These Homemade Cranberry Almond Granola Bars are the perfect healthy breakfast or snack to have on hand! They’re loaded with nuts, cranberries and a chocolate drizzle for good measure.
Gluten Free Cranberry Almond Granola Bars
The amount of money I spend on granola bars is ridiculous y’all. It’s an easy snack that I can pack for Cason during the week while he’s at school, but still. One to two boxes a week is a lot. And then sometimes Mike and I will snack on them as well.
Well, no more of that. I’m making my own from now on. Save a little money and than I know exactly what’s going in them!
Ok, now before I have the “nut nazi’s” attack me. Yes, these granola bars I probably couldn’t send with him to school. They are loaded with nuts, hello nut allergies. But they still are down right delicious! Cason will usually grab one of these after he comes home from school. The kid is famished as soon as he walks in the door and immediately says “mommy I’m hunnnn- gry.”
These Cranberry Almond Homemade Granola Bars are my go to. The texture is on point, the sweetness level isn’t too much and then they’re drizzled with chocolate. Just to be extra enticing. 🙂 But honestly, you don’t really even need the chocolate, there is enough flavor in the granola bars themselves.
But a little chocolate never hurt anyone. hehe
These bars kinda remind me of the KIND bars you can buy at the grocery store. All nuts, no grain, some dry fruit, and a little sweetener to bind everything together.
How to Make These Healthy Granola Bars
For the sweetener in this recipe, I used both agave and Splenda Brown Sugar Blend. It has the perfect amount of sweetness to it and then I added a hint of cinnamon to go along with the pepitas and cranberries, which remind me of fall.
Half of the nut mixture you put in a blend and pulse until it looks like rice and the other half you add to a bowl in whole form. Mix everything together, so there is a texture difference when you’re biting into these bars.
They are baked in the oven so they harden up and are grab-able. I found that if you put them in the refrigerator after baking they harden up even more. Plus it makes it easier to cut and the chocolate drizzle sticks to the bars a little better. Otherwise, they can be a little “bendy.”
But who cares if they’re delicious. At least that’s the way I think!
We’ve indulged on these bars for breakfast, a mid-day snack and even dessert in the evening. I know you’re going to love them!
I gave these bars to the crossing guards at Cason’s school (don’t you wish you worked near my house so you could get all the baked goods …. hahaha) and one of them asked for the recipe the next day. She absolutely loves them and has made them twice already since I’ve seen her.
Hope you give these a shot soon. They’re definitely a winner when it comes to flavor!
Bon Appetit friends!
Homemade Cranberry Almond Granola Bars
- Prep Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 30 bars 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These Homemade Cranberry Almond Granola Bars are the perfect healthy breakfast or snack to have on hand! They’re loaded with nuts, cranberries and a chocolate drizzle for good measure.
Ingredients
- 1 cups raw cashews
- 1 1/2 cups raw almonds
- 1 cup raw pecans
- 1 cup raw pepitas
- 3/4 unsweetened dry cranberries
- 1/4 cup splenda natural brown sugar
- 1/3 cup agave nectar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 2 oz. (1/4 cup) dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare a 9×13 inch baking dish by lining it with parchment paper.
- To a food processor add 1/2 cup raw cashews, 1/2 cup raw almonds, 1/2 cup raw pecans, and 1/4 cup unsweetened dry cranberries. Pulse 5-6 times until the mixture has a “rice like” consistency.
- Add the chopped mixture to a large bowl with the remaining cashews, almonds, pecans, pepitas, and cranberries. Set aside.
- To a small saucepan, add splenda brown sugar, agave nectar, vanilla extract, cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Stir and bring mixture to a simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Turn the mixture off. Remove from heat and immediately pour over the nut mixture. Stir quickly to cover all the nuts with and sugar mixture.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Press mixture into the bottom of the pan. (if you’re hands are wet it helps the mixture not to stick, or you could use wax paper on top to push it down)
- Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 30 minutes in the pan. (this is the hard part, letting it cool)
- Then add chocolate chips to a small bowl. Melt in the microwave in 30 second increments until completely melted and smooth. Evenly spread the chocolate over the top of the bars. Let cool for another 30 minutes in the refrigerator before serving.
- Cut and devour!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 120
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 6 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 10 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE, BE SURE TO SNAP A PIC AND HASHTAG IT #JOYFULHEALTHYEATS. I LOVE SEEING WHAT YOU MAKE!
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