8 Easy Homemade Granola Bar Recipes
on May 05, 2017, Updated Jul 10, 2024
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8 easy homemade granola bar recipes that come together in a snap. These easy no-bake healthy snacks are made with oats, honey, nut butter, and EIGHT different flavor mix-ins to make your dream granola bar every time.
Homemade granola bars are awesome! They taste delicious, travel well, are just plain easy to make, and are inexpensive. Need a snack for preschool, after t-ball, or to take in the car to a game? Granola bars will be there, no matter what needs to be done! This recipe makes perfectly chewy granola bars
One of the best things about granola bars is that it’s highly customizable. You can make your own at home, changing the ingredients to suit your taste preferences. This allows you to control the amount of sugar used and avoid any additives or preservatives found in some store-bought varieties.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- These store super well in the fridge or freezer.
- These are a super healthy snack and packed with nutrients.
- They are quick and easy to make with ingredients you have on hand.
Recipe Ingredients
- Old-fashioned rolled oats
- Nuts
- Honey
- Butter – unsalted
- Brown sugar
- Vanilla extract
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Homemade Granola Bars
Step 1: Toast the nuts and oats and boil sugar, butter, and honey.
Step 2: Add the oats, nuts, mix-in, and honey mixture to a bowl and stir.
Step 3: Press the mixture into a pan and refrigerate to set.
Step 4: Remove from pan, cut, and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
Press the bars into the pan very firmly. I normally grease the bottom of a glass cup or measure up and use it to stamp down the mixture in the pan.
They are a great, well-rounded snack with lots of fiber and whole grains, and they are bursting with flavor. Plus, making things at home means that the list of ingredients is short, and that’s always a good thing!
Buying an organic granola bar is the healthiest option. In this house, we really like Annie’s granola bars.
Expert Tips
- If you like a stronger honey flavor, use 1/3 cup honey and 1/4 cup brown sugar in this recipe.
- If you are going to add chocolate, you’ll want to wait until the hot honey and oat mixture cools a little bit and is closer to room temperature (about 15 minutes), or all the chocolate chips will melt (it still tastes great but doesn’t look as nice).
- Toasting the nuts and oats is optional, making the granola bars taste like cookies. I highly recommend it.
Tips & Tricks for Making Homemade Granola Bars
Here are My 8 Granola Bar Variations
Blueberry Granola Bars
- Master mix
- Almonds
- ½ cup dried blueberries
- ¼ cup shredded coconut
Dark Chocolate Cherry Granola Bars
- Master mix
- Pecans
- ½ cup dried cherries
- ¼ cup dark chocolate chips
Tropical Granola Bars
- Master mix
- Cashews
- ½ cup chopped dried fruit (pineapple, mango, and mandarin oranges)
- ¼ cup coconut
White Chocolate Cranberry Granola Bars
- Master mix
- Almonds
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup white chocolate chips
Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola Bars
- Master mix
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter (add this when you add the vanilla and salt and stir well to combine)
- ½ cup M&M’s
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Granola Bars
- Master mix
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter (add this when you add the vanilla and salt and stir well to combine)
- ⅓ cup broken pretzel pieces
- ¼ cup peanut butter chips
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
Spiced Nut Granola Bars
- Master mix
- ½ cup almonds
- ½ cup pecans
- ½ cup cashews
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon (add this when you add the vanilla and salt)
Sunflower Pecan Granola Bars
- Master mix
- Almonds
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup candy-coated sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup shredded coconut
More Healthy Snack Recipes to Consider
Breakfast Recipes
Protein Shakes
Snacks
Breakfast Bars
From Scratch Recipes
Celery Juice
Snacks
Sweet Potato Chips
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
Base Granola Bar Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup nuts, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cups total extra mix-ins, (about 1/4 cup of 3 different ingredients such as dried fruits, coconut, chocolate chips, etc. please see the post following the recipe for 8 options.)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch square baking dish with parchment or foil and lightly spray with cooking spray.
- Place the oats and nuts on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly toasted.
- While the oats are toasting, add the honey, butter, and brown sugar to a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves, stirring constantly. Let the mixture bubble, while stirring, for 1 minute and then remove from the heat.
- Place the nuts and oats in a large bowl.
- Stir in the vanilla and salt to the butter mixture. Pour this mixture over the oat and nut mixture and stir to combine. Add any extra ingredients (except for chocolate) and stir to combine. Make sure none of the oats are dry.
- If you are adding chocolate, wait about 15 minutes for the mixture to cool a bit before adding the chocolate and then stirring to combine.
- Place all of the oat mixture in the prepared pan. Use a rubber spatula or the bottom of a greased measuring cup to press the mixture into the pan. Press it in very firmly, this is what makes the bars stick together.
- Chill the granola bars for at least 2 hours. Lift the bars from the pan using the edges of the foil or parchment and place them on a cutting board. Cut into desired shape/sizes and serve.
- Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 10 days. If you are stacking the granola bars place a piece of parchment between the layers to help prevent sticking.
Video
Notes
- The nutrition info was calculated with using almonds for the 3/4 of a cup of “mix-ins”.
- If you don’t want to use nuts, skip them or replace them with something like shredded coconut.
- You can skip the step where you toast the oats and the nuts, but it really takes them to the next level of deliciousness. I highly recommend it. If you’re in a hurry, though, you can skip it!
- Don’t cook it higher than medium heat; the honey will scorch if you cook it at a higher temperature.
How might you incorporate protein or collagen powder?
You can stir it in with the nut butter!
Delicious and so much healthier than the ones you purchase!
Sounds Yummy, I am wanting to know what type of brown sugar you use? Light or Dark Brown Sugar? Thanks 🙂
Whatever you like or have on hand. The recipe was tested with light brown sugar.
These are our favorite granola bars!
Can’t find the 8 options?
Can you use agave instead of honey?
I think that should work just fine!
I am confused to what nut to use in the roasting process with the oatmeal. What did you use? Do you use it for all eight bars?
The individual recipe specify which nut to use though you have a lot of flexibility and can use what you like or have on hand. Just scroll down to the recipe box to see the suggestions for each kind!
Thank you for this quick, easy, tasty and nutritious granola bar recipe! I made the toasted pecan and dried cherry with chocolate chips. Delicious!
That combination sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing!
I’m excited to try these granola bars! I’ve been wanting to make homemade ones for a while and these look easy and tasty. I did want to mention something about intuitive eating. I am a dietitian who is currently doing the certified intuitive eating counselor program, and I want to clarify that it is not intended to be used as a weight loss diet. The 4th edition of the book is the most current and makes that more clear than previous editions. You’re right that it is life-changing, though!
Everyone I’ve shared these with loves them! My favorite add-ins are 1/2 cup dried cherries, about 1/8 c. slivered almonds, 2 Tbls chia seeds, and 2 Tbls hemp hearts. I refrigerate initially, but after they’re cut, I store them at room temperature and they’re just fine. (We eat them too quickly for them to go bad!) 🙂