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Mar 6, 2018 By Stacie Hassing

No-Bake Fruit & Nut Granola Bars

Dairy-Free
Egg-Free
Gluten-free
Vegan
Vegetarian
Jump to Recipe

Made with just 7 ingredients, No-Bake Fruit & Nut Granola Bars are quick to make, budget-friendly and great for lunch boxing & afternoon snacking.

This post was made possible by our friends at Made In Nature!

Granola Bars stacked on a white square plate.

Healthy snacking made simple and delicious!

No-Bake Fruit & Nut Granola Bars are prepared in less than 10 minutes and made all in one bowl. Thanks to the quick oats, there is no food-processing needed making that one less dirty dish you’ll have to wash…a win in my book! You’re going to love the simple combination of your favorite nut butter, quick oats, the added crunch from crisp rice (aka: Rice Crispies) cereal, the touch of sweetness from the honey, the flavors from the Made In Nature dried fruit, the nuts as well as the chocolate chips and a dash of cinnamon if you wish.

Homemade granola bars on parchment paper.

And what’s better than knowing exactly what’s going into your food? When you purchase a box of granola bars, not only is it more expensive (we’ll get to that topic in sec.) but the ingredient list can get pretty lengthy, full of uncertain ingredients and added processed sugar is almost always a given. Additionally, making homemade granola bars is super easy, it’s fun, it’s versatile and it’s the perfect recipe to get kids involved in the kitchen.

Homemade granola bars on parchment paper.

Save money by making your own granola bars. No-Bake Fruit & Nut Granola are perfect for lunch boxing and afternoon snacking! @MadeInNature Click To Tweet

Made In Nature snacks are available at Wal-Mart!

That’s right, you know we love our Made In Nature dried fruits & snacks and now they are available nationwide at Wal-Mart stores. Right, smack dab in the middle of the produce section! How convenient.

Made In Nature does not “mess around with food. Nature got it right the first time, and they’ve got mad respect for that”. We love that about Made In Nature and also that they’re products are USDA Certified Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, made with no sulfurs, additives or preservatives, and allergy & vegan friendly. So hit up your local Wal-Mart and grab yourself a bag of Made In Nature dried fruits or snacks. The Nutter & Jelly Nut Butter Figgy Pops are my personal favorite. In fact, they were even featured in our exclusive newsletter that we send out once a month to our subscribers. In that newsletter we include 5 things we’re loving lately.

Made In Nature Fruit Fusion

Bag of Made In Nature Fruit Fusion with trail mix coming out of bag.

A budget-friendly recipe. 

If you’re conscious of your spending like Jess and I are, or maybe you have a grocery budget you try to stick to, another perk of making your own granola bars is that it’s incredibly budget-friendly. And with Wal-Mart having such great prices and now offering a number of Organic food options, it results to even a greater savings! Lets compare purchasing a box of granola bars with making your own…..

The cost of a box of 6 organic granola bars is $3.29. That’s $.54/bar.

Now lets break down the cost of making the No-Bake Fruit & Nut Granola Bars:

  • 2 cups Great Value Quick Oats ($.50)
  • 1 cup Great Value Rice Crispies ($.12)
  • 1 cup Great Value Organic Natural Peanut Butter ($.57)
  • 1/4 cup Great Value Organic Raw Honey ($.66)
  • 1/2 cup Made In Nature Fruit Fusion such as Mountain Gold Superfuel Blend ($1.59)
  • 1/4 cup allergy-friendly mini chocolate chips ($1.02)
  • 1 Tbsp. chia seeds ($.20)

All items purchased at Wal-Mart.

Total: $4.66 ($.29 for 1/16 of the recipe or 1 bar)  

By making your own granola bars, you reduce the cost by 46%. I’d say that’s worth 10 minutes of your time.

If you liked how we broke down the cost of the recipe and compared it the store-purchased version, please let us know in the comments below and we’ll do our best to continue to share this kind of information.

