Today’s recipe for homemade Whole-Wheat Cereal Bars includes black walnuts (pictured below) – something I honestly had never heard of before working with the sponsor of this post, Hammons. I didn’t even realize there were such different varieties of walnuts available. My first reaction was that they tasted nothing like regular walnuts!
About Black Walnuts
Black walnuts are not grown in orchards like most nuts but instead are found in the wild in the midwest and east-central United States. They have the highest protein over any nut and are full of many beneficial nutrients. The next harvest season is coming up in October, and apparently it’s a tradition for many families in the region to collect black walnuts together to sell at hulling stations in their area.
The most notable difference with the American black walnut is it’s flavor. It is bolder than the English walnut (the most common kind), and it isn’t really used for snacking but it is great as an ingredient where its rich flavor can stand out and complement the other ingredients. While they’re a great balance of flavor in baked goods, you can essentially use black walnuts in a variety of savory dishes as well, like these recipes for Black Walnut Chicken Quiche and Black Walnut Wild Rice. You can also use black walnuts in granola bars, trail mixes and oatmeal.
Homemade Cereal Bars
The bag of black walnuts got me thinking about how I should try them in a homemade cereal bar recipe. Bars sure are convenient, especially this time of year, but the packaged ones leave a lot to be desired. Just check out what is actually in one of these store-bought cereal bars below – no, thank you! These are definitely not ingredients I would cook with at home:
But just because we want to keep it real doesn’t mean we have to miss out on this convenience food. We just need to make our own instead! And thank goodness it is super easy to do thanks to this recipe for Whole-Wheat Cereal Bars below. I found that black walnuts were perfect in a small dose in this recipe, but regular walnuts would also work as an alternative if that’s all you have on hand. Enjoy!
Whole-Wheat Cereal Bars (with black walnuts)
Ingredients
- 3 cups cereal, shredded wheat unsweetened, bite-sized
- 3/4 cup almonds, sliced or chopped
- 1/4 cup walnuts, black or regular, chopped
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, a mix found in the spice aisle
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325° F. Line a quarter sheet pan (9 x 13 inches) with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large ziplock bag, combine the cereal, nuts, spice, and salt. Crush with a meat tenderizer or your fist until the cereal is broken up into pieces. Pour into a large bowl.
- Melt the butter and honey together and stir into the cereal mixture until well combined. Spread onto the baking sheet in one even layer and bake until it just starts to turn golden brown, 20 - 22 minutes.
- Let cool completely then break into chunks and store in an airtight container for up to one week.
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Spaghetti Squash Carbonara
❤️ This recipe…my hometown holds the Black Walnut Festival and it’s coming up next month! I’ll be making this lovely recipe in honor of the festival.
Thank you for fabulous recipes!!!
Have you tried using coconut oil in place of some of the butter? Wondering if it would work just as well and a healthier option.
Jill, you can typically use butter and coconut oil interchangeably.
It would be great to have a nut free version so the kids could take them to school :)
I agree! Not only for the kids but for myself and all the other adults who have a nut/peanut allergy :)
I think it’s just a flavor thing so I think you can change it with dried fruit, chocolate, figs or whatever else you fancy; I also believe the process would be the same.
Have you tried using sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds?
Any ideas on a wheat free substitute for the cereal?
Hi there. We’ve not attempted to substitute but you might be able to make it work with a puffed brown rice but it would be an experiment.
Butter is very good for you, just like coconut oil. The best cream to make butter from comes from pastured cows of course. Or 100% grassfed if it doesnt say pastured.
This recipe would be great, minus the honey and butter, for a cereal! Milk and some cream maybe, over it. Sweeten to taste with stevia or drizzle honey or syrup on the bowl.
Delicious! I just made a batch of this. It goes together so quickly and it turned out so good! I cut it into bars with a pizza cutter before it totally cooled and hardened. They are so good to eat as a bar and it is heavenly crumbled on top of plain yogurt.
I grew up with a black walnut tree in my yard and they were my favorite in brownies as a kid!!! These were so good and so easy! Thank you!