These chewy and hearty fruit and seed granola bars are easy to make and loaded with wholesome ingredients! Vegan, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free, they make a perfect healthy snack.
Sometimes the hardest part of the whole recipe creation process is coming up with something to call the fruits of your labour. Well, that and trying not to eat your subject while you photograph it… #foodbloggerproblems.
You want a name that stands out so that your granola bars aren’t doomed to the 11th page of Google, but you don’t want to get too creative to the point where no one has any idea as to what it is you’re talking about. This means no calling them Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Bars, no matter how extraordinarily good they taste.
Also, did you know that supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is actually in the dictionary? Apparently it was added in 1986 after being made popular by Mary Poppins in 1964– a movie I’ve never actually seen from beginning to end. The same is true of Sound of Music. I can sing a few of the songs, but please don’t ask me what the movie is about — I have no idea. And now that I’m quite certain that I’ve just shocked a fair bit of you, let’s switch gears and talk about these supercalifragilisticexpialidocious No-Bake Fruit, Seed, and Nut Granola Bars instead…
And yes, I realize that’s not the most creative name in the history of names, but it’s practical and tells you what you need to know; more specifically that these bars are:
a) quick and easy to make,
b) packed with fruits, seeds, and nuts, and
c) have some oats thrown in for good measure.
It doesn’t, however, tell you that these bars are also:
a) chewy, crunchy, and satisfyingly hearty,
b) a great balance of proteins, carbs, and healthy fats,
c ) gluten-free and refined sugar-free,
d) vegan, and
e) packed with zinc rich pepita seeds, omega-3 rich hemp seeds, vitamin E rich almonds, vitamin C rich cranberries, and fibre rich oats.
Not bad, eh? It’s a good thing you’ve got me here to tell you those things. And to share the recipe, obviously…
I’d love to know if you make this (or any!) recipe! Tag @runwithspoons on Instagram and Twitter, and be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to receive more healthy and delicious recipes straight to your inbox!
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Fruit and Seed Granola Bars
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 10 – 12 bars 1x
Ingredients
- 15 large Medjool dates (~1.5 cups), pitted and chopped
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 1/4 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup pepita seeds (shelled pumpkin seeds)
- 1/2 cup almonds, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup hemp hearts
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Line an 8×8 baking pan with a sheet of aluminum foil, leaving a few inches of overhang on the sides to allow for easy removal. Generously spray the foil with cooking spray and set aside.
- Add dates and cinnamon to the bowl of a food processor and process until the dates have broken down into a paste, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. If your dates are too dry and you’re having trouble processing them, add a splash of water to get things moving. Be careful not to add too much, though, because you want the paste to be quite thick.
- Transfer the date paste to a large bowl and add remaining ingredients, mixing well to ensure that everything is fully combined.
- Transfer the mixture into your prepared baking pan, using your fingers or a spatula to ensure that it is pressed down firmly and evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using a sharp knife to cut into bars. Store bars in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
Looking for more no-bake bar recipes? Try one of these!
No-Bake Vegan Oatmeal Fudge Bars
No-Bake Chocolate Sunflower Seed Butter Granola Bars
No-Bake Pumpkin Spice Granola Bars
Now, I’m sure your recipe is stellar (they always are!) but you haven’t seen Mary Poppins or the Sound of Music from beginning to end? Oh dear. I think you might need to rectify that little problem 🙂
Haha it’s so true about naming recipes – I have so much trouble with it! Sometimes simple is better though. These look fantastic!
Also I can’t believe you haven’t Mary Poppins! It’s one of my favourites. I’m actually seeing it as a play in a few weeks – it’s a tradition for all the girls in my family to see a play around Christmas together every year.
Aww! That’s an awesome tradition! I think people have pretty much convinced me that I need to watch both. I’m going to add them to my Christmas movie list this year.
Saw these on the SITS link up and had to come by and check it out. I could go for one of these right now.
i’ve been eating a ton of pumpkin seeds for that very reason –> zinc! so sign me up for these please. YUM
These would taste so much better with PERSIAN DATES which the twats at Canadian border security are probably scoffing right now.
Oh gosh Stappp with your delicious looking recipes 😉 I can’t stop drooling over them! 😉
Kidding, don’t stop actually because I’ve been making your treats (specifically the no bake almond fudge protein bars and my whole family loves them!
YUM!! Totally making these!!
Ohh these just make me miss the mountains. Perfect trail food!
I miss them too! I haven’t been in way too long.
These look so good. I look forward to your recipes. They are always look so easy to make.
I can’t even handle these. You know how much I adore dates, and the fact that these have no added sugar is beyond dreamy!! Totes making these as a little detox after the holiday season. Weee!
These remind me of kind bars but better! So so good!
I think we have like 2 giant boxes of dates. I should get Jo to make these!
Also, the fact that you’ve never seen Mary Poppins all the way through makes me feel better about the fact that I’ve never watched Dirty Dancing.
Just plain YUMMY! PS: do you know how many bananas I have been eating lately? I think of you and your banana post…LOL. Have a fabulous day! xoxo
Yay! You and me both, girl! They seriously are the perfect food <3
These look delicious!
These look delicious- super healthy and filling! Love the cranberries and dates in there!
