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Packed with nuts, seeds, and dried fruits, these homemade Kind bars are truly addictive. They are healthier than the original bars and super easy to make.
In an effort to keep my diet clean and healthy, I’ve grown into making my own snack bars. From homemade protein bars to no bake oatmeal bars, I have a good collection of them.
With this said, I can’t deny the fact that some store-bought one still taste good to me, KIND bars being one of them. Being as good as they are, these do contain added sugar and a few other ingredients I don’t want in my snacks, including soy lecithin and palm kernel oil.
As an alternative to one of my favorite snack bars, I have come up with a copycat recipe that tastes better than the original.
Table of Contents
Why this recipe works
- No-baking. It takes a few minutes to prepare the mixture and a couple of hours for it to firm up in the fridge.
- Healthy. These homemade snack bars don’t contain refined sugar and unhealthy fats. They are also gluten-free and dairy-free.
- Easy to customize. You can use nuts, seeds, or mix-ins of choice.
Ingredients needed
My copycat recipe features a combination of my favorite healthy ingredients, including nuts, seeds, and dried fruits. Here’s the full list of ingredients.
- Cashews and almonds. Roughly chopped raw and unsalted nuts.
- Seeds. I mostly use sesame seeds for these bars as they are a good source of healthy fats, protein, fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants. Pumpkin and sunflower seeds are also good to add to the seed mix.
- Dried fruits. Aside from adding color and flavor, dried fruits also add fiber, minerals, and vitamins to them. I like using raisins and cranberries. Chop them into smaller pieces for easy mixing.
- Maple syrup. Use pure maple syrup to get the best flavor and avoid adding refined sugar. Honey or brown rice syrup will also work.
- Vanilla extract. To add a lovely vanilla flavor.
- Salt. To balance out the overall sweetness.
- Coconut butter (optional). To drizzle over the bars. Don’t confuse this with coconut oil.
How to make kind bars
Step 1- Make the mixture. Start by mixing all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the maple syrup and mix well until fully incorporated. If the mixture seems to be too loose, add more maple syrup and mix.
Step 2- Set. Transfer the mixture to an 8×8-inch pan lined with parchment paper. Press it into an even layer and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours. Drizzle withconut butter to decorate.
Step 3- Slice and serve. Once set, cut into even-sized bars and enjoy.
Tips to make the best recipe
- When adding the maple syrup, start with a couple of tablespoons, mix well, and add more if needed.
- Brown rice syrup and agave nectar are good maple syrup substitutes for this recipe so long as you don’t have any diet restrictions. Pure honey will work too.
- When storing these in the fridge, wrap each of them with parchment paper. This makes an easy grab-and-go snack and prevents them from sticking to each other.
- Spray the parchment paper with cooking spray to further prevent the bars from sticking to it.
Flavor variations
Kind bars come in a variety of flavors, including Caramel Almond & Sea Salt, Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate, Dark Chocolate Mocha Almond, etc. You can recreate some of your favorite flavors by customizing the dried fruits and nuts you use and by adding some extra ingredients if needed.
- Blueberry Vanilla Cashew. Use dried blueberries for the fruit and cashews for the nuts. Don’t forget the vanilla extract.
- Apple Cinnamon Pecan. Use dried apples for the fruit, and roughly chopped pecans for the nuts. Add ground cinnamon.
- Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew. Use dried cherries for the fruit and raw cashews for the nuts. Drizzle with sugar-free dark chocolate.
- Dark Chocolate Almond Coconut. Use unsweetened shredded coconut and raw unsalted almonds. Drizzle with sugar-free dark chocolate.
- Maple Glazed Pecan & Sea Salt. Omit the dried fruit. Use pecans and add a pinch more salt.
Storage instructions
To store. While these homemade snack bars won’t go bad at room temperature, we recommend you store them in the fridge to prevent them from falling apart.
To freeze. Freeze leftovers for up to 2 months.
