Crunchy nut bars packed with whole almonds and peanuts make a truly satisfying snack. I made mine with puffed rice, sesame seeds, and maple syrup. It’s an irresistibly delicious combination.
I’ve created loads of tasty snacks (check all my dessert bar recipes here) over the years, but making homemade nut bars was still on my list. And wow these were so good!
These delicious homemade nut bars are so much better than store-bought bars and easy to customize. Let me tell you what goes in and what you can change. Check the full details in the recipe card below.
In addition to the above you can think about adding chocolate chips or swap some of the sweetener for something like peanut butter. You want to have a sticky mixture that bakes in the oven, but it’s pretty flexible and I will be testing out different variations too!
Making these homemade nut bars is really super simple. The only thing I had to test was which pan would be best to use. You can find my notes on that below. So if this is your first time making nut bars, go for the silicone mold!
Other than that, making the bars is simply a matter of chopping the nuts roughly and combining the rest of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the maple syrup and stir until everything is fully coated.
Now divide the mixture over the silicone bar mold and press down firmly.
This is the most important part as you obviously want the bars to stay together once baked. If you do not have a silicone mold go for a prepared baking dish instead.
Bake the bars for about 35 minutes at 320˚F/160˚C (conventional oven) and let them cool down completely before removing from the mold or slicing.
Even though these nut bars are incredibly easy to make, it still took me several test batches to perfect the recipe. The biggest challenge was finding the right pan.
At first, I baked the mixture in a rectangular baking pan and planned to slice it into bars afterward. Unfortunately, that didn’t work very well. Instead of neat bars, I ended up with lots of loose pieces and scattered nuts. Such a waste!
So I switched to a silicone granola bar mold, which is designed for making granola bars, nut bars, and other snack bars. It works perfectly! The recipe below makes 8 generously sized nut bars using this type of mold.
Of course you can also use a standard baking pan (about 30 x 40 cm / 12 x 16 inches). Before baking, press the mixture down firmly using the bottom of a glass. After baking, I recommend breaking the slab into bars instead of cutting it with a knife. This helps keep more of the nuts in place. Also make sure to use parchment paper so they come out easily.
Any little leftover pieces are delicious stirred into homemade granola, something I discovered after all those test batches.
These bars are perfect for a quick on the go snack. Once made and completely cooled down you can store them in an airtight container for up to three weeks.
I have not yet tested if the bars can be frozen, but since granola can also be frozen I expect it to be no issue at all. If you have frozen the homemade bars let me know how it went! I’d love to hear your experience and I am sure other readers would want to know as well.
I absolutely love snack-able sized bars and these are some of my favorites!
Absolutely! Try hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, or even dried fruit such as raisins or dried cranberries. There are plenty of ways to customize these bars to your taste. Just keep in mind that different nuts vary in size and weight, so you may need to make small adjustments to the recipe.
If you’re using one large baking pan, this can happen. I used a silicone bar mold that shapes each bar individually, and that works beautifully. If you’re using a regular baking pan, these tips will help:
Whole nuts or very large nut pieces make the bars more likely to crumble. The puffed rice helps fill the gaps, but roughly chopping the nuts into smaller pieces can also improve the texture.
After spreading the mixture into the pan, press it down firmly with the bottom of a glass to compact everything as much as possible.
Don’t break the bars apart until they’ve cooled completely.
Mix any loose bits into your granola. They’re too tasty to waste!
Absolutely! That would be delicious.
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