You can make Homemade Clif Bars that are delicious, healthy, and budget friendly. These easy chewy granola bars are so good to have on hand for after-school snacks, easy lunch additions, grab-and-go breakfasts, and energy boosters for whenever you need them. Follow the directions to make this Homemade Chocolate Chip Clif Bars recipe for the ingredients and directions you need to make Clif Bars at home! We’ve formulated this recipe to work for families who have food allergies, too, so you can rest assured this delicious chewy granola bar recipe is gluten free, dairy free, egg free, and nut free.
This recipe was originally posted August 10, 2017; Updated June 10, 2021
The perfect clone recipe for healthy homemade Clif Bars
We LOVE Clif Bars around here. So much so, that we decided to make them ourselves. This recipe for Homemade Cliff Bars is a quick and simple replica that makes soft and chewy, allergy-friendly, and easy-on-the-budget gluten-free granola bars. The recipe is simple and a great way to involve kids in the kitchen.
Ingredients to make Homemade Clif Bars – and substitutions
You can make these dairy-free and gluten-free granola bars with just a few healthy ingredients.
- Sunflower seed butter – this seed butter is safe for people who have allergies to nuts and nut butters. Use unsweetened sunflower seed butter, such as Trader Joe’s or Once Again brands. You can also substitute peanut butter or another nut butter if you don’t need this recipe to be nut-free.
- Honey
- Pure vanilla extract
- Salt
- Crisp rice cereal – not all crisp rice cereals are gluten free, so be sure to seek out a brand that is certified gluten free if you need this recipe to be gluten free.
- Unsweetened shredded coconut
- Raw or dry roasted sunflower seeds
- Mini chocolate chips – use dairy-free, if needed
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How to make this Homemade Clif Bars recipe
It only takes three simple steps to make the Homemade Clif Bar Recipe come to life.
Step 1: Melt down the sunflower seed butter, honey, vanilla extract, and salt in a saucepan until smooth and creamy.
Step 2: Stir in the cereal until well combined, then let the mixture cool slightly before stirring in the chocolate chips, coconut, and sunflower seeds.
Step 3: Press the mixture into a 9×13 inch baking dish and chill in the refrigerator before cutting into bars.
How to store Homemade Clif Bars
This chewy granola bar recipe keeps well in a covered container or individually wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. They also travel well, making them great for lunch boxes or mid-day snacks on the go.
More easy and healthy bar recipes
If you love these Homemade Clif Bars (which are also gluten-free granola bars), then check out these other delicious and easy healthy bar recipes:
- Mini Peanut Butter Protein Bars
- Flourless Monster Cookie Bars
- No-Bake Peanut Butter Crunch Bars
- 5-Ingredient Healthy Peanut Butter Granola Bars
- Key Lime Energy Bars
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Homemade Chocolate Chip Clif Bars
A healthy allergy-friendly snack for kids and adults of all ages that won’t break the budget. They’re easy to customize based on your preferences or what you’ve got on hand. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks (if they last that long)!
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups sunflower seed butter (200 g)
- 1/2 cup honey (150 g)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 3 1/4 cups crisp rice cereal* (85 g)
- 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (40 g)
- 2/3 cup raw or dry roasted unsalted sunflower seeds (60 g)
- 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips** (65 g)
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine the sunflower seed butter, honey, vanilla, and salt and stir constantly until melted together.
- Remove from heat and in a large mixing bowl combine the cereal and sunflower butter mixture, stir until well combined.
- Place bowl in the refrigerator and allow the cereal mixture to cool for about 10-15 minutes. This is important to prevent the chocolate chips from melting when added.
- When the cereal mixture is cooled, fold the coconut, sunflower seeds, and chocolate chips into the cereal mixture. With clean hands is easiest.
- Line a 9×13-inch baking pan or dish with parchment paper. Transfer the mixture to the pan and using your hands, firmly press the dough into the pan, spreading out evenly. For a thicker bar use an 11×7-inch or 9×9-inch pan or dish.
- Place in the freezer and freeze for at least 30 minutes before cutting into bars.
- Bars will keep up to two weeks in a covered container in the fridge (or freeze for longer storage).
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Notes
* to make this recipe dairy-free, use dairy-free chocolate chips, such as Enjoy Life or Hu brands
** not all crisp rice cereals are gluten free or made in a facility that doesn’t also process gluten-containing foods, so if you have celiac disease, seek our crisp rice cereal that is certified gluten free
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 188
- Fat: 11 g
- (Sat Fat: 3 g)
- Sodium: 68 mg
- Carbohydrate: 18 g
- (Fiber: 4 g
- Sugar: 8 g)
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Dietary
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Just made these with my daughter, she really enjoyed being able to make these herself. One of her goals for this year (she just turned 8) is to do more “cooking herself“.
But I do have one question. I noticed that the recipe instructs you to heat the sunflower butter and the honey in the pan. Heating honey destroys all of the nutritional benefits held within. I wonder if these would work out just as well if the sun flower butter and honey were not heated on the stove first? I would just like to retain all if the amazing nutritional benefits of the honey if possible.
Thoughts?
That’s such a great goal that your daughter has! I’m assuming you are using raw honey if you’re looking to avoid heating it. In which case, yes, they will work fine without heating the honey but you may need to do a little more stirring to make sure the honey and sunbutter and well incorporated with the other ingredients.
Can you make this coconut free if you have coconut allergies?
Hi, yes you could omit the shredded coconut and use the same amount of a different mix-in. However, we have also heard from others who don’t love the taste of coconut, yet they don’t mind it at all in these bars.
These are simple and delicious.
I used sprouted brown rice cacao crisps. Everything else I keep about the same ( I did use 1/2 pumpkin 1/2 sunflower seeds)
I double the recipe and make in a
9 x 13 pan.
These are definitely going to be a frequent item on the menu rotation.
There are definitely lots of substitutions you can do to change these up – I was just thinking fruit sweetened cranberries and white chips would probably be yummy too.
Thanks for another great recipe.
I love your beautiful cookbook I purchased as well.
Can you use almond butter in place of sunflower butter?
You sure can! Enjoy:)
Such a great recipe! I used peanut butter instead of sunflower seed butter. AMAZING!!! They remind me of peanut butter rice crispies!