I found myself making and snacking on these no bake bars all the time during my first few months postpartum with Sidney, and with baby #4 on the way, I can’t wait to make them again.
These chocolate quinoa crunch bars are loaded with nutrition, naturally sweetened with honey, and covered in dark chocolate + sea salt. A healthy snack that feels indulgent because they literally taste like a candy bar. My favorite.
The best part? There’s no baking required. So, let’s get to it!
Ingredients in pistachio quinoa bars
We’re packing these delicious bars with healthy fats from nuts, omega-3s from flaxseed meal, and so much more. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Almond butter: be sure to use a natural, drippy almond butter to get the right texture.
- Honey: for a delicious hint of sweetness in these bars. I also like to add vanilla extract to bring out that sweetness.
- Rolled oats: rolled oats help hold the crunch bars together. Feel free to use gluten-free rolled oats to keep the bars gluten-free.
- Quinoa: we’re using uncooked quinoa in these bars for a delicious crunch and boost of protein.
- Flaxseed meal: add in some nutritious omega-3s with flaxseed meal!
- Nuts: you’ll love the flavor that pistachios and roasted cashews give these quinoa crunch bars.
- Dark chocolate bar: for creating that yummy chocolate topping for the bars. You can use dairy-free chocolate or dark chocolate chips, too.
- Coconut oil: a bit of coconut oil will help the melted chocolate harden over the bars.
- Sea salt: sprinkle a little fancy sea salt on top for that sweet & salty combo.
Easy ingredient swaps
There are a few simple ways you can make these chocolate quinoa bars your own:
- For the almond butter: feel free to use peanut butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter.
- For the honey: swap it for date syrup to keep the bars vegan (then be sure to use vegan chocolate).
- For the nuts: you can really use nuts you’d like! Almonds are also delicious in these bars.
Looking for a nut-free bar?
Try my delicious Toasted Quinoa, Dried Fig & Dark Chocolate Nut Free Granola Bars! They’re crunchy, perfectly sweet, and 100% nut-free.
Can I add protein powder?
I haven’t tested this recipe using protein powder, but you might be able to swap some of the flaxseed meal with your favorite kind. Again, I haven’t tested it, so let me know if the comments if you experiment! I wouldn’t recommend simply adding protein powder to the base because the mixture will be too dry.
How to make quinoa crunch bars
- Toast the oats & quinoa. Add the dry quinoa and oats to a pan, and toast over medium low heat on the stovetop until slightly golden.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a medium bowl, mix the wet ingredients until smooth. Add in the toasted oats and quinoa, along with the flax and nuts. Stir until well combined.
- Press into a pan. Dump the mixture into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper, spread it out evenly, and press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the pan.
- Add the chocolate. Break up the chocolate bar into chunks and microwave in a bowl with the coconut until melted. Pour the chocolate over the bars, then tilt the pan to coat them. Add chopped pistachios on top.
- Chill, top & enjoy! Place the pan in the fridge for at least 4 hours to harden, then sprinkle with sea salt, cut into squares or bars, and devour!
Storing these chocolate quinoa crunch bars
- In the fridge: store these bars covered in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. When you’re ready to eat them, just let them come to room temp for about 5 minutes so that they soften a bit.
- In the freezer: place the chocolate quinoa crunch bars in the freezer for up to 2 months in an airtight container. I’d recommend separating the bars with parchment or wax paper as well. When you’re ready to eat them, let the bars thaw in the fridge and then bring them to room temp as described above.
Tools you’ll need
Get all of my go-to kitchen tools here!
More no bake snacks you’ll love
- Chocolate Protein Brownie Bites (with a nut-free option!)
- No Bake High Protein Peanut Butter Cereal Bars
- Peanut Butter Protein Cookie Dough Bites
- Vegan No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
- PB&J Energy Bites
Get all of my no bake snacks here!
