Homemade Clif Bars (No-Bake!)
73 comments » 
I had been in the dark about Clif Bars until just a couple of months ago. I had heard of them, but I typically don’t buy bars like that, so I had never tried one. I met a good friend for dinner one night, and she was giving me the details about her relatively new job. Among the perks were free, healthy snacks in the cafeteria area. She said that there were bins of Clif Bars, and when I mentioned that I’d never tried them, she pulled one out of her purse and gave it to me. A few days later I was spending the bulk of the morning running errands and without fail, found myself starving. I didn’t want to get fast food or hit a vending machine and then remembered that I had the Clif Bar in my purse. I dug it out and gave it a try. It took approximately 2.2 seconds for me to realize why so many people are such big fans of these bars. It only took another 10 seconds to start brainstorming ideas for a homemade version. Through some trial and error, I came up with an awesome replication of the Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch variety.
Even though there isn’t anything inherently “bad” for you in these bars and they are certainly a step above your typical processed granola bars, but I still relish making anything I can from scratch in my own kitchen. I grabbed the wrapper to study the ingredients, did some Googling and finally came up with these bars. I absolutely love them – they’re sweet, chewy, a little crisp and packed with flavor. These are sweetened with brown rice syrup, don’t include any sugar and are gluten-free. These make an awesome snack, and are a perfect substitution for breakfast or lunch if you’re running late or on the go.
If you’ve had them, what’s your favorite Clif Bar flavor?
One year ago: Maple-Walnut Fudge
Two years ago: Pancake Cupcakes with Maple-Bacon Frosting
Three years ago: Chewy, Fudgy Triple-Chocolate Brownies
Five years ago: Beef Mushroom Barley Soup
Homemade Clif Bars
Yield: 9 bars
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup dates (pitted)
1¼ cups crisp rice cereal
1 cup quick-cooking oats
¼ cup coarsely chopped peanuts
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch salt
½ cup peanut butter
1/3 cup brown rice syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chipsDirections:
1. Spray an 8x8-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray; set aside.
2. Place the dates in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Combine the pureed dates with the cereal, oats, peanuts, flaxseed, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.
3. Combine the peanut butter and brown rice syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until melted and completely blended. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
4. Pour the peanut butter mixture over the oat mixture and stir until well combined. Gently stir in the chocolate chips. Turn the mixture into the prepared pan and press firmly to pack the mixture into the pan. Let the mixture sit until completely cool and set, at least 1 hour. Cut into bars, then wrap individually in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.
(Recipe adapted from Enlightened Cooking)
print
save
email
Yum, I love Clif bars! I would have one everyday if they weren’t a buck a pop! These look delicious! I have a bag of dates in my pantry that I wasn’t sure what to do with – I guess I know now!
Reply
I love Clif Bars! The Chocolate Chip Peanut, Carrot Cake, and Peanut Toffee Buzz flavors are my favorites. Great idea to make a homemade version!
Reply
I love making homemade bars with dates and oats – so many ways to go from there and yours look great!
Reply
I’ve had the mint chocolate cliff bar and it tasted great but these look even better. I love that they’re homemade so you know exactly what’s going into them and you can kind of customize the flavors to your own taste.
Reply
Beautiful photo, Michelle! My issue with Cliff Bars is that they’re way to sweet for me, especially in the morning (I say this with a mega sweet tooth). But your version looks perfect to me! Brown rice syrup is a great addition.
Reply
Any suggestions where to purchase brown rice syrup in southern California?
Reply
Michelle on September 25th, 2012 at 12:51 pm
I purchase brown rice syrup in the organic/health food section of my regular grocery store.
Reply
Heather S. on September 26th, 2012 at 5:26 pm
I’m in San Diego, and Sprouts has it in their baking aisle near the maple syrup and other sweeteners
Reply
I love Clif bars!!! Cool mint is probably my absolute favorite…but there are a lot of great flavors! I really like the Clif Builders Bars for after a work out.
Reply
Our whole family loves Clif bars!! Especially my younger brother. Our favorites are the Maple Nut, the Banana Bread and their seasonal flavors! (Pumpkin and Gingerbread)
Reply
I have so many friends and family members with food sensitivities/allergies/restrictions (vegan, gluten free, dairy free, no eggs, no sugar, etc) that this tasty sounding recipe is a godsend. I can’t wait to make it and hope it is as tasty as it sounds!
