Chocolate Pistachio Puffed Quinoa Crunch Bars! If you’re feeding a crowd or just your busy weekday schedule, these bars offer portable nourishment with a luxe, dessert-worthy finish, making them a standout in any snack lineup.
These Chocolate Pistachio Puffed Quinoa Crunch Bars are absolutely delicious, and they’re designed to satisfy both your morning cravings and your afternoon sweet tooth. Imagine a generous mix of puffed quinoa for a light, airy pop, hearty rolled oats for texture, and a handful of chopped pistachios for a satisfying bite. The binding trio of almond butter, Medjool dates, and a drizzle of maple syrup brings everything together with a natural sweetness and a caramel-like depth. Crowned with a glossy layer of chocolate and extra chopped pistachios, each bar delivers a chewy-to-crunchy contrast that’s perfect for a busy breakfast treat or as a go-to snack on the run.
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Hi there, Ameera here!
These healthy treats are so delicious that you’ll reach for them again and again. We can’t get enough of the way the pistachios provide a buttery kick against the rich chocolate and oaty, puffed quinoa base.
You gotta give this one a try; whether you’re fueling a busy morning, craving a post-workout bite, or simply wanting a delicious, naturally sweet snack, these bars check all the boxes.
Tips for Success:
- Flavor Profile: These Chocolate Pistachio Puffed Quinoa Crunch Bars are absolutely delicious. Full of puffed quinoa, rolled oats, and chopped pistachios, are held together with a combination of almond butter, Medjool dates, and maple syrup, then topped with a luscious layer of chocolate and chopped pistachios. Chewy, with a slight crunch, they make for a fantastic breakfast treat on the go or everyday snack.
- Rolled Oats: Use whole grain rolled oats, not instant oats.
- Medjool Dates: Medjool dates are naturally very soft and pliant. They work perfectly with this recipe because of this. If you have very dry dates, consider placing them in a bowl, cover with boiling water, and allow to sit for 3 minutes. Discard the water and then chop. Because the dates may hold on to some water, this could make them gooier when chopping which is fine.
- Weight of Medjool Dates: The weight of the Medjool Dates with pits was 6.2 oz; pitted was 5.8 oz.
- Chopping the Medjool Dates: Thoroughly chop the Medjool dates into small pieces. They will clump up and stick together while chopping, that is fine. They may end up in a massive sticky lump of date paste, which is fine. The key is when placing them in the saucepan with the almond butter, try to pull them apart as much as possible to separate them and evenly distribute them in the almond butter/maple syrup sauce.
- Pressing the Bars Down: This recipe is easy to make; however, pressing the mixture in the 8×8 pan does require some patience. Once you dump the mixture into the 8×8 pan, press it down hard with good stiff spatula. Then take a piece of parchment paper and lay it over top of the mixture and press hard with your hands trying to create an even well-compacted solid layer. Use a smooth bottomed glass or measuring cup and press down hard. Once you create that really solid, hard-packed layer, place it in the refrigerator while you melt the chocolate.
- Homemade Crispy Puffed Quinoa: We purchased organic crispy puffed quinoa rather than making our own, simply for convenience. If you wish to make your own, you can follow Vegan Chef Mario’s YouTube video on How to Make Crispy Popped Quinoa. If you decide to make your own popped quinoa, we suggest using a Pre-Rinsed Dry Quinoa. See the Pantry Products Used section below for the Pre-Rinsed Dry Quinoa or if you wish, you can purchase the already puffed crispy quinoa to make it easier.
- Almond Substitutions: Typically, cashew butter is your best substitution. You can use other nut or seed butters with the understanding that the flavor and texture may be impacted accordingly. We have not tested any substitutions.
- Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.
Leftovers and Freezing:
Leftovers will generally keep 7 to 10 days in the refrigerator. Store in a covered air-tight container.
These bars freeze well.
Pantry Products:
- Roasted Pistachios: We used Wonderful Pistachios No Shells, Roasted and Salted. Feel free to use your favorite roasted and salted pistachios.