I hope you love these delicious salted dark chocolate pistachio quinoa crunch bars! If you make them be sure to leave a comment and a rating to let me know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Salted Dark Chocolate Pistachio Quinoa Crunch Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup (128g) natural drippy almond butter (or sub peanut butter or sunflower seed butter)
- ⅓ cup (111g) honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (48g) gluten free rolled oats
- ⅓ cup (60g) uncooked quinoa
- ⅓ cup (40g) flaxseed meal
- ⅓ cup (37g) shelled pistachios
- ¼ cup (28g) roasted cashews or almonds
- For the dark chocolate topping:
- 1 (2.5 ounce) dark chocolate bar, dairy free if desired (or sub ⅓ cup dark chocolate chips)
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons chopped pistachios, for sprinkling on top
- Maldon sea salt, for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Line an 8 ½ x 4 ½ inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Add quinoa and oats to a medium pan and place over medium low heat. Toast quinoa and oats in the pan for 3-6 minutes or until quinoa begins to turn a slight golden brown color. You can also toast them on a pan in the oven at 325 degrees F for 8-10 minutes. Once done toasting, set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the almond butter, honey and vanilla until smooth. Add in the oats and quinoa mixture, along with the flaxseed meal, pistachios and cashews. Stir until well combined.
- Add mixture to the prepared pan and spread out evenly, then press mixture down in the pan very firmly.
- Next break up the chocolate bar into chunks. Add the chocolate and coconut oil to a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals until melted. Pour over the bars, tilting the pan to evenly coat the bars with chocolate. Add a few tablespoons of chopped pistachios on top. Place the pan in the fridge for 4 hours or until the mixture has completely hardened. Remove the bars from the pan, sprinkle with sea salt and cut into 8-10 squares or bars. Store bars covered in the fridge.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on July 13th, 2020. The recipe was updated on January 16th, 2026, and the post was republished with new photos on January 26th, 2026.
Hi Monique! Any subs for the oats– unfortunately, I’m allergic 🙁 Love all your recipes and can’t wait to try this one out!
You could try a scoop of protein powder, more flax or even almond flour!
Could these be frozen? Looking to have these as a postpartum snack in a few weeks!
Absolutely! Just thaw them a bit in the fridge before eating them 🙂
Do you chop the pistachios and almonds/cashew?
I didn’t chop either, but you can feel free to. 🙂
Oh my gosh!!!!! This is like your favorite chocolate candy bar …..but healthy!!!! I love the crunch with the sweet and salty tastes. The recipe doesn’t say whether to chop the nuts that go into the bar. I chopped them coarsely and it was great! So not sure how it would be if you left them whole. Probably just as amazing! This would be a great snack or dessert! Fabulous!
I didn’t chop either, but you can feel free to. 🙂 So glad you loved these!
Simply amazing
Glad you love them!
Seriously the most delicious bars ever. Stop whatever you’re doing and make them! Used tri color quinoa since that’s what I had on hand. Also doubled the batch and used both almonds and cashews. SO DELICIOUS!!! My new favorite.
Amazing! So happy you love them!
These are soooooo delicious. Can’t stop eating them!
The best healthy treat!
This is really good, but next time I want to make it less sweet. Would you recommend something to hold it together besides the honey?
You could try using a little less honey to make the bars less sweet!
Would maple syrup work instead of honey??
Yes that should be fine, or you can use date syrup or coconut palm syrup.
Thank you!!!
I will be making this one today… but just want to let you know that your dessert recipes are AMAZING
Thanks so much, Dana!
Absolutely delicious, super easy to put together and Hard to resist from sneaking into fridge before totally set!
So good! Glad you loved them 🙂
I am constantly looking for healthy nutritious snacks for the athlete son and these bars are absolutely perfect. My only substitution was using homemade cashew butter as I happened to match a batch in the morning. The quinoa give a wonderful crunch and the pistachio and dark chocolate topping adds the right amount of sweetness.
Perfect! So glad you found this one!
These are the best treats! I’ve tried so many of your recipes and I’ve not been disappointed once!
It started with the Nourishing Asian Soup and I’ve been hooked ever since!
Amazing! So happy to hear that, Rebecca 🙂
Hi! Is there a substitute for quinoa? Allergies. How about buckwheat groats? Thanks!
Hi You could try subbing oats instead! I haven’t tried it though, so I can’t be certain they’ll stay together as well.
I haven’t made these but would love to, would I be able to use dates ground in a food processor in place of honey?
Yes, I think that could work well as long as the dates are nice and soft!
These are the best bars I’ve ever made. They are sooo delicious and feel so gourmet!!
