Sweet potato granola bars

Sweat potato granola bars

This flexible master recipe uses functional categories so you can easily swap ingredients based on what you have on hand. Naturally free of peanut butter and added sugar, these bars rely on a sweet potato and dried fruit base to deliver a remarkably sweet, chewy, and delicious snack. Because different fruits vary in moisture and sweetness, treat these quantities as a starting point.


Ingredients (Approximate quantities)

  • Mashed sweet potato, ½ cup - Main binder and base
  • Rolled oats, ½ cup - Structure and texture
  • Dried sweet, chewy fruit, chopped, If possible, a combination of fruits, 5 tbsp - Sweetness, chewiness and binding. (Ex: Prunes are especially sticky and chewy and therefore the best option to improve chewiness of otherwise very tough bars; pineapple; raisins; papaya;  banana; dried mango; carambola can add a nice sour flavor but are not sticky.)
  • Optional crunchy ingredients, 2 tbsp - Crunch and texture (Ex: walnuts, soaked and dehydrated; peanuts; other nuts & seeds.)
  • Flavoring - 1 -2 tsp or to taste - Spice and depth (Ex: cinnamon; cocoa powder or other spices)
  • Optional Fat, Up to 1 tsp - Ex: coconut oil; palm kernel oil


Steps 

  • Cook the base: Using as little water as possible, boil or steam the sweet potato until soft enough to be easily mashed. Remove from water.
  • Mash the sweet potato thoroughly using a food processor or a fork. 
  • Improve stickiness: As an option to help the mixture hold together well, add some of the stickiest fruit into a food processor with the sweet potato or mash it with a fork or use pureed fruit.
  • Combine: Fold the oats, and remaining ingredients into your sweet potato base until fully incorporated.
  • Adjust consistency: Evaluate the dough. If it feels too crumbly and doesn't hold together well, mash another tablespoon of your stickiest fruit (like prunes) directly into the mixture rather than adding more oats.
  • Shape and cut: Using a rolling pin or your fingers, very thinly flatten the dough onto a piece of parchment paper. Roughly 3mm thickness works well. Note: Thinner pieces dehydrate faster and are much easier to chew, as a pure sweet potato base can dry quite hard. Slice the dough into individual rectangular bars or shape the dough into individual cookies before drying. 
    Image: Sweat potato granola bars

  • Dehydrate: Transfer the individual pieces to your dehydrator. Dehydrate at roughly 54°C (130°F) for approximately 15 hours, or until completely dry and firm. 
  • Cool & Store: Allow the bars to cool completely before storing them in an airtight container (otherwise condensation makes them soggy).


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