No-Bake Red Bean Energy Bars

I was excited to see this interesting use of canned azuki beans (sweetened red bean paste/tsubushian). We’re big fans of azuki in our house and it’s easy to find in grocery stores in Hawaii. I used oatmeal, a mix of sesame/chia/hemp/flax seeds, coconut & homemade dried starfruit. The ingredients in the can of beans I have is simply beans, water, sugar and salt, which surprised me. Anyway, my husband really liked it and we contemplated making cookie balls that could be rolled in ground black sesame seeds or cinnamon. He said I should just leave it as is in the fridge and it will surely disappear, so that’s what I’m going to do. Bottom line: If you love Japanese azuki sweets you’ll probably enjoy this a lot. :-)

Liz - Sept. 4, 2023, 8:19 p.m.

Update!! My 16 yo daughter tried it and suggested adding peanut butter. In Hawaii one very popular mochi treat has PB in the middle so the azuki/PB combo seems natural to her. She mixed a bunch in and now it’s even more decadent! No joke - while I was writing this my husband started eating it with a spoon for breakfast! Lol! I think we’re going to roll the “batter” into balls rather than bars. It’ll be a great treat all week!

PUL Team - Sept. 4, 2023, 10:33 p.m.

Aww thank you so much for taking the time to share, Liz! What a lovely idea from your not-so-little one too. We'll be sure to give it a try 😎

Phillipa - Nov. 3, 2023, 7:24 p.m.

I'm definitely going to search out some red bean paste over here in Germany after reading your review Liz!