Toasted Seed & Oat Flapjack Bars
No-honey British flapjacks bound with date and banana, packed with wholegrain oats and four toasted seeds.
Best for A wholegrain, seed-rich snack with lasting fiber and minimal added sugar
Traditional flapjacks lean hard on golden syrup and butter, which is exactly what I wanted to fix here. These stay properly British and chewy but get their sweetness and glue from blitzed dates and mashed banana, so the added sugar is tiny and the fibre is real. Toasting the oats and seeds first is non-negotiable — it's the difference between a nutty, grown-up bar and a bland one.
Ingredients
- 250 g rolled oats
- 60 g Pumpkin seeds
- 60 g Sunflower seeds
- 30 g sesame seeds
- 20 g chia seeds
- 200 g soft pitted Medjool dates , roughly torn
- 2 Ripe banana , mashed (about 200 g)
- 80 g peanut butter
- 30 g coconut oil , melted
- 2 g ground cinnamon
- 2 g fine sea salt
- 5 ml Vanilla extract (optional – can be omitted)
Instructions
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1
Heat the oven to 180°C. Line a 20 cm square baking tin with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides. Spread the oats, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds on a large baking tray and toast in the oven, stirring once halfway, until the oats smell nutty and the seeds are lightly golden. Tip into a large bowl and stir in the chia seeds, cinnamon and salt.
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2
Meanwhile, put the torn dates in a small bowl, cover with just-boiled water and soak until soft, then drain. Blend the softened dates with the mashed banana, peanut butter, melted coconut oil and vanilla to a thick, spoonable paste; it should look like a loose caramel. If your blender struggles, add a tablespoon of the soaking water.
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3
Scrape the date mixture into the toasted oats and seeds and fold until every oat is coated and the mix holds together when pressed. Tip into the lined tin and press down hard and evenly with the back of a spoon or a flat-bottomed glass — firm packing is what stops the bars crumbling. Bake until the top is set and the edges are golden.
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4
Cool completely in the tin, then chill for at least an hour to firm up before lifting out by the parchment and cutting into 12 bars. They keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze well wrapped.