These gluten-free carrot lentil bars are made with simple, healthy ingredients and contain no added sugar. They are the perfect make-ahead breakfast or snack for babies, kids, and adults. They will also make for a great finger-friendly, satisfying addition to kid’s school lunchboxes.
Today, all eyes are on lentils! And trust me on this.
Lentils make for a great addition to baked goods! It not only boosts the nutritional content and staying power (hello iron, zinc, protein and fiber!) but also helps keep the bars moist. And honestly, you can’t even taste it!
This one took a lot of experimentation, and as you can imagine - we've been eating a lot of lentils around here. Luckily, my little food critic didn't seem to mind. While they all tasted fine, either they were too dense, too sweet, or not sweet enough.
You know what they say. 7th time is the charm. Just humor me ;). These bars are soft and chewy with just the right amount of sweetness.
I know a lot of you guys are looking for baby-friendly recipes, and I want to make sure to provide you with an arsenal of healthy recipes that aren’t overly sweet. All of my recipes contain zero added sugars as well.
These carrot lentil bars will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. They also freeze beautifully, up to 3 months!
Ingredients
- red lentils
- rolled oats
- baking soda
- cinnamon
- almond butter (can use other nut or seed butter)
- plain Greek yogurt (or a plant-based alternative)
- 1 banana
- carrots
The full recipe can be found in my FREE ecookbook. Just sign up below!
Jo says
I think I may have used too much banana or the red lentils weren't dry enough...the bars have been on the counter overnight, but the bars are pretty smooshy. When I try to cut bars and and take them out of the pan (I did use baking parchment paper), they fall apart. Do you have any advice on what I can do to firm it up? I really don't want to toss it all 🙁
Min says
I'm sorry to hear that these didn't turn out! I would refrigerate and the bars will hold together better
Lauren says
Hi Min! Do we need the banana? Can I sub applesauce? Just don't have any bananas at home right now.
Thanks!
Min says
I haven't tried but I believe it will work. I would add 1/2 cup additional applesauce. Let me know how it turns out!
Eva says
Hi Min,
Could I use regular lentils for this recipe or should I look for red lentils specifically?
Thank you,
Eva
Twinkle says
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe MJ! What a great snack, or proper food in my baby's BLW journey..this was tasty, and super easy for the baby to grab and chew. She's seven months old at this point and this was the first combination food that she thoroughly enjoyed.
Min says
Oh I'm so glad! Thanks for sharing!!