Almond Granola Bars (Energy Bars)

Almond granola bars are healthy, homemade and delicious. Great for a snack, breakfast or a treat. Saffron and rose flavored, these are refined sugar free.

If you love granola, our Homemade Granola with Cardamom and Cashew is a must try. 

What Are Granola Bars?

A granola bar is a snack food prepared with rolled oats, puffed cereals, nuts, honey or other sweeteners such as maple syrup, brown sugar and flavorings.

These bars are often baked until toasted and golden brown, sometimes crunchy or chewy. They are a popular option for a quick breakfast, lunchbox treat or a snack.

Are Homemade Granola Bars Healthy?

Just because they are homemade they may not be healthy if they use artificial ingredients or too many rich ingredients. Good health requires balance and moderation.

Pro Tips

• Use about 3½ to 4 cups granola bar mixture for one 8" x 8" baking pan .
• You can change the ratios of oats to puffed cereal, or even replace nuts with some chocolate chips. You may cut out the puffed cereal and replace oats.
• Extra nut butter can help make firmer granola bars that hold together better.
• Toast the grains and nuts for 10 to 15 minutes at 350ºF to enhance flavor and texture.
• You may soften the dried fruit such as raisins and chopped apricots by soaking the dried fruit in hot water for 10 minutes. Be sure to drain the dried fruit well and pat dry with paper towels before using.
• You can store granola bars in airtight containers. They can also be frozen in food safe freezer bags.
• If egg whites and rose water are used, it gives a more chewy and softer granola bar. Skipping egg white and replacing rose water with vanilla flavor results in a more hard and firm texture.

Variations

• Vegan: Use maple syrup instead of honey. Skip egg whites.
• Gluten Free: Use gluten-free oats and puffed rice cereal
• Nut Free: Replace almond butter with sunbutter, and use sunflower or pumpkin seeds instead of almonds and pistachios.
• Other Options: Other nuts (hazelnuts, pecans, walnuts, macadamia, cashews), seeds (pumpkin seeds, toasted sesame, sunflower seeds), coconut and/or chopped dried fruit (apricots, cranberries, raisins) may be used. May substitute ground cardamom or cinnamon for flavors.

Are granola bars good for you?

Granola bars are often considered a healthy treat by default. But not all granola bar recipes are actually healthy.

It really depends on the ingredients. A wholesome treat such as these almond granola bars use all whole ingredients, not overly rich and with no artificial ingredients.

Quite often though, granola bar recipes are literally calorie bombs loaded with rich ingredients. Those may work well for gaining weight.

But if you are looking for a balanced and healthy treat, choose recipes that use a combination of grains, cereals and some nuts, dates, honey or maple syrup instead of refined sugar, nut butters instead of dairy butter.

Using a combination of puffed cereal with rolled oats actually lightens up the granola bars by cutting down a little on the calories and carbs, since the puffed cereal are not as dense.

More Tasty Recipes:

• Carrot Breakfast Pancakes
• Oatmeal Banana Bread Muffins
• German Apple Pancakes
• Mango Chia Smoothie Bowl
• Date Bar Cookies

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Zaalouk (Moroccan Eggplant Dip)

Zaalouk is an amazingly delicious Moroccan salad or dip made with roasted eggplants. Easy to make, it tastes great with toasted bread. And gets even better the next day.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time40 mins

Total Time55 mins

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Course :Side Dish

Cuisine :Moroccan

Servings: 10

Calories: 77kcal

Author: Roxana Begum

Ingredients

• ▢ 1½ lbs eggplants globe variety, medium size
• ▢ ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ 1 lb tomatoes vine ripe
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 1 teaspoon paprika
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper or ⅛ tsp chili powder
• ▢ Salt to taste
• ▢ 4 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon juice adjust per taste

Optional

• ▢ Cilantro
• ▢ Red Pepper Flakes

US Customary - Metric

Equipment

• ▢
  Baking Sheet
• ▢
  Sauce Pan
• ▢
  Masher

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Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400˚F. Prick the eggplants with a fork in couple spots and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the skin turns darker and shrinks. Check foot notes for grilling, broiling or stove top options.
• The eggplants should be cooked through completely in the center. To check, press the back of a fork on the eggplant. It should compress easily all the way into the center without any resistance.
• Cut through the eggplant skin and scoop out the soft cooked flesh and mash it with a fork and set aside.
• Chop the tomatoes into small pieces, discarding some seeds if you wish. See note below for peeled and deseeded tomatoes.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan at medium setting. Add the chopped tomatoes, minced garlic, paprika, cumin, cayenne or chili powder, ⅓ teaspoon salt and cook until tomatoes are softened, stirring in between, about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Add the mashed eggplants and cilantro. Continue to cook over low heat for another 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, mashing it if needed, into a thick but slightly textured dip like consistency.
• Stir in lemon juice and salt. Adjust as per taste, let it cool and transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate it overnight before serving.
• Take the zaalouk from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving and let it come to room temperature. Drizzle with remaining olive oil. Garnish with cilantro and red pepper flakes if you prefer.
• Chunky Zaalouk: To make a chunkier but less traditional zaalouk, insert garlic cloves into eggplant and roast it in the oven at 400˚F, along with the tomatoes. Chop the eggplants and tomatoes. Add the spices, herbs, half the olive oil, salt and mash it up to desired consistency. Drizzle olive oil and serve.

