Raw Cranberry Energy Bars (Homemade Nakd Bars)
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Raw Cranberry and Nut Energy Bars are vegan, gluten-free and sugar-free. Full of protein and bursting with fruity flavour. The recipe is my version of Homemade Nakd Bars - but these taste so much fresher and more vibrant.
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I make no bones about it, these energy bars are a shameless copy of the Nakd bar. I was completely reliant on Nakd bars when I worked as a TV Producer. I was either too busy to have breakfast so I grabbed one of these, maybe I had edits that ran over lunch so I kept going by pulling one of these out of my bag, or I was working late which meant that dinner was pushed until I got home at some heinous hour and my Nakd bars would once again save the day. I always had heaps of them crammed into my desk drawer, handbag and coat pockets.
Having exhausted all the flavours of Nakd bars during my obsession with them I always wanted to give them a go myself, after all there is only about four ingredients listed on the back of the packets. I should have carved out time to do this years ago, as they were one of the easiest things to prepare. If you own a food mixer then that’s all you need to whizz up the ingredients before you press into a tin, refrigerate and then cut into bars.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Gorgeous zingy flavour.
- Packed with protein to satisfy your snacking cravings.
- Easy to make.
- Gluten-free.
- Vegan.
- Refined sugar-free.
What ingredients do you need?
- Medjool dates. By using the toffee like medjool dates we are adding more flavour and more sticking power so these bars hold together well.
- Dried cranberries.
- Macadamia nuts. You can swap for cashews if macadamias are hard to find.
- Blanched almonds. You can swap for cashews if you like.
- Freeze dried raspberry powder. Optional but gives a great colour and gorgeous zesty flavour to these bars.
This recipe is perfect if you are overrun with dried cranberries from Christmas that need to be used up.
Medjool dates are used alongside the cranberries, and are the main ingredient in any Nakd bar to bind the bars together. Plump sticky medjool dates add juiciness and deeper flavour. There are more dates than cranberries in this recipe but the dates add the background note whilst the overriding zingy flavour is of the cranberries.
The combination of cranberry and macadamia work so well together and we also add a little almonds to the mix to balance out the strong flavours (and almonds are cheaper than macadamias!)
The freeze dried raspberry powder is totally optional and I wouldn't necessarily bother buying it in for this recipe if you don't have any in but the flavour does lift the whole bar so it tastes fresher somehow.
How to make these Raw Cranberry Bars
- Line and grease a baking tin.
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor until they come together into a sticky ball.
- Tip the mixture into the baking tin, press down on top so the surface is even.
- Place in the fridge for a couple of hours to firm up then remove from the tin and cut into 12 bars.
Top tip. Line your baking tin with parchment that goes up the sides and overhangs the tin which will help you remove the bars from the tin.
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How to store
These bars should keep for about a week in the fridge but you could also double the quantity I’ve suggested here and stick them in the freezer so you have lots to keep you going. These make about eight so you can move onto another flavour when these are done.
More energy boosting no-bake snacks you'll love
- Green Banana Flour Chocolate Protein Balls
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Cereal Bars
- Gluten-Free Blueberry Coconut Bars (very similar to Nakd Bars too!)
- Chocolate Tahini Energy Balls
- No Bake Granola Bars
- Coconut Lime Energy Balls
✨Have you tried these Raw Cranberry Energy Bars? If you liked them, please leave a 5-star ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ rating on the recipe card and consider leaving a comment as well! I would love to hear about how your recipe turned out and your feedback also helps other readers✨
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Raw Cranberry Energy Bars (Homemade Nakd Bars)
Ingredients
- 180 g medjool dates - pitted
- 75 g dried cranberries
- 75 g macadamia nuts
- 50 g blanched almonds
- 1 tablespoon freeze dried raspberry powder - optional
Instructions
- Line and grease a 5 x 5 x 3 inch* square baking tin with two long pieces of baking parchment so they cross in the middle and come up and over the sides of the tin.
- Place all the ingredients in a food processor and combine for 3-5 minutes until all the components have broken down and come together into a sticky ball.
- Tip the mixture into the baking tin, press down on top so the surface is even.
- Place in the fridge for a couple of hours to firm up then carefully remove from the tin, using the long ends of the baking parchment as leverage and cut into 12 bars.
- Store the bars in the fridge in between snacking for about a week.
I just made these- gave one my husband and I am not joking the first thing he said was 'these taste exactly the same as those nakd bars we had'! So there you go, mission accomplished. They are delicious. We live in mexico and nakd bars are super expensive so now I have a way to make them at home! thank you!
I'm so happy to hear that - thank you for letting me know these bars have been a success for you!
Any substitute for the raspberry powder?
I really don’t want to order online just fit one recipe.
It's totally optional. It just gives a more intense fruity flavour but the bars are still very good without it.
I realize this post is a little older so I’m not exactly expecting a reply, but I found this recipe on pinterest. I really wanna try this out, but sadly I can’t have dates. Do you think I could substitute a little honey and another dried fruit like blueberries or cherries for this? Maybe even soak the dried fruit a little so they’re partially rehydrated?
Hi Myrissa, you can substitute any dried fruit for the dates - blueberries and cherries sound lovely. You can add honey if you like but it's not needed and the bars will already be quite sweet. I wouldn't recommend soaking the fruit. If you also want another very similar recipe to this one which might give you more ideas then check out these Healthy Coconut and Blueberry Bars.
Hi Georgina, Thank you for the awesomeness...
What can i use instead of dates? Will apricots work?
Hi Fay, yes dried apricots will work as long as you use really moist ones fresh out of the packet as it is the stickiness of them which will bind everything together. They won't be as sticky if you don't use dates but should be absolutely fine - and delicious I'd wager!
This might e the reason to get out of bed right now 🙂