My Gluten-Free Vegan Chewy Nut and Seed Energy Bars are filled with all kinds of plant-based goodness for a nutrient-dense energy boost! They're made with clean ingredients and are perfect for meal prepping!
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Table of Contents
Here's Why This Recipe Works
My top 3 favorite reasons:
- Can Be Prepared in About 10 Minutes!
- Uses Real Food as a Natural Energy Source!
- Very Adaptable Recipe with Numerous Substitution Options!
The Method Behind All My Recipes
If you love clean, real food vegan recipes like this one, you'll love the method behind them.
The Real Vegan Method™ 14-Day Reset helps you:
- Move beyond processed vegan substitutes
- Cook with clean, real food ingredients
- Make plant-based eating simple + consistent
All my recipes - including this one- are based on the Real Vegan Method™.
Inspired by "Kind Bars", I made this homemade version which includes raw almonds, raw cashews, raw pumpkin seeds and raw sesame seeds and sweetened them with brown rice syrup, which holds them together well.
My healthier homemade version is gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, paleo-friendly and contain no refined sugar.
"Feel good about what you eat..."
- Karielyn Tillman
Ingredients
Here are the healthy ingredients I used to make this recipe. Try to buy organic if possible.
- Cashews
- Almonds
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Sesame Seeds
- Coconut Sugar
- Brown Rice Syrup
- Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips
- Coconut Oil
- Vanilla Bean Powder
- Ground Cinnamon
- Himalayan Pink Salt
That's it! My Chewy Nut and Seed Energy Bars are super easy to make!
Why This Recipe is Healthy
Here are "5 Fast Facts" of the primary ingredients in this recipe so:
- You know what is in the food you are eating
- You know that the ingredients are nutrient-dense and are nourishing your body
- You will feel good about what you eat
5 Fast Facts About Almonds*: helps to regulate cholesterol and blood pressure; energy booster; loaded with calcium and fiber; ¼ cup contains 8 grams of vegan protein; high in antioxidants
5 Fast Facts About Cashews*: packed with dietary fiber; rich in "heart friendly" mono-saturated fatty acids; rich source of minerals; high in magnesium and copper; excellent source of antioxidants
5 Fast Facts About Sesame Seeds*: high in calcium at 35% RDA; excellent antioxidant; lowers cholesterol; reduces inflammation; high in phytosterol
5 Fast Facts About Pumpkin Seeds*: a natural anti-inflammatory; excellent source of magnesium; helps to lower cholesterol; alkaline forming; high in essential fatty acids
5 Fast Facts About Coconut Oil*: super high in lauric acid; rich in antioxidants; contains natural microbial and anti-bacterial agents; helps to improve metabolism; improves cholesterol levels
5 Fast Facts About Cinnamon*: contains anti-inflammatory properties; helps to control blood sugar; excellent source of manganese and iron; can help to lower bad cholesterol; aids in eliminating migraine headaches
5 Fast Facts About Vanilla Bean Powder*: anti-microbial; high in antioxidants; can help reduce inflammation; contains small traces of minerals; 1 tablespoon contains 2 g of fiber
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! I used brown rice syrup because it gives the bars a "stickier" consistency, as you would find in a store-bought bar.
However, you could substitute the brown rice syrup with organic maple syrup which would work, but they would be less "sticky".
Yes! I added the chocolate drizzle topping to mimic Kind bars, but you could omit it if you prefer.
In my opinion, yes!
Although Kind Bars aren't that terribly bad, they aren't organic and they do contain soy. And, depending on what variety you get, they may not be vegan or may contain refined sugar.
S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) Kind Honey Roasted Nuts and Sea Salt Bar Ingredients:
Ingredients: Almonds, Cashews, Peanuts, Honey, Glucose Syrup, Chicory Root Fiber, Rice Flour, Sea Salt, Soy Lecithin, Sugar
By making a homemade version, you can use organic nuts and seeds and an organic sweetener with a short ingredient list., and they are vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo-friendly and contain no refined sugar.
