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. This recipe is vegetarian, vegan and 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. 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.
Chewy Peanut Butter Fruit and Nut Granola Bars Recipe
Ingredients
For the Bars:
- 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
For Drizzling (optional):
- 4 Tbs Dark Cacao + 2 Tbs Coconut Oil melted and still warm *see note, I use raw Cacao
Instructions
For the Bars:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet pan with parchment and pour the oats on so that they are spread evenly. Toast the oats for 25-30 minutes or until golden and toasty. On a separate pan, toast all the nuts for 18-20 and on a third separate pan, toast the seeds for 15-20 minutes or until golden and toasty. We want to keep the nuts and sunflower seeds separated as the nuts will be chopped and the sunflower seeds need to remain whole. (round cake pans work well here).
- Line a 13"x9" baking dish with parchment paper. Secure the parchment paper to the two long sides with clips.
- While the nuts, seeds and oats are toasting, rough chop the cranberries and apricots. Add them to a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
- In a 2 quart sauce pan, mix the peanut butter, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, salt and vanilla extract until all the ingredients come together. Gently warm the mixture on low just until it is pourable. If needed, use a whisk to get the ingredients to come together.
- Add the toasted oats and sunflower seeds to the large mixing bowl with the dried fruit. Rough chop the nuts and add them to the dried fruit/oat/nut mixture in the large mixing bowl.
- Pour the peanut butter mixture over the dry ingredients and mix throughly.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish, spreading it evenly in the dish. Use your hands to press the mixture in. The firmer the press, the better!
- Refrigerate the granola for at least 1 1/2 hours or freeze for 30 minutes.
- Lift the granola out of the pan using the parchment as handles. Cut into 1 1/2" x 4" bars.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or freezer for up to a month.
For the Drizzle (optional):
- Mix the cacao and warmed oil in a small bowl. Mix until ingredients are incorporated. Drizzle over the granola bars. Pop in the fridge for a few minutes to allow chocolate to set.
Notes
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
I have made these several times over the last year. I absolutely love I don’t change a thing in the recipe kat
Hi Kat! Thank you so much for your note – I’m so happy to hear you’re enjoying these scrumptious bars!
Hey Traci! I am FINALLY getting around to trying these today! Of course, I do not have several of the ingredients, but I went for it anyway. They are chilling now. And smell so good! (I didn’t have dried apricots so I replaced with chopped, dried figs and a little chopped coconut. Also, didn’t have rice syrup…or enough maple syrup! So I did a mixture of maple syrup, golden syrup, raw honey, and brown sugar! eek….Okay, so now you are wondering if these are really even your bars! haha…But I can’t wait to taste them. And next time I get out I am going to get the correct ingredients!) Thanks for the lovely recipe. I am always excited to try new bar recipes.
Thank you for sharing, Andrea! Love the addition of figs and coconut!
Hi I tried these and they are absolutely delicious – I had to swop out the brown rice syrup as I wasn’t able to find any (joys of living in Africa!). I passed on to some friends who are now pestering me to make them some. Thanks a lot so great to get an easy and yummy recipe. Keep them coming !
So happy to hear, Penny! Can you share with us what you used instead of brown rice syrup? Thank you for sharing your success! :D
Fantastic, Alexandra! So happy you and your son enjoyed the bars. I think almond butter is a fabulous idea! I think I’ll try it too! Thanks for the tip and for sharing! :D
Thanks for the note Alexandra. I wonder if reducing the maple syrup by half would make them a bit firmer? Perhaps I’ll experiment. :D