This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds
I’ve got the warm weather buzz right now.
And you’d better believe that I am living up every sunny, spring-y, scrumptious minute of it.
Waking up earlier in the mornings to soak up every last Vitamin-D filled ray? Check. Working out harder and taking my pup out for walks in said sunshine every day? Bring it on. Planning extra patio coffee dates and happy hours and back deck grill-outs galore? Heck yes. Breaking out the tank tops and flip flops and sundresses? Every day. Filling up my grocery cart with fresher, seasonal, healthier foods to cook with? Yes, yes, deliciously, yes.
I mean, it’s no secret — winter and I have never been on good terms, and most years it feels like a Herculean effort (I wish I were being dramatic) to slog my way to the finish line of Daylight Savings. But oh man, every new year that spring arrives, I appreciate it all the more. And want to soak it up all the more. And want to celebrate it all the more. And want to live up every single freaking second of it all the more.
So! A big part of that, of course, means getting my days off to a good start. Since I’m not naturally a morning person, quick and easy breakfasts tend to be my best shot at eating well first thing in the morning, all the better if they’re pre-made. So lately that has meant a nice cup of pre-prepared cold brew coffee, plus one of my favorite energy-packed treats that I can make in advance — these Cranberry Almond Protein Bars.
While we were living in Austin during the month of February, I got re-hooked on eating my favorite store-bought fruit and nut bars for quick breakfasts. And…then the habit followed me back to Kansas City. I love a good fruit and nut bar. Especially when cranberries and almonds are involved.
But at nearly $2 a pop, I quickly decided that there must be a better homemade alternative. So after researching around online and fiddling with a handful of different recipes, I finally settled on a base fruit and nut bar recipe that worked for me. It’s not exactly like the ones I bought at the store, but after having some friends taste-test them last night, one of them said the magic words I was thinking — “these are even better than the bars at the store.”
Bingo.
To make them, I assembled all of my favorite sweet and salty fruit and nut bar base ingredients:
- almonds (I’m a big fan of the salty Blue Diamond Oven Roasted Sea Salt Almonds)
- dried cranberries (for a touch of natural sweetness)
- puffed rice cereal (for that puffy crunch)
- unsweetened coconut flakes (optional, but I love ’em)
- an extra protein booster (I went with hemp seeds here, but chia or ground flax seeds would also work)
Then I whipped up the magic sauce that binds all of these ingredients together, using naturally sweetened (and gluten-free) brown rice syrup, honey and a bit of vanilla. Then — very quickly — poured it over the nut mixture, stirred it all up, and then pressed it into a parchment-lined baking pan to form a bar.
(Note — time is of the essence here. This sauce hardens very quickly, so once it’s ready, you’ve gotta mix and press these babies into the pan as ninja-quickly as possible.)
Then once the bars sat and cooled to room temperature…
I chopped them into individual-serving-sized bars.
And I must say, I had to do a double-take. They looked just like my favorite bars I buy at the store! And they tasted even better, especially knowing with 100% assurance exactly how much of each ingredient went into them. Plus, they were easy to customize, came together in less than 30 minutes, and rang in at less than half the cost each of their store-bought counterparts.
I call that win-win-win.
Alright, spring. Let’s do this.
Cranberry Almond Protein Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups Blue Diamond Almonds (I used Blue Diamond Oven Roasted Sea Salt Almonds*)
- 2/3 cup puffed rice cereal**
- 2/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1 heaping tablespoon hemp seeds (optional)
- 1/3 cup brown rice syrup
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, store-bought or homemade
Instructions
- Line an 8 x 8 baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add almonds, puffed rice cereal, cranberries, coconut, and hemp seeds (if using), and toss to combine. Set aside.
- Stir brown rice syrup, honey and vanilla together in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat until boiling, stirring occasionally. Then let the sauce boil for 4-5 minutes, or until it reaches about 260 degrees, stirring occasionally. (The sauce will bubble up quite a bit, so keep an eye on it.) Once it’s ready, pour it evenly over the almond mixture and very quickly stir the mixture until it is evenly coated with the sauce. It hardens quickly, so you’ll need to move fast!
