Cereal Bars with Dried Cherries, Almonds, and Coconut
These healthier no-bake cereal bars packed with good stuff like dried cherries, unsweetened coconut, sliced almonds, honey, and almond butter make the best after-school or afternoon snack!
If a rice krispie treat and a granola bar had a baby, it would be these bars right here. Swap out the marshmallows and butter for honey and coconut oil, add some whole grain puffed cereal, and load them up with oats, some nuts, and dried fruit and you have a bar you can feel a lot better about snacking on.
Like so many of you, I’m trying to cut back on indulgences in January. It’s actually been, surprisingly, really nice. After the whirlwind of sugar and sprinkles that was December, it feels good to eat better. But I’m still me, and I love to enjoy a little treat every day. These cereal bars are perfect for that, satisfying my sweet tooth without re-railing my goals.
As you might expect, these bars are extremely adaptable. Any dried fruit or nuts will work great, as will almost any crispy or puffed cereal. I went with a mix of the classic crispy rice and whole grain puffs, but you can do what you’d like. Chocolate chunks are an optional add-in I’ve included because I knew many of you would ask, but if I’m being honest these bars don’t need it!
There’s something for everyone here, and I hope your whole family loves them as much as mine does.
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Cereal Bars with Dried Cherries, Almonds, and Coconut
Ingredients
- 4 cups crispy rice or puffed cereal (100 grams), see Notes
- 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats (50 grams)
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds (43 grams)
- 1/2 cup dried cherries (71 grams)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shaved or flaked coconut (56 grams)
- 1/3 cup honey (112 grams)
- 1/3 cup coconut oil (70 grams) or butter (75 grams)
- 1/4 cup brown or demerara sugar (105 grams)
- 1/3 cup almond butter (120 grams) or peanut butter (135 grams) , not natural-style
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ - ½ cup chocolate chunks (42-85 grams), optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine the cereal, oats, almond, cherries and coconut.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine honey, coconut oil or butter, and sugar. Bring to a boil and let boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in almond or peanut butter and vanilla extract.
- Pour over cereal mixture and stir until evenly coated.
- Press into a lightly greased 9x13-inch pan. If desired, press chocolate chops into the top of the bars.
- Let cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- I like to use a combination of cereal. I used 2 cups crispy rice cereal and 2 cups Kashi seven grain puffs cereal, but you can use all crispy rice or all puffed cereal if you'd like.
- Natural-style almond and peanut butters will prevent these bars from firming up. For best results, use a no-stir option.
Hi I’ve just made the cereal bars with cherries and coconut. They taste great but haven’t held their shape well and are falling apart. Any pointers for what I could do different my next time.