More no bake snacks to try
Frequently asked questions
Kind bars are one of the healthier snack bar options that contain fiber, healthy fats, and protein. They do have some added sugar, palm oil, and soy protein isolate.
Kind offers a variety of bar series. The Healthy Grains series by Kind features bars that are gluten-free. These bars are made with oats, millet, quinoa, amaranth, and buckwheat.
As Kind bars are quite low in calories, they can be a good snack choice for people trying to lose weight. The fiber and the protein in these bars will keep you going until it’s time to eat a full meal.
Kind Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 cups cashews chopped roughly
- 3/4 cups almonds Chopped roughly
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 cup sesame seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup dried fruit
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 5-6 tablespoon maple syrup * See notes
- 1/4 cup coconut butter optional
Instructions
- Line an 8 x 8-inch pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine your nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and salt and mix well.
- Add your vanilla extract and maple syrup and mix well. If the mixture is too thin/crumbly, add a little extra maple syrup.
- Transfer the mixture to the lined pan and press firmly into place. Refrigerate until firm. Once firm, drizzle with optional coconut butter before slicing into 14 bars.
ACCIO RECIPE ROASTED JALAPENO KIND BARS! Dirt. My spell didn’t work (shuddering sigh). Loved your recipe and stocking up on the ingredients and knocking these out tonight because YOUR recipe is a heck of a lot easier than the others I’ve read. Thank you thank you!
The fact that you used Harry Potter references- RESPECT FOR LIFE.
These bars look scrumptious and love that you only need 10 minutes to make them! Yay!
Thanks so much, Abigail 🙂
OMG fish that looked like jello? I’d die D-I-E dead. Also, I’ve never had a Kind bar, crazy?
LOL. RIGHT? Disgraceful.
Not crazy at all- This recipe was designed for YOU! 🙂
My daughter is really big on breakfast bars these days. And I hate buying them when I know I can make them at home. Loving this version and will definitely be giving it a shot soon!
Thanks so much, Kim! I hope you do try it out!
Put yours in plastic and I would think they were the real thing and not a copycat.
Thanks Michelle, that means a tonne!
I am SO making these! I have a big box of them right now in my pantry and how much better would it be if I could just make them rather than buy them? I’ve actually been thinking about giving it a go, but I’m just as happy to find a recipe and not have to figure it out myself. 🙂
And by the way, I could spend hours in Whole Foods! If there was one closer, I would be very tempted to do Whole Foods “takeout” at least once a week. It’s probably a good thing I have to drive a half hour to our nearest one.
Fish that looked like Jello? I hope you took a picture. For some grotesque reason I feel like I need to see a picture of it.
These look so delicious! #recipeoftheweek
Thank you, Kirsty!
YAY for Kind Bars…I’ll take a whole stack please. =) I love making recipes like this – and throw everything in my food processor for ease. You’re a pretty funny guy…I love reading your posts. Thanks much for sharing this lusciousness with us at Weekend Potluck. Keep ’em coming Man. And have a great week ahead.
Pretty funny guy? I am the Jimmy Kimmel of the blog world 😉
Just kidding. Jimmy Kimmel isn’t even funny. This week I have red velvet pancakes and copycat Bounty bars to contribute- I think you guys call them Mound Bars or Almond Joy bars!
See? You ARE the Jimmie Kimmel! =D I’ll be sure to check out both those recipes…thanks so much for sharing.
These look great! My favorite are the apricot & yogurt so I’ll have to try them that way. Do you think it would work to use ground flax seed instead of the oat bran? I’ve never used oat bran so I’m not sure if there’s anything comparable.
Hi Bevin! Hmmm I haven’t tried it with ground flax but I can’t see it NOT working- the only thing is, I would perhaps need some extra liquid if it’s too firm or if its too soft, add extra nuts. Do you have rolled oats?
Thanks for responding. I have a ton of oats, both the “old fashioned” and “quick cooking” kind
No worries at all- I’d say use the quick cooking first as they are most similar in texture to the oat bran 🙂
I love when you use words like cheeky. It makes me giggle, in a decidedly immature fashion.
