3-Ingredient Fruit Greens Chia Bars {Vegan, Grain-free}

3-ingredient fruit greens chia bars made with dried fruit, chia, and oven-dried greens! They are a DIY version of Lara bar fruits and greens bars. Vegan & grain-free.

Easy No-Bake Chia Bars with Greens Added

Are you ready for an easy, 3-ingredient energy bar that packs in a wallop of vegetables? Me too!

I’ve recently come across two new, ready-to-eat bars that are minimally processed and very tasty.

The bars in question are  fruits & greens bars made with nothing more than dried fruit, nuts and greens, and pressed with care by Kind Bars a blend of dried fruit and chia seeds, with the addition of greens in the pineapple-banana flavor.

The flavor and texture of each is fresh, flavorful and satisfying: not-too-sweet, not-too-nutty, and perfect for fueling, snacking, or dessert-ing (apologies for the last noun-verb!).

But…

They are expensive: about $1.75 to $3.00 per bar, depending on the store and state. And,

They are tiny! Itty-bitty, teeny-weeny-two-bites tiny, with each bar weighing in at 1.2 ounces/35 grams.

Being me, I had to figure out how to make my own, and then share the recipe with all of you!

DIY Version of Fruit & Greens Energy Bars

Ready? Good, because what I’ve come up with is a cinch.

You have likely seen umpteen versions of homemade larabars (dried fruit + nuts), including right here on powerhungry® (circa February 2008!).

Ingredients for the Bars

The exact amounts of each ingredient are indicated in the recipe card at the end of the post.

• Chia Seeds
• Dried Fruit (e.g., dried apricots, cherries, cranberries, or blueberries)
• Fresh spinach leaves

How to Make Fruit & Greens Chia Bars

Note that the complete directions are also in the recipe card below.

Step One: Oven-Dry the Greens (in Minutes)

Grinding dried fruit and nuts or seeds to make no-bake bars isn’t the hurdle. Adding greens–such as kale or spinach–is.

Why? Because you cannot add it raw. Well, you could, but it will not keep well (refrigeration or freezing would be required), the bars will break down (due to the water content from the greens), and in the case of kale, they will taste pretty repulsive.

The solution to all of the above? Dry the greens in the oven before adding to the bars, like so:

Ten to fifteen minutes in a 350F/180C oven is all that it takes to render the leaves dry and crispy. How simple is that?

The Larabar fruits and greens bars boast 1/4 cup of spinach per bar; my version has 3/4 cup (packed) per bar. You can add more or less, and/or vary the types of greens, to your liking.

Step Two: Assemble the Bars

Once your greens are cooled, chop them up along with chia seeds and dried fruit. I made both apricot and cherry bars, but you can do just about any dried fruit or dried fruit combination you prefer.

Step Three: Shape the Bars

Once all is chopped, you can hand-shape into bars, or press into muffin cups for round “bars” (no cutting required!), as I have done here for both dried apricots and dried cherries.

Consider rolling these into bite-size bliss balls, too. I am in the final throes of training for the COWTOWN Marathon in Fort Worth in 2 weeks and the balls are perfect for refueling mid-run

Enjoy, everyone, and let me know if you give these a try!

FAQ

How Should I Store the 3-Ingredient Fruit Greens Chia Bars?

Store the bars, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, in an airtight container at room temperature for five days, in the refrigerator for three weeks, or the freezer for up to six months.

How Do I Prevent the Spinach from Sticking to the Baking Sheet?

Spinach, in particular, tends to stick like crazy to the baking pan. This is easily solved by using parchment paper.

Line the baking sheet with parchment paper before baking. After baking, wait until the spinach is completely cool before removing it from the paper (it will release easily once completely cool).

Can I Use Other Types of Greens (In Place of Spinach?)

Any equal amount of kale, or other greens of your choice, can be used in place of the kale. Feel free to add more or less according to your preference.

Related Recipes

• 100% Chia Breakfast Cookies (V, GF, Oil-Free)
• Chickpea Flour, Chia & Oat Granola Bars (GF + V)
• Vegan Maple Chickpea Flour Banana Breads {grain-free, oil-free}
• Blueberry Chia Seed Pudding (no added sugar)
• Chia & Oat Energy Balls (2 Ways)