Raw Granola Bar Recipe (Dark Chocolate Pistachio & Matcha)

Raw Granola Bar Recipe

Today we are making a Raw Granola Bar recipe! Pistachios + Matcha – green tea saltiness? I always wondered what combining the two into a sweet treat would taste like. It’s not a common twist I’ve seen with raw vegan recipes, where you’ll see something along the lines of peanut butter, chocolate, some nut mixture like cashews and almonds or other popular flavors. I wanted to make homemade granola bars and was deciding between the flavors of orange, lemon, lime, pistachios, matcha, coconut, ginger, and chocolate.

After much deliberation, I decided to combine pistachios + matcha with dark chocolate to fuse together nature’s flavors into one all encompassing bar. I think it captures the saltiness of pistachios, bitterness of matcha and the richness of dark chocolate perfectly. This is the perfect snack to make at home – who needs a vending machine?!

Why You’ll Love This Raw Granola Bar Recipe

Unique Flavor: These no bake granola bars have a combination of flavors that are different than other ones you may have come across (like the store-bought bars flavors). They are the best for an afternoon snack, have no refined sugar, a chewy texture (which we all love in granola bars!) and are a great way to get in lots of fiber. On top of all this, these bars use coconut flour, pistachios, matcha and dark chocolate. A unique combination!

Short Ingredient List: This recipe uses wholesome ingredients and keeps it short. It is also much better than store-bought granola bars!

For example, if you look at Nature Valley’s Fruit & Nut Trail Mix Granola Bars, the list of ingredients are:

Granola (Whole Grain Rolled Oats, Sugar, Canola Oil, Fructose, Salt, Baking Soda, Soy Lecithin, Rosemary Extract), Corn Syrup, Almonds, Raisins, Roasted Peanuts, Rice Flour, Glycerin, Sugar, Cranberries, Whole Oat Flour, Fructose, Corn Starch, Canola Oil, Soy Lecithin, Salt, Peanut Oil, Barley Malt Extract, Monoglycerides, Refined Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavour, Tocopherols, Rosemary Extract.

This bar doesn’t have any dairy products, unlike some of their other bars. However, the sugar content is coming from plain sugar and corn syrup, not to mention the processed oils, preservatives and flavorings. Overall, it’s much healthier to be eating a homemade batch!

You’ll want to make two batches for this. The first batch will be eaten before you know it (it’s so good!), the second batch is one to enjoy through the week!

Substitutions : Flour

Almond Flour: Substitutes can be almond meal. Or, make your own almond flour by grinding whole almonds to a powder, in a spice grinder. But you can also try to use other healthy fats such as raw nuts like cashews, macadamia or walnuts.

For nut-free bars, opt to make oat flour by grinding old-fashioned oats or quick-cooking oats to a powder in the spice grinder. Use certified gluten-free oats for a fully gluten-free version with no cross-contamination!

Or, grind up sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, hemp seeds or pumpkin seeds to make powder as well.

Coconut Flour: You can buy this at health food stores, online or in the natural (or gluten-free) section of major grocery stores. Alternatively, use unsweetened coconut flakes in a spice grinder to make a powder. This powder becomes coconut flour! You will have to make sure to really finely ground it up though, without any coconut pieces remaining.

Substitutions: Other

Medjool Dates: Dates are natural sweeteners and work great in this recipe to bind it all together. Use Medjool dates, which are soft and sticky (almost like nature’s caramel)! If you have the dates pre-ground into a paste, then you can also use date paste. If the dates you are using are not super soft, soak them in boiling water for a half hour to soften. Then fully pat out all the water before using in the blender.

Pistachios: I bought a bag of roasted, shelled pistachios from Costco (Kirkland brand). Then, I de-shelled them and measured out the quarter cup. Other nuts do not provide the same taste as pistachios, so I do not recommend any substitute.

Chocolate Chips: Use cacao nibs to keep the recipe fully raw. I used vegan chocolate chips. However, make sure to check the ingredient label to see if the chocolate is vegan – some have added milk!

Matcha Powder: There is no substitution for this. You can buy a bag from online or in an Asian supermarket. This is green tea powder.

Troubleshooting

Dough is too crumbly?

• If the mixture is still too crumbly, then blend in some more dates. This depends on the type of dates you use. Some are not as soft as others in terms of helping the dough stick together.

Dough is too sticky?

• If the mixture is too sticky (to the point where it isn’t even laying flat in a tray), blend some more almond flour into the dough. However, you can also oil your hands with refined coconut oil (the one that doesn’t smell like coconuts) to make it easier to pat the dough down.

Bars are sticking to the bottom of the tray?

• Oil the baking tray or place a piece of parchment paper or a baking sheet in it before patting down the granola mixture. This makes it way easier to remove them when ready to eat.

Raw Granola Bar Recipe Notes

• For best results, use a high-speed blender or food processor to make sure the dough is as smooth as it can be.
• Feel free to add in a little bit of vanilla extract for more flavor!
• Other mix-in options (or topping options) I love are coconut flakes, dried fruit, chia seeds and rice cereal. Mix these in by hand at the end, once the dough is formed! Alternatively, you can also press these down on top of the bars once they are shaped.
• Add a drizzle of chocolate, cashew butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter or more for a delicious topping!
• I like to put some refined coconut oil on a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to help press mixture down.
• You can use a square baking dish or a rectangular one. Also, since the dough does not spread out, you can pat it down medium-thick into any size.

More Healthy Snacks You’ll Love

Nature Valley Granola Bars: Vegan granola bars that mimic Nature Valley’s Oats N’ Honey bars! Because these bars are infamously known as the most crumbly granola bar ever, I was looking for a recipe that would do just that. When I made these, they crumbled similar to the actual recipe, which made it all the more realistic!

Matcha Chocolate Coconut Bites: One layer of matcha coconut, one layer of chocolate coconut. These balls can be made with a matcha filling or a chocolate filling to make two recipes from one!

Raw Chocolate Energy Bars: Bursting with goji berries, chopped almonds and cacao nibs, these rich chocolate raw granola bars are more like chewy chocolate dessert bar than a snack!

Coconut Carrot Cake Bites: Like a raw, vegan walnut carrot cake wrapped up in one energy bite!

Tropical Mango Coconut Bites: Tropical energy bites that use dried mango, shredded coconut, coconut flour, dates and cashews to bring you to a tropical island in one bite!

Peanut Butter Bites: Three ingredients in this recipe – date syrup (or another liquid sweetener, such as maple syrup), raisins and peanuts make this ten minute energy bite recipe!

Pecan & Orange Stuffed Chocolate Dates

Raw Gingerbread Cookies

No Bake Peanut Butter Bars

If you make this Raw Granola Bar Recipe, then leave a comment and star rating! Don’t forget to tag your photos @peanut_palate on Instagram. Enjoy!