Thanks for sharing!
Reply
I don’t know if you planned for this, but the nutrition and serving size for your bars comes out really close…and I like even better because you don’t use soy.
The originals are here: http://www.clifbar.com/food/products_clif_bar/
Brown Eyed Better Bars
Serving Size 72 g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 285
Total Fat 12.3g 19%
Saturated Fat 3.1g 15%
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 127mg 5%
Total Carbohydrates 41.5g 14%
Dietary Fiber 4.5g 18%
Sugars 25.5g
Protein 7.1g
I hope you’ll replicate some of the other flavors!
Reply
I love Clif bars, but they get to be a little expensive. Thanks for doing this recipe!
Reply
Mmm…these look delicious! I’ve always wanted to try making Clif bars homemade!!
Reply
These look amazing, Michelle! Unfortunately, however, I just calculated the nutritional information per your recipe and serving size. 8 Weight Watcher Plus points for one bar. UGH
That’s a bit steep to do anything but have the occasional indulgence of these yummy looking treats.
Reply
Marcy on September 20th, 2012 at 5:37 pm
I get the same WW point calculations Becca H……
I don’t mean to be critical but I would not label this recipe as a Homemade Clif bar….while similar….they have more calories, more sugar, more carbs and less protein than the original. Kind of misleading for folks that are looking for a homemade less expensive alternative.
Reply
Michelle on September 25th, 2012 at 12:55 pm
Hi Becca and Marcy, I’m sorry you’re disappointed in the WW points calculation; I don’t follow the program so I’m not sure what affects the point levels. These are slightly larger portions than a traditional Clif bar; if you’d like to reduce the calories, carbs, etc. you could cut them into smaller bars. That being said, the actual ingredients are very, very similar, and of course the nutritional stats aren’t going to be exact (that would be nearly impossible), but they are in the same ballpark. Store-bought Clif bars aren’t low-calorie, low-carb or low-fat.
Reply
I am SO excited about your homemade Clif Bars. I LOVE them. My favorite is the white chocolate macadamia nut ones (best with a skinny vanilla latte
.
Reply
Nicely done!! I love Clif bars, they are great on the days that I work out 2 times
Reply
These look really great! Love homemade versions of store-bought foods!
Reply
I’ve actually never had a Clif bar, but your recipe looks amazing … and anything with peanut butter is a win for me!! I think there will be some bar making very very soon.
Reply
Omg, these are so perfect. I love Clif bars for the convenience but I also hate the idea of processed ingredients. Yours a totally worth whipping up. Thanks!
Reply
Such a good idea to recreate these! I LOVE the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Clif bars
Reply
These are a great snack to have on hand whether it’s before/after exercising or a long morning of errands. Definitely need to try!
Reply
What a great idea! I’m excited to try these.
Reply
These sound delish. I have not ever tried a Clif bar, did not like to think about eating to much processed food, but I can’t wait to try these.
Reply
You NEED to try the white chocolate macadamia kind, it is my favorite. I hate when people say “so and so healthy treat tastes like cake, brownie, etc..” but this one actually tastes like cookie dough to me! These look soooo good. I think I need to make a batch asap.
Reply
I’m afraid our family doesn’t care for the traditional Cliff bars, but my husband really likes the Cliff Mojo bars, and I eat a Luna bar every day. Is there any chance you might take up the challenge of making these bars? I would be thrilled if you did!
Reply
Michelle on September 25th, 2012 at 12:55 pm
Hi Jocelyn, I haven’t tried those, but I will definitely check them out!
Reply
I recognized the basics of this recipe, (the flax seed was a tip off) and being the amateur food anthropologist that I am, checked out when your source published their recipe. That was 2008. I’ve been making these since finding a recipe on Epicurious a couple years ago, which was sourced to a contest winner at the Plains Peanut Festival in Georgia, back in 2001. I have a feeling there are variations going back a lot farther than that. And btw, I’ve found many Asian food stores are a good source for brown rice syrup, particularly H-Mart, a Korean owned company which literally, has stores on both coasts. It’s pretty cheap there. Enjoy your work!
Reply
OMG I LOVE clif bars!! I live off them sometimes when I’m in a rush! haha
Reply
Those look so good–but I don’t have a food processor (hint hint)
Reply
Really want to try these! Any suggestion for substitute for the brown rice syrup?
