No-Bake Dried Fruit & Nut Bars Recipe — 5 Ingredients

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Susan Gast, Author and Food Preservation Enthusiast
Susan has been dehydrating and preserving foods for over a decade, sharing practical, tested methods that help readers make healthy, long-lasting meals at home.

Looking for a healthy snack that’s quick, simple, and freezer-friendly? These easy no-bake dried fruit and nut bars come together in minutes with just five wholesome ingredients—no oven or fancy equipment required.

✅ Quick Answer: How do you make easy no-bake dried fruit and nut bars?
Chop dates and apricots, lightly crush mixed nuts, and combine with dried cranberries. Stir in honey until sticky, press into molds or a dish, and freeze for two hours. Slice into bars for a quick, nutritious snack—no oven or food processor required.

You’ll love the chewy mix of sweet dates, tart cranberries, apricots, and crunchy nuts, all held together with golden honey. Perfect for lunchboxes, road trips, or anytime you crave a naturally sweet energy boost.

No-Bake Dried Fruit and Nut Bars on a plate

Granola bars usually mix oats, nuts, dried fruit, and a sweetener, then bake until crisp. They deliver carbs, healthy fats, and fiber.

My Easy No-Bake Dried Fruit and Nut Bars skip the oven. With just dates, apricots, nuts, cranberries, and honey, you get a chewy, flavorful snack. Dates and honey sweeten and bind, apricots and cranberries add tang, and the nuts bring crunch plus protein.

Top of Recipe

5-Ingredient Easy No-Bake Fruit & Nut Bars Recipe

Ingredients For a Perfect Snack Bar: 

  • 25 dates
  • 15 dried apricots
  • 4 oz. mixed salted nuts
  • 1-1/2 oz. dried cranberries
  • 3 oz. (approximately) room temperature honey 

How to Make No-Bake Dried Fruit and Nut Bars:

  1. Cut the dates and apricots into similar-sized pieces.
  2. Grab a sandwich bag, add the nuts, zip it closed - and gently pound the nuts with a rolling pin to break up the bigger nuts.
  3. Add the cranberries, and mix everything well in a large glass bowl.
  4. Add the honey, and bind the ingredients until they clump together.
  5. Chill for at least two hours in the freezer.

Gently turn out the bars as fast as you can onto a plate.

Then I keep my individually-wrapped bars in the freezer and take one out when I want to eat one. Be careful not to hurt your teeth. Let it sit for about a minute when you've taken it out of the freezer, OK?

Nutritional Value per half bar (1/16 of the recipe):

  • 114 calories
  • 1.8g protein
  • 3.7g fat
  • 20.8g net carbs
Bottom of Recipe

My Video On This Easy No-bake Dried Fruit and Nut Bars Recipe!

No-Bake Dried Fruit and Nut Bars Recipe VideoThis is an IMAGE only. Please click through to watch Susan's video on this site!

Creative Add-Ins to Make Your Bars Even Better

You can add golden raisins (made from green grapes), or regular raisins (made from red or black grapes) to the homemade bars.

Another popular "binder" is Kellogg's Rice Krispies™. Instead of using honey, try using natural peanut butter! The variations are truly endless...

NOTE: To make my no-bake bars, all you need is a big glass bowl and a good stirring utensil. Mix well until they form a sticky mixture that can be easily pressed into these awesome silicone fruit bar molds (from Amazon).

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JOERSH Silicone Granola Bar Mold

Using a spoon, press the mixture into the mold cavities with a fair amount of pressure with the back of the spoon so that you get the goodies into the corners!

This simple process makes this easy no-bake dried fruit and nut bars recipe an excellent choice if you're looking for a quick snack option with wholesome ingredients that don't require heating the oven.

Be warned: They are sticky, though. They are the total opposite of a dry hard commercial granola bar, IMHO.

Food Vacuum Sealer Surprise!

I didn't know if this would work or not... but it DID! Yay!

Granola Bars vs. No-Bake Bars: Which Should You Choose?

granola bars

Granola is a breakfast and snack food that is made of rolled oats, nuts, honey, and sometimes puffed rice. It's then baked until it is crisp, toasted, and golden brown.

