Homemade Clif Bars (No-Bake!)
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.
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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
Ingredients
- 1 cup (147 g) dates, pitted
- 1¼ cups (23.33 g) crisp rice cereal
- 1 cup (81 g) quick-cooking oats
- ¼ cup (36.5 g) coarsely chopped peanuts
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) ground cinnamon
- Pinch salt
- ½ cup (129 g) peanut butter
- ⅓ cup (113.67 ml) brown rice syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (45 g) mini semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Spray an 8x8-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray; set aside.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
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!
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
Really want to try these! Any suggestion for substitute for the brown rice syrup?
Hi Jane, If you can’t find brown rice syrup, you could substitute honey.
Those look so good–but I don’t have a food processor (hint hint)
OMG I LOVE clif bars!! I live off them sometimes when I’m in a rush! haha
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!
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!
Hi Jocelyn, I haven’t tried those, but I will definitely check them out!
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.
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.
What a great idea! I’m excited to try these.
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!
Such a good idea to recreate these! I LOVE the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Clif bars :)
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!
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.
These look really great! Love homemade versions of store-bought foods!
Nicely done!! I love Clif bars, they are great on the days that I work out 2 times
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 :).
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.
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.
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.
@ Marcy, I don’t think you understand the definition of HOMEMADE. I don’t understand how this was misleading in any way. Michelle never claimed that this was lower anything. Just an alternative to buying it at the store. Do your homework/research and make a clif bar that meets your expectations.
Mmm…these look delicious! I’ve always wanted to try making Clif bars homemade!!
I love Clif bars, but they get to be a little expensive. Thanks for doing this recipe!
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!
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!
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)
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.
Any suggestions where to purchase brown rice syrup in southern California?
I purchase brown rice syrup in the organic/health food section of my regular grocery store.
Recipe sounds great I live in the UK and would like to know where I can get brown rice syrup from?
Hi Julie, Unfortunately, I’m not familiar with the UK and where certain ingredients are available. If you can’t find it locally, you might try ordering it online, or you can substitute agave nectar.
I used honey and it came out great! Love the recipe makes a great breakfast!
I’m in San Diego, and Sprouts has it in their baking aisle near the maple syrup and other sweeteners
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.
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.
I love making homemade bars with dates and oats – so many ways to go from there and yours look great!
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!
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!