Spicy beef curry stew prepared in an Instant Pot® that is vegan and paleo-friendly.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Additional Time: | 1 hr |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 15 mins |
| Servings: | 25 |
| Yield: | 25 servings |
Ingredients
- 12 ounces dates, pitted
- ¼ cup water, or as needed
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2 cups miniature chocolate chips
- 1 ½ cups whole raw almonds
- ⅔ cup pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup salted sunflower seeds
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup almond butter
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with waxed paper so that the paper hangs over the edges of dish.
- Combine dates and water in a food processor or blender; process until a paste forms, adding more water if needed to thin it.
- Combine oats, coconut, chocolate chips, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add date paste, almond butter, applesauce, and vanilla extract; mix, using your hands, until wet ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Press mixture into the prepared baking dish. Cover with another piece of waxed paper and press down using a can or mini roller. Freeze for 1 hour.
- Remove dish from freezer and lift out of dish using the edges of the waxed paper. Cut into 25 squares.
- I couldn’t find date paste so I made my own. If you can find it already prepared that would be one less step to follow.
- Bars are best kept wrapped individually for on-the-go healthy snacking. Does not need refrigeration, but my kids like them cold and I keep them in one of the drawers of my fridge so they can grab them with a yogurt or applesauce when they’re making their lunches.
- I used a large metal spatula to cut versus a knife.
Reviews
Made these today and they turned out great! My 8 year old was eating them off the cutting board before I could get them stored away. I didn’t have quite enough dates, so I added some raisins to make the date paste, which worked fine.
I made half a recipe, and used a 7″ x 10″ pan. They taste good, but they are kind of sticky. I ended up wrapping them in waxed paper, and putting some in the freezer, as even a half batch made quite a few. These will get eaten up, but I probably won’t make them again.
Thank you for the great recipe! This made several bars and stocked my fridge with a healthy snack for my family. I had to substitute apple butter as I didn’t have the applesauce on hand last night. This may have made it sweeter than typical. They taste amazing! I love the combination of salty, nutty and sweet. The coconut and cinnamon also add to the deliciousness. And they were easy and fun to make!