Healthy rhubarb bars | vegan

These healthy rhubarb bars, packed full of dates, nuts and seeds, tick so many boxes in terms of a nutritious snack that it's hard to know where to start.

Here's why they're so fantastic:

• sweetened with dates and maple syrup - no refined sugar added
• full of nuts and seeds which both contain loads of nutrients
• contain one of your five a day (rhubarb)
• made with wholemeal flour, which is more nutritious than white flour
• and most importantly - they are utterly delicious.

Rhubarb is actually a vegetable

Rhubarb is one of my favourite summer vegetables. Yes - it is a vegetable, even though it's usually treated as a fruit, in British cooking at least.

Judging by how many people visit my simple rhubarb compote recipe every time rhubarb is in season I'm guessing a lot of other people love it too.

I've always loved rhubarb. I remember the pink and green stems clearly from my own childhood. With an allotment-mad dad and a greengrocer grandad we had a lot of fresh produce around.

For me rhubarb is as much a symbol of summer as trips to the beach and hot dusty days at the local park. It features heavily in my childhood memories, usually eaten in a crumble, sometimes stewed with cream or ice cream, always with a lot of sugar. 

Ingredients

For full recipe, ingredients and quantities go to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

To make these rhubarb bars you will need:

• 125g (1 cup) walnuts
• 75g (½ cup) dates
• 50g (¼ cup) coconut oil or vegan block butter
• 30g (¼ cup) wholemeal plain flour
• 400g (3 ¼ cups) rhubarb
• Juice of half a lemon
• 4 tablespoons chia seeds
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup

Equipment

You will need:

• food processor
• saucepan
• 20cm (8 inch) loose-bottomed cake tin

How to make healthy rhubarb bars

For full recipe, ingredients and quantities go to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

1. Stew the rhubarb with the lemon juice.
2. When soft add a little maple syrup to sweeten it and some chia seeds to thicken it into a healthy jam. Leave to cool and thicken.
3. Make the base for your bars by pulsing the walnuts and dates together in a food processor, before rubbing in the coconut oil and the flour.
4. Knead into a rough dough then chill for half an hour if you have time.
5. Press the base into a prepared tin.
6. Cover with the rhubarb jam and then bake for 20 minutes.
7. Allow to cool down in the tin then remove and cut into bars or squares.

If you've made this recipe please a star rating and comment below. Thank you!

Healthy vegan rhubarb bars

Mandy Mazliah

These healthy rhubarb bars are easy to make and delicious. They're vegan and free from added refined sugar and as well as having a portion of vegetables they're also packed full of goodness from dates, nuts and chia seeds.

4.67 from 6 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Resting time 30 mins

Total Time 35 mins

Course Snack

Cuisine International

Servings 8 bars

Calories 258 kcal

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

For the rhubarb jam

• 400 g rhubarb chopped
• ½ lemon juiced
• 4 tablespoons chia seeds
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup

For the base

• 125 g walnuts
• 75 g dates chopped
• 50 g coconut oil or vegan butter
• 30 g wholemeal plain flour eg spelt flour, ground oats can also be used

Instructions

 

To make the rhubarb jam

• Place 400g chopped rhubarb and the juice of half a lemon in a small saucepan and heat gently until soft and broken down.
• Add 4 tablespoons chia seeds and 3 tablespoons maple syrup, stir well, set aside and leave to cool and thicken. You can put it in the fridge once cooled if you don't want to make the bars straight away.

To make the dough

• Pulse 125g walnuts and 75g chopped dates together in a high powered blender or food processor.
• Transfer to a mixing bowl and rub in 50g coconut oil or butter and 30g flour with your fingers.
• Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few seconds until it comes together into a dough.
• Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.*

To make the bars

• Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (fan)/200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.
• Grease and base line a 20cm square cake tin with baking paper. A loose-bottomed tin is ideal but if you don't have one leave a little bit of baking paper hanging over the edges to make it easier to remove the bars when they've been cooked.
• Remove the dough from the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured surface. Press into the bottom of the tin.
• Spread the rhubarb chia jam over the top and bake in the centre of the oven for 20 minutes.
• Allow to cool in the tin then cut into slices and remove.

Notes

1. Nutritional information is approximate and is intended as a guide.
2. Store in an airtight container for up to three days or in the freezer for up to three months.
3. If you don't have time you can skip the chilling but you'll get better results if you chill the pastry for half an hour.

Nutrition

Calories: 258kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 5gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 9gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gSodium: 4mgPotassium: 339mgFiber: 5gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 60IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 112mgIron: 1mg

Keyword rhubarb bars

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