- Crispy Puffed Quinoa: We used Z Natural Foods Organic Crispy Puffed Quinoa. Feel free to use your favorite puffed quinoa or make your own.
- Rolled Oats: Use whole grain rolled oats, not instant oats. We prefer Bob’s Red Mill Old Fashioned Gluten Free Rolled Oats (Whole Grain). However, Bob’s Red Mill Old Fashioned Rolled Oats (Whole Grain) work equally well. Feel free to use your favorite whole grain rolled oats.
- Almond Butter: We used Artisana Organics Raw Vegan Almond Butter. Feel free to use your favorite raw almond butter in this recipe. Read the label, make sure the only ingredient is raw almonds. Do not use a salted or sweetened almond butter.
- Vegan Chocolate Chips: We used Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mega Chunks. You can use your favorite dark or semi-sweet vegan chocolate.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Kitchen Equipment:
- 8×8 baking pan
- Parchment paper
- Medium saucepan
If you try these delicious bars, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
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Chocolate Pistachio Puffed Quinoa Crunch Bars
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Total Time: 20 Minutes (+30 Minute Rest Time)
- Yield: 24 Bars 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These Chocolate Pistachio Puffed Quinoa Crunch Bars are absolutely delicious, and they’re designed to satisfy both your morning cravings and your afternoon sweet tooth.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup roasted salted pistachios, chopped (divided) *
- 1 ½ cups puffed quinoa *
- ½ teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
Wet Ingredients:
- 9 Medjool dates, pitted, finely chopped *
- 2/3 cup runny [raw] almond butter *
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Other Ingredients:
- 9 to 10 oz. vegan chocolate chips, melted *
Instructions
- Line an 8×8 square baking pan with parchment paper, set aside.
- Chop the pistachios, then remove 1/4 cup and set aside for the topping. Place the remaining chopped pistachios into a large bowl.
- Place the all the Dry Ingredients (with the chopped pistachios) into a large bowl, whisk to combine.
- Place the pitted Medjool dates onto a cutting board, chop into fine pieces, then place into a medium-sized pan. See Tips for Success notes on chopping the dates.
- Place all the remaining Wet Ingredients (except the vanilla) into the saucepan with the chopped Medjool dates. Heat over medium heat until hot, stirring constantly. Use the edge of a large spoon to separate the finely chopped dates (as much as possible) to distribute them throughout the mixture, heat approximately 2 to 3 minutes, then remove from the stove. Stir in the vanilla.
- Add the almond butter/date sauce, use a rubber spatula to scrape up all the sauce, to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly by hand with a stiff spoon to incorporate all the ingredients.
- After mixing well, you may find that you may need use your hands to thoroughly incorporate everything and to ensure everything is thoroughly coated and sticks together really well. If too dry, add an additional teaspoon of maple syrup to the mixture until it begins to stick really well. Repeat with the maple syrup if necessary. Your hands will be very sticky, get as much back into the bowl as possible before washing your hands for the next step.
- Dump the mixture into the parchment paper-lined 8×8 baking pan. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan. Then use a square of parchment paper and lay it over top of the mixture to press it hard to create a solid cohesive layer. Use a glass or cup (smooth bottomed) and press the mixture hard (keeping the square of parchment paper on top) to thoroughly flatten the mixture. Press hard to ensure a solid cohesive layer. Place in the refrigerator until you melt the chocolate.
- In the meantime, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave for 30 seconds, then stir vigorously. Microwave and stir in 10 second intervals until the chocolate is completely melted, then remove the pan from the fridge and pour the melted chocolate evenly over the entire surface. Spread evenly. Then sprinkle the top with the ¼ cup of reserved chopped pistachios. Place in the fridge or freezer for 30 minutes or until the chocolate layer is completely set and solid.
- After 30 minutes, remove from the refrigerator and lift the solid bar onto a cutting board. Cut in half, then cut each half into halves. You now have 4 squares. Cut each piece into 3rds, then cut each of the bars in half, ending with 24 bars. Enjoy! Store the bars in the refrigerator or freezer.
Notes
Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.
Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Servings: 24 bars
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