Sweet Coconut Curry Granola Bars
3 cups mixed nuts and seeds ( I used 1/2 cup cashews, 1/2 cup walnuts, 1 cup pecans, 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds and 1/2 cup sunflower seeds)
1/2 cup dried currants (or chopped raisins)
1/4 cup coconut oil, softened or liquid
1/2 cup almond butter (raw or roasted)
6 – 8 tablespoons honey
1 cup dried shredded coconut.
1/4 tsp coarse sea salt (OMIT if your curry mix already contains salt)
2-4 tsp curry powder, or more to taste
Method:
1. Line a 8×8 square pan (or a brownie pan, you want at least 2 inch walls) with parchment paper. Leave flaps of parchment over the sides of the pan to use as handles late on.
2. Place 1 1/2 cups of the nut & seed mixture into a blender or food processor. Pulse till the nuts are finely ground, but not so much that they turn into nut butter. It’s ok if there are a number of different sized nuts in the mix. Transfer to a large bowl
3. Roughly chop the rest of the nuts with a knife (you can also use the food processor for this, just be sure they don’t get chopped too finely). Add to the large bowl.
4. In a small sauce pan combine the Honey, oil and almond butter. Stir over low heat till well combined. Then turn up the heat to med high and bring the mixture to a boil, leave boil for about 2 min. (If you would like to make these raw, you can skip this step)
5. In the meantime, add the coconut, raisins, curry powder and (optional salt) to the nut mixture. Mix well. When the honey mixture is ready, pour it over the granola and stir well, coating the granola evenly with the honey mixture.
6. Scoop the granola into the prepared pan. Using parchment paper press the granola firmly into the pan.
7. After the granola has cooled slightly you can press them down again, making them even firmer. Chill them completely before cutting.
Granola bars will be quite delicate before they are chilled. Alternatively you can bake them in 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.
For regular regular granola:
Use just 1/4 cup almond butter and 1/4 cup sweetener.
So excited to have seen your blog! Can't wait to try some of the recipes you have up. Hope you didn't mind I added you to my blog roll.
These look great! What an awesome idea adding curry powder – I think I may try that next time, I usually just do the same thing as always so this will be an exciting change 😀
CJ, Of course I don't mind. Honored actually.
Heidi, I just love curry and I was getting bored with my granola too. When I was at the store I found this great tasting coconut curry…and then I knew what I need to do.
These look SO delicious…can't wait to try it.
this looks amazing! i've had a bit of a poke around your blog and i'm going to subscribe. thanks! please stop in some time, I always like meeting fellow 'foodies'
Megs
These are wonderful! What great flavor. Mine keep on breaking but I don't care – I just eat the crumbs. I'll try baking for longer. Any tips?
Try adding more honey…thats is if you haven't already. They don't get quite as solid as a regular granola bar but more honey will make them bind much sturdier. Also press them really firmly into the pan. I even pressed them again before they cooled completely. I end up making regular granola out of the broken stuff. It's great with coconut or fresh almond milk.
I cannot wait to try these guys out! *Excited*
What do you think about substituting brown rice syrup for the agave/honey? And Goji's for the currants? I'm thinking both substitutions shouldn't affect the outcome too much????
Im also thinkng of throwing in some raw cacoa… Can't wait! *yum*
Yes! Absolutely brown rice syrup would work. As a matter of fact if you bake they may even firm up better. When I want a really solid bar that holds together well, I add even more sweetener. I kept these lower in sugar for the blog, but they are quite delicate. You could even add another 3-5 Tbls. Cocoa sounds wonderful! Would love to hear how that turns out.
I don't mind adding "sweet" as long as it's of the less refined variety. I normally bake with raw/unpasteurized honey… but my stocks are low and the bee farmer is on holidays!
Will let you know the results – thanks for the repy!
OK.
I FINALLY got around to making these last night.
The changes I made – I added goji's intead of currants, raw cacao chips (for fun!) as well as some hemp hearts and some chia seedds. Also, I only used raw unpastuerised honey – no agave!