Reply
Michelle on September 25th, 2012 at 12:56 pm
Hi Jane, If you can’t find brown rice syrup, you could substitute honey.
Reply
I’ve been making something like this and playing with the recipe, love the addition of brown rice syrup. so much better for you than something that has been on the shelf for who knows how long. Nice work.
ww.saltyfig.com
Reply
I love Luna bars (the ‘For Women’ Clif bar) and pretty much depended on them to be my breakfast in college! These look so similar to the real thing — the rice cereal is really the key!
Reply
Wow another great thing to take to work… midnight is a “trap” if you don’t plan what you are having during the night,,, you end up eating too much junk… thank you… never used brown rice syrup… hmmm …. health food store???
Reply
Michelle on September 25th, 2012 at 12:56 pm
Hi Roxanne, I actually get brown rice syrup at my regular grocery store, in the “healthy” section where there are a few short rows of organic, gluten-free, etc. products.
Reply
I love the chocolate mint cliff bars – so might have to try that one! These look great. Now if I just knew where to get brown rice syrup….
Reply
Does anyone know how long these will keep in the refrigerator? And what section of the grocery store would I find brown rice syrup? I’ve never used it so I have no idea.
Reply
Michelle on September 25th, 2012 at 12:57 pm
Hi Mandy, These will keep for about a week in the refrigerator. You could also store them in the freezer for an even longer shelf life. I actually ate one straight from the freezer last week (I let it sit out for about 15-20 minutes) and it was great!
Reply
These look super yummy! I tried making granola bars last year and that ended terribly. I’m definitely gonna try this soon
Reply
This would be perfect for my daughter who has gluten allergy. What can I substitute the peanuts/peanut butter. She is allergic to that too.
Reply
Yeah, gotta try these. My son has an allergy to eggs, wheat, and dairy. I hope he likes these. It is so hard to find things he is willing to eat, but he loves peanut butter and chocolate, so we shall see.
Reply
These are beautiful! And I’m sure you can save a bundle of money making your own Clif Bars
Reply
My husband eats at least one a day, so this is great. I will have to leave the chocolate out and may play with some spices. Thanks for the great idea.
Reply
the white chocolate macadamia nut are out of this world!!! target will occassionally have them on sale for $5 for a box of 6 so i stock up!
Reply
the white chocolate macadamia nut are out of this world!!! target occassionally has them on sale for $5 for a box of six so i stock up!
Reply
I’m a fan of Clif products – their granola bars (more geared toward children, but the child in me just had to have them) are always a winner in my house! Definitely going to have to give these guys a try!
Reply
the cool mint flavor is my favorite!
Reply
Also following you on twitter now – yum!
Reply
I’m definitely going to try these! just slightly sad that they aren’t nutritionally adequate to real Cliff bars
Here in Canada, Cliff bars are $2.50 a piece! Granted I’m obsessed with them and will pay whatever the cost, but these will be my guilty version of cliff bars when I’m craving something sweet. Thanks for creating these and sharing with everyone!
Reply
I love the blueberry ones of the clif Z Bars (they are the kids version) but they are mega delicious
Reply
The Coconut Chocolate Chip Clif bars are by far my favorite – they taste just like an Almond Joy!
Reply
This would be great as a post-workout snack! Must try.
Reply
I eat Clif bars like a crazy person and probably could not make them frequently enough to fuel my habit! But I wanted to make these to get a little variety into my rotation. I love the flavors. But I have one suggestion that worked out well for me: my dates became a firm puree instead of pieces and were difficult to mix with the oats/cereal, so I threw everything back in the food processor (oat, cereal, dates, nuts, and all) and they mixed well and I think the texture is even better! So if anyone is having trouble mixing, give this a shot! Next time I might pour the PB/rice syrup into the food processor, too. Thanks for the fun recipe!
Reply
I found your recipe tonight and had to try it. It is quick, easy, and delicious. I had to substitute a few ingredients but it was still great. This recipe is already a hit at my house.
Thank you..
Wendy
Reply
Yum!! Love a homemade version of anything, plus no-bake?! Win-win!
