If you live in the UK or Ireland, then a ‘flapjack’ is a very popular bar made from oats. If you live in Australia, New Zealand or North America, then you might know them as muesli bars, granola bars or oat bars. In this recipe, I am sharing a delicious pumpkin seed and hemp seed flapjack.
Here in the UK, flapjacks are typically baked using butter, golden syrup and brown sugar. But you might have already guessed – I’m not going to be using any of those ingredients here.
Yes, you’ve got it – I have developed a completely delicious, super healthy version. It is very delicious. I use oats, seeds, coconut oil (instead of butter) and dates to sweeten.
Hemp seed flapjacks are feel-good food
I’ve been making this version for quite some time now, serving it to friends, family and guests on retreats. Always goes down a real treat.
As well as a great flavour, these flapjacks have a sort of comforting, filling thing happening. Perfect feel-good food!
Making your hemp seed flapjacks gluten-free with GF oats
One of the main ingredients (and the star of the show today, is good ol’ oats). I use gluten-free oats. If you are watching your gluten intake, then evidence shows that those with gluten intolerance or gluten allergy are ‘normally’ OK with certified gluten-free oats.
The good news is that gluten-free oats are now available in good health food stores (and now many supermarkets) around the world. Note for those in Oz: In Australia they might be labelled ‘uncontaminated’ oats.
I used to find that regular oats made me sleepy, slow and swelled my belly. Then I noticed that gluten-free oats didn’t have any negative effects at all. Hurrah!
If you want to find out what gluten-free oats are please read my article here: Are oats gluten-free or not?
Pumpkin seed benefits
Pumpkin seed is a little treasure trove of goodness, so it’s lovely to add a few to this hemp seed flapjack recipe.
They bring a helpful dose of superfood minerals to your food. Pumpkin seeds are rich in many essential nutrients including…
- magnesium (essential for many functions of the body, such as the heart, bone formation and blood pressure)
- zinc (excellent for the immune system, male sexual health, eye and skin health and insulin regulation)
- omega 3 essential fats (essential for heart health and lowering risk of other diseases)
- tryptophan ( great for mood regulation and sleep support)
Hemp seed benefits
If you’ve been following my site for any time, you’ll probably know that hemp is one of my favourite seeds, showing up daily in my cuisine. I couldn’t help but feature it in my favourite superfood flapjack recipe here.
Hemp seeds have many amazing qualities including…
Protein Power Super Star – one of the most complete proteins in the plant food kingdom, containing ALL 21 known amino acids, including the 9 that humans are unable to produce themselves.
Perfect balance of omega essential fats – with nature’s perfect ratio (3:1) of omega 3 to omega 6 essentially fatty acids.
GLA (gamma linolenic acid) – a really special omega 6 fatty acid that has been shown to help people with skin disorders, PMS, menopause, cancer, heart disease, arthritis and has good anti-inflammatory benefits.
Hempseed is good for skin disorders – I found one study concluding that improvement in cholesterol levels and improved symptoms of atopic dermatitis were directly related to the dietary consumption of hempseed oil.
High in antioxidants – especially vitamin E. It has also been found to contain tocopherol, which benefits both Alzheimer’s and atherosclerosis and phytol which has is known to have both antioxidant and anticancer properties.
Read all about hemp benefits here: Benefits of hemp seeds
Here’s the full hemp seed flapjack recipe…

Hemp & Pumpkin Seed Flapjack (oat bar) sweetened with dates - vegan & gluten-free
A super healthy flapjack recipe using gluten-free oats, pumpkin seeds and hemp seeds. Also called a granola bar, oat bar or muesli bar depending on where you live in the world.
Ingredients
- 100g soft pitted dates (about 12 dates)
- 100ml coconut oil (0.42 cups)
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon almond essence
- 150g gluten-free oats (1 ½ cups)
- 3 tablespoons shelled hemp seeds
- 1 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
- 3 tablespoons ground almonds
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- If your dates are not soft, then soak them ahead of time for at least a couple of hours (until you can easily press and compact them with your fingers).
- Melt the coconut oil and blend with the soft dates, ground flaxseeds, water and almond extract. This will form a smooth puree.
- Mix all ingredients together, with the blended puree from step 1. Combine thoroughly with a spoon. Use your hands if it helps.
- Line a small loaf tin with parchment paper and compact the mixture down really firmly into it.
- Bake on gas mark 6 (200C or 400F) for about 20 minutes (or until slightly tanned on top).
- Allow to cool.
- Slice with a sharp heavy knife and enjoy!
Optional
- When cooled drizzle on some melted chocolate and let it quickly set - if you want to be fancy.
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From USA: What oven degree is gas mark 6?
Hi Joanna,
I do apologise for that – I normally write the conversion on all my recipes these days.
Gas Mark 6 = 400F or 200C
Is any of your recipes broken down for us calorie watchers(weight watcher plus)
Sorry Bernadine, I don’t do the calories. I think lots of others do, so you might find luck elsewhere. My recipes don’t particularly focus on low calories either, just healthy, GF, vegan ingredients, free-from refined sugars.
I’ve always been confused about the word flapjack. Here in the US, flapjacks is sometimes used to describe pancakes! But, these bars look so good and I love that they are packed full of nutritious ingredients. I’m obsessed with hemp seeds!
Ha ha – wonderful to hear you love hemp seeds too (just can’t get enough here either)… yes it’s unfortunate that there is a different meaning for Flapjack in the US – hopefully this helps to clear the confusion 🙂
I lived in England when I was little, and there was a bakery a few doors down from us. They had flapjacks, and my mom would get them often, and she was always telling people that flapjacks were different than what they are in the US. I haven’t had one in ages – I’m super excited to try this recipe and relive part of my childhood!
I just know I would enjoy these, they sound so delicious! And i love that it’s sweetened with dates.
My dad used to call pancakes, flapjacks. 🙂 Whatever they’re called, they look and sound so delicious and healthy. They would be perfect for after my long runs.
These bars look so hearty and I love that chocolate drizzle! I bet they keep you full for ages with all of that goodness in them too!
This looks absolutely delicious. My boys have been wanting to make granola bars and these are perfect for them. Can’t wait to make them!
This will be a great recipe for us to try since pumpkin & hemp seeds are always in our pantry. It’s one of our favorite mix-in since we cannot do nuts.
Such a healthy alternative to the prepackaged bars out there! I definitely go the easy route often and buy them but I need to get to making some!