Rethink your morning routine of peeling back the ol’ energy bar wrapper and dig into your own homemade bars instead! Homemade energy bars not only taste better, they are completely customizable to your own personal preferences and they will inevitably save you quite a bit of money! PLUS you choose what goes into your recipe and you can feel comfortable knowing you are not filling up on additives and preservatives.
There is nothing remotely exciting about peeling the plastic wrapper off of my energy bar in the morning! I recently realized that I have been investing so much time and energy into my morning fast that I have become pretty blasé about the food that follows.
TASTE IS EVERYTHING!!! Honestly store bought bars are weird right? The healthier the bar the stranger the aftertaste, also weird textures and sometimes they look pretty questionable too. Homemade energy bars are completely customizable to your own tastes. Like citrus and cranberry? Great! Peanut butter chocolate chip? No problem! Start with the basic bar recipe which I am including below then mix your favorites until they taste exactly like you want!
My energy bar recipe:
Basic Bar ingredient list
1 1/3 cup nuts chopped (Mix and match to your liking)
1 cup gluten-free oats
1/4 cup seeds (flax, chia, and sunflower are all great options)
1/2 cup honey
2/3 cup light brown sugar (my guilty addition - you can replace by using a full cup of honey)
4 tablespoons salted butter or vegan butter substitute
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons any extract OR 1 teaspoon citrus zest (be creative)
2 cups puffed brown rice cereal
1/2 cup dried fruit (chop to the size similar to the nuts in your recipe)
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the nuts and seeds of your choice on the sheet and bake about 8 minutes or until fragrant. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
In a saucepan, bring the sugar, honey, butter, and salt to a boil over medium heat. Simmer until the sugar dissolves and a light brown caramel forms, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in your extract/flavoring here.
Pour the caramel over the nut and oat mixture. Stir in the brown rice cereal and the fruit until evenly coated.
Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, extend the paper over the sides of the pan. Pour the cereal mixture into the baking dish and spread out into an even layer. Cover the pan with a second piece of parchment and press down to compress the bars. Let the mixture stand for about 2 hours until firm.
Discard the top piece of parchment and use the “handles” from the second piece of parchment to gently remove the cereal square from the pan then cut the squares into 12 equal size bars and enjoy!
You can store your bars in an airtight container for one week room temperature or the refrigerator for two weeks.
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 18 min
Total Time: 28 minutes
Method: Baked
Cuisine: Gluten Free
Serving Size: 1 bar (basic recipe)
Calories Per Serving: 214
% DAILY VALUE 13% Total Fat 9.8g 3% Cholesterol 8.7mg 6% Sodium 139.1mg 11% Total Carbohydrate 30.8g Sugars 21.4g 5% Protein 2.3g 3% Vitamin A 28.1µg 3% Vitamin C 2.3mg