You can make this recipe 100% Medical Medium® Compliant with these alterations:
1. Omit the chocolate topping
2. Substitute the brown rice syrup with organic maple syrup
3. Use organic vanilla bean powder or alcohol-free vanilla extract
Karielyn's Expert Tips + Substitutions
Here are some of my expert tips to make this recipe perfectly:
Cashews + Almonds: If you need the recipe to be nut free, you could substitute with extra sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, or flax seeds. You would need to make sure that the volume of the substitutes is the same as the quantity of the nuts that are being substituted. Alternatively, if you didn't need the recipe to be nut-free, you could swap out the cashews + almonds and use walnuts or pecans. Just make sure they are chopped into small pieces and not whole.
Coconut Sugar: I added this as an unrefined granular sweetener to sweeten the bars because I only used ¼ brown rice syrup as a binder. Feel free to substitute with your favorite granular sweetener.
Brown Rice Syrup: I used this to give the bars a "sticky" texture; however, you could also use maple syrup (they will not be as sticky).
Vanilla Bean Powder: Can be substituted with organic pure vanilla extract in the same amount.
Cinnamon: I added for flavor, but it could be omitted if you prefer.
Himalayan Pink Salt: This is my salt of preference; however, feel free to substitute with sea salt.
Coconut Oil: If you need the recipe to be 100% oil-free, this can be omitted.
Chocolate Chips: The chocolate drizzle can be omitted. Additionally, you could skip melting the chocolate and mix the mini chocolate chips into the mixture before baking the bars.
Order Recipe Ingredients
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Gluten-Free Vegan Chewy Nut and Seed Energy Bars
Ingredients
For the bars:
- ¾ cup organic raw cashews
- ¾ cup organic raw almonds
- ½ cup organic raw pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup organic sesame seeds
- ½ cup organic coconut sugar
- ¼ cup organic brown rice syrup
- 1 teaspoon organic vanilla bean powder
- 1 teaspoon organic ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch Himalayan pink salt
For the chocolate drizzle:
- ¼ cup Enjoy Life mini-chocolate chips
- ½ teaspoon organic coconut oil
Instructions
Prepare the baking pan:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Line an 8 x 8 baking dish with parchment paper and set aside. This is an important step because you will need to quickly add the nut mixture to the baking dish once it's ready to keep it from hardening in the bowl.
Prepare the nuts and seeds:
- Add all the nuts and seeds (cashews, almonds, pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds) to a medium mixing bowl and stir them so they are evenly distributed. Set aside.
Prepare the sweetener:
- Add the sweeteners (coconut sugar and brown rice syrup) to a small saucepan and heat on low-medium heat. Stir continuously until all the coconut sugar is dissolved, but taking care that it doesn't burn.
- Add the vanilla bean powder, cinnamon powder and Himalayan pink salt and stir until it is blended in well.
Assemble:
- Quickly pour the sweetener mixture over the bowl of nuts and seeds and stir until it is evenly distributed and all the nuts are covered with the sweetener.
- Quickly pour the nut mixture into the baking pan lined with parchment paper. Press the mixture down firmly with your hands until it is flattened and tight.
- Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 18-20 minutes, taking care not to over bake.
- Remove from the oven and let it cool for approximately 30-45 minutes to allow the sweetener mixture to harden before cutting and serving.
Prepare the chocolate drizzle:
- Add all the ingredients for the chocolate drizzle to a small saucepan and heat on lowest heat, stirring until it's creamy and smooth, but taking care not to burn.
- Drizzle the chocolate over the bars after they have cooled off.
- Optional: Place the bars in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes for the chocolate to harden.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
Copyright Notice
The instructions, notes, and photographs for this recipe by Karielyn Tillman of The Healthy Family and Home™ website are copyrighted material. This copyrighted work is protected and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 International License and the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) and cannot be legally used without my written permission.
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- or my Real Vegan Method™ 14-Day Meal Plan Program with 42 plant-based vegan + gluten-free recipes made with clean, real food ingredients just like this one that you will love!
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