The NO BAKE is clearly an important point to make. I used to drive myself made trying to create the most perfect baked oat bar. I’ve made a few versions at this point that I’m pretty happy with, but I realised in the process that the texture I was seeking was actually much more easily achieved by not actually putting them in the oven.
You can get the toasted more nutty flavour by toasting your oat flakes and nuts or seeds in the mix, and then packing them tightly together with a mixture of roast nut or seed butter, some coconut or ghee. Chewy, dense, wholesome, satisfying, ready to slice and eat within an hour; though I do like to always be prepared and make the next batch the night before the most recent one runs out!
These are one of my favourites, chocolaty and laced with pops of green pistachio. I used the Pulsin Chocolate Pea protein to give them a protein boost and it actually is pretty crucial to the end texture. The pea protein makes them a little more solid, soaking up any extra moisture as they firm up even more in the fridge prior to slicing.
Cacao Pistachio NO BAKE Oat Protein Bars
Print RecipeIngredients
- ***For the Bars***
- 1.5 cups (160g) rolled oats
- 40g cacao powder
- 60g Pulsin Chocolate Pea Protein
- 80g roast chopped pistachios
- 80g honey or brown rice syrup
- 60g coconut oil, melted
- 130g smooth roast cashew butter
- ***For Topping***
- 120g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp (14g) coconut oil
Instructions
Mix together oats through to pistachios in a large bowl.
Mix together honey or brown rice syrup with cashew butter and melted coconut oil.
Add wet to dry and mix well to combine.
Place mixture into a 9 inch loaf tin lined with baking paper.
Press the mixture down firmly and spread evenly.
Melt chocolate in the microwave; 30 seconds at time stirring and repeating until fully melted.
Stir through coconut oil. Pour chocolate over the bars and place into the fridge to set for a couple of hours or overnight.
Remove from the fridge 10 - 15 minutes before slicing to make that top chocolate layer easy to slice without cracking.
Store bars in the fridge for up to one week or freeze for up to one month.
Notes
For a nut free version use roast sunflower seed butter to replace the cashew butter and include some toasted coconut to replace the pistachios!
