When your daughter, who is 5, wants to just eat this right out of the food processor before they even become bars, you know it’s good. She was practically screaming “yummy” for about 10 minutes straight, hahaha. I had to stop letting her eat it so there would be some left for bars and photos.
Cinnamon is without a doubt my very favorite flavor. I think it tastes good on pretty much anything and everything. It’s warm, sweet and comforting. These No-Bake Cinnamon Roll Spice Bars were literally a throw-together moment when I wanted to satisfy my cinnamon craving and also have something for my daughter to take to school for snacks. She was beyond excited when I told her these would be her snacks.
These have a lot of nuts and healthy fats and a good dose of iron in them, so they are very filling and great for kids. Instead of refined white sugars, I use natural maple syrup. Instead of butter or oil, I used cashew butter and almond meal.
These are made with whole food ingredients, no butter or oil, and are perfect for snacks or even a quick breakfast if on-the-go. The fact that they taste like a cinnamon roll is a huge bonus!
The drizzle is a combo of cashew butter, maple syrup, cinnamon and vanilla and my daughter absolutely LOVED IT. It was comical watching her eat one of these.
I hope you all enjoy them as much as my daughter and I have. Be sure to leave feedback below after you make them! I love to hear it and so do others!
No-Bake Cinnamon Roll Spice Bars
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (72g) raw cashew butter
- 6 heaping tablespoons (128g) pure maple syrup or agave
- 1 teaspoon (5g) vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 cup (108g) almond meal, this is with the skins on (I use Trader Joe's)
- 1 1/2 cups (150g) quick-cooking oats, use GF if needed (these hold MUCH better than whole oats)
- 2 tablespoons (13g) ground flaxseed
- 1 tablespoon (6g) ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
ICING DRIZZLE (this makes plenty for the bars)
- 2 tablespoons (32g) raw cashew butter
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon (28g) maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon water
NOTE
- These bars are extremely delicious on their own, so if you are wanting a much lower fat option, you can leave off the icing.
Instructions
- Warm your cashew butter for 30 seconds or so in the microwave to ensure it is a runny, smooth consistency. I keep mine in the fridge, so it gets rather hard. Then measure. Add to a food processor.
- Add the syrup, vanilla and water and blend until completely smooth.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond meal, oats, flaxseed, cinnamon, allspice and salt and make sure it is well mixed before adding to the processor. Otherwise, the flax and spices/salt may not mix well because it's gets very thick.
- Add the dry ingredients to the food processor and process until it all comes together in large, sticky chunks. (see photo) The batter should be very sticky and hold together easily when pressed between your fingers.
- Press into a lined 9x5 loaf pan flat and compact, not forgetting the edges. Place a piece of parchment on top and really press down hard.
- Place in the freezer to firm up for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, prepare the icing. Simply whisk the ingredients until completely smooth. Remove bars from the freezer, drizzle icing on top by placing the icing in a baggie, cutting off a small corner and squeezing it out. Place back in the freezer or fridge to let the icing firm up some. Then slice the bars. For storage, I prefer to wrap each bar individually so they retain their shape best. I like to keep them in the fridge, but room temperature is fine, but they will soften more at room temp.
Genius. That’s all I can say. Who would have thought cashew butter could be this good and useful in the kitchen?!? We were licking the spoons off. I am not into granola bars at all, but this recipe was a game changer! Soooo yummmy! We are ready for our next batch, I wonder for how long they would be good in the fridge?
Then I don’t…. they won’t last.
You are too kind Vess! I’m so very happy you loved this recipe, thank you so much for the amazing feedback!
These look so wonderful!! Over the last year, I have learned about some food sensitivities I have. Vegan baking/cooking has fit well into my diet! However, I am sensitive to almonds….so is there a subsitute that can be used?
I have been craving cinnamon and these definitely satisfied my craving. Yum! My toddler daughters loved them as well! We will be eating these for breakfast all week. Thank you for the delicious recipe 🙂
So very happy to hear that Nicole, thank you so much for the feedback!!
Hi
Just found your website; dying to try your sweet potato pancakes and the no bake cinnamon bars; but I can’t do almonds/almond meal or flour. Can you suggest a substitute? Many thanks Zoe
Hi there! The sweet potato pancakes are crucial to using almond flour and will not work correctly without it. However, I have a TON more amazing gluten-free pancake recipes that are very popular with readers. I would suggest these “Buttermilk” pancakes to try. So good. Also, if you go to my Recipe Index, then “Breakfast”, “Pancakes”, there are other ones listed as well! As far as the cinnamon bars, you could try using ground up raw, unsalted sunflower kernels in place of the almond meal. Just use the same amount, or you can try hazelnut meal or tigernut flour. I haven’t tried either of those, but I think they should work.
Here is the Buttermilk pancake recipe: https://thevegan8.com/2016/05/25/fluffy-gluten-free-vegan-buttermilk-pancakes/
Brandi,
Do you make your cashew butter or can it be purchased?
Thanks
Hi Bruce! I usually make my own because it’s so hard to find raw cashew butter without any added oil. But if you can find some, then you certainly can use storebought. If you want to make your own, here is how to do it:
Just add 2 cups RAW, unsalted cashews to a food processor and process for about 10 minutes or so. You will need to scrape the sides down a few times during. Process until completely silky smooth, do not stop until it becomes almost pour-able like almond butter. Then just use 1/4 cup for the recipe as listed.
Thanks Brandi
I agree that is pretty easy and I doubt I could find it without oil. I can’t wait to make my first batch of cashew butter and these bars!
🙂
Just made these…winner, winner, Vegan dinner! I love that they are healthful, and still yummy! I accidentally picked up Quick Cooking Oats (Steel Cut!), but they turned out perfectly! I also didn’t want that many calories or fat grams, so after drizzling the icing, I cut them into bite-sized pieces, about 24 in total…I think…I sorta ate a few while cutting them…well, you know, the imperfect corner pieces, ha ha ha! THANKYOU again, BD, for a wonderful creation! ❤️
My whole family loves these! I just made another batch for my kiddos’ lunch. We can’t wait for your cookbook to come out! (I did preorder!!!!)
Hi! I’d love to try making these for my parents, and I might be subtly trying to make them go vegan also 🙂 Haha, but anyway I was wondering what the nutrition info is without the icing? They’re on a diet so I wanna make sure I stay as low-fat, low-carb/calorie as possible, while still keeping it nutritious and filling!
Hi, I’m not sure since the nutrition stats were calculated years back including the icing. But it wouldn’t be that much less fat since 2 tablespoons of cashew butter is 16g fat divided by 6 bars is 2 g fat, so it’s still a very high fat bar because of all the almond flour, etc. These aren’t a low fat dessert, it’s based on whole food fats instead of oil, but it’s definitely not low-fat! So, it may not be the best option for them. Nuts and seeds are healthy, but calorie-dense!
Brandi,
Do you think these would be good without the allspice? Not a big fan but live the vegan cinnamon bar idea.
Thanks
Yes, they will still be good!