Baked Fruit & Oat Squares excerpted from Vegan Snacks: Over 60 recipes for tasty plant-based bites by Ryland Peters & Small.
It’s time to quit processed convenience snacks full of salt, sugar, and dairy and choose a healthier way to graze. Here you’ll find nuts, crackers, veg chips and other nibbles that make tasty and convenient snacks when hunger pangs strike. Next up, portable pocket-size energy balls and bars are perfect for when you are on the move.
There are recipes for feeding friends too―whip up a dip to serve at your next get-together. And if you are hosting a larger gathering, look no further than crunchy buffalo cauliflower, perfect for party platters!
Finally, sweet treats that will pep up your next box-set binge include cocoa-almond freezer fudge pops, proving once and for all that plant-based snacking can be every bit as delicious as it is good for you!
More than 60 recipes for vegan snacks guaranteed to satisfy your cravings as well give your body both instant fuel and long-term health-enhancing nutrition.
Baked Fruit & Oat Squares
These oaty squares are delicious served warm as dessert with vegan ice cream or coconut yogurt with extra maple syrup.
2 tablespoons ground chia seeds
190 g/2 cups rolled/old-fashioned oats
50 g/ ½ cup ground almonds
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon sea salt
2 ripe bananas, roughly chopped
375 ml /1½ cups almond milk
60 ml / ¼ cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
450 g/4–4 1⁄2 cups strawberries, sliced
60 g/ ¾ cup flaked/sliced almonds
20-cm/ 8-inch square baking pan, greased with coconut oil
SERVES 7–9
Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F) Gas 5.
In a medium bowl, make a ‘chia egg’ mixture by mixing the chia seeds with 6 tablespoons water. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes.
In another bowl, combine the oats, ground almonds, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.
In the ‘chia egg’ bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Add the milk, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla. Mix well to combine.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Add half of the sliced strawberries and 40 g/ ½ cup of the flaked almonds to the mixture and pour everything evenly into the prepared baking pan.
Top with rows of the remaining strawberry slices and sprinkle the rest of the flaked almonds over the top. Bake in the oven for 35–40 minutes until set. Cut into portions. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Recipe reprinted with permission from Ryland Peters & Small.