Lemon Pie Fruit & Nut Bars

Sweet, nutty and bursting with fresh lemon flavor, these lemon pie fruit & nut bars are perfect for a healthy snack or on-the-go breakfast! Similar to the fruit & nut bars found in the granola bar section of your grocery store, these bars made with just 5 ingredients are a perfect way to start the new year by eating whole, nutritious foods. And the best part? You can eat a healthy snack, while still actually enjoying what you’re eating!

I will have to admit that for much of my life, I’ve never been a huge granola bar fan. Most granola bars are sticky, super duper sweet and are far from satiating, not to mention that they are often loaded with unnecessary sweeteners and artificial flavors. However lately, I’ve discovered a kind of granola bars that are made with minimal ingredients and are only sweetened with dates and flavored with wholesome ingredients: fruit & nut bars.

I love these granola bars not only because the ingredients are simple, but because they aren’t too sweet and they don’t taste artificial. Because the ingredients are so simple, I started wondering if I could possibly make my own bars. And so I decided to try it. Hence the creation of these lemon pie fruit & nut bars!

While you can buy lemon pie fruit & nut bars from the store, sometimes it’s more fun to make them yourself! All you need are a few simple ingredients, a strong food processor and voila! You have your own homemade granola bars, perfect for all your snacking needs!

Ingredients You Need

Dates~ You can find dates in the dried fruit section of your local grocery store, or you can order them online. I prefer to use pitted dates, but you can buy whole dates and remove the pits yourself if you would like.

Rolled Oats~ Either old-fashioned or quick oats will work here.

Almonds & Cashews~ The lemon fruit & nut bars from the store contain both almonds and cashews, which is why I opted to use them here. However, you can absolutely use any nut that you prefer or have on hand, with the exception of peanuts. Almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans or even pistachios likely will work.

Lemon Zest & Juice~ Fresh lemon zest and juice is essential for achieving that tart, fresh lemon flavor that you want in these bars.

The Dance

To make these lemon pie fruit & nut bars, simply combine all of your ingredients in a food processor and process until you have a thick, sticky dough. Press the dough into a pan lined with parchment, let chill and then cut into bars. I like to wrap each bar in a square of parchment, making them easy to transport for snacking on-the-go. Watch the video below for a recipe visual:

When I made these lemon pie fruit & nut bars for the first time, my family devoured them within a day. Both kids and adults love them, and I can confidently say that I think your family will love them too! If you’re looking for “clean” snacks to start the new year off with a fresh start, then look no further than these homemade granola bars. I know you will love them as much as I do!

Granola bars aren’t your thing? That’s perfectly okay! I’ve got plenty of healthy recipes for you to choose from, whether you’re looking for a snack or breakfast option. Check out some of my favorites below:

One-Bowl Healthy Banana Bread

Blueberry Coconut Granola with Almonds

Peanut Butter & Jelly Breakfast Cookies

Chocolate & PB Beet Smoothie

Cookie Dough Breakfast Ice Cream

Lemon Pie Fruit & Nut Bars

Sweet, nutty and bursting with fresh lemon flavor, these lemon pie fruit & nut bars are perfect for a healthy snack or on-the-go breakfast!

5 from 4 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Chill Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 39 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 10 bars

Calories 120 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup rolled oats old-fashioned or quick cooking oats both work
• 1/2 cup almonds whole or sliced
• 1/2 cup cashews whole or in pieces
• 2 cups pitted dates
• 2 tbsp lemon zest about two medium lemons
• 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice about two medium lemons

Instructions

 

• In a food processor, add the oats, almonds and cashews and pulse until the nuts are broken down into small pieces.
• To the oat/nut mixture, add the dates, lemon zest and juice and pulse until the dates are broken down into a sticky paste, forming a thick dough.
• Line an 8×8 glass pan with parchment paper. Press the dough into the pan in an even layer. Place the pan in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
• After chilling the bars, lift the parchment from the pan and cut the square of dough straight down the middle. Then make 5 cuts lengthwise to divide the square evenly into 10 bars total. Wrap each bar individually in a square of parchment paper, or place the bars unwrapped in an airtight container. Serve immediately or store in fridge until ready to serve.

Notes

*Store these granola bars in the fridge for up to a week. Although I have yet to try this, you can attempt placing bars in freezer and freezing for up to three months. Just make sure to thaw overnight before eating!

**If you don’t have both almonds and cashews, you can use either all almonds or all cashews. Or you can swap the nuts for pecans, walnuts or pistachios if you prefer.

Keyword breakfast, fruit & nut bars, healthy, lemon