I am so excited to have Sara from A Teaspoon and A Pinch guest-posting today. I am thrilled that she is sharing her recipes for homemade Lara Bars with us! Please take a minute to check out some of her other delicious REAL FOOD recipes on her website.
Hi there! I’m Sara from A Teaspoon and A Pinch! A few weeks back, Katie was sweet enough to guest post on my food blog, so I’m here returning the favor in kind. And I’m sooo excited to share this recipe with you.
Katie and I are both working to cut sugars, gluten, and processed foods from our diets. So, I find myself snacking a lot on Lara bars because they’re such a convenient way to meet those needs. But man alive, they are an expensive daily habit. So I set out to make my own. And they’re so easy! And with a basic recipe, it’s really fun to come up with new flavors! These are the flavors we loved best, and I keep our refrigerator stocked with at least a couple of them.
Homemade Lara Bars
heavily adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie
Instructions:
Soak the dried fruit in warm water for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, gather remaining ingredients and pour into a food processor. Drain the fruit and add to the food processor. Process for 30 – 60 seconds or until the mixture sticks together when pinched with your fingers. Pour into a loaf pan and press firmly into bars with a spatula. Chill for 10 minutes and then cut into 6 bars. Store refrigerated for up to two weeks.
Cherry Pie Bars
- 1 c. (160g) dried, unsweetened cherries
- 1/4 c. (40g) dried, unsweetened dates
- 1/3 c. warm water (for soaking fruit)
- 1 c. (120g) almonds
- 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla
- dash salt
Sunshine Bars
- 1 c. (160g) dried, unsweetened pineapple
- 1/3 c. warm water (for soaking fruit)
- 1 c. (120g) cashews
- 1/4 c. (20g) unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1/2 tsp. lemon zest
- dash salt
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars
- 1 c. (160g) raisins
- 1/4 c. warm water (for soaking fruit)
- 3/4 c. (60g) oatmeal (not quick-cook)
- 3/4 c. (90g) cashews
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla
- dash salt
Blueberry Muffin Bars
- 1 c. (160g) dried, unsweetened blueberries
- 1/4 c. (40g) dried, unsweetened dates
- 1/3 c. warm water (for soaking fruit)
- 1/2 c. (40g) oatmeal (not quick-cook)
- 3/4 c. (90g) almonds
- 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. lemon zest
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla
- dash salt
Chocolate Craving Bars
- 1 c. (160g) dried, unsweetened dates
- 1/3 c. warm water (for soaking fruit)
- 1 c. (120g) almonds
- 2 Tbsp. baking cocoa
- 1/4 c. (50g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla
- dash salt
Shared with Frugally Sustainable, Growing Home Blog, Time-Warp Wife, Life As Mom, A Bowl Full of Lemons, The Homestead Barn-Hop, The Greenbacks Gal, A Rural Journey, Organizing Home Life, The Green Phone Booth, My Favorite Finds, The Better Mom, Michelle’s Tasty Creations, Fit and Fabulous Fridays, Gluten-Free Fridays, and Women Living Well.
OH, I’m trying these ASAP! Where do you typically buy your dried fruit? I know most grocery stores carry them but is there a more cost-effective way to buy them? I’ve never had a Lara bar so I’ll make these first. Thank you both!
Julie – Do you have a Trader Joe’s near you? They’re my go-to for dried fruits and nuts, because they’re priced much more reasonably than other places. And usually any store with bulk bins will be cheaper than buying packaged dried fruit at your grocery store.
I did buy my dates from Whole Foods, because they were “juicy” and not hard like the ones in cans. But most recipes out there use grocery-store dried dates, so I’m sure they’d work.
Very cool indeed. I may make some of these for Alycia to snack on.
Hurrah! I’m in love with the Sunshine Bars. I never thought I’d grab something citrus-y over chocolate, but I love that one!
Awesome! I was just lamenting the cost of my Lara habit. Can’t wait to try these!
I love Lara Bars. They are expensive, though. Thanks for sharing the DIY version!
