These sesame and chia seed bars come together so easily, only require a handful of ingredients, and make a wonderful light snack, breakfast bar for the road, or a little school treat. They're also a nice way to sneak some seeds into your day. The smell of toasted sesame seeds + maple syrup baking is a lovely bonus.
Another thing I just love about these bars is that they have the crunch of the seeds going on, and yet are soft and chewy at the same time. They also happen to go great with a hot cuppa ;)
One thing that's important to note is that despite looking like classic "sesame snaps" you can buy at the store, these are actually not overly sweet (which I liked in this case). But we've had some mixed reviews around here. Some people liked these sweeter, some thought they were great as-is (myself included).
The conclusion: if you're in the mood for a sweeter sort of a bar, or just want these to have a little something extra, dip them in chocolate or drizzle some melted chocolate on top. Alternatively you can add a few (~4 tbsp) coconut sugar to the mix to sweeten the deal that way instead.
I used white chia seeds here by the way, because I had them on hand and they harmonized better with the sesame seeds visually, but black chia seeds would work just as well too (the ground chia seeds I used were black ones though).
Sesame Chia Seed Bars
These chewy sesame and chia seed snack bars work as a great light snack or a breakfast on-the-go. This recipe is vegan, gluten-free, paleo, and oil-free.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1hour, 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: approx. 21 small bars
- Category: snacks and dessert
- Method: baked
Ingredients
Bars:
- 1 cup sesame seeds
- ½ cup white chia seeds
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup warm water
- 1 tbsp ground chia seeds
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp salt
Optional Topping:
- melted chocolate of your choice for dipping or drizzling
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350F. Line a small baking tray (I used one that's 7.5" x 9.5", but anything of a similar size will do) with some parchment paper and set aside.
- Place all ingredients in a small mixing bowl and stir everything together to combine. Let sit for 15 mins, stirring occasionally.
- After the 15 mins have passed, give the mixture another stir to make sure it's well-combined. Then transfer it into the prepared baking tray. Smooth out the top with the back of a spoon.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven for 1hr and 10 mins. Remove from oven and cool on a rack for about an hour. Once completely cooled, cut into bars and enjoy!*
Notes
* Storage notes: the bars can be stored at room temperature in a sealed container, if consumed within 2-3 days. Otherwise they can be stored in the fridge for a longer shelf-life, or frozen for later use.
Keywords: Sesame Chia Seed Bars (vegan, gluten-free, paleo)
Dani says
Hi Audrey,
I wanted to ask if I could use this recipe with the chia seeds in their gel form too? And if I could add pine nuts to the bars as well? Pine nuts are one of the only nuts I can have so i try to put them in everything…
Thanks so much for making this, will give it a try!
Audrey says
Hi Dani. When you put all the ingredients in this recipe in that mixing bowl, stir, and let sit for 15 mins, the chia seeds turn into their gel form and help the bars hold together.
I think you can include some pine nuts here no prob, perhaps in lieu of some of the sesame bars. I'd recommend chopping the pine nuts smaller though, as whole pieces might make the bars a bit more crunbly.
Enjoy! :)
Josh says
I found these inedible, even with lots of chocolate on top.
★
Audrey says
Hi Josh, that's too bad it wasn't to your liking. Can you elaborate more about what it was that made them inedible for you? Did you modify anything in the recipe or followed it as is?
Sheryl Melnichuk says
Hi everyone, do you need to use white chia seeds or can I use black ones
Audrey says
Hi Sheryl, yep, black seeds work too. I left that as an optional tip in the write up above the recipe.
Roshel Madden says
That looks so yummy and nutritious!
Audrey says
Thanks Roshel!
Roberta says
Hi
I really like this recipe so happy I found it thank you so much.
Instead of maple syrup can I use honey or agave syrup?
★★★★★
Audrey says
Hi Roberta, I haven't tried it with agave, but think it will work just fine as a substitute here.
Adrienne says
Hi Audrey,
I tried this, but failed, haha, do they really need to stay in the oven for 1 hour 10 min? They started to burn after 20 minutes....Or is it because I use a small baking tray? Around half of the amount of your recipe and half of the size of your baking tray, except without cinnamon, a ingredients same with the recipe
Audrey says
Hi Adrienne, sounds like maybe your oven temperature is on the high side maybe. You can always test by getting an inexpensive oven thermometer (you can find them in places like Bed Bath and Beyond, or on Amazon, etc.) to see what's happening there. Many ovens (I'd say most, in my experience) have temperatures that fluctuate or are simply inaccurate so if that's the case you need to compensate for that (by setting temperature lower, or higher as needed).
If they're baking and burning quickly then I'd try baking them at a much lower temperature until they look like they're ready.
I don't think the recipe size / baking tray would make much of a difference, unless you spread them out much thinner -- in which case yes, they would bake through faster.
hillary says
Made these and they turned out great. I agree, they're not super sweet, but somehow still "addictive" as I kept gravitating towards them all day long, especially when tea was happening :)
★★★★★
Audrey says
I know exactly how you feel! :) So glad you enjoyed them, Hillary. Thanks for the feedback.
Cassie Tran says
Chia seeds and sesame seeds are the BEST! LOL! I definitely want to start making homemade bars, so this is the perfect recipe! It looks way too simple to be true. I'm stoked!
Audrey says
Hi Cassie. Good luck with your homemade bars baking adventures!
Angie says
This recipe looks amazing! I did want to know the nutrition facts, carbs and fiber?
Audrey says
Hi Angie. I don't track these things for all my recipes, but from time to time when I get curious about the nutritional contents of a recipe I use a free online recipe calculator (like this one: https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp) to get all the data I need. Hope that helps!
Michele says
Are there carbs?
Audrey says
Hi Michele. I'm sure there would be as the recipe uses maple syrup.