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Make these no bake trail mix bars when you want a nutrient-dense snack for the kids. Made with oats, cheerios, peanut butter and your favorite add-in’s, these cheerio cereal bars are healthy snacks for the whole family and work great on the go!

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We love having meal prep snacks on hand for the week, and these homemade trail mix bars are just that.

Healthy homemade snack recipes are so important because if you don’t have healthy options on hand, or prepped and ready to go, you’re more likely to skip them altogether or choose something unfulfilling, like a bag of chips.

It’s a no-brainer to put a bit of time into your snack prep, especially when they can double as snacks for kids after school or as travel snacks for kids.

We store them in our favorite stasher bags.

And whether you’re making trail mix bars or trail mix bites, you can cater the ingredients to what you like, what you have on hand, etc.

Why You’re Kids Will Gobble Up These Trail Mix Bars

• Filling snack – Each trail mix bar has 3 grams of fiber and 8 grams of protein! I appreciate homemade snacks with protein and fiber, so we rotate between these Cheerio cereal bars and our Homemade Nut Free Protein Bars.
• Great for post workout – These healthy cereal bars are absolutely perfect as youth athlete snacks or snacks for hiking, and are super simple to make at home. Sometimes, I’ll pair one with a diy yogurt pouch and send my kid out the door to practice, a game, etc.
• No oven required – There is no baking needed for healthy homemade cereal bars. You mix the ingredients in your baking pan and let it set in the freezer. So, they are a great no bake snack recipe and healthy dessert, too!
• Made with pantry staples – Of course, use your favorite cereal or nuts/seeds, but this recipe for healthy cereal bars is based off of pantry staples for ease and convenience.
• Portable – What makes these trail mix granola bars different is the fact that you can HOLD them. Which sometimes, honestly, feels more like a real snack, or something. Having them be handheld is great to reduce the mess of a salty trail mix, but also, you’re able to eat trail mix bars in the car, at your desk, etc.

A Look At the Ingredients

A note about the ingredients:

• Cheerios – I happen to love Cheerios (as do my kids), so we ALWAYS have them on hand. But, use your favorite cereal. Kix, honey nut cheerios or even chex also work.
• Nut butter – Use your favorite nut butter! Personally, I love this drippy peanut butter. Peanut butter and cheerios together are my favorite because the cheerios seem to be the perfect shape to soak up that gooey peanut butter and hold these homemade trail mix bars together. 
• Nuts and seeds – Mix and match with the nuts/seeds and add-in’s!

There are so many trail mix bar ideas, depending on the ingredients you have on hand, what nuts/seeds you enjoy, and whether you want to make a vegan trail mix or not!

How To Make Healthy Homemade Cereal Bars

Trail mix bars are like a portable trail mix…in bar form. Or a cereal bar with less nuts/seeds.

Totally depends on your preference!

If you want to step up your homemade trail mix game, I break it down in this healthy homemade trail mix and you can adjust from there.

Heat or microwave your peanut butter.

Mix all of your ingredients in a bowl.

If your nut butter isn’t drippy enough, you may have to microwave it or heat it on the stove for a brief period of time.

Then, mix in the dry ingredients to the peanut butter and maple syrup. Give everything a big mix with a spatula or wooden spoon.

Pour the mixture over pan lined with parchment paper and pop in the freezer for at least an hour.

Want some more fun kid-friendly recipe ideas for snacks and meal prep? Check out our dietitian-approved 30 healthy recipes for toddlers and kids!

I want healthy recipes to help my picky eater!

Recipe Tips & Modifications

1. These peanut butter cheerio bars with nuts and seeds are best out of the freezer in my opinion. You can enjoy them cold – they stay together well, and they aren’t too cold to hurt your teeth when you bite into them.
2. I used quick cooking oats and did not test with old fashioned. You may need a higher proportion of syrup or peanut butter if you use old-fashioned oats, since they are thicker. 
3. I just chopped my almonds on a cutting board for these trail mix cereal bars. You can choose to do that in a food processor, but it’s not entirely necessary – save yourself the extra clean up!
4. Smooth peanut butter tends to work best. If you’re using a thicker nut butter, you may need to microwave longer. 

From start to finish you can make these cheerio cereal bars in just over an hour, allowing time for these trail mix granola bars to set.

These are hands down one of my favorite no bake healthy snacks.

Servings 12 bars

No Bake Peanut Butter Trail Mix Bars with Cheerios

Sarah Schlichter, MPH, RDN

Make these no bake trail mix bars when you want a nutrient-dense snack for the kids. Made with oats, cheerios, peanut butter and your favorite add-in's, these cheerio cereal bars are healthy snacks for the whole family and work great on the go!

4.84 from 6 ratings

Print Pin

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Freeze Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Ingredients  

1x2x3x

• 3/4 cup peanut butter or nut butter
• 1 T coconut oil
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 2 cups cheerios
• 1 cup rolled oats/quick oats
• 1/3 cup hemp seed
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup almonds, halved
• 1/8 tsp tsp sea salt + more for topping

Instructions 

1. Place peanut butter and coconut oil in small microwavable bowl and heat for 30-60 seconds. Alternatively, place in small pot over medium high heat and whisk until combined and warm.
2. Mix in maple syrup/agave/honey to peanut butter mixture and let cool for 3-5 minutes.
3. Add dry ingredients (cheerios,oats, hemp seeds, raisins, almonds and salt) to a bowl. Pour over peanut buttermixture.
4. Line 8×8 pan with parchment paper. Pour trail mix bar batter and push down. Cover and freeze for 60+ minutes.                     
5. Once frozen, remove parchment paperand cut bars into 10-12 square sized bars.

Notes

• I’ve found that a smooth peanut butter works best. Depending onits thickness, you may have to microwave a little longer.
• You can add almonds to food processor to chop them but I find it’s just as easy to do it on a cutting board and save using extra equipment
• I did not test these with old fashioned oats, so you may need to add more peanut butter or syrup
• To store trail mix cereal bars, keep in airtight container in freezer or refrigerator. You can store them room temperature, but they will stay fresher if refrigerated or frozen.

Equipment

Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts Shelled Hemp Seeds, 24oz; 10g Plant-Based Protein & 12g Omegas per Serving, Whole 30 Approved, Vegan, Keto, Paleo, Non-GMO, Gluten Free

BetterBody Foods Organic Virgin Coconut Oil — Cold-Pressed and Unrefined Coconut Oil, Medium Temperature Cooking Oil, Great Alternative To Butter, Light Coconut Flavor and Aroma, 56 Ounce

Organic Maple Syrup – 32 Oz. Jug – 100% Pure Canadian Maple Syrup – Small Family Farm Sourced – Grade A: Amber Rich Taste – Non-GMO, Healthy and Gluten-Free

Kirkland Organic Creamy Peanut Butter U.S. Valencia Peanuts 28 Ounce Each Jar 2 Pack

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 276kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 8gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 166mgFiber: 3gSugar: 12g

Did you make this recipe?Let us know how it was!