Julie Clark
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Paleo Nut Energy Bars
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Packed with nuts, dates and a hint of cinnamon, these Paleo Nut Energy Bars are great for an afternoon snack.
Paleo Nut Energy Bars
Today I’m sharing with you something on the healthier side. After the sweet rolls, chocolatey cookies and rich cheesecakes that I’ve been sharing with you lately, we all need something we can eat and feel good about afterwards.
Enter: Paleo Nut Energy Bars. Gluten free, grain free, sugar free and dairy free. And yet still slightly sweet and cinnamony.
I came across a recipe called “Rocket Fuel” in a cookbook titled Everyday Paleo Family Cookbook. I loved this cookbook because it is filled with just what it says…paleo recipes that you can fix for your family with everyday ingredients. Although I’ve only seen one, I can imagine that they are all worth buying.
I took that recipe for rocket fuel and changed it up just a bit to make energy bars that I could make up a batch of and pull out when I needed them. Whether it is for breakfast, a pre-workout energy boost, a later afternoon I-can’t-wait-until-dinner snack, these energy bars have become a regular in our house.
How to Make Energy Bars
Ready in under 30 minutes, the paleo snack bars are super easy to whip up. You’ll use your Ninja Express Chop or food processor (anyone want to buy me that for Christmas?) to chop up pecans, walnuts, almonds and dates into small pieces. I find sometimes that the dates are hard to chop up because they are sticky. If I put a few dates in with the nuts while they are chopping, it seems to help them get chopped into nice little pieces much better. I have also used kitchen scissors to cut the dates into tiny pieces. That works just as well!
You’ll mix up all of those protein-packed nuts and sweet dates and add in egg whites, cinnamon and a touch of vanilla.
I make our bars in a 9×13 pan. Line it with oven-safe parchment paper or aluminum foil and spray the it with some coconut oil spray so that the bars don’t stick to the paper.
Press the mixture into the pan and bake it at 350 degrees for 16-18 minutes. When the bars are done, you can pull up on the wax paper and use a pizza cutter to slice your energy bars into the size bars that you’d like. I cut mine into 16 rectangles.
Energy Bars Sweetened with Dates
Dates are rich in natural sugar and carbohydrates, which gives these best paleo energy bars such an awesome kind of sweetness. Yes, I know that dates should be eaten in moderation on a paleo diet due to their sugar content, but we are a family of runners and they are a good, quick dose of carbs when we are preparing for a long run. Please do check the ingredients label on your dates. Many from the store have added sugar, but you can find them without added sugar. The only thing listed on the ingredient label should be: Dates!!
How to Store Energy Bars
I store my paleo nut bars in the freezer. Like, way back in the freezer, hidden from sight so that the kids don’t eat all of them. And even though I like them at room temperature, eating them cold makes me feel like I’m having a special treat. They’re so good.
Enjoy!
Paleo Nut Energy Bars
Packed with nuts, dates and a hint of cinnamon, these Paleo Nut Energy Bars are great for an afternoon snack.
Servings 16
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 17 minutes
Total Time 27 minutes
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients.
- To prepare the 9x13 pan, line it with parchment paper or aluminum foil and spray it with cooking spray. Press the nut mixture into the bottom of the pan.
- Bake for 16-18 minutes. Allow the bars to cool for 5 minutes, then pull on the wax paper to remove them from the pan. Use a pizza cutter to slice the bars into rectangles of the size you'd like.
Notes
You can use a mixture of whatever kind of nuts you'd like. We've used cashews before, too. I normally use egg white that come in a carton instead of separating the eggs and having a bunch of yolks left over.
Nutrition
Calories: 227kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 19mg | Potassium: 231mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 10IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 1.1mg
I made “chia eggs” to equal 3/4 cup since I am allergic to eggs. Seems to be holding together. It needs a little something. I drizzled some honey on top–YUM. Next batch, I will mix honey into the mix. Thank you for this recipe!
I have made these multiple times. My coworker found the recipe and gave it to me because she saw me buying lara bars. This is a little cheaper and way better to make your own. I actually added an extra tbl of cinnamon. I freeze them and eat them frozen on the way to work. I do blend them all the way down so there are no big chunks of nuts. I use whole eggs, seperate them. If you don’t bake or use yolks in sauces then freeze them in an ice cube tray and give a yolk a day to… Read more »
I made these this summer and loved them. I thought for some reason the amounts of cinnamon and vanilla were slightly too much, so I reduced them a little. I should have trusted the recipe! They were really good and could have used the amounts as written. So I made them again, plus a dash of cayenne and cardamom. I adjust the nut amounts based on what I have on hand, so I did 2 cups walnuts, 1 cup almonds, half a cup pecans, half a cup sunflower seeds. Great! I love how they’re not too sweet. I freeze them wrapped… Read more »
Anyone try aquafaba instead of egg white? Thanks
What is a cup? Please use weight.
I’ve wanted a nut and seed bar recipe for years, but most use honey or maple syrup as the glue, so they turned out too sweet. So I’m thrilled to have this easy and delicious egg white/date recipe. I used pecans, walnuts, pepitas and almonds. I overprocessed the nuts. Next time I will run the food processor just a bit on the nuts, knowing they’ll get chopped more when I process in the dates. I had giant Medjool dates (Thrive Market brand), so I used only 6 in my half recipe. They were a little dry, so I used a… Read more »
Every add almond butter? Curious if it’d stay in the bars during cooking or melt out. Regardless, sounds like an awesome recipe!
These turned out great! Very light in flavor.
These are SO good. I feel guilty eating them but then I realize I can pronounce everything I put in her here and have another 🙂
My family loves these bars. They’re a quick and easy snack to make. I’m delighted to have found a snack that is satisfying and not icky sweet. I place all the ingredients in my Ninja except for the egg whites and vanilla. It’s a breeze when you do it that way. I sometimes add dried apples to the recipe.
Mmm these are sooo good! I made a couple adjustments I thought I’d share. 1. I used 3/4 creamy peanutbutter instead of egg whites. 2. I added 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (on top of all the nuts). 3. I added 1/2 tsp sea salt. 4. I increased the vanilla to 2 1/2 tsp (love vanilla!) and they turned out amazing! Will definitely be making these again. Also as a tip, I soaked my dates in hot water for 10 minutes so they were nice and soft. Helped them blend better 🙂
Easy and delicious!!!!
I am currently on my January Whole30 and whipped up a batch of these instead of buying RX or Lara Bars. I omitted the vanilla extract to keep it compliant and added a cup of almond butter and 2 tablespoon of cocoa powder. They turned out delicious! Everyone I shared them with have asked me for the recipe. *Once cooled, I melted a 100% cocoa bar and drizzled it on top w shredded coconut to make it super treat. Thank you!
These look amazing and I can’t wait to make them and send to my college freshman who needs snacks throughout the day with his crazy schedule and lacrosse meets, and with barely anytime to eat! Hoping to add a bit more egg to keep them from crumbling, and he does have a freezer in his dorm! Thanks!