Notes

• Cooking Eggplants:
  • Grill: Roast eggplants on charcoal or gas grill for 20 to 30 minutes, turning them slowly in between, until skin turns darker and shrinks.
  • Broil: Cut eggplants lengthwise into halves and place the cut side down on a foil lined baking sheet. Place on the second rack and broil until skin turns darker and shrinks, about 20 minutes.
  • Stovetop: Peel the eggplants completely, only some stripes or leave the skin on if you don’t mind it. Cut the eggplants into small pieces. Steam on high heat until soft or cook in a pan with some water until soft and mushy.
• Easy Zaalouk: Combine all ingredients with ⅓ cup of water and cook it over stove top until softened. Mash it up well and drizzle olive oil.
• Peeled and deseeded tomatoes: If you prefer, you can blanch the tomatoes. Cut a small cross on the surface of tomatoes and dump them in hot boiling water. After a minute, pick out the tomatoes and peel the skin, cut them into halves and deseed. Chop them into small pieces.
• Use more tomatoes if you want the dip to be saucy. You may even try using a little bit of tomato paste to give it thickness.
• Leftovers: Can be refrigerated for 4 to 5 days. You can freeze zaalouk for couple months. Thaw and reheat. Adjust the consistency, evaporating or adding water as needed. Check the seasoning as well.
• Nutrition facts not including any added salt.
• For other variations, tips and serving suggestions, scroll up the page to the blog post.

Nutrition

Calories: 77kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 5mg | Potassium: 280mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 526IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @thedeliciouscrescent or tag #thedeliciouscrescent!

5 from 5 votes

Almond Granola Bars

Almond granola bars are healthy, homemade and delicious. Great for a snack, breakfast or a treat. Saffron and rose flavored, these are refined sugar free.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time40 mins

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Course :Snacks

Cuisine :American

Servings: 10 bars

Calories: 264kcal

Author: Roxana Begum

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 cups rolled oats gluten-free
• ▢ ⅓ cup almonds chopped or slivered
• ▢ ½ cup almond butter creamy
• ▢ ⅓ cup honey or maple syrup
• ▢ 1 Tbsp olive oil light
• ▢ 1 egg white (optional)
• ▢ ½ tsp saffron ground or natural almond flavor
• ▢ 1 tbsp rose water or natural vanilla flavor
• ▢ ½ cup medjool dates (pitted and packed)
• ▢ 1 cup puffed cereal (kamut or rice)
• ▢ 1 Tbsp chia seeds (optional)
• ▢ 2 tbsp pistachios slivered

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Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the oats and chopped almonds on a baking sheet and toast for about 10 minutes.
• In a small saucepan gently heat the almond butter. Stir honey and oil into it.
• When cooled, add egg white (if using) and stir. Then add ground saffron dissolved in rose water (if using).
• Process the medjool dates in a food processor and mix it well into the wet ingredients above.
• In a medium bowl, combine oats, almonds, puffed cereal and chia seeds with the honey-almond butter mixture. Stir until well combined.
• Transfer the mixture to a 8 x 8 inch pan lined with parchment paper. Spread the mixture evenly. 
• Sprinkle slivered pistachios on the top and compact it well using the back of a wooden spoon.
• Lower the oven temperature to 300°F and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
• Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool completely before slicing the granola bars.

Notes

1. Use about 3½ to 4 cups granola bar mixture for one 8" x 8" baking pan .
2. You can change the ratios of oats to puffed cereal, or replace nuts with chocolate chips.
3. Extra nut butter can help the granola bars hold together better.
4. Toast the grains and nuts for 10 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for better flavor and texture. 
5. You may soften the dried fruit such as raisins and chopped apricots by soaking the dried fruit in hot water for 10 minutes. Drain the dried fruit well and pat dry before using.
6. Check the full blog post above for more tips.

Nutrition

Serving: 1granola bar | Calories: 264kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 7mg | Potassium: 282mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 20IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 1.7mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @thedeliciouscrescent or tag #thedeliciouscrescent!