Mix-and-match your favorite ingredients.

Like our Trail Mix Energy Bites, No-Bake Fruit & Nut Granola Bars are very versatile in that you can mix-and match your favorite ingredients or use what you have on hand. For instance you can use whatever nut butter you like (I’ve made them with both peanut butter and cashew butter), you can change up the dried fruit and nuts, and you can make them nut-free by using sunflower seed butter and a combination of Made In Nature Dried Fruit and seeds of your choice. 

Stack of homemade granola bars on a plate.

So without further ado, it’s time to give these No-Bake Fruit & Nut Granola Bars a try.

Pro tip: when pressing the dough into the pan, you want to be sure you really put some muscle into it and press it down very firmly. This will help the bars to really hold together nicely. I also recommend that you store them in the fridge as this will also help them stick together.

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Let's Get Cookin'

No-Bake Fruit & Nut Granola Bars

Made with just 7 ingredients, No-Bake Fruit & Nut Granola Bars are quick to make, budget-friendly and great for lunch boxing & afternoon snacking. A gluten-free recipe that’s prepared in less than 10 minutes. For a nut-free version, use sunflower seed butter and do not add any nuts.

  • Author: Stacie Hassing
  • Prep Time: 10 min
  • Total Time: 10 min
  • Yield: 16 squares 1x
  • Category: Snack, Gluten-free
Print Recipe
★★★ 3 from 2 reviews

Ingredients

  • 2 cups quick oats, uncooked
  • 1 cup crisp rice cereal
  • 1 cup nut butter (peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter or a mix)
  • 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
  • Dash of cinnamon, optional
  • 1/2 cup dried fruit & nut/seed mix such as Made In Nature Fruit Fusion Mountain Gold Superfuel Blend (available in the Wal-Mart produce section)
  • 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
  • 1 Tbsp. chia seeds

Instructions

  1. Line a 9 x 9 square baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine the oats, crisp rice cereal, nut butter, cinnamon and honey. Stir until well combined. If too dry, add 1 tbsp. additional nut butter at a time. If too wet, add 2 Tbsp. quick oats at a time.
  3. Fold in dried fruit, nut/seeds, mini chocolate chips and chia seeds. Once combined, transfer to the 9 x 9 inches square pan.
  4. With hands, press very firmly into the pan. If dough is sticking to hands, brush or spray hands with oil.
  5. Place in the refrigerator and allow to chill for 30 minutes before cutting into squares.

Notes

All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words and link back to the source recipe here on The Real Food Dietitians. Thank you!

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 square
  • Calories: 185
  • Sugar: 3g
  • Sodium: 40mg
  • Fat: 10g
  • Carbohydrates: 20g
  • Fiber: 3g
  • Protein: 6g

 

Pin now, make later! 

pinterest image for no-bake fruit and nut granola bars


This post was made possible by our friends at Made In Nature. Though we received compensation for this post, the opinions expressed here are  – as always -100% our own. Thank you for supporting the great companies we work with thereby allowing us to continue creating great recipes and content for you.

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

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About Stacie Hassing

Stacie is a Licensed and Registered Dietitian from rural southern Minnesota where she, her husband and daughter reside with their two pups. She’s a co-founder of The Real Food RDs and content creator of simple and wholesome recipes. She loves all kinds of fitness and has a passion to inspire as many as she can live a healthier and happier life both in and out of the kitchen - the driving force behind the co-development of the The Real Food RDs brand.

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Reader Interactions

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  1. Sjp says

    March 8, 2018 at 11:50 am

    Thank you for the cost breakdown. If I can see the savings I am more likely to follow through on the recipe.

    Reply
  2. Valerie says

    March 9, 2018 at 8:14 pm

    Love the break down but it’s frustrating when you also have to make sure products are gluten free. Standard oats and rice crispies are not. I have to pay almost double for those at specialty stores.