I’m so glad you love them!
These are my favorite breakfast bars! I make them w/ almonds instead of cashews and a little extra chocolate (bc duh, chocolate). So quick and easy. Pro tip- using vanilla Almond butter adds some extra flavor (not that you need it, these are already delicious!)
I love this recipe, it is such a quick and nutritious snack! I used to make it a lot to have a healthy but super yummy snack at work in the afternoon
It’s such a challenge to get my family to eat anything healthy. These were a big hit with everyone. Thanks!
Unbelievably delicious! Thank you for such a nutritious treat!
Absolutely! Glad you loved it!
These are so addicting, I can’t stop making (or eating) them! I add a little cinnamon to mine and use almonds instead of cashews. The perfect amount of crunch. My mother loves them too. Makes an excellent mid-afternoon snack to curb candy cravings and gets me to dinner time without binge snacking.
Love it!!
i make these weekly for when a sweet craving hits! i didnt add the maple syrup and subbed pepitas instead of the pistachios. wonderful treat that my husband loves too!
Love it! Perfect treat 🙂
These could be the best “bars” ive ever had. Super easy and quick and have such an amazing flavor.
So glad you love them!
These were amazing! The roasted oats and quinoa added a really nice flavour. I am also now trying them as energy balls with a mix of mini chocolate chips and cacao nibs for the chocolate hit.
So glad you love them! Let me know how they go as energy balls 🙂
These are perfectly sweet and healthy! Love them for a snack or dessert. I can’t have pistachios so I opted for pecans and almonds in the inside and then went extra with the pumpkin seeds on top. Perfect recipe – thanks Monique!
Perfect! Glad you loved them!
LOVED the delicious sweet and salty combo from these bars, loaded with great nutritious ingredients, didn’t last long at all 😜🤭
So glad you enjoyed 🙂
This was so delicious and easy to make. I love the crunch quinoa gives throughout the bar. I leftout the salt and kept flax seeds whole because i couldn’t bother. Otherwise, i followed the recipe exactly. Thanks for sharing.
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
I made these for my family and they loved them so much!!! Such a great recipe with the crunch from the quinoa, the satisfying sweetness of the chocolate, and the nutty-ness from the pistachios and cashews. They were so shocked to find out it had uncooked quinoa in it – it’s such a secret superstar! Will definitely be making these again 😍
So happy to hear that! Perfect treat 🙂
Love these! Perfect for lactation too!
Such a great snack or treat!
I’d love to try but flaxseed meal really bothers my stomach. Is there a gluten-free substitute that might work here??
I think it should be fine to just leave the flax out!
Hi, these look absolutely delicious! But are you really using raw uncooked quinoa? Or puffed quinoa? I’m worried that normal quinoa will be hard to digest when uncooked..
Hi! Yes it’s raw quinoa. It does get toasted in the pan, but I think puffed quinoa would work well, too, if you prefer!
Can you use tahini instead of the almond butter? I have some soom tahini both chocolate and vanilla
Hi, Renee! I haven’t tested it personally but I think it should work just fine. Let me know how it goes!
Hi there,
There sound delicious! Any sun for quinoa, I’m allergic but I would love to try these!
Hi there,
These sound delicious! Any sub for the quinoa? I’m allergic but would love to try these.
Hi You could try subbing oats instead! I haven’t tried it though, so I can’t be certain they’ll stay together as well.
Absolutely delicious and very easy! I used almonds instead of cashews. Will definitely be making these again.
Yay! I am so glad you are enjoying this recipe and it turned out great!
I would like to substitute Trader Joe’s cacao chips instead of the chocolate bar. Would I need to add any sweetener since they are unsweetened? If so, what do you recommend, and how much?
Thank you!
You could add some liquid sweetener to the melted chocolate if you would prefer your chocolate be a bit sweeter.
It’s the crispity crunch of the quinoa for me. I slapped these babies together in under 15 minutes. Roasted the quinoa and oats in the oven for 10 mins – perfectly toasted. Used butter with the chocolate instead of coconut oil – worked great. Didn’t bother to line my pan with parchment – slid out easily. These were epically crunchy, crispy, nutty, toasty, chocolatey. Great quick snack for after work or something sweet and healthy after dinner!
