These quinoa granola bars are the perfect mix of wholesome and crave-worthy. Made with chewy oats, naturally sweet dates, and crunchy uncooked quinoa, they’re simple, satisfying, and great for grab-and-go snacking.
I originally published this recipe in 2017, and I’ve since updated it with new photos and extra success tips. I also now add dried cranberries and a sprinkle of sea salt, which bring a lovely tart contrast and keep the bars from tasting one-note sweet.
If you love a snack that checks all the boxes: crunchy, chewy, wholesome, and just sweet enough to taste like a treat, these salted quinoa granola bars are for you!
They’re made with simple, nutrient-dense ingredients like oats, nuts, seeds, and quinoa, creating a texture you won’t get from traditional store-bought granola bars.
Think: soft and chewy meets lightly crisp and crunchy with a dark chocolate drizzle and flaky sea salt on top for good measure.
Why You’ll Love These Quinoa Granola Bars
- Freezer-friendly and great for meal prep
- Chewy from the dates and oats
- Crunchy from the quinoa and seeds
- Naturally sweetened with dates + honey
- Balanced in flavor… not overly sweet, with just a hint of salt
- Customizable for dietary needs or preferences
- Great for grab-and-go breakfasts or snacks
And be sure to try the Chewy Tahini Granola Bars on page 69 of my best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101!
Key Ingredients & Why They Work
Each ingredient plays an important role in both structure and flavor:
- Medjool dates: The glue that holds everything together (don’t skip soaking + blending!)
- Old-fashioned oats: Chew, structure, and fiber
- Uncooked quinoa: The standout ingredient here is quinoa. It toasts in the oven, which adds a subtle crunch that contrasts beautifully with the soft oats and sticky date mixture!
- Nut butter: Richness + binding
- Honey: Natural sweetness + helps the bars set
- Nuts & seeds: Texture, crunch, and protein
- Chia seeds: Extra nutrition + binding support
- Dark chocolate & sea salt: Finishing touches!
Hitting major superfoods here! And there’s plenty of room for customization, too. I used almonds, honey, and almond butter. If chia seeds aren’t your thing, you can leave them out, or use flax seeds or sesame seeds instead. You can also swap the nuts for sunflower seeds and use sunflower seed butter, making the bars completely nut-free.
For vegan bars, swap honey for maple syrup.
But my favorite part of all is the quinoa. It’s so crunchy, which is a deliciously awesome contrast to the softer dates, chewy oats, and chocolate on top.
In Photos: How to Make Them
Soak the pitted Medjool dates in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain. Blend into a thick paste. Mix the wet ingredients, mix the dry ingredients, then combine. (A sturdy spatula helps here!) This is all very, very easy to do:
Press the mixture firmly into a lined baking pan—the tighter you pack it, the better they hold together.
After baking, cool them completely. Chill before slicing, which is key for holding structure! Drizzle with melted chocolate, add a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, and then cut into bars.
These aren’t soft, uniform store-bought granola bars. Rather, they’re hearty, textured, and intentionally a little rustic. Do they somewhat resemble bird food? Yes. Do they taste good anyway? YES!!!
If you’re looking for a homemade alternative to store-bought granola bars that actually keeps you full, this is it.
Customization Ideas
One of the best parts of this recipe is how flexible it is:
- Swap almonds for walnuts, pecans, or sunflower seeds
- Use peanut butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter
- Replace honey with maple syrup (slightly softer bars)
- Add extras like dried cherries, chopped dried apricots, flax seeds, coconut flakes, or mini chocolate chips
Salted Quinoa Granola Bars
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 40 minutes
- Yield: 16 bars
- Category: Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These salted quinoa granola bars are chewy, crunchy, and naturally sweetened with dates and honey. Made with oats, nuts, seeds, and uncooked quinoa, they’re finished with dark chocolate and flaky sea salt for the perfect balance of wholesome and indulgent. Freezer-friendly and ideal for meal prep, with plenty of substitution options listed in the recipe notes to fit your preferences.
Ingredients
- 5 pitted Medjool dates (about 100-120g), soaked in hot water for 10 minutes
- 1/2 cup (125g) almond butter
- 1/3 cup (113g) honey
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (85g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
- 1/2 cup (85g) uncooked quinoa
- 1/2 cup (70g) coarsely chopped almonds
- 1/2 cup (70g) pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- 1/2 cup (70g) sweetened dried cranberries
- 1 Tablespoon chia seeds (feel free to skip)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 ounces (57g) semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- flaky sea salt, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (149°C). Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper with enough overhang on the sides to easily remove the bars from the pan. Set aside.
