Nut and Seed Granola Bars: Kind Bars Remake
Today we are making healthy Nut and Seed Granola Bars! This is a remake of the popular store-bought snack bars, Almond Sea Salt & Dark Chocolate Kind Bars. I remember the year my dad brought home a box of Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Kind bars. My eyes followed that box, and I thought “OH! I’ve seen those granola bar boxes on the grocery store shelves before!” I didn’t try them though, but one day, as I was doing the laundry (we keep our extra snacks in the laundry room), I remembered the bars were sitting in the white cupboard next to me.
Opened that door, and pulled out one bar from the box. I unwrapped it, and bit into the dark chocolate and roasted almond goodness. WOOOOOOOAH. My mind EXPLODED. The epitome of “all-in-one” popped in my brain. All sweet, salty, and any other description you can think of. Within a couple days, the whole 40 bar box was finished. That was the last time those bars ever came in our house … But I recreated them myself! So here is my homemade remake of these amazing homemade granola bars.
Why You’ll Love These Homemade Nut and Seed Granola Bars
Copycat Kind Bar Flavor: These nut and seed bars are a homemade remake of one of my favorite Kind Bar flavors: Almond Sea Salt & Dark Chocolate! These bars use sea salt, healthy fats like crunchy peanuts and almonds with dark chocolate, crispy rice cereal and a touch of honey. Although honey isn’t vegan, we use pure maple syrup here for a liquid sweetener, along with all the key ingredients!
Irresistible Combination: The mix of dark chocolate and sea salt is a classic flavor pairing that many people find irresistible. Dark chocolate provides just the right amount of sweetness, which is balanced out by the saltiness of the sea salt, creating a complex and satisfying taste. Additionally, Kind Bars are a great choice for a quick energy bar, so you can expect the remake of this particular flavor to be just as enjoyable.
Healthy Ingredients: Kind bars are known for being made with natural, wholesome ingredients and are often marketed as healthy snack bars as compared to other energy bars, which can contain so much sugar it’s almost comparable to a candy bar! The fact that the original recipe for the dark chocolate sea salt flavor of these bars contain mostly vegan ingredients (aside from the honey, which some vegans do consume, but some do not) and gluten-free only adds to their appeal for people with specific dietary needs or preferences. These bars are fully vegan since they contain no honey too!
Making this easy recipe at home is great because you’re using almost all the same ingredients as the original bars. It’s the perfect snack for the whole family!
Substitutions
Coconut Oil: Use refined, melted coconut oil. This one should not smell like coconuts. The type you shouldn’t look for will be labeled as virgin or extra-virgin.
Cereal: The ingredients in these Kind Bars are crisp rice cereal, but you can use plain bran cereal or cornflakes as well to hold the mixture together. Check that the cereal is vegan as well as having no or low amounts of added sugar.
Chocolate: Use chopped dark chocolate by cutting up a dark chocolate bar, which is easier to find with a lower amount of sugar. I like to find 70-80% dark chocolate, but this depends on personal preference. Dark chocolate chips are usually higher in sugar. Check that the chocolate being used does not contain added milk products to keep it vegan.
Maple Syrup: Use pure maple syrup – the only ingredient should be maple syrup! Substitute with another liquid sweeter. Agave syrup is the best substitute, but brown rice syrup, coconut syrup or others may work.
Vanilla Extract: I prefer to use an alcohol-free vanilla flavor, rather than a vanilla extract that contains alcohol. I also look for vanilla without added dyes or caramel color. Simply Organics makes a great alcohol-free Madagascar vanilla flavor, where the taste and smell is much stronger in vanilla than other extracts or flavors I’ve found.
Nuts: This recipe uses a mixture of almonds and peanuts, and I’ve also added walnuts into this. You can substitute the walnuts for more peanuts or almonds!
For additional nutrition and flavor, try sprinkling on 1-2 teaspoons of pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, unsweetened coconut and/or sunflower seeds on top of the dark chocolate.
More No Bake Recipes You’ll Love
Dark Chocolate, Pistachio and Matcha Energy Bars
Chickpea Cookie Dough Protein Bars
If you make these Nut and Seed Granola Bars, then leave a comment and star rating! Don’t forget to tag your photos @peanut_palate on Instagram. Enjoy!
Nut and Seed Granola Bars (Homemade Kind Bars)
Equipment
- 1 8×8 Baking Pan
- Baking Tray
- 2 Small saucepans for the maple mixture and melting the chocolate
Ingredients
- 1 cup (34g) crispy rice cereal
- 1 cup (120g) whole almonds unroasted
- ⅓ cup (50g) peanuts unroasted
- ⅓ cup (33g) chopped walnuts unroasted
- 10 tbsp (150mL) pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ + ½ tsp sea salt crushed
For the Chocolate Drizzle
- ¼ cup (60g) vegan dark chocolate chips
- ¼ tbsp (4mL) refined coconut oil not virgin/extra-virgin
Instructions
To Roast the Nuts
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Spread the nuts in an even layer, then place in the oven at 400 degrees until they are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Keep a close eye on them, as they tend to burn quickly.
- When these are done, remove them from the oven.
- Then mix the nuts with the cereal in a separate bowl and set aside.
For the Bars Mixture
- In a small saucepan over low heat on the stove, mix the maple syrup, ¼ teaspoon salt and vanilla extract, until the mixture reaches "hard ball stage." The maple syrup will reduce in volume, turn darker in color and become thicker. This will take about 10 minutes.
- Immediately take this and pour it over the nuts in the other bowl, using a rubber spatula to scrape it all out of the pan. This is the point where the mixture will harden right over the nuts.
- Mix everything in the bowl together. Then transfer this to the prepared pan. Pat the granola mixture down into the tray with a flat spatula.
For the Chocolate Drizzle
- Take the coconut oil and the chocolate chips and put them into a small saucepan over low heat on the stove top, constantly stirring until melted.
To Assemble the Bars
- Drizzle this over the bars, and then sprinkle with the remaining sea salt. Put in the freezer to harden for at least an hour, and then transfer to the fridge once they are fully hardened.
- Cut into bars with a sharp knife when ready to serve. Carefully use a sawing motion with the knife to make sure it cuts through the nuts without breaking the bar shape.
- See storage notes below.
Notes
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Storage
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.
