For the last few months I’ve been making different variations of oatmeal bars to have as an easy breakfast. I wanted to test out a version with one of my must have pantry staples: tahini. I realized I don’t experiment enough with tahini, so decided go for it and boyyy was it worth it.
Tahini, a paste made of ground sesame, is super versatile- making it great for option for both sweet and savory dishes. It’s also a great substitute for nut butters for anyone who has nut allergies. I serve it Friday nights as a sauce to dip our veggies into, but the combination of sweetened tahini and chocolate just can’t be beat.
Tahini oatmeal bars are light and fluffy, and naturally gluten-free made with a blend of oats and almond flour. They’re sweet but not too sweet- just the right amount for when you need an afternoon pick me up, which nowadays is pretty much every day- anyone else?
You’ll need a few simple ingredients for these tahini oatmeal bars, which I guarantee you likely have in your pantry! I haven’t tested them with other nut butters, but think you should be able to if you don’t have tahini.
Be sure to grab a good quality tahini- there’s one linked in my shop page. You’re going to love this flavor combo and I can’t wait to hear what you think!
If you’re looking for other afternoon pick-me-ups, be sure to try out my Walnut Chocolate Chip Banana Bread!
Chocolate Chunk Tahini Oatmeal Bites
Course: Baked goods, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Sweets12
servings10
minutes30
minutes40
minutesIngredients
1 1/2 cups almond flour
1 cup quick oats (rolled oats work too, but I prefer the texture of quick oats)
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste)
2 tbsp olive oil, or oil of choice
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup chocolate chunks or chips
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350 F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the tahini, eggs, maple syrup, olive oil and vanilla.
- Mix in the almond flour, oats, baking soda and salt and stir until well combined.
- Fold in the dark chocolate chunks, reserving some to top.
- Pour the batter into a parchment lined 8 x 8 baking dish and top with remaining chocolate.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool for 5 minutes before slicing.
- Keep stored in sealed tight container on the counter for up to 1 week, or refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- I have not tested any other flours for this recipe.
- You may be able to substitute another nut or seed butter, but I definitely recommend tahini for best results!
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @somethingnutritious on Instagram- I’d love to see your creations!
Can I use something else in place of maple syrup? I have honey and molasses
I would sub honey!
Love these oatmeal tahini bars! I used 1 cup oat flour instead of the almond flour. I also used 2/3 rolled oats instead. Very good— I would recommend taking it out earlier than 30 minutes though so it doesn’t get dry and crumbly!
So happy the substitutes worked!
So if I don’t have tahini , can I use peanut/almond butter instead?
I think either one should work! For peanut butter, I would recommend adding an extra 2-3 tbsp of sweetener, since I find it to be a bit more dry in baked goods.
Hi! I often have quick oats on hand rather than rolled, can you please advise if I can sub quick oats for rolled?
Hey Sumi, yes that would work!
Love these! Perfectly sweet but not too sweet, like you said.
Amazing! So glad you enjoyed them!
Disclaimer– I made a vegan version of this using two flax eggs instead of normal eggs. This was a mistake which led the bars to be crumbly and lumpy on top, nothing like the photos. The taste was pretty bland and tasted vaguely of maple syrup or like a granola bar when I was expecting something similar to a blondie. I’ve made vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies in the past which always turn out amazing, but these weren’t similar at all. They got eaten up by my family but I won’t be making them again.
Hey Emma, I’m sorry to hear this recipe wasn’t a success for you. Flax eggs will usually work in place of real eggs in baking, but results are never guaranteed to be the same.
In my post I mentioned these were light, fluffy and not too sweet, so apologies if you expected a sweeter blondie texture. I’m glad to hear your family still ate them. Hoping you find something else on my blog that you can enjoy!
Hi, these oatmeal bites look amazing! Do you think you could sub flax egg or applesauce for the egg? Or anything else?
Hey Lauren, I think two flax eggs may work instead of the eggs!
Any alternatives for almond flour?!
Hey Britt, unfortunately I haven’t tested a substitute! If I had to estimate, 1 cup of oat flour may work instead, but I can’t guarantee the same results 🙂
Can you freeze these? 🙂
Yes! I’d freeze for up to 3 months.
Thank you! They’re so good! First time baking with tahini here.
So glad you love them!
Hi! Can I use agave syrup instead of maple syrup?
Yes!
I’ve never used tahini but I had in my cabinet since I’ve been wanting to try. Maybe it wasn’t a good brand. But I couldn’t get it to mix at all. The bottom was so thick and clumpy. It wouldn’t mix with the oil on top. Would a better quality one be able to be mixed ? It’s in the oven and used cashew butter since I had already started making it!
Hi! I don’t think this has to do with the quality of the tahini. Every tahini butter if you leave it long enough in the cupboard sticks like this on the bottom. Mine did too. You just meet to try and mix it for some good time. If may a blender help you with that.
Hey Miryam, exactly what Alexandra said! You can stick your tahini in the blender to help smoothen it out. Make sure to always stir your tahini before using it, since the oils separate naturally and rise to the top. I also linked a tahini brand I love from Amazon in this post, and saved it to the shop page under pantry staples!