So I’m doing a juice & food cleanse right now. I’m SUPER excited about it because as you may already know I freakin’ love doing them. It’s not that I think they’re great in the moment, it’s just that I really love how I feel afterwards. The benefits? How clear my skin looks, how much great sleep I get and how differently I end up thinking about food.
I’ll have updates for you on the cleanse soon; in the meantime I’ve been staring at these bars on the counter all of yesterday. I made them last week for Tony because he’s all like I need to get in shape for baseball season — this is as he continues to eat chocolate covered doughnuts for breakfast. I think he could eat just about anything and still look good. No joke.
Anyway these bars are everything I’ve wanted to make for a very long time. My granola bar obsession peaked when my friend Maegan and I traveled around Kansas City. We had the most incredible coconut granola bar at Kaldi’s coffee and ever since then I’ve been dying to make my own.
The wonderful part about granola bars is that you can basically add anything to them that you’d like. This one is fairly simple. The base is made up of oats, honey and a nut butter. The rest? Up to you! You can basically sub any kind of nut for the cashews and whatever kind of dried fruit you’d like for the cranberries. Personally, I think cherries would be fabulous. Or if you want to get real delicious, add some mini chocolate chips. GOD THAT SOUNDS GOOD. ALL OF IT SOUNDS SO GOOD.
Sorry about that caps. Did I mention I’m writing this late at night and dreaming about my usual late night snack of peanut butter, banana and chocolate chips? Also, remember the juice/food cleanse. Forgive me for any spelling errors. I love you.
And… I hope you love these bars! They are FILLING, nutritious and wholesome. If you make them be sure to tag #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram so I can check ’em out. xoxo.
More healthy snack recipes you’ll love:
Sea Salt Cashew Butter Chocolate Protein Bars
Peanut Butter Cup Protein Bars
No Bake Superfood Brownie Energy Bars + video
Coconut & Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars
Toasted Quinoa, Dried Fig & Dark Chocolate Nut Free Granola Bars
Chewy Coconut Cashew Almond Granola Bars (gluten free!)
Healthy no-bake gluten free granola bars packed with cashews, coconut and cranberries. These are a wonderful wholesome snack or on the go breakfast.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats
- 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1 cup unsalted cashew halves
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup honey (brown rice syrup if vegan)
- 1/2 cup unsalted creamy almond butter
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
-
Line a 9-inch square pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl combine oats, cashews, coconut, chia seeds and dried cranberries.
-
Place medium saucepan over medium low heat and add in honey, almond butter, coconut oil, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla; stir until warm and coconut oil is melted with almond butter.
-
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir well to combine and coat the oat/cashew/coconut mixture. Transfer mixture to prepared pan and press firmly down to pack bars tightly and ensure they stick together. The harder you press, the more they will stick together -- so press them in very firmly!
-
Place pan in fridge for 1-2 hours or until firm. If you'd like to speed up the process, place the pan in the freezer for 10 minutes. s.
-
Cut into 16 bars. Bars will keep at room temperature for a week, or longer in the fridge. I like to individually wrap my bars in plastic wrap for grab and go snacks during the week - or keep a few in my car for post workout
Recipe Notes
You can also bake these if you like crunchy bars: Bake for 10-15 minutes or until firm then remove from oven and keep at room temperature to cool. Don't bake longer or they will become very hard.
Feel free to sub another nut instead of cashews and use any type of nut butter you'd like in place of the almond butter. These granola bars are very adaptable! Try dried cherries or apricots instead of cranberries!
36 comments
These look so so so yummy… My family always makes fun of me because every time I fall in love with a dish from a restaurant, I HAVE to come straight home and try to recreate it… Haha 😉
I’m the same way!! 🙂
These manage to incorporate a lot of my faves from the coconut to the cashews and almond butter. I can’t wait to try these out!
Thanks for sharing!
Ahhh what is it about men and food?! My boyfriend is the same way, he could eat 2 burritos like it’s nothing and still looks amazing!! Thanks for the granola bar recipe 🙂
These granola bars look absolutely delicious. Pinning now.