During the commercial baking process, they stir the mix to keep it loose. Dried fruit, such as raisins and dates, and confections like regular chocolate (or dark chocolate) are often added.

Bear in mind when using chips and my no-bake method, the chips won't melt! They'll retain their shape.

When making homemade granola bars all you need is a large mixing bowl and a strong arm to mix the dry ingredients, oh, and the silicone fruit bar mold shown above - or you might like rolling the mix into balls.

Surprising History of Granola and How It Evolved

The name "granola" comes from the word "granula," which was the name of a similar food invented in the United States in 1863 by James Caleb Jackson, operator of the Jackson Sanitarium in Dansville, New York. Jackson's granula was made from graham flour and was similar to an oversized form of Grape-Nuts™.

In the 1960s, granola was revived as a health food by various health food advocates, including Layton Gentry, CALS Wellness Committee ECALS College of Agricultural & Life Sciences and Adelle Davis. 

It became popular in the 1970s, especially among hippies who had an interest in natural and organic foods.

Granola bars are still a popular convenient, on-the-go snack that provides energy and nutrients from the oats, nuts, and dried fruits used in granola.

Do You Really Need to Bake? Why No-Bake Bars Win

The main reason for baking dried fruit bars or granola bars is to achieve a specific texture and to help the ingredients bind together more effectively. Rolled oats are the most commonly used oats in granola bars and do not need to be baked - but often are.

The first time I baked my dried fruit bars I didn't see much improvement in them keeping their shape. See that recipe and bonus variations here.

I also used my dehydrator to aid in drying them out. What should have been a great snack turned into a bitty mess. Lesson learned. Which is? Don't smash the nuts to smithereens. Just break up the bigger nuts. Consider using sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds (pepita seeds) as they're pretty small to begin with and don't need breaking up.

Storing: Store your bars in an airtight container. I use my FoodSaver vacuum sealer and store my bars in food vacuum-sealer bags. I cut a 6" x 10" vacuum sealer bag in half. Seal the end of the cut-off part, et voilà! Two bags from one. You can see me doing all that LIVE in the video in the middle area of the page (below the red molds).

I then put the vacuum-sealed bars in the fridge (because they are ooey gooey sticky!). You may store the vacuum-sealed bars in a freezer bag in the freezer too. 

What About Steel-Cut Oats?

Rolled oats and steel-cut oats are not the same, although they are both come from whole oat groats. A groat is another name for a grain kernel. Whole oat groats are the result of simply harvesting oats, cleaning them, and removing their inedible hulls. They take the longest to cook, though.

  1. Rolled oats: Also known as old-fashioned oats, these are made by steaming and rolling whole oat groats into flat flakes. Rolled oats are commonly used in granola recipes and can be eaten raw or cooked.
  2. Steel-cut oats: Also called Irish oats or pinhead oats, these are made by chopping whole oat groats into smaller pieces using steel blades. They have a chewier texture and take longer to cook than rolled oats. Steel-cut oats are not typically used in granola recipes because of their dense texture and longer cooking time.

In granola recipes, rolled oats are often baked to achieve a crispy, toasted texture and to help bind the ingredients together. Baking also enhances the flavor of the oats and nuts in the mixture. As mentioned earlier, it's not always necessary to bake the oats in a granola recipe.

Some recipes, like raw granola or no-bake granola bars, use rolled oats without baking them. In these cases, the oats are often combined with sticky ingredients like honey, nut butter, or dates to help bind the mixture together. While the texture may be different from baked granola, these no-bake variations are still tasty and nutritious.

Can I Use Quick Oats?

quick oats

Quick oats, also known as "instant oats" or "one-minute oats," are a processed oat that has been pre-cooked, dried, and rolled even thinner than rolled oats. This process allows them to cook much faster than regular rolled oats, hence the name "quick oats."

