Healthy Trail Mix Bars –
a delicious and healthy treat or after-workout snack! Made with simple, real-food ingredients!
This post is sponsored by Califia Farms, but the opinions are my own.
You are always going to want to have some of these around!
These are going to be your go-to trail mix bar! Made with the help of my friends over at Califia Farms – I used some of their amazing Plant Butter (no canola or palm oil!) to give these delicious bars a little something extra. That rich, buttery flavor combined with the real maple syrup, creamy almond butter and so many other yummy, real-food ingredients make the flavor of these unreal! Cannot wait for you to try them!
Why You Will Love These
- Kid-Friendly: Looking for an easy snack to have on hand for the kiddos? These are for you – they are going to love them!
- Easy: This super simple recipe is easily whipped up on a weekend to have throughout the week!
- Flavor: That buttery flavor + all your traditional trail mix ingredients is just a match made in heaven!
What You Need To Make Them
Dry Ingredients:
- rolled oats (use certified gluten-free if you want)
- ground flax
- cinnamon
- kosher salt
- sesame seeds
- pitted dates
- cashews
- almonds
- craisins
- raisins
- dairy-free chocolate chips
Wet Ingredients:
- real maple syrup
- creamy almond butter
- Califia Plant Butter
- vanilla extract
How to Make Trail Mix Bars
Step 1: Add maple syrup, almond butter and Califia Farms Plant Butter into a small saucepan. Bring to medium/medium-low heat. Stir occasionally (trying to break up the almond butter) and slowly melt together. Don’t let it get too hot.
Step 2: Meanwhile, add dates, cashews and almonds to a food processor. Pulse several times to break down the nuts a little. The consistency should be pretty rough, but try to break up all the whole nuts so they stick together better in the bar. Set aside.
Step 3: Combine oats, flax, cinnamon, salt and sesame seeds in a medium mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
Step 4: Add the date/nut mixture to the oat mixture. Stir to combine.
Step 5: Once the maple syrup mixture has melted together. Remove from heat and let cool bit.
Step 6: Pour maple syrup mixture into oat/nut mixture and stir to combine. Add in dairy-free chocolate chips and stir to combine.
Step 7: Place a piece of parchment inside a 8×8 or 9×9 pan (cut the parchment so it overhangs on two opposite sides which will act like handles and allow you to pull the bars out of the pan easily).
Step 8: Pour the mixture into the pan and press down firmly. Cover with foil and place in the fridge overnight.
Step 9: Remove by pulling up on the parchment paper. Cut into 12 larger bars or 24 smaller bars. Store in the refrigerator for up to 7-10 days.
Recipe FAQs + Tips
- Gluten-Free: Feel free to use gluten-free certified oats to make these gluten-free!
- Cashews: Feel free to use either salted or unsalted. If you like that salty/sweet combo then I would recommend using salty. But I wouldn’t recommend using both salty cashews and salty almonds – I would pick one or it might get too salty.
- Almonds: Feel free to use either salted or unsalted. If you like that salty/sweet combo then I would recommend using salty. But I wouldn’t recommend using both salty cashews and salty almonds – I would pick one or it might get too salty.
- Craisins: I like using these.
- Dairy-Free Dark Chocolate Chips: I used these.
- Creamy Almond Butter: Use a thicker almond butter (like this one). If you use a very thin, drippy almond butter the bars might not stick together quite as well.
- Melting the Almond Butter/Maple Syrup: Just a reminder to not let this get to hot – we are going for a slow, low heat melt. Once this is melted it is going to be mixed in with the remaining ingredients, including the chocolate chips, which will melt if this is too hot.
- Pressing Down: I use a 8×8 pan for the bars and then too a 7×7 pan and placed inside, on top of the bars and pressed down real hard, but your hands should work well too!
- Storage: Store in the refrigerator for up to 7-10 days.
- Nut Substitutions: Feel free to mix up the nuts you use instead of or in addition to the cashews and almonds; as long as you have approximately 1 1/3 cups of nuts you should be fine.
Other Recipes You Might Like:
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Love,
E
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Healthy Trail Mix Bars
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 or 24 servings 1x
- Category: Snack
- Method: Refrigerator
- Cuisine: American
Description
Healthy Trail Mix Bars – a delicious and healthy treat or after-workout snack! Made with simple, real-food ingredients! (Gluten-Free Friendly + Plant-Based)
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 1/3 cup old fashioned rolled oats (use certified gluten-free if you want)
- 1/4 cup ground flax
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 8 pitted dates
- 2/3 cup cashews
- 2/3 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup craisins
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/4 – 1/2 dairy-free dark chocolate chips
Wet Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup real maple syrup
- 1/2 cup creamy almond butter
- 2 tablespoons Califia Plant Butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Melt: Add maple syrup, almond butter and Calfia Farms Plant Butter into a small saucepan. Bring to medium/medium-low heat. Stir occasionally (trying to break up the almond butter) and slowly melt together. Don’t let it get too hot.
- Combine: Meanwhile, add dates, cashews and almonds to a food processor. Pulse several times to break down the nuts a little. The consistency should be pretty rough, but try to break up all the whole nuts so they stick together better in the bar. Set aside.
- Combine: Combine oats, flax, cinnamon, salt and sesame seeds in a medium mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
- Combine: Add the date/nut mixture to the oat mixture. Stir to combine.
- Let Cool: Once the maple syrup mixture has melted together. Remove from heat and let cool bit.
- Combine: Pour maple syrup mixture into oat/nut mixture and stir to combine.
- Stir: Add in dairy-free chocolate chips and stir to combine.
- Parchment: Place a piece of parchment inside a 8×8 or 9×9 pan (cut the parchment so it overhangs on two opposite sides which will act like handles and allow you to pull the bars out of the pan easily).
- Press: Pour the mixture into the pan and press down firmly.
- Cover: Cover with foil and place in the fridge overnight.
- Cut: Remove by pulling up on the parchment paper. Cut into 12 larger bars or 24 smaller bars.
- Store: Store in the refrigerator for up to 7-10 days.
Notes
- Gluten-Free: Feel free to use gluten-free certified oats to make these gluten-free!
- Cashews: Feel free to use either salted or unsalted. If you like that salty/sweet combo then I would recommend using salty. But I wouldn’t recommend using both salty cashews and salty almonds – I would pick one or it might get too salty.
- Almonds: Feel free to use either salted or unsalted. If you like that salty/sweet combo then I would recommend using salty. But I wouldn’t recommend using both salty cashews and salty almonds – I would pick one or it might get too salty.
- Craisins: I like using these.
- Dairy-Free Dark Chocolate Chips: I used these.
- Creamy Almond Butter: Use a thicker almond butter (like this one). If you use a very thin, drippy almond butter the bars might not stick together quite as well.
- Melting the Almond Butter/Maple Syrup: Just a reminder to not let this get too hot – we are going for a slow, low heat melt. Once this is melted it is going to be mixed in with the remaining ingredients, including the chocolate chips, which will melt if this is too hot.
- Pressing Down: I use a 8×8 pan for the bars and then too a 7×7 pan and placed inside, on top of the bars and pressed down real hard, but your hands should work well too!
- Storage: Store in the refrigerator for up to 7-10 days. They can be left on the counter for a day or two, but they will last longer in the fridge.
- Nut Substitutions: Feel free to mix up the nuts you use instead of or in addition to the cashews and almonds; as long as you have approximately 1 1/3 cups of nuts you should be fine.
Keywords: trail mix bar