- Drain the soaked dates, then pulse them in a food processor until they form a chunky paste. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the almond butter, honey, and vanilla and stir with a silicone spatula until combined.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the oats, quinoa, almonds, pepitas, cranberries, chia seeds, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients, and stir until evenly combined. This will take some arm muscle!
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan and press very firmly into an even layer. You want it packed in as tight as possible.
- Bake for 20–22 minutes, or until lightly browned on the edges and set in the center. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan set on a cooling rack for 1 hour, then transfer to the refrigerator to chill for 1 more hour.
- Melt the chocolate: Place the chopped chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl or glass liquid measuring cup. Microwave in 20-second increments, stirring between each, until completely melted and smooth.
- Lift the bars out of the pan using the overhang on the sides, transfer to a cutting board, and cut into bars. You can drizzle with melted chocolate before or after cutting. Sprinkle each lightly with sea salt. Refrigerate the bars for around 30 minutes to set the chocolate.
- Cover and store the bars at room temperature for 1 week or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Feel free to individually wrap each bar in plastic wrap or parchment when storing.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: These bars are freezer friendly. Wrap individually in plastic wrap or parchment, then freeze for up to 3 months and thaw before enjoying.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 8-inch Square Baking Pan | Parchment Paper | Food Processor | Glass Mixing Bowls | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack | Flaky Sea Salt
- Quinoa: No need to cook the quinoa before using. It toasts in the oven and adds a subtle crunch.
- Substitution Ideas: Swap the almonds for walnuts, pecans, or sunflower seeds. Instead of almond butter use peanut butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter. You can also replace honey with maple syrup for slightly softer bars. And instead of dried cranberries and/or pepitas, feel free to add extras like dried cherries, chopped dried apricots, flax seeds, coconut flakes, or mini chocolate chips.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 218
- Sugar: 17 g
- Sodium: 38.2 mg
- Fat: 10.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 28.4 g
- Protein: 5.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Reader Comments and Reviews
Can you substitute maple syrup for the honey 1 to 1?
Can’t see why not, Ashley!
Do know the protein content per serving? Thanks
Hi Lin, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Can I use sunflower seeds instead of pumpkin seeds? Thanks!
Sure!
Thanks so much for getting back to me so quickly!
These are delicious!! I made as written except subbed peanut butter for almond butter. Can’t wait to try them with the almond butter though!
These are incredible. My husband and two kids could not stop commenting on how good the flavor and texture was. I highly recommend rehydrating your dates though if they’re dry (soak for 10 minutes in boiling water), because my bars didn’t quite hold together super well, I think because the dates I used were old and dry. Despite this though, I plan on making these again and again for a healthy snack for me and my family.
Can I substitute Flax seeds for Chia seeds ? Thank you Love your recipes
Hi Amelia! That shouldn’t be an issue.
Do you have a sub for the dates or dried fruit?
The dates help hold the bars together, we don’t recommend swapping it out!
These look great! Is there any substitute I can use in place of oats?
Hi Rachel, we haven’t tested anything, but the oats make up a good bulk of these bars so we’d fear a substitution wouldn’t work quite the same. Let us know if you decide to try anything!
Hi! I made these the other day, and I love the mix of ingredients – they made great tasting bars that I’ve almost finished all by myself. A couple of notes:
1. I didn’t have medjool dates, I only had the regular kind (unnamed pitted – deglet maybe?) that are a little smaller, so I googled for weight suggestions, and found 8 grams per medjool date, so I measured 40 grams, but decided to double it when I saw the quantity pulsed, and I am glad I did. I don’t think I would have been able to detect the dates nearly as mush otherwise and I think it helped with the binding.
2. I used tri-color quinoa, and the texture of it in the bars is incredibly crunchy – I think it would be too crunchy for some people. I double-checked to make sure I wasn’t supposed to toast it in case I just missed that in the instructions some where, then googled for other similar recipes. I stumbled across another website mentioning that you should use white quinoa for recipes like this in order for it to cook down enough in the small amount of roasting time. So when I make these again, I will be sure I am using white quinoa or toast it ahead of time.
Otherwise, delicious recipe! I restocked my dates at the grocery yesterday so I can make more!
Great recipe Sally! I made them today to bring up to a cottage, and couldn’t resist trying a few crumbs-delicious! I pressed them down again once I removed them from the oven to ensure they held together well and sprinkled the chips while they were still warm-waited 5 minutes and spread the chocolate to create a very light coating.
Hi Sally!
Will it be okay if I add chocolate chunks in the mixture and then bake it? By the way, I love your recipes! Thank you for sharing them with us!!!
Hi Anu, Yes! You can add chocolate chunks or chips and it would be delicious. Enjoy!
Do you have the nutritional content of the bars?
