Easy Granola Bars Recipe with Cranberries and Nuts

January 25, 2022Melanie

Granola bars are the perfect snack to go. A real power snack that you can combine as you like. The vegan and gluten free granola bars do not contain refined sugar and consist mainly of oats, nuts, seeds and cranberries. This is such a delicious combination, plus the bars are so easy to make. The recipe works completely without baking,or if you like it more crunchy, you can simply prepare these in the oven.

Granola Bars – The perfect snack to-go

The vegan granola bars with cranberries and nuts are perfect as a quick snack. The bars are healthy as well as filling due to the variety of ingredients. Bars in the supermarket are often full of hidden additives and contain plenty of sugar. In addition, you often get only four bars in a package. In contrast, this recipe contains 12 granola bars, so you save money, the granola bars do not contain hidden additives and they are much healthier. The recipe is very easy to prepare and the granola bars can be stored for a long time.

The vegan granola bars contain a lot of fiber, vitamins and proteins, as well as a natural sweetness.

By the way, the recipe is suitable for the whole family!

More delicious healthy snack to-go recipes:

Vegan granola bars – A simple basic recipe

The granola bars can be easily modified depending on what ingredients you like best! That’s what I love about this recipe.

The following ingredients are important for the basic recipe:

Oats are the base of the bars. I also like to use millet flakes. Both grains contain iron.

Nuts/nut butter make the bars tasty, high in protein and filling because of the healthy fats.

Seeds are rich in nutrients. I often add flax or chia seeds.

Dried fruits are rich in vitamin C. I used canberries, they are my favorite. But raisins or dates also work very well.

If you bake the granola bars, coconut oil makes them crunchy. Coconut oil also keeps the granola bars together.

Syrup: It’s best to use a liquid sweetener to keep the granola bars in form such as date or maple syrup.

Other ingredients: Shredded coconut, salt, chocolate chips.

If you try another variation of the granola bars, please let me know in the comments!

Easy homemade Granola Bars

1. STEP: Chop and mix the ingredients

Chop the nuts and seeds in a food processor (or chopper) and cut the cranberries into small pieces with a knife. In a mixing bowl, mix the dry ingredients together.

2. STEP: Make granola bar dough

Melt coconut oil together with date syrup and nut puree in a saucepan. Now add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix everything together well.

3. STEP: Form the granola bars

Spread the granola bar dough either in a pre-made granola bar mold or place the entire dough on your baking sheet or baking dish lined with baking paper.

4. STEP: Freeze or Bake

You can either make crunchy granola bars or choose the no-bake version. Personally, I love granola bars to have a soft texture, so I prefer the no-bake granola bars. Otherwise, freeze the granola bars directly or bake them for about 15 – 20 minutes. After that let them cool down!

Storage

Store the granola bars in an airtight container, this way the bars will keep for up to two weeks (if the bars last that long… definitely not for me :). It’s best to keep them in a cool dry place. However In the freezer you can store the bars for about three months.

How do you like this recipe?

I would be very happy to get feedback from you! If you try this recipe, please leave me a comment with a ⭐️ rating. Are you active on Instagram? If you post a picture of this recipe, please link it to me with @plantiful.heart so I can see your creation!

Granola Bars with Cranberries and Nuts

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snacks

Cuisine: Deutschland

Keyword: Granola Bars, Healthy Oatmeal Bars, Müsli, Nuts, Vegan Bars

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 25

Servings: 12 Bars

Author: Melanie

Ingredients

100 gr (100 gr) Oats
50 gr (50 gr) Millet flakes OPTIONAL or 150 gr Oats
80 gr (80 gr) Cashew nuts crushed
50 gr (50 gr) Cranberries chopped
30 gr (30 gr) Pumpkin seeds crushed
15 gr (15 gr) Flax seeds ground
90 ml (3.04 floz) Date Syrup Alternative: Maple Syrup
30 ml (1.01 floz) Coconut oil
30 gr (30 gr) Almond butter
1 pinch of (1 pinch of) Salt
20 gr (20 gr) Shredded coconut OPTIONAL
20 gr (20 gr) Chocolate chips OPTIONAL
1 tbsp (1 tbsp) Cinnamon OPTIONAL

Instructions

Crush the nuts and seeds in a food processor and cut the cranberries into small pieces with a knife. In a mixing bowl, mix oats and millet flakes, nuts, pumpkin seeds and flax seeds together.
Melt coconut oil together with date syrup and nut butter in a pot. Now add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix everything together.
Spread the granola bar dough either in a pre-made granola bar mold or fit the entire dough to your baking sheet or baking dish lined with baking paper.
You can choose to make crunchy granola bars or the "no bake" version. Personally, I love it when the granola bars have a soft texture, so I prefer the granola bars without baking. Otherwise, freeze the granola bars directly or bake them for about 15 – 20 minutes. After that let them cool down!
Without baking – Freeze the dough for 20 – 30 minutes. This will make the bars firm. Cut the dough into 12 even bars. Store these in an airtight container either in the fridge or in the freezer. I personally prefer to store them in the freezer :-).
With baking – Bake the granola bars for about 15 – 20 minutes at 338 °F. Be careful not to let the bars get too dark. Let the dough cool completely so that the granola bars become really firm and cut the dough into even bars.