I love KIND bars. I rarely eat them because they’re expensive but I can dig the ingredient list like no other. Plus they taste fantastic and yours look very much like the real deal, right down to the yogurt drizzle.
A Harry Potter wand. We need to talk about this weird fetish. 🙂
LOL. I should pack this wand with me.
Confession- I ate the ‘yogurt’ drizzle on toast. I even have photo evidence.
I like it! Lauren did beer pairings with these in Colorado when she worked for them… can I drink booze with yours too? 😉
Of course- but you be the expert on that, because me + beer is like me + wine. No bueno!
These look pretty darned close to the real thing. I need to try this. Thanks, Arman!
Thank you! I hope you try them out!
Yours looks 100 times better than the packaged variety – much prettier and loving all the colors!
Thanks buddy! 🙂
Peanuts and cashews? Pffft fail… I consider pretty much every store bought bar a fail because I can’t eat any of them. There are a few peanut free versions out there, but I’d much rather make my own so that I can load them with oats, honey, almond butter, and chocolate.
Sunshine, they are adaptable- you can sub the peanuts and cashews for all almonds 😉
Kind bars recently launched a new line of savory bars, and I am obsessed wit the jalapeno one. Seriously, it’s so good. If you’re feeling wild when you go visit Gigi (which you should be at all times) then please BUY ONE! I love me some Kind bars, but yours look WAY better aka more fruit and less processed. I go gaga at WholeFoods…period.
NO WAY. I love savoury so I need to check those out.
Mine look better because I was going to pose naked with them.
Damn right, you’re smart! KIND bars, along with the Costco version of KIND bars, are some of my favorites.
Bar fail? Those Chewy Quaker granola bars. Like, what are those flimsy rectangles of sugar that have approximately 20 oats in them?
I think you should come to Boston University, show your squat form to the physical therapists, and then get free KIND bars. 😀
LOL I saw that- I will squat my latte coloured ass to the ground!
What a great idea. These look great!! I was a total bar hoarder for a while… I buy one of every flavor too ;D ;D
Haha, love it! It sucks when you find a bar you really enjoy!
So just wondering, instead of maybe making these bars and icing them, could I just make the icing and eat that?
It’s sort of the same thing, right?
Dude. true story. I ate the icing on toast.
Bahaha that’s pretty darn funny that your buddy wanted one every bar at WF. One time I tried making a homemade version and I wanted to die trying to get the freaking brown rice syrup out of the bottle. That shhiz should have a sticky warning label!!!
LOL. Me and brown rice syrup have a complicated relationship. I have a jar method these days.
We can bar hop all around Toronto! See what I did there???
Oh you Tina Fey….who oil pushes. or pulls. or whatever it’s called.
Wow. You totally nailed it. Bars are hard to make. Looks awesome. I adore your recipe! And I adore Kind bars 🙂
Thanks so much, Liz! FYI I have been obsessed with using my iphone!
Because of this post, I just googled to see if Calgary has a Whole Foods and they don’t. Boo.
Although Canadian Whole Foods aren’t nearly as good as American ones, so I guess it’s not that big if a loss. And I didn’t stop at any on the road trip here! What is wrong with me?
HOW DARE YOU.
But. you did eat beef jerky and that deserves epic respect. We need to trade digits.
These are SO pretty, Arman!! I bet they taste pretty darn delicious, too! 😉
Haha, cheers Hannah- appreciate it!
I buy my Kind bars in 18 bar packs at Costco. Saves some $, but I get a little bored of the same two flavors over and over. I’ve also seen many a Kind bar copycat recipe on the interwebs, but these are the first from someone with a penis, so yours win. (I wonder if spam filters will catch my comment because of the word penis? Well, I just used it twice for good measure.) A HP wand would go stellar with a Spartan outfit.
LOL. Mate, you never fail to make me lol. Unlike Fran.
