Chewy Peanut Butter Fruit and Nut Granola Bars

Name: Chewy Peanut Butter Fruit and Nut Granola Bars
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 3 C Thick Rolled Oats (not quick oats, 333 g); 1 1/2 C Mixed Raw (Unsalted Nuts; I use walnuts, pecans, and almonds (210 g)); 1/2 C Raw Sunflower Seeds (76 g); 1/2 C Dried Cranberries (74 g); 1/2 C Dried Apricots (106 g); 1 1/3 C Natural Peanut Butter (crunchy (345 g)); 3/4 C Maple Syrup (230 ml); 1/2 C Brown Rice Syrup (170 ml); 1 tsp Sea Salt; 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract; 4 Tbs Dark Cacao + 2 Tbs Coconut Oil (melted and still warm *see note, I use raw Cacao)

By Traci 71 Comments

Chewy Peanut Butter Fruit and Nut Granola Bars are packed with toasted oats and nuts, dried fruit and sweetened with maple and brown rice syrup. vegan + easily gluten free.

Rob’s been sick with a dreadful winter cold. Luckily it wasn’t the flu. I’ve been drinking copious amounts of this citrus ginger mint green smoothie, to avoid any bug that might encroach. Despite my tactics, I woke Saturday morning with a nasty sore throat. I don’t remember the last time I was sick.

Thing is I really don’t feel terrible over all, just enough to slow me down rolling out of bed or to tire me a bit earlier in the evening. Perhaps my body is responding better because of the smoothies? It’s hard to tell.

But despite my mild cold, I still went for long walks. We’ve been having sprinkly, and relatively warm weather lately making it really nice to head outside; my inspiration for these grab n’ go chewy granola bars. I guess being back outdoors regularly for some exercise has made me feel like Spring is not too far away.

Song birds have started singing their sweet melodic songs again, our camellia is about to bloom and the short days are slowly, but noticeably, getting longer.

One of my favorite things to have on hand is grab n’ go snacks (so much so I wrote a recipe book on the subject!). Things I can put together relatively quickly and is easily portable. You’ve seen them floating around Vanilla And Bean; from pumpkin kasha energy bites and maple pecan granola to bourbon date nut truffles (sub espresso for bourbon for non celebratory snacks!).

Besides fruit, nuts or dreaded grab the bag of black pepper Kettle chips and ~~eat a few~~ devour the whole bag, I like to have better-for-me options on hand.

A Few Recipe Notes

These are not no bake granola bars, y’all. Toasting the nuts, seeds and oats prior to assembly brings out deeper nutty flavors and textures. It’s worth the effort.
These bars are chewy, yet have a nice crunch from the nuts and seeds, naturally sweetened with maple and brown rice syrup.
Drizzle with chocolate, either bittersweet or semisweet (I went with raw cacao). This is optional, depending on your needs. I find the chocolate can get messy if it’s warm out!
These Peanut Butter Granola Bars store for weeks in the fridge and are easily portable (sans chocolate). They are also vegan and optionally gluten free.

Peanut Butter Fruit and Nut Granola Bars drizzled with chocolate on a wire rack. A bowl of chocolate for drizzling beside the bars.

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5 from 6 votes