While quick oats can be a convenient option for some recipes, they may not be the best choice for your no-bake dried fruit and nut bar recipe. Here's why:

  1. Texture: Quick oats have a finer, mushier texture when combined with liquids because they have been processed more than regular rolled oats. You'll get a softer, less chewy texture in your no-bake bars, which may not be to your liking.
  2. Binding: The finer texture of quick oats doesn't bind as well with the other ingredients in a no-bake recipe - compared to regular rolled oats. The bars will be more crumbly and less likely to hold their shape.
  3. Nutritional content: Due to the additional processing, quick oats have slightly less fiber and protein compared to rolled oats.

Substitute Brown Rice Syrup or Maple Syrup for Honey if Desired

Substitute brown rice syrup and maple syrup for honey. They make great alternatives to honey in your no-bake dried fruit and nut bar recipe.

  1. Brown rice syrup: A natural sweetener made from cooked rice that has been treated with enzymes to break down the starches into simpler sugars. It has a mild, slightly nutty flavor and is less sweet than honey. It is an excellent binding agent due to its sticky texture, making it ideal for no-bake bars. It's also considered a vegan alternative to honey.
  2. Maple syrup: Made from the sap of maple trees, maple syrup is another natural sweetener that can be used in place of honey. It has a distinctive flavor that goes well with a dried fruit and nut bar recipe. However, it is thinner in consistency compared to honey or brown rice syrup, so you may need to adjust the amount used to achieve the desired texture.

Which Works Best to Bind Bars: Coconut Oil or Nut Butter?

In my other dried fruit and nut bars recipe, I did indeed add some MCT oil (coconut oil). To be honest, I didn't notice any benefit in binding the mix using MCT oil. Using something "stiff" like almond butter would have been better. Read how to make almond butter towards the end of this page.

Looking to make healthy granola bars, or energy balls shown below? They are similar in some ways but have a few key differences:

energy balls - CANVA

Similarities:

  1. Ingredients: Both energy balls and granola bars include ingredients like oats, nuts, dried fruits, and a sweetener such as honey or maple syrup.
  2. Nutritional content: Both are typically designed to provide a balanced mix of carbohydrates, healthy fats, and protein for a quick burst of energy.
  3. Convenience: Energy balls and granola bars are both portable.

Differences:

  1. Shape and size: Energy balls are typically smaller and round, while granola bars are larger and rectangular or square-shaped.
  2. Preparation: Energy balls are often no-bake and can be made by mixing ingredients in a bowl and then rolling them into balls. Granola bars, on the other hand, are usually baked or pressed into a pan and then cut into bars.
  3. Texture: Energy balls tend to have a softer, more malleable texture due to their no-bake preparation and smaller size. Granola bars are often chewier or crunchier, depending on the recipe and preparation method.
  4. Customization: Energy balls can be easily customized by rolling them in various toppings like shredded coconut, cocoa powder, or finely chopped nuts. Granola bars are typically less customizable in terms of individual servings but can be made with a wide variety of mix-ins.

Nut-Free Version: Easy Swaps That Still Taste Great

For those with nut allergies, simply skip adding the nuts. I would add oats to take their place. Whichever type you prefer, they are still scrummy yummy!

Frequently Asked Questions About No-Bake Fruit & Nut Bars

Can I make these bars without honey?

Yes! Swap honey for brown rice syrup, maple syrup, or natural nut butters. They’ll still bind the mixture while keeping a chewy texture.

How long do homemade no-bake fruit and nut bars last?

Stored in the fridge, they’ll last up to one week. Freeze them individually wrapped for up to three months for grab-and-go snacking.

Can I add oats or seeds to this recipe?

Absolutely. Rolled oats, sunflower seeds, or pumpkin seeds make great additions, adding texture and extra nutrition.

Homemade no-bake dried fruit and nut bars are proof that healthy snacks don’t have to be complicated. With just a few ingredients and no oven time, you’ll have chewy, satisfying bars ready in your freezer.

Before you go, grab your free 5 Dried Food Recipes You'll Actually Love PDF (below) featuring carrot soup, minestrone soup, split pea soup, spicy beef jerky, and banana cinnamon rolls—perfect additions to your dried food recipe collection.

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