These look awesome! I’ve always wished I could eat Kind Bars. Honestly there aren’t really any nut free granola bars that I love. The Good Bean bars and Krono Bars are decent, but I’d rather make my own (like these!).
Thanks ChelseaKale. I made these for you.
(not really 🙂
I used to be into granola bars in college and thought they tasted delicious, until I found out how to make my own. only last weekend, I picked some up on my drive to Houston and it tasted like cardboard, im not even exaggerating. I will definitely be trying your version soon, how could you not esp with that cheeky yogurt drizzle 🙂
You need to, they are so good!
A++ for story telling! Love it! Please tell me you got Harry’s wand and not one of the others!
Have I ever gone gaga at Whole Foods bar section? Are you kidding? EVER.SINGLE.TIME! I remember last time in London when I had to pay almost 50 Pounds for bars. The cashier lady wanted to know where I come from because apparently only tourists would hoard bars like this. GUILTY 😉
My favorite one is the apple cinnamon raw bite at the moment. It contains fruit, nuts and some spices only and tastes hands down like apple strudel.
Bar fail? Nakd Bar without a doubt!
I did! It can ONLY be Harrys 😉
NAKD bars are fail whale. True story- I ate 5 once for a meal and was still hungry
‘As with anything good in the United States, Australia most definitely did not have them, nor had an equivalent to it in terms of taste or ingredient list’ – yes! Same with with Uk! grrr!
We do have a bar range in the UK called ‘nakd bars’ which are pretty tasty. They aren’t like kind bars, more like Lara bars and are full of clean goodies like dates, raisins and nuts.
YES! They are like larabars but I literally have to eat 5 of those bars to be satisfied.
YES to the HP wand and these Kind bars–they look just like the real thing! <<that is the point, isn't it? 😉 pinning!!
Thanks budddddddy. We need to hang out and discuss all things harry potter and coffee.
There are very few bars that I actually enjoy too. Most taste like glorified and gross cardboard. These look awesome though and thanks for sharing.
Thanks Hollie…lol cardboard. Sounds like some recipes out there too… :p
I’ve never been a big bar fan, cause I feel like three bites and an hour later I’m hungry again. That said, I have had Kind bars and they’re delicious. Way better than other ones I’ve tried! I’m also super jealous of your Harry Potter wand. I really want to go to Universal and see the HP park!
You need to, dude I was like in a Candy Store! (I went to Honeydukes bahahaha).
These look fabulous….almost doesn’t matter what they taste like though I’m sure they are delicious especially frozen (:
I never bake/cook unless it’s roasting kabocha or microwaving veggies so I doubt I’ll get a chance to make these. …Want to send some to Wash. DC? Hee, hee…
YES. Anything for you, Natasha.
Have a green card waiting for me 😉
Er Arman- these look EPIC….WOW! I literally want to dive into my screen right now! KIND bars are my favourite but unfortunately they aren’t available in Mumbai either. Have you tried the sea salt & dark chocolate flavor- hands down the best flavour I’ve tried till date! As delicious as some of the bars at Whole Foods are, I remember being super disappointed with a few of their raw bars made from chia seeds (can’t remember the brand name). Whoever deemed it to taste like cookie dough has CLEARLY not tasted the real deal!!
I loved the sea salt and dark chocolate one- stay tuned for an attempt to recreate!
Hey you’re 50/50 on the yogurt to sugar ratio, that’s got to count for something 😉
If there is one thing this post is missing it’s a picture of said Harry Potter wand.
It’s been posted before! Haha! and I love the ratio 😉 (I had it on toast).
Never tried kind bars before, but they do sound incredible! So i’ll definitely have to give your recipe a go, thanks for sharing!
They are so good, Jess- hope you try it out! 🙂
Kind bars are my absolute favourite- and they have them in Canada
p.s. Did you use your HP wand to make these bars?
YES. How did you know? Expelliarmus does these things. 😉
I am OBSESSED with KIND bars. My current fave is the chocolate almond chili version. Sooo good. I didn’t get a wand but I did buy a Harry Potter journal which I use to brainstorm recipes. That’s what they’re for, right?
