Make your own healthy homemade granola bars and never buy the pricey ones again.
Homemade chewy granola bars are chock-full of nutrient-dense, fiber-filled, and flavorful oats, seeds, dried fruit, and coconut, combined with natural sweeteners, and lots of room for swaps and add-ins!
Homemade Granola Bars
- Homemade granola bars are an easy and delicious way to get an energizing dose of protein, fiber, and nutrition into your family’s diet.
- Let the kids choose their favorite ingredients and whip up a batch or two to enjoy all week long for a quick breakfast, to share with the classroom, or an after-school snack before dinner.
- Free of artificial ingredients and preservatives, this recipe can also be made sugar-free using your favorite sweetener, and peanut butter can be used instead of butter for extra protein.
- Toss one or two into a backpack or briefcase for an anytime snack attack that’s wholesome, delicious, and portable. They’re also great to share on road trips, field trips, or when you need some grab-and-go, guilt-free goodness between meals.
Ingredients and Variations
- Oats: Quick oats are used in this recipe to make the granola bars chewy. Old-fashioned oats can be used as well.
- Seeds: Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia, and flax seeds will offer a protein bump and are acceptable for those with nut allergies (especially in classrooms where nuts might be prohibited).
- Nuts: Walnuts, pecans, pistachios, almonds, or peanuts can be used in this recipe.
- Dried Fruit: Besides apricots and cranberries, try dried mangos, currants, blueberries, or raisins.
- Sweeteners: Brown sugar, and honey work with the egg and butter as binders for homemade granola bars. Experiment using your favorite brown sugar substitute, or swap out the honey for a sugar-free Monk Fruit syrup.
Variations
Make granola bars with mini chocolate chips or mini M&Ms, a spoonful of Nutella, peanut butter, bananas, or some pumpkin puree with pumpkin spice for a seasonal-tasting granola bar. Banana chips add some sweet crunch to this recipe. Be careful not to add too many extras as the bars could fall apart. Additional honey or an extra egg (or egg white) can extend the binder if the mixture is not holding together.
How to Make Homemade Granola Bars
- Bake oats oats and pumpkin seeds.
- Beat eggs, brown sugar, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, and melted butter (full recipe below).
- Stir in sunflower seeds, coconut, apricots, and cranberries, with oat mixture.
- Press into a prepared pan and bake.
- Cool, cut into bars, and store in an airtight container.
Granola Bar Tips and Tricks
- Be sure to use enough binder to keep the bars together, especially if you’re adding extra nuts, seeds, or fruit.
- Chop large nuts or fruit into smaller bits to help make the bars more sturdy.
- Homemade granola bars will come out chewy but can be cut into squares or bars and left out overnight to dry for a crunchier bite.
- Keep homemade granola bars covered at room temperature for up to 7 days. To freeze granola bars, individually wrap in plastic, place in a zippered bag, and freeze for up to 2 months.
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Homemade Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 3½ cups quick oats
- 1 cup pepitas or almonds, chopped
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅔ cup butter melted
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
- ½ cup shredded coconut
- ½ cup chopped dried apricots or other dried fruit
- ½ cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 9×13 inch baking pan and line with parchment.
- Add oats to a baking sheet, and bake for 10 minutes. Stir, add pepitas, and bake 5 more minutes.
- Meanwhile, add eggs to a large bowl and beat lightly. Combine with brown sugar, honey, vanilla, and cinnamon. Slowly mix in melted butter.
- Stir in sunflower seeds, coconut, apricots, and cranberries. Add in about ¼ of the oat mixture and mix. Mix in remaining oat mixture.
- Very firmly press into baking pan by covering with parchment and using the back of a measuring cup. Bake for 13-18 minutes, until edges are slightly browned. Baking for the full 18 minutes or a little longer will help keep the bars from crumbling.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and cool on a wire rack (no need to remove from parchment. Cut into bars. Store in airtight container
Notes
- Makes 24-36 bars.
- Store in an airtight container:
- At room temperature for up to 7 days or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
- You can freeze them for up to 2 months individually wrapped inside a zipper bag.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information does not include optional ingredients or garnish and is an estimate. It may change based on actual ingredients and cooking methods used.
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We only make these granola bars for school now and don’t buy any. Candace’s Husband