These vegan blueberry millet-quinoa snack bars (now that's a mouthful) are chewy, subtly sweet, and packed with mineral-rich seeds. They make the perfect afternoon snack or grab-n-go breakfast. Plus, unlike these tasty but delicate beauties, they hold together well at room temperature.
They're made with a combination of millet, quinoa, and oats. Other seeds (i.e., pepitas or sunflower seeds and hemp seeds) are added in for a protein boost and dried blueberries lend a sweet, chewy punch of fruit-forward flavor.
These vegan snack bars are bound together with a caramel-like combination made from brown rice syrup, sunflower butter (or almond butter), a couple spoonfuls of coconut oil, vanilla, and sea salt. The mixture is thick, drizzle-worthy, and sweet.
I'll be honest, it's kind of a pain to combine with the dry mixture, but the end result is totally worth the sticky hands and tiny hassle.
This recipe comes together with a quick 10 minutes of preparation and about 25 minutes of hands-off bake time.
First, you'll mix together oats, quinoa, millet, pepitas/sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, and ground flaxseed in a large bowl.
Then, in a small saucepan, whisk together brown rice syrup, sunflower butter, coconut oil, vanilla, and a bit of sea salt until smooth, glossy, and caramel-like.
Pour the wet mixture over the dry and use a fork, a spatula, or your hands to mash and combine.
If you opt for the less messy route fork/spatula route, you'll need a bit more patience. If you opt for the messier hand-mixed route, you'll need a bit more soap.
Either way, invest a little bit of patience up front, and you'll be repaid in softy, chewy, and totally crave-worthy snack bars. Now that's a repayment plan I can get down with.
Scoop the mixture into a lined baking pan, place a piece of parchment paper over top, and press down to compact. Bake for 22 to 26 minutes, or until the surface loses its tackiness.
Let the bar cool completely. Then, remove, slice, and enjoy.
For your viewing pleasure, here's a one-minute behind-the-scenes peek into the making of this recipe:
📖 Recipe
Chewy Vegan Blueberry Millet-Quinoa Snack Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup uncooked pre-rinsed white quinoa
- ½ cup uncooked millet
- ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- ⅓ cup dried wild blueberries
- ¼ cup shelled hemp seeds
- ¼ cup raw pepitas or sunflower seeds
- ⅓ cup brown rice syrup*
- ¼ cup natural sunflower butter
- 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300F. Line an 8" x 8" square baking pan with parchment paper. (Double-check your pan size. A 9" x 9" pan won't work for this recipe.)
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the quinoa, millet, oats, blueberries, hemp seeds, and pepitas seeds.
- In a small saucepan, whisk together the brown rice syrup, sunflower butter, coconut oil, flaxseed, vanilla, and sea salt over low heat until smooth, glossy, and caramel-like.
- Pour the wet mixture over the dry, and stir well to evenly coat every last bit of the dry ingredients. This takes a bit of time and you almost need to press the wet mixture into the dry. If you're willing to get your hands dirty, use them to mix instead of a spoon (I recommend lightly greasing them with coconut oil to repel the stickiness).
- Spoon the mixture into the lined pan. Place another piece of parchment paper on top, and use your hands to press and compact evenly into the pan. Discard the top layer of parchment paper.
- Bake for 22 to 26 minutes, or until the surface is no longer tacky to the touch, the top is very light golden, and the edges are just beginning to turn ever so slightly deep golden. Be careful not to over-bake, or you'll end up with crunchy bars instead of soft, chewy ones.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the pan.
- Grasp the edges of the parchment paper and lift the bar out of the pan. Slice and enjoy.
- Store the bars in the pan loosely covered with foil at room temperature.
Sarah | Well and Full says
I love how these snack bars are nut and grain free! And with wild blueberries? Sign me up!! ;)
Jess @hellotofit says
This looks like a great way to snack healthy during the day! I made a yogurt parfait last week that has blueberries, but it's definitely not portable like this delicious snack :) thanks!!
Celeste Jackson says
I love how fast these nutritious bars go together! The video was helpful especially seeing that you got your hands into the bowl to work in the wet ingredients. Well done! I will be making these this weekend! Thank you!
Molly says
Do you think these could be frozen and thawed out later?
Ashley says
Hi, Molly! Great question. I would imagine they could be frozen/thawed but can't say for certain because I haven't tried it yet myself. If I do, I'll be sure to add a note to the recipe!
Molly says
I'll be adventurous and try it myself. I'll be sure to report back!
Ashley says
Awesome!! Thanks so much. That would be a huge help.
Molly says
Update: I froze these and thawed them about a month later and they were still great.
Ashley says
Thanks for the update, Molly! This is great to know, especially for those who love to batch bake/cook. Have a beautiful weekend!
Ema says
These are so tasty! I did substitute a mixture of corn syrup and agave nectar for the brown rice syrup since I didn't have any, and it worked out just fine. I also added more blueberries. I love how tasty and chewy and yet sturdy these bars are!
Thanks for a great recipe!
Ashley says
Hi, Ema! Great to know it worked well with other sweeteners, and so happy to hear you're enjoying them! Have a lovely weekend!
Rebecca says
I made these whole food plant based by substituting pureed dates/water for the brown rice syrup and tahini for the coconut oil. The bars fell apart and the millet ended up too crunchy/raw for my taste. Flavor is good, though. Next time I would pre-cook the millet and maybe the quinoa also.
Ashley says
Hi, Rebecca! I'm so sorry to hear the bars fell apart for you. Unfortunately, there really isn't a substitute for the brown rice syrup—it's what holds the bars together and gives them their proper texture (dates/water just doesn't cut it). Hope you can try them again using the brown rice syrup!