Considering I winged a few measurements (the additions I made), they turned out GREAT! And the chia really helped them bind.
They are definitely more most than crunchy but firmly made and not soggy. Most importantly, delicious!!!!
If anything, due to the chia, I think I'd reduce amount the honey next time.
Thank you once again for a great recipe! 🙂
Yes they are chewy for sure. I use raw honey in mine too and love it, but it keeps them on the chewy side. Love the addition of chia seeds…I'm adding it as an option even. Some of my readers can't do chia or flax as they are not allowed on the SCD diet, but they really are a fabulous binder and a great way to cut down on the sugar. Thanks for listing your modifications…LOVE IT!
I've added your blog to my google reader and see two posts since this one…but when I visit your site directly, this is the last post I see. Any idea what's up? I'm sure it's something on my end, so I'll keep digging, but I thought I'd let you know, just in case. =/
Clair,
I know that one of them was today. A post went out but it was supposed to remain a draft, since it wasn't edited yet. You don't want to read my stuff unedited. HA! I don't know about any others though. I look into it on my end.
Everything seems to matched up now…glad everything's worked out!
P.S. I'm relatively new to your space and love it SO much.
I made these today and they are delicious! I used 1/4 cup almond butter and 1/4 cup peanut butter. I also made a syrup with xylitol in place of the honey – 8 tbsp. water and 25g xylitol boiled until reduced to 6 tbsp. And I added 2 tbsp. Green&Blacks cocoa to the nut butter/coconut oil mixture after it had boiled. I baked half the batch and refrigerated the other half to see which I liked better. Refrigerated ones win!
The refrigerated ones are my favorite too! Love the xylitol instructions and of course the cocoa os brilliant!
Just made these and they are great! Do you think they would freeze okay?
YES! I think they would freeze wonderfully! Glad you enjoyed them.
YUMMY! Couple of changes – subbed dates for the raisins (helps them stick!), cut down the agave, added re-hydrated MILA (which is an incredible blend of high-quality chia seeds, just add a bit of water to make it paste-like). Didn't bake or cook anything as I wanted to keep them raw. I seriously could have eaten the mixture like raw cookie dough it was soooooo good!
Mmmm so excited! These are in the dehydrator right now (though as granola rather than bars – I wanted to keep the sweetener minimal). I took your advice and soaked the nuts overnight first. I almost added some quinoa flakes and chia seeds, but decided to save them for next time – after these come out perfect! Oh, and your curry mix is amazing!
Can't wait for my morning treat!
These are so yummy!! I made mine with almond and pine nuts and chia seeds – it was lovely! I popped them in the oven for 40 mins and then cut them up before putting them in the fridge and they're yummy and crunchy. Thanks for the excellent recipe!
So I'm wondering if I can put any dried fruit in place of raisins, we don't eat dates or raisins, but I think some dried strawberries, blueberrries, or apricots could be really great.
This is a staple in our home and just brilliantly yummy. The only thing we take on the go!
Where do you buy your organic dried currants?
If you Google them you'll find lots of places to order on mine.
I'm going to make these for my trip this week! So excited xo
I have made these a few times and absolutely love them! However, I’m curious about the calories. Have you figure out approx. how many calories each bar has?
I never have no, we don’t do a lot of calorie counting. You could try plugging the ingredients into a calorie counter though. I’ve seen some good ones on line.
My daughter is running in her first full marathon next week aFter a battle with breast canCer a little over a year aGo. I am on a paleo diet and will be following on a bike. I’m 65 and not in the best shape so need some good nutrition along the way. I’m going to carry these for my fortitude but chaNging the Spice to turmeric. Since I have been Paleo, i have lost 20 POUNDS AND am a size 6! I haven’t been a size 6 since i was 6 years old! I don’t worry aBout calories on paleo. I eat as much as I need to to feel good and haven’t put on a single pound! (I have no idea how this is all caps. I am not yelling)