Reply
i am sooooooooo gonna try this! our favorite Clif flavor is White Choc Macadamia. that being said, i have a few questions: can i omit the dates and peanut butter? or do they HAVE to be used because they are a “binding” agent? or are they used as a seperate “flavoring” for each flavor? are those ingredients specific to this recipe? as you can see, im very inquisitive,
Reply
Michelle on December 2nd, 2012 at 11:06 am
Hi Crystal, To answer your questions… the dates are indeed a binding agent. The commercial Clif bars use a “date paste” so that’s why I did the dates for a binding agent. If there’s something else you have that you want to use as a binder, you could, but that’s used as a binding agent, so you don’t want to eliminate it without using something else. The peanut butter you could play around with… maybe almond butter if you’re making macadamia?
Reply
crystal on December 2nd, 2012 at 5:39 pm
cool!! Thanks!!
Reply
Just a note. There is some controversy over the gluten status of oats. I only know this because my mom is having to switch to a gf diet, and I am researching these things. Apparently, even though regular oats have only a very low gluten content, those who are extremely sensitive to gluten may want to substitute gluten free oats in this recipe, just to be sure. I can’t wait to try this! I work out a lot, and buy Clif bars in bulk from Costco. The idea of making them from scratch has major appeal for me!!
Reply
Holly on January 2nd, 2013 at 3:35 am
I was just going to say the same thing about it not being truly gluten free as there are oats in it. My father in law has celiac disease and oats are included in the list of gluten containing products he has to avoid. I would suggest labelling them as low gluten rather than gluten free.
Reply
I substituted almonds and raw almond butter for the peanuts and peanut butter, ground chia seeds for the flaxseeds, left out the chocolate chips, and added a few crushed graham crackers bc I was low in Rice Krispies. Despite all the changes, they turned out great! Softer than Clif Bars, and without the aftertaste (soy protein, maybe)? Thanks so much!
Reply
Sound delish! Been looking for a breakfast energy bar to get me going. This looks like it will be great. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Reply
Michelle, I tried to read through most of the comments and i didn’t see anything about this….if you already answered it I’m so sorry! I made these bars today and they tasted absolutely amazing! I am working my way through Insanity…and many times for a post workout snack OR just to keep in my diaper bag for when I get hungry….cliff bar! My husband also likes to take them to work. Therefore, we go through many of these! So I added a few dark chocolate chips to the recipe and also used honey instead of the brown rice syrup, simply because I didn’t have any on hand. NOW-like I said….we loved how these bars tasted! My husband said that if I can fix one thing about them that he will never eat another Cliff Bar again! So, the only problem we had with these was that they were still a little crumbly. Not bad at all, but if you put them in a bag or purse and just throw it around (which happens to this moms bag all the time!) it would definately crumble. NOW, my question for you is if you had this problem at all?? Would it change anything to bake it for a short amount of time?? Use more dates?? Or is it because I didn’t use brown rice syrup?? I know you have done tons of research and put much time and work into these bars, and in no way do I want to belittle that at all!! I understand the time and work that goes into things like this…and I just wanted to let you know that I greatly appreciate you sharing this with all of us! Just wondering if you have any suggestions for me?!?! Thanks so much!
Reply
Michelle on February 26th, 2013 at 5:19 pm
Hi Sarah, I didn’t find the bars to be crumbly at all. You could try using more dates so that the binder is thicker. I don’t think that using honey instead of brown rice syrup would make a difference since they have a similar consistency. You could also try refrigerating them, which may firm them up.
Reply
Michelle -I put some in the fridge and some in the freezer….the freezer ones are definitely less crumbly..almost perfect! Will try more dates next time just to see…but these are near perfect!! I doubled the recipe and made a 9 x 13 pan and they are almost gone. Love love love these!!!
Reply
Hi, can’t wait to try these! I’m interested in adding in some whey protein powder, just curious if you think I might want to adjust the recipe if I did so. Thanks!
Reply
Michelle on March 26th, 2013 at 12:05 am
Hi Chris, I haven’t added whey powder, but I don’t see why you couldn’t. It would all depend on how much you add; might want to cut back on some other drier ingredients or else they may end up a little crumbly.
Reply
I’m drooling over these!!! They look so good
Reply
Can you make this without using dates? I saw another lady used prunes but I wouldn’t want to use that either.
Reply
Michelle on May 5th, 2013 at 11:10 am
Hi Kendle, The pureed dates is what creates the sticky texture needed to bind the bars. You could probably use another type of dried fruit (figs, maybe?) if you prefer.
Reply