Savory Gluten Free Snack: Tahini & Olive Oil Oat Bars

Here at Lifebox, we are always on the hunt for inventive healthy snacks. We found a fantastic gluten free and vegan snack from our friends at Modern Baker. We return here to one of our favourite baking combinations, tahini and olive oil. We sometimes throw in a small handful of goji berries or anything else we want to try out. If you’re anything like us, you won’t be able to resist buying new ingredients you come across. The sweetness comes from the deep, rich flavour of maple syrup. And the quinoa, ground almonds and sesame seeds enhance the nuttiness. For more delicious healthy snacks, check out their new book “A New Way To Bake” by Melissa Sharp wit Lindsay Stark. 

Serves: 2

Ingredients

150 g light tahini
150 ml olive oil
100 g maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
100 g cooked quinoa
165 g oats (gluten-free if you can!)
50 g ground almonds
50 g sesame seeds, plus extra for topping
pinch of salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/Gas mark 6 and line a 26 * 20 cm brownie tray with baking parchment. In a bowl mix together the tahini, olive oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract. In another bowl combine the cooked quinoa, oats, ground almonds, sesame seeds and salt. Add the tahini mix to the oat mix and thoroughly combine. Pour the mixture into the tin, pack it down really well and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake for 30 minutes until an even golden brown all over. Allow to cool in the tin and once completely cool, turn out onto a chopping board and cut into eight bars.

Nutrition Note

Vegan snacks are tough to come by. Tahini is a great nutrient powerhouse for vegans as it contains calcium, zinc and iron, which are all nutrients that can be hard to get hold of in a vegan diet.