but it also makes the bars easier to cut when they’re not in the pan.

I also like to make these with a manuka blend honey, amping up the health benefits of these bars even further. I don’t use my pure manuka honey in these, as I’m not yet a lottery winner and making these every week with a 1/4 cup of pure manuka would most likely bankrupt me. But I’ve discovered a nice manuka blend honey which offers some of the wonderful benefits of manuka honey without the prohibitive cost.

Easy No Bake Chocolate Almond Oat Breakfast Bars Recipe

• 2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup almond flour (not almond meal)
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup softened coconut oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup almond butter

Directions

1. In a medium-size bowl, add oats, almond flour, almonds, and chocolate chips and stir well
2. In a one-cup liquid measuring cup, add 1/4 cup coconut oil, then add 1/4 cup honey, then add vanilla extract.
3. Add in 1/2 cup (dry measuring cup) almond butter and whisk everything together with a fork
4. Stir into oat mixture and blend well, until all of the oats are moistened and everything is blended well (this honestly takes a couple of minutes to ensure everything is well blended)
5. Line an 8×8 pan or baking dish with plastic wrap and drop the mixture into the prepared dish
6. Spread the mixture out evenly and, using a large flat spatula, press the mixture firmly all the way around until it’s all tightly packed
7. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours
8. Once fully chilled, remove the entire contents by lifting it out with the plastic wrap and placing it on a cutting board
9. Slice the slab into bars and refrigerate until ready to enjoy

As I noted in the ingredients, be sure to use almond flour in these and not almond meal. I often see them referred to as interchangeable but they’re not. If you’re wondering what the difference is between almond flour and almond meal, it’s that almond flour is ground almonds that have had their skins removed, resulting in a much finer flour.

I always tell you not to be afraid to play with your food and this recipe is an easy one to customize to suit your tastes. Consider using sunflower butter and sunflower seeds, or cashew butter and chopped cashews. Trust me when I tell you that there’s not a lot of ways you can go wrong here. Peanut butter and chopped peanuts? Go for it!

Enjoy!