Is the water listed in the ingredient list in addition to the water used for soaking fruit?
That water listed is the soaking water. Sorry I wasn’t more clear about that!
NOW I see this. I was wondering why it was coming out too wet. :/
Love Larabars. These look so delish! Look forward to making some here. Thanks
*anna
Oh my gosh I am SO obsessed! We love larabars but sometimes they re so expensive. Love your recipes and blog
Carly @ ryandcar.blogspot.com
These look wonderful. I’m going to pass the recipe on to my Dad – I think he’d like them!
Hmmm Lara Bars – I assume these are pretty healthy? Do you know any info on calories etc??? Please and thank you!
They all sound so good!
These look delicious and I love the idea of using dried and/or unsweetened fruit.
Thanks so much for sharing at Rural Thursday this week. xoxo
Those look so delicious! It would be much healthier than anything I currently snack on.
Hi, hoping over from The Green Phone Booth. These look amazing! I need to try the blueberry muffin bars since I have loads of dried blueberries but am getting tired of them in my oatmeal lately.
Is there an orange or lemon version? Any idea for the calories/carbs for these?
Nancy, You could easily make the Sunshine Bar more orange-flavored by using orange zest instead of the lemon zest. You could also soak the dried pineapple in orange juice instead of water to impart even more orange flavor.
As for calories, these babies aren’t exactly low. They have similar nutrition info to regular Lara bars. I eat them because they’re whole food and are a portable snack that gets more fruit into my diet
YUM! Just wanted you to know that you are featured this week at The Prairie Homestead during the Barn Hop! Way to go!
Thank you!
SO happy to have found an easy home-made version of these. Thanks so much for sharing!
WHOO-HOO! This is so timely and I sure am happy you saw fit to share these recipes. I just discovered Lara Bars last week (got one bite!) I sent a handful off with my very elderly folks, since mom is diabetic, hoping it would be a good thing to have on hand in case of car trouble, etc. I wanted to KEEP them for myself after that one taste… and knew I wouldn’t be buying them just for myself after that, either! They cost almost $2.50 apiece, so even with an initial investment into nuts and dried fruits it should at least even out in cost- and I’d be interested how that works out in the end.
Thanks so much!
If you figure out the cost comparison, please share! Enjoy!
I’m a numbers geek, and I crunched some numbers for you (and also to convince myself that making these is a worthwhile endeavor).
I keep almost all these ingredients on hand, and I get most of them from Costco. The pineapple and coconut flakes were priced quickly online, but they seemed on par with my local grocery stores (Northern Virginia).
Without factoring the spices, extracts, salt or zest, the bars come out to…
52 cents/cherry pie
51 cents/sunshine
42 cents/oatmeal raisin
59 cents/blueberry muffin
43 cents/chocolate craving
I don’t keep cashews around, so I fudged your oatmeal raisin cookie bars with walnuts and almonds instead, which was 36 cents/bar.
In other words, a whole heck of a lot less than the price of a Larabar, and just as good! Costco sells a box for about a buck per bar, but then you get what you get in terms of flavors.
Sweet! Thanks for sharing!
Yum, I’ve never had a Lara bar, don’t think we have them in Australia, but I hear so much about them on the web. These look fabulous, and no grain/no sugar is what we try to do. Perfect, can’t wait to try and make them!
Let’s us know what you think!
These look awesome! Can they be made in a blender if you don’t have a food processor? Thanks!
I am SUPER excited to try these out but first I need to purchase a food processor.
Do you have a recommendation on a brand that works best for you and that you have had a great experience with?
Thanks!
I have a KitchenAid 12 cup that rocks. It was my grandma’s and when she passed away 10 years ago I inherited it. It is over 15 years old and still works like new. They are expensive, but should last a LONG time.
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Could you make it without the nuts? My kids are allergic to all nuts, any kind of nut, and it’s really hard to find something I can make that doesn’t involve nuts. But I didn’t know since it has fruit and other items in it. Thank you so much!
I make some for myself without nuts. They are gummier, so I roll them into small bite size balls and keep them in the fridge. Can they do flax seed? You can add some ground flax seed to give it some bulk as well.