Amazing! SO glad these bars turned out amazing for you, Hannah 🙂
Hi! I cannot eat flaxseed in any form. Is there something I can use in place of flaxseed meal?
Thanks!
Hi! You could substitute oat flour – feel free to make your own using rolled oats (here’s a tutorial!)
Do you rinse the quinoa first to remove the bitter taste
I typically don’t because you’ll be toasting it first!
I made your salted dark chocolate, pistachio quinoa bars today. Oh my goodness! They’re so gourmet tasting and hearty. I will never buy another Jojo bar from Costco again when I can make my own bars that are this amazing!
So happy to hear that!
Absolutely amazing! Made them exactly as the recipe detailed then tried a couple variations, once cutting the peanut butter in half and adding 5 stewed dates and other times adding different nuts and seeds.
Perfect! Glad you loved them!
Can I sub the flaxseed meal for something else? This sounds amazing and I want to try it!
You could try oat flour!
My oh my are these good! I made them during postpartum meal prep but nabbed a few to eat beforehand. They are perfectly salty, sweet and crunchy and I love that you get a hefty dose of fiber, protein and fat! Honestly couldn’t ask for a more perfect postpartum snack. I upped the ante a bit by using Trader Joe’s chocolate covered pistachios and I only had plain cashews, not roasted. Made everything else as written and they’re divine!
These are amazing for postpartum! Great idea to add chocolate covered pistachios – YUM.
I’ve been “sampling” each component as it’s being put together so I know I’m going to love these! I made this even more certain by adding dried cherries because I felt like I wanted some chew. Very easy to put together & I’m excited to enjoy it for breakfast tomorrow😋
Love that! Such a great snack 🙂
These were stupid easy to make and beyond delicious. Unbelievable!! I made mine with pistachios and walnuts because that’s what I had on hand, and I chopped up a handful of dates. I used all natural peanut butter and tada!!! Heaven in my mouth 😋😋😋
So good!! Glad you loved them!
Delicious! I used chocolate honey, instant coffee, and salted pistachios and it was incredible. I threw mine in the freezer to set for just under an hour then cut it into 12 pieces. These will definitely be a staple.
That sounds amazing!!
Do you cook the quinoa or use raw?
Disregard my question, I read through the recipe again and found to use uncooked quinoa.
Perfect! Enjoy 🙂
These are incredible! So delicious. My daughter (5 weeks postpartum) loves them (and I do too 😊). I cut the honey in half because we don’t like much sweetness and the chocolate was enough for us, but they were kind of crumbly. Any suggestions? Btw, I love all your recipes. Most of what I make is from you so thank you so much!!
So happy you both love them! The honey helps provide some extra moisture that keeps them together, but you could try reducing the flaxseed meal a bit if you’re cutting down the honey.
I can’t do coconut wondering what I could substitute for that. Thank you!
Hi! You can use melted butter or melted vegan butter 🙂
Hi,
Can I grind the oats and quinoa and use them?
Hmm I haven’t tested it so I’m not 100% sure how it will change the texture. Let me know if you try it!
These are so good! A healthy snack I don’t feel guilty about. I absolutely love them. I cut them into bite size pieces and eat them when I feel like having a little sweet.
The perfect snack!!
Can I use ground flaxseeds instead of getting flaxseed meal?
I think that should work as long as they’re ground up very well (into a fine powder!)
With all your chocolate topped bars I have been struggling with cutting them. When i cut the chocolate i breaks in lots of diagonal pieces. how do you get the nice even cuts!??
You break up the chocolate and melt it so it doesn’t matter if it’s cut into even pieces – it will all melt and then be drizzled over the bars!
I think she means cutting the bars? Like the chocolate layer is breaking into uneven shards instead of clean slices?
Ah, yes! That definitely can happen. You can let them sit at room temperature to help this a bit but they don’t always cut perfectly and that’s totally fine!
Great recipe! It comes together easily and quickly, and there’s a nice crunch from the toasted quinoa. The finished product looks so pretty too!
Thank you for trying this one, Kathy! They’re so fun to make and almost too pretty to eat 😉
Very good! Used date syrup and added a little extra peanut butter and desiccated coconut and they turned out so good! Will be adding these to my meal prep for post partum! 🙌🏼
I’m dying to make this but have an odd sensitivity to quinoa. Any suggestions for how I can make without that ingredient? Could I just do extra rolled oats?