That is exactly what they are for….First Seinfeld now Harry Potter- I swear we’re besties.
My favorite part is that you add sea salt to these – heck yes you know how to create a great flavor profile (I sound like a complete tool saying that, don’t I). But sea salt + sweetness takes snacks like this to a whole new level! Love
YES!
PS…you didn’t say literally. I’m kinda offended.
They put that damn wall of bars on the check out que just to entice you to gaze and buy them as you’re waiting your turn! Haha! Kind bars are cool! My favorite is the almond cashew flax bar and the cranberry one!
Oh Australia needs to jump on that bandwagon- we have gum and pictures of Kim Kardashian’s nose.
Ah! I miss Whole Foods. The variety of bars available in the States is insane! So many options. My options are WAAYY narrowed down by my peanut and soy allergy– out of the 200+ at whole foods, I can maybe have 5. The ones I buy aren’t great- but I still bring pack cases of them because they are so good for plane rides and travel.
I’m totally with you on plane food!. I bring carrots, apples, nuts, and whatever bars I have. I don’t even take the meals anymore! Never even slightly tempted to eat it, even if I am hungry.
Australia is terrible compared to America- our bars are full of strange ingredients and most start with sugar! I’ll need to start thinking of what to pack for an upcoming plane ride…in terms of snacks!
Kind bars are my FAVORITE!! But they aren’t super cheap! Definitely need to make your version soon 🙂
Thanks heaps Chelsea- maybe we can trade bars for …. all your pasta creations!
I think that I would like these more than the actual kind bars, which have far too much sugar for my taste. I do like their nut and spice ones, though! And I love the old school mojo bars. Don’t be a hater. I will hate on your quest bars.
That, my friend, is a huge compliment.
I LOVE mojo bars but hated them because they ripped open. They made me more obsessed with pretzels + pb + chocolate.
I LOVE kind bars…like to an unhealthy level. However every single one contains chicory root fiber which my stomach does not like!! (I have no idea how you handle the amount of fiber in Quest bars! Hats off to your digestive system). I don’t typically make a lot of recipes posted by bloggers (or anywhere…I don’t make anything, ever) but this one I may need to try.
LOL! Chicory root fiber, I lol’d when I saw that ingredient…I pictured digging up a garden!
You are awesome. Make it and make me one.
In the UK I go for nakd bars whenever possible 🙂 What is the equivalent of these elsewhere?
I went to Harry Potter Studios in London and considered buying a wand, but they were sooo expensive – whose did you buy? Was it Harry’s??
I was looking forward to your healthy take on yogurt topping :-)…
Ohhh I tried a Nakd bar (the cashew one and cocoa loco or something?)- Their equivilant is a larabar. I bought the wand from universal!
These look awesome Arman – you could sell these in Aboutlife fo sho! I have never had a kind bar but I want to try these!
Haha, oh AboutLife. I so should!
I’ve just returned from my trip and let me tell you, the plane food was incredible! Incredibly bad!! Of course. I ate it anyway (shame in me).
I was really amazed by the selection of bats they have in the US! I could hold myself back though. I’m not the hugest fan of bars, I like them but in the end I think most if them contain too much sugar. Is rather eat a handful trail mix by itself!
Hahaha oh Ann. The plane food is terrible but sometimes they have amazing desserts!
Morning 🙂 Just found you wonderful recipes & can’t wait to try them!! Only where can I find brown rice syrup?? Or is there a substitute? Thanks
Hey Amber! Thanks SO much for your kind words! You sure can- You can use honey or agave however you’ll need a tad more- It’s not as sticky 🙂
It was my 40th birthday when flying on Singapore Air and they gave me a massive cake that was like a giant dessert – sponge base with chocolate mousse on the top! Nom Nom Nom!
Oh wow. Anne that sounds incredible- I love Singapore Airlines!