Love this idea!
Such a cool post! Love this post!
Love from  www.trangscorner.com – a lifestyle, cooking, fashion blog
Hi Monique
If I’d replace the almond butter with peanut butter, will I need to replace the coconut flakes as well? Can peanut and coconut coexist in the same recipe? What would you suggest?
I replaced the cranberries with raisins and will use less honey next time as the bars were too sweet for a snack or breakfast.
Very filling and delicious though.
Thank you for the recipe!
You can leave the coconut flakes out if you want or keep them in – up to you. The texture of the coconut is nice. You could try switching to brown rice syrup if it is too sweet; remember the honey acts as the binder! Enjoy!
I love making trail mix with cranberries, cashews and almonds, so this sounds delicious! Even more so because of the coconut and toasty oats. Mmm.
These are very nice with dried plums. Thank you!
Not a fan. Wrong measurements and wasted ingredients because I had to add more to make it kind of work out.
Thank you. Great recipe, all the measurements worked well and the second time I made it with almonds instead and I enjoyed that combination even more. Great that no baking is required.
What temp?
Hi Sharobba! You don’t have to bake these but if you want to, I recommend 325 degrees F.
Hi, Can these be frozen?
Absolutely!
I too would want to cut down on the sugar in this recipe but realize the honey acts as a binder. Any suggestions on how bulk up the binder without upping the sugar?? (I don’t use brown rice syrup as it has a very high glycemic index and is essentially devoid of nutrients)
I’ve been loving coconut palm syrup. It’s low GI and so good!
These were so good! I can’t wait to play around with the flavors when I make them again.
Why do you have to use unsweetened coconut?
Hello, can I make this with something other than oats? Thanks so much-karen
These bars are dabomb.com 🙂 and I will try a batch the that coconut syrup you mentioned as I thought it called for too much honey for a morning breakfast! Any other favorite options for breakfast on the go bars that you love? These are so yummy!!!
These were great! 5 stars for taste!
The ingredients did not stick together well and I ended up with a delightful bowl of granola pieces. (I promise I ‘pressed’ them as much as I could. ) Any additional suggestions for next time? I did not bake.
I have been following your blog but had not made any of your recipes – that is until today. I tried these and the PB balls. They were also a winner!
Thank you for this recipe. I made coconut almond granola bars this week and baked them to bring out the nutty flavors, but I suggested that my readers could skip baking if they were short on time. I’m glad to see your popular no-bake recipe, which means the baking must be optional. Thanks!
https://israelisalad.wordpress.com/2017/02/08/tu-bshvat-and-groundhog-day-food-for-thought/
I loved these… did 1/2 sliced almonds and 1/2 cashew pieces. So if I get this right brown rice syrup will be less sweet and make them stick more? I used less honey then called for and they were still too sweet. I am not used to any sugar in my diet except starchy veggies. I mIxed a small amount of maple syrup.
Glad you loved these! Brown rice syrup is a vegan substitute for the honey here, so it will have a very similar consistency and sweetness.
I have wheat, oat, barley and rice allergies…do you have a suggestion for a substitute for the oats based on that? They sound really good!
Unfortunately with the consistency in this recipe oats are the best option to hold them together! I haven’t tried these with a substitute.
Everyone who has tried these have loved them!
So happy to hear that!!
perfect no bake recipe!
Everyone loved these, including my 16 month old. Can’t wait to try some of your other granola bar recipes!
So happy to hear that! 🙂
I didn’t listen to you, I tried it with 1/4 cup maple syrup. It did not work 😛 but it turned out to be my favorite granola recipe ever!! I baked it for 12 minutes, it doesn’t hold into a bar, but it’s still delicious!!
I’m glad it still worked as a delicious granola! 🙂
These were delicious and simple. I left out the chia seeds because I didn’t have any and also the dried cranberries (because my kids aren’t big fans). Even leaving out these ingredients, I thought these were still delcious, thanks!