Amazing! I put toasted coconut ships on top as well, Love these!
Mmm, I need to try that next time!
Another great recipe! I didn’t have dark chocolate chip so I used semi- sweet, still tastes great to me but looking forward to making them again but with dark chocolate:)
Mmm, still sounds delicious! 🙂
Totally reminds me of Dubai chocolate, the quinoa makes me feel it has that texture! Delicious and will be made many times! Definitely give it a try.
I love the texture, too! So glad you gave them a try!
These bars are absolutely delicious and nutrition powerhouses! Today I followed the recipe exactly, but next time I’ll take maple sirup instead of the honey, I like it a little less sweet
Happy to hear you gave these a try! Let me know how you like them next time when you use maple 🙂
This is so so delicious!!
My bar didn’t stick together well. I did use the Kirkland natural peanut butter but I don’t think it was drippy enough. I’m going to try to use a bit more and warm it up a bit before mixing it all in!
I’m sorry they didn’t stick together that well but glad you still enjoyed! For natural peanut butter, I always make sure it’s mixed together super well 🙂
These are amazing! Sort of taste like a special k bar but with all healthy ingredients! I love to have these on hand for when I want a sweet treat or dessert.
Absolutely! Such a great sweet treat 🙂
So so so yummy
Glad you enjoyed!
DELICIOUS and exceeded my expectations !! I made The recipe just as she listed and they were incredible. This will be staple in our household moving forward!
Amazing! I’m glad they were a hit!
These look amazing! Could I used popped quinoa instead of raw quinoa? Also could I sub maple syrup for the honey to make it vegan?
I think those swaps should work just fine!
I made these for the family for Valentine’s Day. To quote my six year old grandson, “These are amazing!” They are a delicious treat that you can feel food about indulging in.
So happy to hear that!!
So easy and so good!
Perfect snack or treat 🙂
This is fantastic! Perfectly sweet and satisfying! I used roasted almonds in place of the cashews because thats what I had on hand. They were a big hit in our house!
Perfect! Such a great snack or treat!
These are absolutely the best!, chewy, nutty, high protein bars. We love to take them on hikes. My mouth is watering just thinking about these!
Such a great hiking snack!
These are delicious and keep well in the fridge for quick snacks
Absolutely!
These look amazing! Can’t wait to try. Just a couple of questions.
1. I thought flaxseed needed liquid to expand but there’s none in the base ingredients?
2. Can I used popped quinoa instead of toasting ordinary quinoa as I have a big bag to use up?
Thanks in advance!
Hi! Flaxseed won’t really expand – it’s just a nice nutritional booster that helps hold the bars together. I think these should work with popped quinoa, but please note that I haven’t tested it. Let me know if you give it a try!
I am not usually a fan of no bake desserts but these are 12/10 delicious and addicting!! And so easy to make!
So happy to hear that!
So good!
Glad you enjoyed!
These came together super quick and were really easy! I love them. I made them to take into work and have already had a couple people ask me for the recipe.
Amazing! Glad they were a hit!
Omg these were so delicious! At first when I saw the recipe I thought the flavor profile may taste similar to energy balls I have made from the website, but WOW these had a totally different and delicious flavor!! Such a great healthy treat!
YES one of my fav bars to make! Glad you loved them!
I was drawn to this recipe because of picture and ingredients so I thought I’d give it a go…I after reading some of the reviews, I substituted maple syrup for the honey, added toasted almonds instead of cashews,and substituted vanilla protein powder for flax meal,
They were really easy to make and DELICIOUS!!! I would definitely make them again and easy enough to substitute other nuts and possibly dried fruit.
Thank you for the recipe!!!
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed!
I haven’t made this recipe yet, but most definitely will once my other bars have all been eaten… I love ginger and would use chopped crystallised ginger on top of the chocolate…
Also toasted puffed quinoa instead of just quinoa grain…
Sounds amazing! Let me know if you give them a try 🙂
Such a tasty snack. The perfect blend of sweet, salty, crunchy, and creamy.
Absolutely! Glad you loved them 🙂