Most commercial energy bars claim to be healthy but they're actually high in sugars or contain hidden additives. Instead, it's so easy to make your own healthy snack bars at home using a few simple, wholesome ingredients!
So, today, we want to share a quick recipe for beet bars: sweet and chewy oat bars with added beetroots for extra benefits.
Beets are a fantastic source of fibres, antioxidants, and minerals which boost energy levels and athletic performance, improve gut health and help fight inflammation.
Our beet cereal bar recipe uses only whole-foods: cooked beets, almonds, ripe bananas, raw oats, flaxseeds and raisins.
That's it! No syrups or oils added, and you won't even need to bake the bars.
In just 100 calories, one of these beet bars delivers a mighty energy kick but without sugar crashes thanks to its high fibre content. The perfect snack to fuel your day!
What are beet bars?
Nutritious and naturally sweet, beet bars are a healthy energy snack made with cooked beets, ground nuts, raw oats, and soft raisins blended together into a soft, chewy dough and shaped into single-serving bars.
What do beet bars taste like?
Beet bars have a sweet, earthy, and nutty taste from the combination of beets, raisins, and almonds, while oats make them soft and chewy like a flapjack.
Are beet bars healthy?
Beetroots add fibres, minerals, and antioxidants to homemade oat energy bars. So beet bars make a very healthy snack choice, as long as you use other wholesome ingredients like oats, nuts, and dried fruit to make them.
One beet bar has only 100 kcal per 35-gram serving, and it's lower in sugars and higher in fibres than most commercial snack bars, while providing healthy fats and proteins.
How do you make beet bars?
To make energy bars with beets, you need to blend cooked beets into a puree before mixing with the other ingredients like oats, nuts, and raisins.
Then, simply compact the beet bar mixture into a container and slice into bars – no need to bake.
Are beet bars like a flapjack?
These healthy beet oat bars are a cross between flapjacks and granola bars:
they're soft, chewy and oat-dense like a flapjack, but don't need baking;
they contain nuts and dried fruit like a granola bar, but no added syrups or oils.
What other healthy ingredients can I add to beet bars?
These beetroot bars already include wholesome oats, raisins, almonds, but you can easily customise the recipe with other healthy ingredients such as:
Cashews or cashew butter
Flaxseeds, chia seeds, and pumpkin seeds
Goji berries, cranberries, blueberries or dates as in these Cherry Coconut Flapjacks or Acai Blueberry Balls
Applesauce or banana puree as in these No-sugar Healthy Flapjacks
Dark chocolate chips or ground cinnamon
Pureed beans as in these Chickpea Blondie Bars
Can I use raw beets for beet bars?
Cooked beets are ideal for making energy bars as they taste less strong and blend well into a smooth puree. But you can use raw beets too — they're higher in nutrients than cooked, which is a nice plus!
To make bars with raw beets, blitz them well to avoid bits and add a splash of water or milk to the beet oat dough if it's too dry.
Ingredients
| Beets, cooked | 60 g |
| Porridge Oats | 70 g |
| Ground Almonds/Almond Flour | 50 g |
| Bananas, very ripe | 60 g |
| Ground Flaxseeds | 1 tbsp |
| Raisins/Sultanas | 50 g |
Step 1
Finely grind whole almonds in a blender, or use ready-made almond flour/meal.
Use boiled beets: you can boil them from raw or buy ready-boiled beets. Either way, make sure to drain them well.
Add the beets, oats, ground almonds, ripe bananas and flaxseeds to a food processor (1).
Blitz the ingredients for a minute or so (scraping the sides of the blender bowl a few times between pulses) into a compact, slightly sticky dough (2).
Step 2
Transfer the beet oat dough to a bowl and mix in half of the raisins/sultanas.
You can do this by hand, but if the dough is a bit too sticky, use a spoon.
Step 3
Line a small 12 cm/5 inches square container (like a food storage container) with baking paper. This size is big enough to hold 8 bars.
Spread the beet bars dough into the container and press it down firmly with the back of a spoon to compact it.
Scatter the remaining raisins over, press them in, and level.
If the dough is a bit too soft and sticks to the spoon, you can line the surface with cling film.
Step 4
Cover the container with cling film and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes to allow the beetroot oat dough to set and harden (1).
Finally, remove the beet dough slab from the container and slice it into bars — 8 bars for the default ingredients.
Your healthy beet energy bars are ready (2). Enjoy!
Tips
Store these beet flapjacks in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months, interleaving each bar with a piece of baking paper.
For a boost of proteins, you can add a scoop of protein powder to the beet oat mix – see how we've done it in these Protein Bars with Lemon.
Like this recipe?
Try our other wholesome energy snacks recipes like: