Does any one else remember the giant yellow Kudo’s bars box from Costco, or that just me? I would beg my mom to buy us those every time we went to Costco and she would say no evetime. Now I understand because those bars were loaded with sugar, and artificial flavorings. Don’t worry thought because I came up with a recipe that only uses a handful of healthy ingredients, and they taste amazing.
I love making granola bars from scratch because I know exactly what ingredients I’m putting in, and I get to decide what flavor combos I want! It is also cheaper to buy a bunch of bulk granola bar ingredients like oats, nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips… and make a batch every week! This is also a great activity to get your kids in on, and they can choose their favorite mix in ingredients.
How do I store these bars?
I suggest cutting them into individual servings and then wrapping them in some plastic wrap or parchment paper. Store them in the fridge and they will last up to two weeks or you can store them for up to a week in the pantry.
Key ingredients for these homemade Kudo’s bars:
- Gluten free old fashion oats
- I like using old fashion oats because they give a chewier texture to the bar compared to instant oats. If all you have are some instant oats then that is perfectly fine.
- Brown rice crisps
- These are a must, and they give these bars a nice crunch to them! I chose to use brown rice crisps over white rice, but either will work.
- Cashew butter
- I like to use cashew butter when I don’t want the nut butter flavor to be overpowering. You can also use peanut butter, almond butter or sun butter, but be aware that each nut/ seed butter will change the flavoring of the bars.
- Maple syrup
- I would definitely recommend a sticky liquid sweetener as compared to a granulated version. This helps the bars stick together a lot easier! You can also sub with honey or agave.
- Chocolate
- I had two types of chocolate, one to drizzle on top and some chocolate candies to toss in with the mixture. I used the dark chocolate gems from Unreal.
Heathy Kudo’s Bars
Ingredients
- ¼ cup cashew butter
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- ⅓ cup rolled oats
- ⅔ cup brown rice crisps
- ¼ tsp salt
- handful of chocolate candies
- 2 tbsp melted vegan dark chocolate
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the peanut butter and maple syrup. Then add in the oats, brown rice crisps, and salt. Mixed the wet and dry ingredients together until everything is well combined.
- Next, fold in the chocolate candies.
- Transfer the mixture to a baking pan and flatten it out using a rubber spatula.
- Top with some more chocolate candies and a drizzle of dark chocolate.
- Let the bars chill in the freezer for an hour, then they are ready to serve!
