These pistachio date and oat bars are seriously SO good and easy to make. They’re nutty, crunchy, and have that perfect balance of sweetness and savory flavor. The bars are naturally sweetened with dates, then topped with a spoonful of melted chocolate.
I love sprinkling some freeze-dried strawberries, crushed pistachios and sesame seeds on top for a little extra flavor.
These bars last up to 3 months in the freezer so they’re the perfect make-ahead sweet treat to have around. I personally love keeping some in the fridge for optimal texture. They’re a delicious little pick-me-up for an afternoon sweet fix.
This recipe is easily customizable and can be made with different combinations of nuts. You can also mix in your favorite nut butter for even more flavor and protein.
What You’ll Need To Pistachio Date & Oat Bars
You’ll need only a few pantry ingredients for this recipe:
- Medjool dates, pitted. If your dates aren’t soft, I suggest soaking them in hot water for 10-15 minutes
- Rolled oats
- Dry-roasted or raw pistachios
- Vanilla extract
- Semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips melted with a little coconut oil
- Freeze-fried strawberries and sesame seeds, to top
- Pulse the pistachios and oats in a blender or food processor to chop them up
- Add in the medjool dates, splash of water, vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt and blend to form a sticky mixture
- Transfer the mix into a 9 x 9 baking dish and flatten with your hands
- Freeze for an hour to harden, then slice into 16 bars
- Top each bar with a spoonful of melted chocolate, then alternate with your favorite toppings- I used freeze-dried strawberries, crushed pistachios and sesame seeds
How to store your pistachio bars
Keep refrigerated
For optimal texture, I like to refrigerate the bars. They’ll stay good in the fridge for about 1 month.
Freeze for longer
The bars can also be frozen for up to 3 months. You can store some in the fridge and some in the freezer, and take them out as needed.
Customize this recipe by using your favorite blend of nuts and dried fruit, or adding spices like cinnamon, cardamom or ginger powder. You can even roll them into balls to make energy bites. Either way, I can’t wait for you guys to try them!
More no-bake recipes to try:
Vegan No-Bake Brownie Truffles
Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bars
Dark Chocolate & Walnut Granola Bars
Pistachio Date Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup roasted or raw pistachios, shelled
- 12 oz box Medjool dates, pitted (about 18-20 dates)
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
Toppings
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips melted with 1 tsp coconut oil
- Crushed pistachios, freeze-fried strawberries, sesame seeds
Directions
- Add the pistachios and oats to a food processor (preferred), or high-speed blender. Pulse together for 30-60 seconds to chop them up. It doesn’t need to be a fine mixture, you’ll still want some texture
- Add the pitted medjool dates to the blender with the water, cinnamon, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Blend together to form a sticky dough.
- Line a 9 x 9 pan with parchment paper and press the mix into the pan. Flatten down using your hands.
- Freeze the bars for at least an hour to harden. Once they’re firm, use a large knife to slice them into 18 bars by slicing horizontally twice creating 3 equal sections, then cutting 5 times vertically.
- Melt the chocolate chips with the coconut oil in 30 second increments in the microwave until smooth.
- Spoon some of the chocolate onto each bar, then alternate your toppings with crushed pistachios, crushed freeze-dried strawberries and sesame seeds.
- Set in the fridge to harden. Keep refrigerated for up to 1 month, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Really enjoying these, thanks! I didn’t have enough oats, so I did 1/3rd oats, 1/3 quinoa, and 1/3 chia seeds, and that turned out great. I did the sesame seed toping, which was good, but I think the chopped pistachio topping might be best as that would give it more of the contrasting crunch that it needs.