No-Bake Kitchen-made Clif Bars

Soft, chewy kitchen-made Clif bars made with oats, crisp rice cereal, flaxseed, nut or seed butter, and dried fruit. The endlessly adaptable no-bake bars are vegan, gluten-free with the appropriate ingredients, and straightforward to pack for lunches, travel, hiking, and everyday snacks.

Introduction

Kitchen-made power bars sustained me through graduate school, so I have always had a soft spot for a sturdy, portable snack. I first shared these kitchen-made Clif bars in 2008, after realizing that my husband and I were spending a small fortune keeping the packaged version around.

My goal was a bar with the soft, dense chew of an oatmeal cookie—not a dry, crunchy granola bar. The first baked version was dense enough to double as construction material. Fortunately, I went back to the drawing board.

The winning recipe requires no baking at all. Crisp rice cereal, quick-cooking oats, flaxseed meal, dried fruit, and chopped nuts or seeds are bound together with warm nut butter and maple or brown rice syrup. The mixture takes only minutes to assemble, and the bars become firm and pleasantly chewy once chilled.

One of the reliable parts of revisiting a recipe this old is seeing how it has settled into other people’s kitchens. Readers have made the bars for school lunches, long bike rides, college care packages, hiking trips, and busy workdays. One reader recently told me she has been making them for more than ten years—and has prepared well over 100 batches in different flavors. That makes me happier than any shiny new energy-bar wrapper ever could.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Soft, dense, and chewy rather than hard or crunchy
• No oven required
• About 10 minutes of hands-on preparation
• Made with familiar, affordable pantry ingredients
• Straightforward to customize with different fruits, nuts, seeds, and nut butters
• Naturally vegan when made with maple or brown rice syrup
• Gluten-free when prepared with certified gluten-free oats and cereal
• Plain to make nut-free with seed butter and seeds
• Individually portable for lunches, travel, hiking, and snacks

Ingredients

The exact amounts of each ingredient are indicated in the recipe card at the end of the post.Toggle betweenUS Customary(volume) andMetric(weights) for preferred measurement option.

• Crisp rice cereal:Adds lightness and a subtle crunch. Use a certified gluten-free variety if needed; not every crisp rice cereal is gluten-free.
• Quick-cooking oats:Their smaller, thinner texture helps the bars bind and gives them the soft chew of an oatmeal cookie. Do not use sweetened instant oatmeal packets.
• Flaxseed meal:Adds a pleasantly substantial texture and helps absorb and distribute the binder. Use ground flaxseed, not whole seeds.
• Dried fruit:Raisins, cranberries, cherries, dates, or dried apples all work. Chop larger fruit into small pieces so the bars cut and hold together more easily.
• Nuts or seeds:Finely chopped nuts or seeds provide texture and make the bars more satisfying. Almonds, peanuts, walnuts, pecans, pepitas, and sunflower seeds are all good choices.
• Maple syrup or brown rice syrup:Sweetens the bars and helps bind them. Brown rice syrup is thicker and generally produces the firmest, chewiest bar; maple syrup creates a slightly softer texture.
• Nut or seed butter:The principal “glue” in the recipe. Peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter, and tahini all work. Stir natural nut or seed butter thoroughly before measuring.
• Vanilla extract:Rounds out the flavors and gives the bars a cookie-like quality.
• Ground cinnamon:Optional, but especially good with dried apples, raisins, dates, or cranberries.

How to Make Kitchen-made Clif Bars

Note that the complete instructions are also in the recipe card below.

1. Prepare the pan.Lightly spray an 8-inch square pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line it with parchment paper, leaving enough overhang to lift out the chilled bars.

1. Combine the dry ingredients.In a large bowl, mix the crisp rice cereal, quick-cooking oats, flaxseed meal, dried fruit, and finely chopped nuts or seeds.

1. Warm the binder.Combine the syrup and nut or seed butter in a small saucepan. Heat over low to medium-low heat, stirring constantly, just until the mixture is warm, loose, and completely blended. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

1. Mix thoroughly.Pour the warm nut butter mixture over the cereal mixture. Stir until every dry ingredient is evenly coated. The mixture will be thick and sticky; once it is cool enough to handle, using your hands is often the easiest way to finish mixing it.

