I used to eat a Nature Valley Granola Bar everyday for breakfast on my way to school so these Low Carb Bars bring back all the great memories of my childhood! We used simple, whole ingredients to recreate our favorite high carb bar and nailed it on the first try. This recipe was inspired by Stoka Bars so definitely check out their products if you’re looking a quick grab and go snack.
How Do These Hold Up To Other Low Carb Snack Bars?
You may be asking yourself the question of how these compare to pre-packaged ones. Although ones you can buy online or in store may have the convenience factor that these don’t because no baking is required, the ingredients and macros are a little questionable. Let’s take a look:
- Quest Bars use a lot of fiber and are higher in total carbs.
- Atkins Lift Bars also use a lot of fiber along with sucralose for the sweetener.
- Keto Bars are going to be your best option, but they still use a little more erythritol than we like to see.
That all being said, if you take just a little time over the weekend to make a double or triple batch of these low carb bars you will not only have a great snack for the week, but you can pack them in your kids’ lunch boxes! You’ll know exactly what is going into these bars and you’ll feed great about eating them.Overall, these bars are lower in carbs (most of them coming from whole ingredients) and they will satisfy that crunch craving that no other bar can.
Nature Valley Granola Low Carb Bars
You don’t need to use the granola bar mold we did unless you also want the true feel of a nature valley granola bar. Fat bomb molds or muffin molds will work great and give you little bites of heaven! Don’t forget to tag us on Instagram – we would love to see you and your families enjoying these low carb bars on the go or at home!
Recipe Note:
The goal of this recipe was to replicate the delicious Stoka Bars, which lists Butter Powder on their packaging as an ingredient. If you don’t want to purchase this ingredient, you can try substituting with the following ingredients.
- Powdered peanut butter
- MCT Oil powder
- Butter
- Ghee
- Coconut oil
Let us know how your variation turns out!
Recipe can be quickly added to MyFitnessPal – Search “KetoConnect – Low Carb Nature Valley Bars”
Low Carb Nature Valley Granola Bars
Ingredients:
- 1 cup almonds, raw
- 1 tbsp psyllium husk powder
- 2 tbsp butter powder
- 2 tbsp Low Carb Sugar Substitute
- 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 20 drops liquid stevia
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 275 degrees F.
- Add everything to a food processor and pulse until you have chunks of almonds, but everything is combined.
- Spoon the mixture into your mold and press it down very firmly using a spatula.
- Bake for 30 minutes, until edges are browned. Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes until set.
Notes
Serving Size: 1 bar
Written by
Megha Barot
Megha has always been a passionate cook, but she took this to a new level after starting her keo journey in 2015. She loves creating new recipes and producing educational content for KetoConnect, which she co-founded in 2016 with Matt. Her passion for healthy eating and personal development continues to thrive. She's the proud mom of two awesome kids.
I LOVE Stoka bars, but they are pricey and i don’t get them too often. I can’t wait to make theses!!!
I’m wondering if peanut butter powder would work to sub the butter powder?
We haven’t tried that, but someone has replaced it with melted crunchy peanut butter and found success!
Hi – These look great! I’m thinking I’ll use my PB2 that I have on hand. Seems like it would have the same consistency as butter powder and the peanut butter flavor shouldn’t harm the outcome. What do you think?
We haven’t tried that, but someone has replaced it with melted crunchy peanut butter and found success! You could try the powder PB and see what happens. The worse that will happen is you make a delicious granola!
I got a cup of granola using the PB2. Lol!
Thank you for the recipe! I know you guys have probably already tried this but I am going to attempt to use mct powder and butter extract instead of butter powder since I am so impatient. I’ll let you guys know how it turns out. 🙂
Okay, I won’t ask if the butter powder is necessary! But before I spend $14.99 on it I was wondering if powdered MCT oil could be a possible substitute?
Either way, thanks Matt and Megha for all your content. Just got your cookbook and love all the recipes I have tried (about 10 so far). Also loving your podcast!
Okay, I made them with MCT oil powder (perfect keto vanilla flavor) and also substituted ghee for the coconut oil (not sure if this affects the texture but wanted to add some butter flavor). Since the MCT oil powder is sweetened with stevia I added only 10 drops of stevia.
The result: the bars were not crunchy using MCT oil powder, and were a bit crumbly but did not fall apart when I took them out of the silicone mold (used a muffin top mold). Taste was delicious in spite of the texture. My kids, ages 8 and 15 both liked them, too!
Second update comparing MCT oil powder to butter powder:
After cooling down for at least 12 hours on the counter, the MCT oil powder bars were more solid and almost crunchy, although still crumbly. I went ahead and purchased the butter powder because the flavoring in the MCT oil powder gave the bars an artificial vanilla taste that I didn’t care for.
I just made these again with butter powder and coconut oil (instead of butter as last time) and the texture is pretty much the same as the bars made with MCT oil powder. The flavor is even better with the butter powder.
Thanks again for this recipe!
Hi Guys, I have Coconut Oil Powder (not MCT) and do 2/3 almonds 1/3 coconut. Before I waste
the ingredients do you think it will work?
That should work! If it doesn’t hold together, you will still have a tasty granola!
I’m just wondering what the concern would be with the amount of erythritol in a product. Is it just potential digestive issues (which I luckily don’t have with erythritol)? I thought erythritol had a very low glycemic response – my primary concern.
Yes it’s just to do with the erythritol being hard to digest for some, or for those who count total carbs.
As an option to the butter powder – perhaps Peanut Butter powder if you aren’t allergic/have issues with PB? It would be easier to get locally – at least in the US it’s at grocery/club stores And there are lots of brands on Amazon including Organic options. Just a thought.
These contain nuts…can’t pack these into kids’lunches for snacks. Alternative??
Not for this recipe! The nuts are crucial.
Would you mind saying one more time if we can use butter instead of butter powder? Perhaps this time your answer will change?
Perfect reply!
I just cannot do stevia!! Can I double the erythritol? Maybe leave out a little of something else to make up for it?
Yep you can add more erythritol to make up for the stevia!
I am not a stevia fan. I just made these and substituted the 3 tbsp of Swerve for the erythritol and the stevia. They taste great
I wonder if buttermilk powder would work? I might give the recipe a try with some that I have on hand…
Do you think I could substitute PEANUT butter powder for the butter powder?
You could try it, but we haven’t experimented with that one! Let us know how it goes!
1 lb of butter powder is quite a bit so do you have any other recipes or ideas of how to use it so it will not be wasted? Thank you
You could add it to fat bombs!
I know you’re based in America and your main audience is from there. However you do have some International audience. Could you maybe post a different recipe for people who don’t have access to those kind of ingredients?
I can’t order butter powder to where I live. Not even through Amazon. And shipping from America to me is 60 bucks 🙁
Sorry, this recipe requires butter powder, but you could try having some fun in the kitchen and finding an alternative! Experimenting is how we make all of our recipes. 🙂
jcesati@hotmail.com
What about PB fit or something?
Someone has tried 2tbsp of melted crunchy peanut butter and says they liked the outcome. You could try that!
Is psyllium husk powder the same as Metamucil?
Yes, they are similar in that they are mainly made of fiber.
Your link for butter powder says that it’s 3 net carbs but the same companies 2 lb container says 1 net carb. which setting did you use for the recipe?
You guys are awesome! Thanks for always bringing great recipes of favorite snacks 🙂
I looooove the peanut butter Nature Valley bars. Is there any way to make these into the pb ones??? ?
Sounds like something you should experiment with! Let us know if you figure it out!
Would macadamia nuts work instead of almonds?
They might! We haven’t tried it. Let us know if you do!