Hi Kimmy, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp
Sally,
I’m concerned that we aren’t rinsing the quinoa…..but I’m going with it dry and will see how it goes.
Carol
Hi Carol, you can certainly rinse the quinoa first before adding to the bars. Just be sure to pat it dry before adding with the other dry ingredients. Hope you enjoy them!
These bars are delicious! My family loved them. I followed the recipe exactly except I didn’t drizzle chocolate over the top because my kids didn’t want to wait and wanted to eat them immediately!
Do you think quick cooking steel cut oats would work?
Hi Julie! We haven’t tested it but would love to hear how it goes if you give it a try.
I love this recipe but made with some differences. I soaked my dried dates and save about a tablespoon of the hot water. I use the microwave to soften my peanut butter and maple syrup then mix all the ingredients together in my Moulinex. I will be using a 9×9 inch pan for a thinner product. I also melted the chocolate chips with a little canola oil and spread it on top before storing in the refrigerator. Love the crispness
Hello Sally! I am very excited to make this recipe but I do not have pepitas. Do you recommend just leaving them out or replacing them with maybe another half cup of almonds? Thank you so much in advance!
Hi Alejandra! Any other seeds or chopped nuts would be great.
This was/is delicious!! I totally forgot and did not sub extra nuts or seeds for the pepitas and it was still delicious. My toddlers, husband and I love them! Thank you so much!
So this is my second time making these because my 4 year old said, “Mom, can we make those quinoa almond chocolate bars? Please!” Hahh. I was out of almond butter so I subbed cashew butter and oh my goodness, soooo good!! Thank you again!
I love them! This was my first time making snack bars and it was much simpler/easier than I expected. They’re filling and sweet, but still healthy. Great recipe!
Hi Sally! I just made these, and have a couple of hacks to share for anyone who’s interested:
– I know it’s “one bowl,” but if you’re willing to dirty another, smaller, bowl: melt the nut butter and honey together in a microwave-safe bowl – this makes it a breeze to stir into the other ingredients.
– For the dates: if you’re lazy like me and don’t feel like dragging out the food processor, you can make a puree by putting them in a small, microwave-safe container and covering them (barely) with water. Microwave them for about 30-45 seconds, stirring and “chopping” with a spoon until they become paste-like.
I did both of these things and my bars turned about amazing….so amazing, in fact, that some of them are gone already, and haven’t even finished cooling! 🙂
Hello Sally,
I wanted to know if the recipe can be doubled and baked in a rectangular pan or cookie sheet pan, for that matter?
Sure can! In a 9×13 pan.
My niece is allergic to almonds. Could I sub cashews or any other nut?
Yep, any nut seems to work here.
Do you rinse the quinoa first? my bag always says to rinse before cooking.
If the bag instructs to rinse, I definitely would. 🙂
This sounds like a really great recipe but my kids have a peanut and nut allergy so i was wondering, if I can substitute the almond butter for something else?
For a nut-free version, try sunflower seed butter or biscoff spread (aka cookie butter).
I love Quinoa and these look like they would make an awesome grab-and-go breakfast or snack for my teenagers. (And for me, of course!) I always love it when I can make them something healthy that they don’t actually know is healthy. 🙂
I made these to snack on at school in between classes and I love them! This was my first time making snack bars and it was much simpler/easier than I expected. They’re filling and sweet, but still healthy. Great recipe!
These are awesome! A very healthy snack that feels like you’re cheating! My husband even loves them. He saw the 2nd batch I made before I put the chocolate on and he looks at me and says looks like the bird’s suet!!!!
is there a substitute I could use for the dates? raisins possibly? other ideas?
Thanks!
I would pulse raisins a few times in the food processor instead 🙂
Just to add to this, one of the times that I made these I used raisins (I was out of dates). I used about a cup, maybe a little more, of raisins.
Love, love, love these! Thank you for the recipe! They satisfy my sweet tooth without adding any guilt. So easy too. I can’t wait to try your other bars.
Hi Sally! I’ve been really into snack bars lately, and these look like they’re loaded up with healthy fats and protein to keep me full, so I’m very excited to make them this weekend!
Question: looking at some of your other snack bar recipes, I noticed that most of those only call for 1 Tbsp of nut butter, but these calls for 1/2 cup…is there a reason there is so much more in these? Are they thicker bars? Need more for the texture? I’d like to cut out a LITTLE of the fat if I can, but don’t want to compromise delicious taste!
Hi Anna! I used more because these bars contain oats, quinoa, and big chunks of nuts. I needed much more to keep it all together. They’re also a little thicker than my usual snack bars, yes. I don’t suggest cutting down on the almond butter, but you can leave out the almonds and maybe add a little more oats.