- Quickly transfer the mixture to the lined baking dish, and press it firmly into the dish in an even layer. (I used the bottom of a measuring cup to help press the mixture down into the pan.) Let the bars cool for 30 minutes or until they reach room temperature. (You can speed up this process a bit by placing them in the refrigerator if you’d like.) Then carefully lift up the parchment paper from the baking dish and transfer it (with the bars) to a cutting board. Cut the bars into your desired shapes and sizes. Then place in a sealed container and store at room temperature until ready to eat.
- The bars will last up to 10 days. Or if you freeze them, they will last up to 3 months.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below! This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds. I’m a big fan of their line of almond snacks, and all opinions are 100% my own as always. Thanks for continuing to support the brands that help make this site possible!
Made these today. Added a bit of cinnamon and they are so good. Have already gone back to the pantry twice! I added cashews, used coconut, and found Kamut puffs (another whole grain, lots of protein). I used twice the amount of brown rice syrup and honey in order for all my ingredients to come together. I have a new gas cooktop and found 260 degrees too hot for the syrup mixture. I pulled mine at 230 and it mixed much better. You are not kidding with how fast you need to be when mixing in the hot syrup. I used extra parchment paper to press my bars down with, a very very sticky situation! Tip: Make sure to use silicon spatula/spoon and have pan right next to the stove and bowl for quick dumping, and use hot hot hot water for cleanup.
Thanks for sharing with us Caitlin! We’re happy to hear you enjoyed them! Thanks also for your tip. :)
These look quite tasty! Do you have any recommendations to make them friendly for a 2-year old? I’m a little nervous to give him whole almonds and curious if it would work to put them in a food processor to break them up just a bit?
These look so good. I’m going to make them today. Thanks for sharing another yummy recipe!
Thanks Lainie, we hope you enjoy them! :)
I made these over the weekend. Oh my goodness, are they good! I eat a Kind bar just about every day. I will definitely make these frequently. Instead of puffed rice (which I couldn’t find) I used one of the Kashi cereals. hanks for the recipe.
Thank you Amy, we’re so happy you enjoyed them! :D
How can you claim these are high protein bars when you fail to list the nutrition information. I am diabetic and that nutrition information is vital. I will not make a recipe without it, no matter how good the recipe appears. I will not recommend your site to anyone. Vonnie
Hi Vonnie, we’re sorry you feel that way. We hope you’ll understand the reason we currently aren’t publishing nutrition facts on the site is that the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate. We never want to publish anything that might be misleading, especially for someone who has any health concerns. Several of our readers like to use the My Fitness Pal app, which you may found helpful in providing a fairly close estimate. Otherwise, it might be best to consult with your specialist first, just to be safe!
Do you have any nutritional information for your recipes?
Hi Charlotte! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
I love these recipes, but nobody ever lists the nutritional content such as calories, fat, protein, etc. Could you please let me know what it is for these bars. Thanks.
Hey there! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. The reason we currently aren’t publishing nutrition facts on the site is that the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate. We never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
Where do you find brown rice syrup?
Hi Paula! You should be able to find it in the baking aisle of most grocery stores. We know Whole Foods definitely carries it!
This looks delicious! I left the coconut out because I don’t like it, and I added a few dark chocolate chips…I know, but dark chocolate is good for you in small quantities, right?!?! Also, I used rolled oats instead of puffed rice, and I couldn’t find rice syrup in the store, so I used all honey. I added a dash of cinnamon, and used ground flax instead of hemp (only because it’s what I had in the house.) Can’t wait to have one tomorrow! Thanks for the recipe!
That all sounds awesome Melissa, thanks for sharing with us! We’re happy you were able to play around with the recipe and make these your own! :)
Is there any nutrition info?
Hi! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!