Snack smart with these gluten-free, plant-based Cranberry Pistachio Granola Bar Squares!
Cranberry Pistachio Granola Bar Squares
These Cranberry Pistachio Granola Bar Squares are a super easy way to enjoy a homemade, natural and healthy snack. As a bonus, they are plant-based and gluten-free as long as you use certified gluten-free oats. These tasty squares contain heart-healthy fats and fiber from nutrient-dense whole foods, plus they are missing the unwanted ingredients you will find in most commercial granola bars.
This month’s Recipe Redux challenge is to create a favorite healthy snack recipe with crackle and crunch. For me, it was time to break out the homemade granola bars. With few exceptions, I don’t care for store-bought varieties. For only 100 calories, these tasty, chewy, crunchy squares are a satisfying lunchbox treat, after-school snack or mid-afternoon work pick-me-up.
They’re not just for snack time!
I love crumbling one of these bars into a cup of Greek yogurt or over cottage cheese with fruit for a protein and fiber-filled breakfast. Or, top a square with your favorite better-for-you ice cream or frozen yogurt for dessert.
Cranberry Pistachio Granola Bars
Once you have the base recipe, you can easily play around with it. One of the best things about these bars is their versatility. You can use any type of nuts; think almonds, walnuts, cashews or pecans. Almost any dried fruit works well too like cherries, dates, raisins or apricots…use your imagination.
The level of sweetness can easily increase or decrease based on the amount of fruit, honey, or other preferred sweeteners. Some of my vegan friends eat honey, some don’t. If you are a non-honey eating vegan, you can try to substitute maple syrup for a similar result. Or, there is a new sugar-free honey alternative made by Pyure Orangic that’s stevia sweetened and high in fiber. No sugar and no honeybees involved 🙂
To make these granola bars even more fun and kid-friendly, sprinkle a tablespoon of mini chocolate chips over the top and press them into the mixture before refrigerating.
Snack smart with these #glutenfree, #plantbased Cranberry Pistachio Granola Bar Squares! Share on X
Cranberry Pistachio Granola Bar Squares
Ingredients
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats use certified gluten free if needed
- 1/4 cup pistachios, roughly chopped (30g or about 47 nuts)
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
- 2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 1 cup whole grain puffed rice cereal, unsweetened
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped
- 1/4 cup creamy natural peanut butter or almond butter, no added sugar
- 1/4 cup raw honey
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon table salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8x8 or 9x9 square brownie pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- On a baking sheet (preferably with a rim) combine oats, pumpkin seeds and flaxseed.
- Bake for about 3 minutes, then add pistachios and continue baking for an additional 2-3 minutes. Watch closely, the nuts will burn if overcooked!
- Remove oat mixture from the oven and place in a large bowl.
- Add cranberries and puffed rice cereal, toss, and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, combine peanut butter, honey, vanilla, and salt.
- Cook over medium low heat while stirring gently until bubbly, about 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and pour peanut butter mixture over oat mixture.
- Stir well with a large spoon or spatula until thoroughly combined.
- Transfer to the square pan and press with a spatula until mixture is flat and even.
- If desired, melt white or dark chocolate chips in the microwave and drizzle over the top.
- Refrigerate until cool and firm, approx 45 minutes to an hour.
- Cut into 16 squares and store covered in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Cranberry Pistachio Granola Bar Squares Label
MAKE SURE TO PIN IT FOR LATER!!!
Cranberry Pistachio Granola Bars
Be sure to check out the tasty snacks created by my fellow Recipe Reduxers by clicking on the image below:
What are your favorite fruit and nut combos?
Yum. These just look so good!
Thanks, Serena! Kid-friendly too 🙂
These look so good! I’ve still yet to make my own granola bars or granola–I need to do that soon, because these look amazing!
Thanks, Farrah! And easy too 🙂
Great recipe! Love ALL the ingredients!
Thanks, Mona! Me too, great way to get a lot of nutrients in a small snack!
Yum!! Cranberries are my favorite to add to bars!
Thanks, Kelli! I love them too!
This sounds SO yummy AND simple!! 🙂
Thanks, Katey!! 🙂
YummY! I don’t use pistachios enough!
I know, right? They make an awesome ingredient!
The flavors sound fantastic. What a great snack for after school
Thanks, Brynn!
Plant-based desserts and snacks with no added sugar are my absolute favorite! I love all of these real food ingredients and bet these taste amazing, I’ll have to give them a try for myself.
Your granola bars look absolutely incredible! These look so delicious and crunchy. I love the combination of cranberry and pistachio and these sound amazing 🙂
Thanks, Whitney!!
These are sooo good. Everyone loves them!
Thank you! They make great holiday gifts too 🙂
I followed the recipe exactly but they just fell apart. What did I do wrong? Are they supposed to be baked after pressed into the pan? I didn’t but wonder now
Hi Pam, Sorry to hear that. You are right not to bake them. It’s possible that you may have used a bit more of the dry ingredients- I always measure carefully with my kitchen scale to avoid a higher ratio of dry to wet. Also, make sure to press them really well. I try to use as little nut butter and honey as possible to keep the sugar and calorie content lower, you can try increasing those a bit as well if you need. The bars are solid in the fridge but do soften at room temperature. Thanks for commenting and good luck!
“Healthy homemade granola bars. This recipe is easily customizable. You can substitute the dried fruit, pecans, and chocolate morsels out for what you like.”
I like the simplicity of this recipe. I added a lot more honey then the recipe calls for, but overall it’s fantastic!
A flawlessly perfect recipe!!! Huge hit at our house love it !
I love the flavor combo used in these healthy granola bars 🙂 Bookmarked to try soon!
Great recipe! I love knowing I can now have organic/vegan snack bars without the guilt. Fabulous tasting. I used parchment paper in my pan and it was so easy to just lift the paper out and put them on a cutting board. I cut into rectangles so they’d look like a store bought snack bar. Next up is using blueberries and lavender.
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Laurie 😀
Nailed it! This recipe is flawless from start to finish!