Mandarin Orange Oatmeal Bars

Tasty Vegan Mandarin Oatmeal Bars

Our Satsuma Mandarin orange tree is loaded with fruit. Time to find creative ways to use them all. Here is a tasty and nutritious snack bar, or cake, we created using simple ingredients. The result is a wonderful chewy texture from the oatmeal with a hint of mandarin orange flavor.

Simple to make. About 20 minutes to organize ingredients and mix using a food processor. Then toss in the oven and bake about 45 minutes. Quick, easy, tasty and nutritious. A perfect snack food. We also found it goes well served with soup for dinner (something like cornbread).

For nutrition, these bars have lots of fiber from the oatmeal. Walnuts add protein and healthy fat. Applesauce, raisins, bananas and mandarin orange contribute great natural sweetness and keep the bars moist.

We make a batch then freeze part of them for later. They are so tasty they often come out of the freezer sooner than we planned!

No added sugar, oil, fat, or eggs, so they are a great healthy vegan recipe.

This is a recipe that is ready for adapting. Try using different nuts, regular oranges instead of mandarins, or even other fruit, like mango or berries. We like a combination of cinnamon, cardamom and allspice for flavor. Adjust to your taste, maybe try some nutmeg and or cloves as well.

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Ingredients

• 6-8 Satsuma mandarin oranges, peeled, cut in half and any seeds removed
• 3 cups Old Fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 ripe banana
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

Variations:

• Replace some or all of the walnuts with almonds, pecans, cashews
• Try different fruits, like other citrus, mango, papaya, berries
• Adjust spices to taste, more or less as you like. Maybe try adding nutmeg or cloves.

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Process

Start oven at moderate heat (350 degrees Fahrenheit).

Coarsely grind walnuts in food processor. Then set aside in separate bowl.

Peel mandarins, cut in half to remove any seeds then place in food processor. Add applesauce, raisins, banana to food processor and pulse a few times to liquify the ingredients.

Add dry ingredients – Oatmeal, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, and spices along with the ground walnuts. Process until well mixed. May need to scrape the sides of the bowl to get everything well combined. Mixture will be thick and slightly lumpy texture.

Line a 9″ x 13″ baking ban with parchment paper and pour batter into pan. Place in oven and bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Surface of bars should be slightly browned and firm.

Remove from oven and allow to cool before cutting into bars. We like using parchment paper for a number of reasons. One advantage is the whole cake can be removed from the pan by lifting both sides of the parchment paper and placing on a wire cooling rack to help cool faster.

Other advantages of the parchment paper is no sticking to the pan, and less mess to clean up for the dishwasher!

We cut into 24 bars that are a great size for snacking. Each one is packed with nutrition and fiber, so one or two is a great serving size.

They can be kept in the refrigerator or frozen in small batches for later use. We find they pack well for taking on trips as well since they are firm enough to hold together. Would make a great addition to a lunch bag or backpack for school, work, or for a hike.

With all the oatmeal, they can even serve as a quick breakfast bite to get your oats, nuts and fruit all in one place.

Enjoy!