Cashew Coconut Snack Bars

Easy dried fruit & nut bars with only 8 wholesome ingredients. Gluten free, wholesome, and simple!

It’s the return of SNACK BAR SALLY! I promise you, she is nothing to be afraid of. Errr, unless you resemble Monday morning at 8am and there hasn’t been any coffee.

I made snack bars again! As you can tell. They come to you today for a reason. I may have had one too many sugary treats lately. Did you see the crumb cake I made last week? Yeah. My teeth hurt. Even though I am a firm believer in chocolate and treats, I’m always trying to be somewhat serious about healthy eating. (Side note: lately I’ve been making a batch of these healthy quinoa patties to eat through the week, as well as these lean turkey meatballs. Both recipes keep through the week pretty well and are so convenient to just heat up for a quick, healthy dinner.)

This is why I try to make things that actually taste good, but aren’t total sugarbombs.

Hello, tasty fruit tart.

Let me explain what these snack bars are. They’re like KIND bars. Almost identical, in fact. I love KIND bars. I’m sure you do too. My snack bars are made with dried fruit and nuts. No grains or refined sugars. Just real food. Real, easy food. I brought my vanilla almond version along on a camping trip last month. We loved them so much (oh. I mean I loved them so much because I nearly ate them all myself) that we… uh… I immediately wanted to test out another version. Enter: coconut and cashews.

Ahhh the cashew. With their smooth, buttery texture and delicate flavor, this healthy little nut is the main ingredient in today’s chewy snack bars. They pair so well with coconut too! So, into the mix goes a whole bunch of unsweetened coconut. If you don’t like coconut, don’t feel left out. You can sub in other yummy things. See my recipe notes below.

What else is in these healthy bars? Not much really, but the other ingredients deserve some explaining.

First, almond meal. For anyone not familiar with almond meal, it’s ok. Almond meal is just ground almonds– ground almonds before reaching the stage of almond butter. Almond meal (also known as almond flour, if using blanched almonds and grinding a little more fine) is so easy to make at home; cheaper than buying pre-made almond meal or almond flour. Simply pulse them until they reach a gritty flour-like consistency. Like this:

What’s the point of the almond meal? It helps to bind the snack bar’s ingredients. Something flour could easily do, but grain-free is what I’m going for.

For a little sweetness and additional flavor, add some chopped dates and honey. Just like my original version, I do not recommend thinner liquid sweeteners like maple syrup or agave. Rather, you want a thick liquid sweetener. Brown rice syrup works too. Only 1/3 cup for the entire batch of bars. A little salt provides the perfect contrast to the sweet honey and dates. If you love salty sweet, these snack bars are right up your alley.

One more fun ingredient: ch-ch-chia seeds! I love these little buggers. Chia seeds are tiny little black seeds resembling poppy seeds. Don’t be fooled by their small size; these things come with MASSIVE health benefits like fiber, protein, and calcium. Read more about chia seeds here if you’re interested. Also: they’re a little crunchy just like poppy seeds. So good in chewy snack bars like this! You can find chia seeds basically anywhere these days. Look near the dried fruit/nuts/seeds.

To hold everything together, these snack bars are baked at a low temperature for a small amount of time. Make sure you wait until the bars are completely cool before cutting into them. Otherwise: sticky fingers, crumbly mess.

These cashew coconut snack bars are really easy to make. Super healthy and you can totally trick your mind that you’re eating dessert. My confection-loving tastebuds are left happy and there’s absolutely no sugar crash. Wins for everyone! Take that, crumb cake.

Kidding! There’s room for that too.

Follow me on Instagram and tag #sallysbakingaddiction so I can see all the SBA recipes you make. ♥

Cashew Coconut Snack Bars

Yield: 12 bars

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Easy dried fruit & nut bars with only 8 wholesome ingredients. Gluten free, wholesome, and simple!

Print Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup (114g) honey or brown rice syrup¹


• 1/4 cup (30g) almond meal²


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 1 Tablespoon (15g) almond butter


• 1 and 1/3 cups (200g) Diamond of California raw unsalted cashews, roughly chopped


• 5 dates, coarsely chopped³


• 3/4 cup (60g) shredded unsweetened coconut⁴


• 1 Tablespoon chia seeds

Special Equipment

• Food processor or small blender to easily chop the cashews or make the almond meal (here's the own I own and love!)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300°F (149°C). Line an 8 or 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper with enough overhang on the sides to easily remove the bars from the pan. Set aside.


2. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, mix the honey, almond meal, salt, and almond butter together until combined. Fold in the cashews, chopped dates, coconut, and chia seeds until combined.


3. Transfer mixture to prepared baking pan and press very firmly into an even layer. You really want it packed in tight- as tight as possible. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack for 1 hour, then transfer to the refrigerator to chill for 1 more hour. This helps firm up the bars which makes them stay compact. Remove bars from the pan using the overhang on the sides and cut into bars. Individually wrap each bar in plastic wrap or parchment. Store at room temperature for 1 week or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. I find they get a little sticky at room temperature over a few days, so I prefer the refrigerator.


4. Make ahead tip: These bars are freezer friendly. After wrapping individually, freeze for up to 3 months and thaw before enjoying.

 

Recipe Notes:

1. I do not suggest a thinner sweetener like maple syrup or agave-- honey or brown rice syrup is perfect.


2. You can use store-bought almond meal or almond flour, or you can make your own. Start with 1/4 cup of slivered, sliced, or whole almonds. Pulse them in a food processor until a crumbly meal has formed. Do not run the food processor continuously; you may end up with almond butter. Little pulses are best. You will end up with around 1/4 cup almond meal.


3. Instead of dates, try 1/2 cup (75g) raisins or dried cranberries.


4. Not a fan of coconut? Try using 3/4 cup sunflower seeds, chopped peanuts, almonds, pistachios, or cashews. I use unsweetened coconut because it doesn't have any added sugars and has such pure flavor. If you can't find unsweetened coconut, you can use sweetened. The bars will be quite sweet with it, so I suggest using salted cashews to balance it out.

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For another flourless recipe, try my coconut macaroons.

And here’s my vanilla almond version of today’s snack bar.

SHOP THE RECIPE

Here are some items I used to make today’s recipe.

Glass Mixing Bowls | Cuisinart Food Processor | Ninja Master Prep | Mariani Pitted Dates | Square Glass Baking Dish

I’m working with Diamond of California to bring you today’s recipe. Thank you for allowing me to work with brands I love! This post contains affiliate links.

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