Vegan Gluten-free Cherry Oat Bars

*This post in sponsored by KoRo*

Fruity bars made with healthier ingredients – these vegan gluten-free cherry oat bars make a delicious snack or on-the-go breakfast.

It’s always handy to have a healthier treat in the fridge to grab when you’re feeling snacky, but I also feel these cherry oat bars make a really nice light dessert. Especially now that the weather is warming up, fruity desserts are always my go-to during the summer months.

Cherries are by far my favourite kind of berry! They have so much flavour, especially when they’re in season – I can just keep eating and eating them. Unfortunately they’re not in season here in the UK yet, but I had a major craving for a cherry dessert, so I decided to make a treat using cherry jam instead.

I used organic sour cherry fruit spread that I got from KoRo because it’s made of 75% fruit, which is much higher than your average jam/preserve. Also I love that there are big chunks of cherry in there, making it perfect for a recipe like this.

These cherry oat bars are:

• Made using healthier ingredients
• Easy to make
• Vegan
• Egg-free
• Gluten-free
• Soy-free
• A source of fibre (from the oats)
• A source of healthy fats (almonds & flaxseed)
• So damn delicious!

If you’re looking for a healthier fruity treat, you need these vegan gluten-free cherry oat bars in your life!

Vegan Gluten-free Cherry Oat Bars

Makes – 8 bars

Ingredients

110g (1 cup) oat flour*
75g (3/4 cup) ground almonds (I used KoRo)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 6 tbsp water
2 tbsp almond butter**
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
40g (1/4 cup) coconut sugar (I used KoRo)
230g (1 cup) cherry jam or spread (I used KoRo sour cherry spread)

Method

Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan/350F
Mix the ground flaxseed with 6 tbsp of water and leave to set for 10 minutes.
Mix the oat flour, ground almonds, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl, then add in the set flaxseed mixture, almond butter and coconut oil. Mix to form a dough. You should end up with a dough like consistency that’s not too dry or crumbly.
Press 3/4 of the mixture in a square 8″x8″ cake tin lined with baking paper.
Bake for 10 minutes, then spread the cherry spread on top. Crumble on the remaining dough mixture, then bake for another 20 minutes.
Leave to cool completely before removing from the tin.
Slice into 8 or 16 slices and enjoy!

Notes

*Make your own oat flour by blending plain oats in a blender/food processor into a fine flour. Use gluten-free oats if necessary
**You can substitute with any other nut butter
Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
You can use any kind of jam you like, or even homemade chia jam (find my recipe here)