If you’ve hung around me enough you will know that I’m never without a Clif bar. In my purse, in the car and when we’re traveling, in my carry-on bag. It is a habit I’ve picked up as a cyclist or more likely it’s as my husband says…I’m just “always hungry”. Clif bars are conveniently packaged, are very easy to carry around, they last quite a long time, come in tons of flavors and really do provide that energy boost and silence the hunger pangs.
I’ll go for months favoring one particular flavor over the others (peanut butter, oatmeal raisin walnut, mint chocolate). The flavor of the moment is their Blueberry Crisp and I’ve got my eye on Coconut Chocolate Chip, too. The blueberry bar has such a pleasant, fresh taste compared to the other varieties. Typically, one bite or two is enough to tide me over until I have a real meal but I have to say I’ve had no trouble eating an entire blueberry bar. I don’t really know what prompted me to attempt to make them at home since I have a full supply in the pantry but I did exactly this as soon as we returned home from Palm Springs a few days ago.
I found this recipe from the Power Hungry site which I used as the foundation for my version. I really wanted to incorporate the blueberry flavor and to add the other ingredients that I like and I’m happy to say it worked here. While I generally like peanuts, I had a feeling that using peanut butter as a binder and peanuts for the crunch would overpower the blueberries. Instead, I used the almond butter that I shared in my previous post and it worked out very well. The almond butter provided a nutty quality but it also let the other ingredients shine. The pine nuts, to me, made sense because of their size and mellow flavor and I added whole flaxseeds (per the original recipe there is flaxseed meal in here, too) simply because I’m crushing on them right now and keep looking for ways to use them. They worked perfectly here (and may I suggest sprinkling them over greek yogurt? Yum.).
Most homemade energy bars use brown rice syrup as a sweetener/binder but I didn’t have that; I had agave sweetener. The latter, by volume, is much sweeter than plain sugar while brown rice syrup is less so (though I’ve read that agave nectar has a lower glycemic number). I adjusted quantities based on this information, supplemented with honey and came up with a ratio that I was very pleased with–there was enough liquid to bind all the dry ingredients but there is no sweet aftertaste at all. The blueberries shine here which is what I was after all along.
For legal reasons I don’t think I can call these Clif bars, right? But if you’ve sampled the widely popular product before, you know that these bars really look nothing like the original bars that inspired them. Compared to the Clif product these have a lot more rice cereal, oats and nuts (and flaxseed) but they do share the fresh, fruity taste that you’ll love after you take a bite of one of these bars. It’s all the taste, energy and nutrition you’ll need combined in one convenient little bar.

Blueberry Breakfast Bars (No-Bake)
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups crisp rice cereal
- 3/4 cup + 1/8 cup oats or a full 1 cup per original recipe (I used old-fashioned oats)
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed meal
- 1 tablespoon whole flaxseeds
- 1/4 cup dried blueberries
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 1/2 cup almond butter here's my homemade version
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 2 - 2 1/2 tablespoons agave nectar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
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Prepare an 8x8-inch baking pan by spraying with cooking spray and lining the bottom with wax paper with overhang on two sides.
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In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients: rice cereal, oats, flaxseed meal, flaxseeds, blueberries and pine nuts.
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In another smaller bowl, combine the honey, agave sweetener and almond butter. Heat this mixture up either in the microwave (30 seconds at a time, stirring in between) or on the stove just until the mixture is smooth and you can stir everything together easily. Stir in the vanilla extract.
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Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon. You may need to use your hand to make sure all the ingredients are incorporated completely. Press the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and make sure to really press down. I lined the top with wax paper and used the bottom of a glass to press down. Cool on a wire rack (if your liquid mixture was pretty hot) then refrigerate for at least a half hour to help the bars set. I cut mine in 8 1x2-inch bars. Wrap the bars in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
Inspired by homemade Clif Bar recipe from Power Hungry site.
What a wonderful way to use your yummy almond butter. My kids will LOVE these!
These bars look so tasty, Jean! A perfect use for your almond butter!
I want to make these right this very minute…because I want one!!! These look fantastic, Jean!!!
Delicious! I would take these homemade bars over a store-bought Clif bar, any day!
So artful. I wonder how many I can fit in my purse! GREG
These bars look great! I love no-bake recipes, so easy and healthy.
Oh, Jean!! Absolutely fabulous! I think I could clear a pan of these all by myself, however this is the ideal after school snack for Liv and her friends on our carpool days. This one is totally going on our menu!!
Yum, l always have a granola bar in my car or purse too and it’s a sad day when I realize I didn’t replace the last one I ate and find myself starving! These bars sound really good to me I will be trying them soon.
Oh wow, I love that these are no bake!
Delicious looking bars! A wonderfully healthy treat/snack. perfect for taking on hikes.
Cheers,
Rosa
I’d have to say these are the grown-up version of rice krispie treats. I should re-think that never leave home without food thing. I’m always out running around and thinking, I’m so hungry. I tried granola bars once and they came out dreadful. These sound much better. Hope you had a good trip.
-Gina-
I make homemade granola all the time but haven’t yet ventured into making homemade snack/breakfast bars. This is great, especially because it is no bake! I love all the flavors you used, too.
Okay Jean – these look and I am sure taste WAY better than a Clifbar (no offense to Clifbar) but just sayin. These are a must make soon! 🙂
I love Clif bars, especially when I find them on sale for $1 each 🙂 These bars of yours look great and they would probably save me a few dollars!
Do you think these would be just as delicious with dried cranberries or cherries? I love blueberries, but it would be nice to have multiple favors to choose from.
Miranda, absolutely. The other ingredients are a good foundation for other flavors. In fact, I plan on using other fruits myself to experiment. Let me know how it goes. 🙂
How much for the whole bar? Lol. Seriously, you can try selling your stuff to Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. Better yet, go to Shark’s Tank and get someone to invest in your granola bar business! I’m sure these are so delicious that nobody can resist them!
I think you could go into business with these blueberry breakfast bars ! Like the idea of a sprinkle over some Greek yogurt 😉 Going to check out your almond butter- sounds wonderful!
I’ve never had or even seen a Cliff bar but these looks so much better than the homemade versions I’ve seen! Waaay more appetizing. Definitely bookmarking this for later!
We were totally on the same wavelength that day 🙂 I’m going to have to try your bars next, Jean – I add dried blueberries to my smoothies and am always surprised at how sweet they are.
I am partial to the chocolate mint variety, but this sounds like a great one to try. I love making my own bars at home!
These look wonderful. I love that they’re no bake!
Blueberries and almond butter together sounds terrific.
I love everything about these bars – will be making them soon!
Yours are so much prettier than mine! 🙂
Super Excited about these. My son has a peanut/treenut allergy so he doesn’t get to “granola” bars unless we make them at home. I substituted sun butter for the almond butter and sunflower seeds for the pine nuts. We tasted them before we put them in the pan and they were tasty! Thank you!!!
Plusses: Recipe is easy to follow; ingredients readily obtainable – and the end result is delicious
Minus: Followed the recipe to the letter as best I could; but was disappointed that the “bars” did not hold together in the least – they fell apart completely – seems like some additional moisture or something is needed to bind them together better?