Blog | California Center for Functional Medicine

Healthy Nut Bar Recipe

Written by Sunjya Schweig, MD | Apr 16, 2025 6:24:29 PM

These nut bars are a great alternative to granola bars, which usually contain grains, excess sugar, and/or vegetable oils. They are great travel snacks—but fair warning: they don’t keep their shape if left at room temperature for too long. If you find yourself with a bag of crumbles, throw them on top of some yogurt for the perfect grain-free granola topping.

Ingredients:

  • 6 cups nuts or seeds (I use 2 cups each of dry roasted almonds, cashews, and walnuts)

  • 2 cups raisins or dried cranberries

  • 2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes

  • ½ cup coconut oil (or butter, ghee)

  • 1 ¼ cups nut butter

  • ⅓ cup raw honey

  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

  • ½ tsp sea salt

  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon

  • Optional: dark chocolate bar

 

Directions:

  1. Grind the nuts/seeds in a large food processor for about 10 seconds, to create a variety of sizes, from sand-size to small chunks.

  2. Pour ground nuts into a large bowl, add in raisins and coconut flakes, and stir to combine.

  3. In a small saucepan, melt coconut oil, peanut butter, honey, vanilla, sea salt, and cinnamon on medium heat until it bubbles, stirring often.

  4. Pour the hot mixture over the dry mixture and stir until everything is coated evenly.

  5. Pour the mix into a 9×13-in. pan. Press down firmly and evenly.

  6. Optional: melt dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water (double boiler method). Drizzle chocolate over the pressed mix.

  7. Place in the fridge for at least six hours before cutting into pieces.