I love using nuts in all forms in my recipes! I use sliced almonds in these No-Bake Chocolate Cherry Granola Bars but I often use whole nuts, sliced nuts, chopped nuts, nut butter, you name it! If you're a fan of nuts, try my Curried Chicken Salad with Grapes, Blueberry Apple & Walnut Baked Oatmeal or Roasted Butternut Squash Salad.
Nuts are actually one of the most nutritious snacks you can eat and are packed with many beneficial nutrients including heart-healthy unsaturated fats, protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Read my post all about the health benefits of nuts.
These nutritious homemade granola bars are the ideal portable breakfast or snack and they'll give you long-lasting energy. They are actually featured in my latest cookbook, the Natural Pregnancy Cookbook, but you don’t have to be pregnant to enjoy them!
Perfect for adults or kids, these healthy No-Bake Chocolate Cherry Granola Bars are made with a combination of oats, rice cereal and sliced almonds, which gives them a great chewy, crispy texture with a little bit of crunch.
Flaxseed, dried cherries and dark chocolate add flavor as well as a boost of fiber, protein, omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants.
The best part about these bars is that you don’t have to bake them at all! Once you get the mixture all assembled, simply refrigerate it for a couple of hours to firm up, then slice and serve.
These tasty granola bars are the perfect grab and go breakfast or snack for yourself or your kids.
Once you make a batch of these, you’ll never buy granola bars again!
More tasty snack recipes
- Wild Blueberry Breakfast Cookies
- Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Blueberry French Toast Muffins
- Coconut Cashew Bliss Balls
- Homemade Coconut Maple Granola
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No-Bake Chocolate Cherry Granola Bars
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups quick-cooking oats*
- 1 cup puffed rice cereal, preferably brown rice
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed or wheat germ
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup coconut oil or unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup dried cherries, chopped
- ⅓ cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Line an 8x8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper or aluminum foil, letting the ends hang over the sides of the dish.
- Mix the oats, rice cereal, almonds and flaxseed together in a bowl.
- Heat the sugar, honey and coconut oil in a large saucepan on the stove, stirring often until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer. Simmer the mixture for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt.
- Pour the oat mixture into the saucepan. Using a spatula, stir to combine all of the ingredients well. Stir in the cherries.
- Transfer the mixture to the baking dish and press it down into the pan, packing it in firmly (packing it in tightly will ensure that the bars don’t fall apart). Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the top and press them lightly into the granola mixture.
- Place the dish in the refrigerator and chill for 2 hours. Remove the granola mixture from the dish, using the parchment paper to pull it out of the dish. Place it on a cutting board and cut it into 12 bars with a sharp knife. Store extra bars in the refrigerator with parchment paper or foil in between the layers to prevent them from sticking.
Gail says
Must these be refrigerated after they are made?
Sonali- The Foodie Physician says
They don’t have to be refrigerated but they’ll last longer in the fridge. It also helps them solidify faster.