    Reply
    • Jessica Beacom says

      March 12, 2018 at 12:32 pm

      Hi Valerie,

      We totally agree. It can be hard to find products that are certified gluten-free and affordable which is why we often recommend sourcing them from places like Thrive Market (affiliate link) where they’re 20-50% less than retail.

      Reply
  3. Isadora says

    March 12, 2018 at 5:38 pm

    I kept it simple with just dried cranberries, but I LOVED that I could mix this all in one bowl. No need to pull out the food processor! Win!

    Reply
    • Stacie Hassing says

      March 26, 2018 at 5:43 pm

      So great to hear you enjoyed this recipe! One bowl for the win 🙂

      Reply
  4. maribol says

    March 19, 2018 at 5:39 am

    Thanks so much Adriana!! ????

    ★

    Reply
  5. Bea says

    May 18, 2018 at 9:18 pm

    Did everything I could have done, but I cannot make the bars. they crumble. However since I live to far from a Walmart , I shopped for ingredients at the local Shoprite. Whats the secret, melting the peanut butter? Maybe then I will get ingredients to stick together to make bars??? Help!!!

    Reply
    • Stacie Hassing says

      May 21, 2018 at 9:02 pm

      Hmmmmmmm….I’m not sure what happened. I would suggest adding a little bit more peanut butter and/or honey to the mix until the start sticking together. Also make sure you use quick oats vs. rolled. When you press them into the dish, really press them firmly! Hope that helps.

      Reply
  6. Jodi says

    July 10, 2018 at 12:30 pm

    Thanks for featuring a recipe with ingredients available at Walmart! 😍 Walmart, Sam’s Club, my local grocery store, and our seasonal farmer’s market are the places I shop for my groceries. I’m able to get the most organic and natural foods for the best prices by shopping around. I’ll be making these this week for a yummy treat! THANK YOU for a no-bake recipe for these hot summer days!

    Reply
    • Jessica Beacom says

      July 18, 2018 at 9:18 pm

      You’re so welcome, Jodi! Enjoy those bars and the rest of your summer!!

      Reply
  7. Hali says

    September 5, 2018 at 8:32 pm

    Can’t wait to make this! How long will it keep for?

    Reply
    • Stacie Hassing says

      September 15, 2018 at 3:20 pm

      Awesome! They will keep for 7-10 days in the fridge. Enjoy!

      Reply
  8. James Lovelace says

    September 30, 2018 at 3:22 pm

    Do you have a vegan newsletter/recipes?

    Reply
    • Jessica Beacom says

      October 1, 2018 at 1:45 pm

      Hi James,

      We do not have a newsletter that is devoted to vegan recipes however, we do have quite a few vegan recipes here that you may enjoy: https://therealfoodrds.com/category/specialty-diets/vegan/

      Reply
  9. patterob says

    January 18, 2019 at 2:46 pm

    I’m planning to have some Boy Scouts make these for a backpacking trip. Since they are teenage boys and they will be using a ton of energy, I’m concerned about the size for these bars. From the picture, they look to be a couple of inches square, but a 9 x 9 pan cut into 16 squares is only about 1/2. Or maybe I am missing something. I can make more than 1 pan, just want to make sure I get enough.

    Reply
    • Stacie Hassing says

      January 20, 2019 at 7:58 pm

      You may want to double this recipe just to be sure. They are pretty small bites.

      Reply
  10. Lanie says

    September 17, 2020 at 3:01 pm

    These were delicious! I didn’t have the fruit/nut mix so I made my own with almonds, dried cranberries, flaxseeds, and sunflower seeds. I also added a smidge of vanilla extract. Amazing!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

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The Real Food Dietitians is the passion-driven product of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists Stacie Hassing and Jessica Beacom. They’ve combined their love of nutrition, health and real food with the concepts of ease and convenience to bring you recipes that are big on flavor but short on ingredients.

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