Thank you! I will try the flax seed. I am not sure if they are allergic to that or not. I’m eager to try it though.
There is a post over at 100 Days of Real Food that substitutes seeds (sunflower and pumpkin, etc) for the nuts. I’m hoping to try that out for my nut-allergic daughter!
Do you have a recipe for the apple pie bars?? They’re my favorite!
I would maybe try making them like the cherry pie bars, but substitute dried apple slices for the cherries. You could leave the almonds, but I like walnuts with apples, so I might use those instead. Personally, I would leave the cinnamon/vanilla seasoning combo as-is, but anything you’d put in an apple pie would likely turn out great!
Thanks for the inspiration, I think I’ll track down some apples and give it a try.
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Oh. yes. please!! Larabars are great and being able to make them yourself just made them even better
Thanks!
These look and sound delicious! I’ve never had a Lara bar but I’m going to make some
Thanks so much for stopping by Creative Thursday last week. I couldn’t do these parties without you. Can’t wait to see what you link up this week. Have a great weekend.
Michelle
I LOVE these recipes!!! Dates are my favorite, so I can’t wait to try all of them! Thank you for sharing on Fit and Fabulous Fridays!
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These are incredible!!!! So far I have made the chocolate craving, oatmeal raisin (twice, once with cashews, then with almonds, both are great but I like the cashews better) and the sunshine bars. So easy too! Definitely a keeper (and pinner!). Thanks for sharing.
I can’t wait to try these! I have two questions: First, I accidentally bought figs instead of dates, could I use those instead? Second, I have some blueberry fruit leather instead of dried blueberries, could I use that for the blueberry muffin one?
I would think any type of dried fruit would be fine to add sweetness.
I just made the blueberry pie ones and the chocolate craving ones. Both are amazing. I used medjool dates (didn’t soak them because they were already moist), but I did add just a few sprinkles of water to make sure they came together.
Also used 1/2 almonds and 1/2 cashews for the chocolate ones. Can’t wait to try the others!
Oh, and instead of a loaf pan, I molded the two flavors side by side in an 8×8 square pan lined with parchment.
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I made my first batch. I used dried cranberries, almonds and oatmeal. They are awesome and even husband approved! Wow!
He said they are pretty filling and great to eat on the train to Chicago in the morning. I wrapped them individually in a little piece of foil so they are easy to grab and go. I’ll be trying more versions. Thanks!
Awesome!!
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Katie! THANK YOU!!!! I’m going to feature you again this week, I’ve been wanting to make my own laura bars (they are so darn expensive in the store) and am so thankful that you linked these up this week. I know what I”ll be making this weekend!
You’ll have to thank the lovely Sara for the recipes!!! She rocks!
What about something with peanut butter? My brother in law liked that one of the Lara bars the best, and is liked to try to make him some from scratch.
You can get a great peanut butter powder called PB2 I found it on Amazon was cheapest. It is dried peanut butter without all the fat yet has all the flavor. Bet you could make any of these.. especially the oat one and add a TBS or 2 ! Would taste great
http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&keywords=pb2&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Apb2
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Can they be made with fresh dates in place of dried dates??
I’m not sure, I haven’t tried fresh dates. If you try it, let us know!
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Is there any way to make any of these bars without nuts? I would like to bring them in my lunch, but my workplace is nut-free.. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
You could try using seeds, such as pumpkin or sunflower seeds.
Ohhhh……reading the comments and now I know why it was so wet!!!! You need to update the recipe a bit on the direction part. I added the water to the mix and it’s a mushy mess…but let me say it’s a YUMMY mess and my daughter and I are just eating it out with a spoon. I did the cherry one. Wow, tastes JUST like a tart cherry pie! It is amazing!!!!!! Can’t wait to try it again…but the right way this time.
This looks wonderful !! Have you tried freezing them?? Also I hope people make sure to get dried fruit that is not coated in sugar like so much of it is. Would just ruin the healthiness!
I can’t wait to make these
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