Easy One Bowl Homemade Fruit And Nut Bars With Blueberries Inspired By Our Favorite Blueberry Almond KIND Bars. 7 Simple & Healthy Ingredients. Makes A Delicious Snack And A Great On The Go Breakfast.
Vegan, Low Sugar, Dairy-Free, Soy & Gluten-Free Bars
Why Make These Easy Fruit & Nut With Blueberries Bars?
- One bowl
- Prepared in less than 5 minutes
- 4 grams of protein each
- Healthy school, pre/post workout or travel snack
- Omega 3 & 6's & additional protein from Hemp seeds
- Antioxidants from blueberries
- Cost savings snack
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Ingredients
These Homemade Fruit & Nut Bars Are Made With Just 7 Ingredients:
- Almonds & Cashews - source of protein (see below for substitutes)
- Dried Blueberries
- Hemp Hearts delicious nutty flavor and high in omegas 3 & 6 and an extra protein boost
- Brown Rice Syrup to set bars
- Maple Syrup for more flavor
- Cinnamon adds a sweet and woody flavor
Are Fruit & Nut Bars Healthy?
They are a healthier option than most candy bar. They contain nuts that are rich in protein, healthy fats and antioxidants such as polyphenols. Blueberries that are high in Antioxidants.
Substitutions
You can use date syrup instead of brown rice syrup. Date syrup is sweet and the taste is like concentrated dates.
Instead of dried blueberries can use dried apricots, cranberries or golden raisins.
Walnuts, sunflower and/or pumpkin seeds instead of cashews, works well with any number of nut combinations.
Sesame seeds instead of hemp seeds.
How Do You Make Copycat KIND Nut Bars?
Add Cashews, almonds and hemp seeds to bowl.
Add blueberries, cinnamon and salt. Pour maple syrup and brown rice syrup into bowl.
Mix nuts, fruit and syrups together to evenly incorporate all ingredients.
Spread mixture into glass baking dish evenly.
Baked in oven for 35 minutes.
Let bars cool for 30 minutes on countertop/table and then place in refrigerator for minimum of an hour before cutting.
How To Get Vegan Nut Bars To Stick Together?
In this recipe brown rice syrup replaces the typical honey used as the binder (glue) to keeping the bars together.
Mistakes Learned
We all know from reaching into the middle of our bag half way through the day. Nut bars and heat do not mix. The refrigerator or a cool spot and parchment is your friend to store until ready to eat. And because of the two syrups used, these bars are sticky.
We tried just using maple syrup as the binder but unfortunately it’s too thin to hold the bars together in any meaningful way. You just get clusters of nuts and blueberries; delicious, but not bars.
We also tried using just brown rice syrup but missed the flavor the maple syrup gives to the bars.
Using both maple syrup and brown rice syrup yielded the best of both worlds flavor and firmness.
How To Store
Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
More Snack Recipes
📖 Recipe
Homemade Fruit & Nut "Kind" Bars With Blueberries (Vegan + Gluten-Free)
Equipment
- Bowl
- Rubber/Silicone Spatula
- 8 x 8 Baking Dish
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 1 cup Cashews
- 1 cup Almonds
- 1/4 cup Dried blueberries
- 5 tablespoons Brown rice syrup
- 3 tablespoons Maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons Hemp hearts
- 1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line an 8 x 8 inch square baking dish with parchment paper. Then lightly grease it with spray oil and set aside while you assemble the fruit and nut mixture.
- In a large bowl, mix together the almonds, cashews, hemp hearts, blueberries, cinnamon and salt. Pour brown rice syrup and maple syrup over mixture and mix until well combined.
- Pour mixture into baking dish. Using a rubber/silicon spatula spread the mixture evenly and pack fruit and nut mixture firmly in pan. Place in the oven & bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove dish from oven & let cool for 30 minutes. When cool to the touch place in refrigerator to cool for 60 minutes.
- Remove from the refrigerator. Cool the bars completely before cutting, can take a few hours. Lift the parchment paper with the fruit & nut bars out of the dish.
- Place on cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut the bars into your desired size and shape.
- These bars are sticky so wrap them individually in parchment paper or plastic wrap for storage to prevent excessive sticking. Store in the fridge and enjoy.
- Store in an airtight container. Keep the bars in the refrigerator so that the bar holds it shape. Best to avoid storing at room temperature as the bar will become soft and sticky. Enjoy.
Nutrition
These nutritional figures should be considered estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe.
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What questions do you have? Leave us your questions/comments below or on Instagram at #thevgnway.
If you give this gluten free vegan fruit and nut Kind bar recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, or take a picture and tag and us on Instagram at #thevgnway.
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The Vgn Way
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