These brown rice cereal bars, filled with seeds and dried fruit, are super-quick to make and provide a nutrient-dense treat that tastes decadent. My gosh, these are yummy, if I do say so myself! No baking or machines required, just a bit of patience as they set up in the refrigerator.
Makes 9 or 12 squares
- 1/2 (scant) cup brown rice syrup
- 1/2 cup cashew butter or other nut butter (peanut, almond, etc)
- 2 cups crispy brown rice cereal (I use the Erewhon brand)
- 1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds or pepitas (salted or not)
- 1/4 cup hemp seeds or 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup cranberries or raisins
- 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, optional
Combine the rice syrup and cashew butter in a medium saucepan. Bring to a slow simmer, then stir or whisk together until well blended.
Remove from the heat and add the remaining ingredients; stir to combine completely.
Transfer to a lightly oiled 8 by 8 or 9 by 9-inch baking pan. Score into 9 or 12 pieces (it’s easier to cut while still warm!). Place the pan in the refrigerator until set, about an hour or so. If you’re impatient, go for it sooner than that, but expect some stickiness to prevail!
- Here are more No-Bake and Raw Sweets.
12 Comments
RobW
March 3, 2014 at 11:12 amMy wife, and I, made these as an alternative to vegan rice crispy treats — which we usually make with store-bought marshmallow fluff — and it worked!!! They are like a hybrid of a trail bar and a rice crispy treat! Next time, we are going to experiment with mallow flavoring to get the taste closer to a rice crispy treat… but, these are really good, as is. Thanks for the recipe!
Patricia Battaglia
March 25, 2014 at 8:29 pmThese are awesome! My family gobbled them up, even the ones who are suspicious of healthy treats!
Nava
March 25, 2014 at 8:30 pmYay! I’m so happy to hear that. Thanks, Patricia.
jeannesius
March 25, 2014 at 8:54 pmNever heard of brown rice syrup. What is it?
Nava
March 25, 2014 at 9:02 pmJeanne — it’s just what the name implies, a liquid sweetener made purely from brown rice. You’d find it at any natural foods store. A reader on FB said she used maple syrup and it worked. I worried that it might not be sticky enough (rice syrup is very sticky) but apparently it was. So if you want to use a more familiar ingredient, give it a try!
Laura
March 25, 2014 at 9:17 pmWhat is the calorie count? Any other nutritional value will help too.
Nava
March 25, 2014 at 9:18 pmLaura, I don’t have nutritional stats on this. I hope to be able to install a nutritional value widget on VegKitchen at some point.
Dawn
March 28, 2014 at 7:26 amNice recipe! I made these with brown rice syrup, but I do often sub maple syrup in this style of recipe. If it doesn’t seem thick enough, I add a bit of molasses.
Audrey
April 29, 2014 at 8:39 amDo these have to be kept refrigerated? I’m thinking about making something like this for a 4 day backpacking trip but I won’t be able to keep anything cold.
Nava
April 29, 2014 at 8:41 amAudrey, these should be fine as long as where you’re going isn’t too hot, as they could just get softer and gooey. You might also carry them around in a container that has a small packet of dry ice.
kiana
May 20, 2014 at 10:47 pmi usually have to modify recipes but followed this one and it turned out great! thanks for a truly wonder recipe! On a side note, to all those who usually lean toward raw desserts, you really do need to heat the nut butter and brown rice syrup to be able to mix the rest of the ingredients in. I was a little reluctant at first but once I started, realized why it was necessary.
betsy
February 11, 2015 at 9:20 pmcan’t wait to make those, in Peru so need to modify have a few of the ingredients, but will use carob syrup in place of brown rice syrup, have a lot or sesame seeds that I need to use up