1. Press firmly.Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan. Place a sheet of parchment or waxed paper over the surface and press very firmly into an even, compact layer. Pay particular attention to the corners and edges.

1. Chill and cut.Let the mixture cool slightly, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Lift it from the pan and cut into 8 bars with a sharp knife.

Taste and Texture

The bars are softly chewy, dense, and slightly crisp, with a texture closer to a tender oatmeal cookie than a conventional crunchy granola bar. The exact flavor depends on the nut butter, fruit, and nuts or seeds you choose.

Brown rice syrup gives the bars their firmest, closest-to-packaged-bar chew. Maple syrup makes them slightly softer and adds a gentle maple flavor.

Storage

Wrap the bars individually or place parchment between the layers in an airtight container.

• Room temperature:Store for up to 2 days in a cool kitchen.
• Refrigerator:Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks for the firmest texture.
• Freezer:Freeze for up to 3 months in an airtight container or freezer bag. Individually wrapped frozen bars thaw in approximately 30 minutes at room temperature.

Flavor Variations

Use chopped dried tart cherries for the fruit and lightly salted roasted almonds for the nuts. Almond butter is especially good here. Add 1/4 teaspoon almond extract along with the vanilla.

Use finely chopped dried apples for the fruit and toasted walnuts or pecans for the nuts. Include the cinnamon.

Replace the dried fruit with an equal amount of miniature dark chocolate chips (vegan and/or gluten-free, as needed), cacao nibs, or carob chips. After combining the warm binder with the cereal mixture, let it stand for 10 minutes before folding in the chips so they do not melt.

Use chopped dried cranberries for the fruit and raw or lightly toasted pepitas for the seeds. Sunflower seed butter, almond butter, and peanut butter all work well.

Use finely chopped dates for the fruit, dry-roasted peanuts for the nuts, and peanut butter for the nut butter.

Tips for Success

Too much cereal, oats, fruit, or nuts can overwhelm the binder and make the bars crumbly. Spoon the oats and cereal lightly into the measuring cups rather than packing them down.

Do not heat the nut butter by itself. Combine it with the liquid sweetener first, then warm the two over gentle heat, stirring constantly, just until smooth and fluid.

Pour the binder over the dry ingredients immediately. Stir and knead the mixture until no loose or uncoated patches remain.

Compression is essential. Cover the mixture with parchment or waxed paper and use the bottom of a flat measuring cup to compact it firmly and evenly, especially around the edges.

Give the bars at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator before lifting and cutting them. A sharp chef’s knife makes the cleanest cuts.

Ingredient Substitutions

Quick-cooking oats produce the reliable texture because they are smaller and thinner. If you only have old-fashioned rolled oats, pulse them briefly in a food processor until they resemble quick oats. Do not grind them into flour.

Quinoa flakes can be substituted measure for measure for the quick-cooking oats. They will give the bars a somewhat different flavor, but their small, thin shape works well in this recipe.

Yes. Use sunflower seed butter or tahini in place of the nut butter and replace the chopped nuts with pepitas or sunflower seeds. Check every packaged ingredient if the bars must be appropriate for a severe allergy.

Yes, if the bars do not need to be vegan. Honey has a more pronounced flavor and may make the bars taste sweeter. Brown rice syrup produces the firmest, chewiest result.

A similar unsweetened crisp rice cereal is the easiest substitution. Readers have also reported success with puffed rice and puffed millet cereals. Choose a certified gluten-free cereal when necessary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Crumbly bars are usually caused by overmeasured dry ingredients, a dry or poorly stirred nut butter, incomplete mixing, or insufficient pressing. Warm the syrup and nut butter together, coat the dry ingredients thoroughly, and compact the mixture very firmly before chilling.

They can be. Use certified gluten-free oats and a certified gluten-free crisp rice cereal. Standard crisp rice cereals may contain barley malt and are not necessarily gluten-free.

Yes. Firmly roll the warm mixture into balls instead of pressing it into a pan, then refrigerate until firm.

Protein powders vary considerably, so they are not a direct addition to my tested recipe. If you want to experiment, add only a few tablespoons at first. If the mixture becomes dry or crumbly, work in nondairy milk or water one teaspoon at a time until it holds together.

Yes. Wrap the bars individually and place them in an airtight freezer container or freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months and thaw at room temperature for approximately 30 minutes.