I think choosing a name for ANYTHING is difficult! When I got Elmo, it was really hard to choose a name for him! Does he fit his name? Does he look more like a “Doug”? Is “Doug” too practical? … And then, later, you realize the perfect name for him when he’s two years old. (in this case, Dunkin’ – Because I don’t have a Dunkin’ Donuts obsession or anything…)
You can still call him Dunkin’…. just don’t necessarily expect him to answer 😉
Spoons!! You MUST watch Mary Poppins! it is the most amazing film, I adore it!!
These look fab, and bound by dates = perfection!
Just for you, Jen. I’ll add it to my Christmas movie list 🙂
So true what you said about naming a recipe and eating all the food before photographing. I had that problem last weekend. It was cloudy and every time I want to take a picture, the clouds would come and I kept nibbling on the food in between.
Lol- I have no clue what the Sound of Music is about either but I will admit that I was a huge Mary Poppins fan. I’m surprised you were able to type the whole word- I would’ve had to use a little copy and paste action. 😉
And I’m all about the hemp seeds lately so these bars look perfect to me! I love the short ingredient list and how easy they are to make, too!
Confession: I totally had to Google it and copy/paste 😆
We’ve been going through a lot of granola lately. It’s so good. I was just thinking about adding some nuts (almonds are my favorite) so maybe I’ll go that route. Thanks for sharing Amanda.
I have very serious texture issues and I would like you to know that these look like they will pass the test. No matter how hard I try, I can’t give up the ease and portability of granola bars, so making my own is just the only way to go!! These look super delicious, and easily customized too. 🙂
Gah—these are so beautiful! I wish I could eat almonds.
You could always try subbing another nut! Peanuts or pecans?
This looks so good!! And I finally need to get with the program and try out hemp hearts!! I’ve heard that they are super good for you, I just have yet to buy them lol.
Definitely super good for you! A nice little boost of omega 3’s and protein 🙂 That and they add a really unique taste to things.
Mmmm, dried cranberries are wonderful! I’d probably change it up and use dried cherries sometime too. 🙂
We know all about my naming issues, so I feel ya. I’m considering outsourcing lol
Also, thanks for the granola bar craving when I’m out of groceries and it’s rainy & windy as eff outside. It’s gonna be a long day…
Love no bake bars – so much simpler and often so gooey! Plus these look great for eating and running:)
These look SO good! And I totally get your food blogger problems…LOL. Sometimes it seems like it was easier to create posts titles a few months ago before I understood google.
Riiiight?!? I’m still trying to decide how big of a difference it actually makes, but better play on the safe side I guess…
Yummm – it’s 9:30am aka. snack time and I wish I had one of these to munch on!
These. Look. Amazing.
Love easy recipes with a short ingredient list and NO baking required.
I’m with Michele – you need a bar business! Or a cookbook! SOMETHING.
These look great! I might have to make some for my Thanksgiving travel!
I need these in my life!!! It’s really a great thing I’ll be home for Thanksgiving break and then winter break soon enough. I can’t stand seeing all your fantastic recipes and not being able to make them!
And for the record, “no bake fruit and seed granola bars” caught my attention right away 🙂
Woohoo! Big thumbs up for access to a full kitchen 😀 That being said… I’ve seen what they’ve been feeding you in that dining hall of yours, and I’ll definitely admit to being slightly jealous 😛
Seriously how do you do it? I want to make every single bar you have pictured here! You need a bar business, ASAP!
Yum! Hemp hearts are all the rage right now! I need to go find some of those!
I love a chewy granola bar. And no bale makes it the perfect bar to make year round. The ingredient list is amazing (and I have them all in my pantry – dancing in excitement to make these)! Love the addition of hemp seeds – I’ve recently been adding them to everything. Thanks for sharing have an awesome monday!!
Thanks, Sam! Happy Monday to you too!
I thought you would have some sort oil in these bars – but nope – nothing – wow- these sound and look so Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!!!
The Sound of Music was my dad’s favorite movie – my sis and I grew up watching that movie – so many plots in that – the love of the widower and the nanny to his kids, how she (the nanny) taught the children to smile and helped the dad ease up, the eldest daughters scandalous romance…when I was young – I thought the first song all children learned to sing was “do re me”!!!
Hope your week is off to a lovely start! xx
I’m thinking that I’m going to have to end up watching that movie! Hope you’re having an amazing Monday as well, Shashi 🙂
Yum! These look awesome!
These look really, really awesome! I’m super excited to try to make them this holiday season; are regular dates ok, or do they have to be Medjool?
Other dates are fine as well, just make sure you have around 1.5 cups. And if you have trouble blending them up, just add a splash of water to get things going 🙂
Miss queen of bars, these again look like killer bars! I know what you mean about the title though, haha its so annoying! At least you arent deceiving us with the title like some recipes do! I like that they are chewy and crunchy, my favorite! Have a wonderful week my friend!
Mmm so remind me again- what are KIND bars?? Just a look of these makes me forget all about them! That bit about finding the perfect name made me laugh- talk about SEO problems! The last time I tried making no-bake granola bars, I failed miserably…but then ended up coming up with an amazing recipe for no-bake balls so it wasn’t a total loss. Hopefully I will have better luck with these and actually end up with bars this time round ;)!
Hehe! When all else fails, just crumble it up and call it granola 😉
I have been making your pumpkin chocolate chip granola bars a lot lately and LOVE them. These look great, I’ll have to change it up.