Weight Watchers Recipe of the Day: Low Fat Cranberry Bars
The inspiration for these low fat cranberry bars comes from my friend, Alisa. Homemade cranberry bars are one of the highlights of her Mary Kay Holiday Open House. Instead of using her recipe, which made a large batch, I decided to try to make a version that would be smaller, lower in fat and calories but every bit as delicious.
WW Friendly Low-Fat Cranberry Bars
Skinny on Low Fat Cranberry Bars Recipe
Baking from scratch doesn't get much simpler than this low-fat cranberry bars recipe. All you need are a few basic ingredients and a bowl. I used a whisk and lots of elbow grease to mix them, but you could always use an electric mixer (affiliate link) if you prefer.
Moist, delicious, and not too sweet, they're a nice change from fancier cookies and bars that require a lot more work.
Fresh Whole Cranberries
I think they're even better a day or two after baking, so they're a great choice for making ahead and sharing with friends. They're so yummy I've stashed a couple bags of cranberries in the freezer so I can make them again later this winter. I was able to shave a few calories and a point by cutting back a bit on the sugar, butter and walnuts.
Plate of low fat cranberry bars
How Many Calories/WW Points in these Low Calorie Cranberry Bars?
According to my calculations each bar has 122 calories and:
5 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
5 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
5 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
3 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
You could cut the calories and SmartPoints further by substituting your favorite non-calorie or low-calorie sweetener such as Splenda or Truvia (affiliate link). And try unsweetened applesauce instead of the butter.
If you like these easy cranberry nut bars, be sure to check out some of my other Weight Watchers friendly recipes including Slow Cooker Cranberry Apple Cake, Crock Pot Cranberry Nut Bread, Cranberry White Chocolate Crock Pot Cookie Bars, Low-Fat Cranberry Walnut Rugalach and Low-Fat Mini Cranberry Nut Bread Loaves
Kitchen Tools I Used to Make this Recipe:
- Mixing Bowls (affiliate link)
- Cutting Board (affiliate link)
- Chef's Knife (affiliate link)
- 8-inch Baking Pan (affiliate link)
- Cooling Rack (affiliate link)
Are You Ready To Firmly Plant Yourself
On The Path To Lasting Weight Loss Success?
If you've made these Cranberry Walnut Bars, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Low-Fat Cranberry Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-¼ cups fresh or frozen cranberries
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Coat an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick spray and set it aside.
- In medium-sized bowl, beat the eggs until thick, about 5 minutes.
- Add the sugar and beat until creamy and well blended.
- Stir in the flour and butter and vanilla just until blended.
- Stir in the cranberries and walnuts.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out evenly.
- Bake until set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cut into 16 bars.
Recipe Notes
5 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
5 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
3 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
Source: Ocean Spray
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
Watch how to make your own no-bake cranberry oat bars at home:
Related WW Recipes:
- Banana Cranberry Muffins
- Skinny Cranberry Apple Oatmeal Cookies
- Cranberry Ginger Oatmeal Cookies
- Low Fat Pumpkin Cranberry Scones
- Skinny Cranberry Bliss Bars
- Banana Cranberry Bread
- Lemon Cranberry Scones
- Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti
- Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake
- Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Cranberry Orange Cornmeal Muffins
- Best Recipes of the Year with WW SmartPoints
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
Subscribe to Get: Top 10 Reader Favorite Recipes
The Top 10 Most Popular Recipes (PDF) on Simple Nourished Living + Weekly Support Emails with Tips & Easy Healthy Recipes Not Found Anywhere Else!
Mary
Martha,
Thank you for sharing this delicious looking recipe. What type of cranberries do you recommend? Fresh or craisins?
Martha McKinnon
Hi Mary, This recipe calls for fresh cranberries.
Mary
Duh....I need to read a little more thoroughly! Should I chop them up or put them in whole?
Martha McKinnon
Hi Mary,
I gave them a rough chop but the original recipe didn't specify so I think whole will work too.
Marge Morrison
They are not only pretty to look at -- they're simply delicious to taste! Love the fact that the recipe was so readily shared following that magnificent open house! I tasted the original as well as these - and could not have distinguished the difference - both were wonderful, flavorful and seemed to have the same texture, etc.
A 'keeper'!!!
Charlene
I'm going to try these, but will use unsweetened applesauce in place of the butter to drop the PPV. Thanks for sharing.
Charlene
Swapping out the butter for unsweetened applesauce in the WW recipe builder made no difference in the PPV. I'll use the butter. 🙂
cheryl
Assume u cook fresh cranberries first? If so for the usual 10 minutes and drain juice??
Martha McKinnon
No Cheryl, you just use them raw, like you would in a cranberry bread 🙂
Laurie
How many SmartPoints is this?
Martha McKinnon
Hi Laurie, They have increased from 3 PointsPlus to 5 SmartPoints. When you see sweet treat recipes with PointsPlus you can pretty much guesstimate that the SmartPoints has doubled 🙁 Hope this helps!!
Loye
I just made these with better batter gluten free flour mix in place of the one cup of all purpose flour and they turned out fantastic! Thank you so much for the recipe
Mandy
I made these tonight and they were really good :)... I will definitely be making them again.