Homemade Snack Bars Recipe

Last updated on December 18, 2021 by Liza Hawkins

After hearing my sister rave about these homemade snack bars for a few weeks in a row, I asked if she’d mind sharing the recipe here — and, lucky for us, she accepted the challenge. Enjoy these easy-to-make, vegan, gluten free, tasty treats!

I always need a snack at work sometime between breakfast and lunch. Always. I usually carry a piece of fruit, but that doesn’t always fill me up. So, a month or two ago, I decided to try making snack bars. Obviously I need it to be tasty, but I also need it to be a recipe that is easy enough for me to want to make it each week.

I looked at lots of recipes for homemade Larabars and Clif Bars and tested a few out. I’ve settled on the recipe below and I make them every week! It’s a very flexible recipe so you can adapt it to what you like.

And, as I’d hoped for, its SUPER easy. It only takes about ten minutes from start to finish (including cleanup!) and another five or so minutes after they come out of the fridge!

Homemade Snack Bars

Here are some tips:

• The pan is lined with parchment and I save the liner for at least three or four uses. If you don’t have parchment, I’m sure foil or wax paper would work just as well.
• You don’t have to use cherries, you can use apricots, or cranberries, or any other sticky/moist dried fruit — or a combo of multiple! But I would stick to using 1-1/4 cup dates since they are the perfect consistency to hold everything together.
• If you want to make a lot, double the recipe and use a 9×13-inch pan.
• I live near an awesome middle eastern grocery store where I can find all of these ingredients in bulk. If you can find something similar, it makes these super cheap — less than a dollar per bar!

Now for the photos. Lots and lots of photos! (Don’t worry; keep scrolling for the recipe at the end.)

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Yield: 9-12 bars

Snack Bars Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

These homemade snack bars are like Larabars meets Clif Bars!

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Ingredients

• 3/4 cup roasted, salted almonds
• 1/2 cup roasted, salted cashews
• 1/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• 1 1/4 cup medjool dates
• 1 cup dried cherries
• coconut flakes

Instructions

1. Line a square baking pan with parchment and set aside.
2. Place the almonds, cashews, and pumpkin seeds in the food processor. Pulse until very finely chopped, but before they turn to nut butter. Set aside in a small bowl.
3. Place dates and other dried fruit in the food processor. Pulse until they form a paste (if they jam up in the processor, just spread them back out).
4. Pour the nuts into the processor with the dried fruit and pulse until it's thoroughly combined. When it's ready it will look uniformly mixed and crumbly.
5. Pour the mixture into the pan and press it down with your fingers until it's evenly spread out. Sprinkle the coconut on top and press it firmly with a rubber spatula. (Sometimes I substitute whole pumpkins seeds for the coconut on top.)
6. Refrigerate for about an hour to help the bars firm up. Once chilled, remove them from the pan and the parchment and slice into bars.
7. Wrap in plastic wrap or parchment and they're ready for snacking!

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 241Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 108mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 4gSugar: 28gProtein: 4g