If you’re looking for a quick granola bar recipe, this one’s for you.
These bars require just 3 ingredients, not including salt, and only a few minutes of hands-on preparation for a result that is beyond delicious.
In fact, my husband has proclaimed these to be one of his favorite granola bars EVER, “even if they don’t have chocolate chips.” Ha! I suppose you could add chocolate chips to these bars if you like, but what I love about these bars is that they’re naturally sweetened and loaded with fiber, so they won’t spike your blood sugar the same way a store-bought bar might. Plus, they’re gluten-free– as long as you make sure to buy oats that are certified gluten-free. (Otherwise, they can be exposed to cross-contamination in a facility that also processes wheat products.)
Not surprisingly, this recipe is easily adaptable, so you can make these bars with any other nut butter you like. If you want to send them to school with your kids, you can even make them completely nut-free by using sunflower butter instead of peanut butter. Substituting the sweetener is a little trickier, as it’s the honey that provides the “chewy” texture we love, but you can use brown rice syrup for a similar result that’s lower in fructose, or you can use maple syrup for a bar with a drier, firmer texture.
However you make them, I hope you’ll enjoy them as much as we do!
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Peanut Butter & Honey Chewy Granola Bars
Makes 8 to 10 bars
Adapted from this recipe
Ingredients:
2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 cup creamy natural peanut butter* (unsalted)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (optional)
*Peanuts are one of the crops most heavily sprayed with pesticides, so make sure to buy organic whenever possible.
Directions:
Line a standard loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the honey to a boil. Set a timer, and allow the honey to continue boiling for 1 minute. In the meantime, place the oats in a large bowl and set aside. Remove from the pan of honey from the heat and stir in the peanut butter and salt. Immediately pour the warm mixture over the oats, and use a spatula to stir well, coating the oats evenly. As the mixture cools, it will become sticky and difficult to mix, so be sure to move quickly!
Transfer the mixture to the lined loaf pan, and press HARD to pack it into the pan. Pressing firmly will ensure that the bars stick together well later. Place the pan in the fridge or freezer to cool, then use a large knife to cut the bars. I like to store these bars in the freezer for best shelf life (up to 6 months) then pull them out as needed– they thaw in about an hour, which makes them perfect for a mid-morning snack. If you’d prefer to store these bars at room temperature, they should last for up to a week.
- 2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
- 1/2 cup creamy natural peanut butter (unsalted)
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (optional)
- Line a standard loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the honey to a boil. Set a timer, and allow the honey to continue boiling for 1 minute. In the meantime, place the oats in a large bowl and set aside. Remove from the pan of honey from the heat and stir in the peanut butter and salt.
- Immediately pour the warm mixture over the oats, and use a spatula to stir well, coating the oats evenly. As the mixture cools, it will become sticky and difficult to mix, so be sure to move quickly!
- Transfer the mixture to the lined loaf pan, and press HARD to pack it into the pan. Pressing firmly will ensure that the bars stick together well later. Place the pan in the fridge or freezer to cool, then use a large knife to cut the bars.
I like to store these bars in the freezer for best shelf life (up to 6 months) then pull them out as needed-- they thaw in about an hour, which makes them perfect for a mid-morning snack. If you'd prefer to store these bars at room temperature, they should last for up to a week.
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Notes:
- Feel free to use any other nut butter (or sunflower seed butter for nut-free) to replace the peanut butter.
- You can add extras, like chocolate chips, raisins, or nuts, when you stir the peanut butter mixture into the oats. Feel free to get creative!
Enjoy!
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite granola bar flavor? Austin’s favorite is the recipe above, but mine are the Cinnamon Raisin snack bars in Everyday Detox— I can’t wait for you all to try them, too!
Anne
How sticky/crumbly/fallapart-y will these bars be? I want to take them to school where they’ll have to spend all day in my (nonrefrigerated) backpack and survive walking/bumping.
Katlin
They haven’t fallen apart on me and I keep mine in the front of my messenger bag. My son keeps his in his school backpack and it holds up to him throwing it on the floor. My husband and son like me to do a double batch with a layer of semi-melted chocolate chips in the middle.
Katlin
Thank you! I have been searching for over an hour now trying to find a simple bar I can add hemp or flax seed to. Finally! I hope these taste as good as they look.
Katlin
They are absolutely delicious!!!!!! I am making a double batch right now! I added flax seed and peanuts in the first batch. This time I will add hemp seed as well. I’m so happy you put this recipe up thank you!!!!!
Frances
The texture and flavor are good. A little too sweet…. that is why I gave 4 stars. The second time I made it: Toss oats in a skillet over medium on stovetop for 4~5 minutes, remove away from heat. Add 1 1/2 TABLESPOON DARK COCOA POWDER TO PEANUT BUTTER, stir to blend well. Then do everything as recipe says. That tastes balanced.
taryn finnessey
My husband informed me I should no longer make single batches of these– just double! we make with sunflower butter so my son can take them to school. A staple for sure!
Janet
Um, those sprayed peanuts? You do know that the peanuts themselves grow underground, rather than near foliage?
Megan Gilmore
The USDA has reported finding 8 pesticides in peanut butter, so clearly the final product is still affected, even though they are grown underground.
Janet
Were the pesticides those used during growth or while the peanuts were stored?
Megan Gilmore
The pesticides are used while grown– typically they must be sprayed every 8 to 10 days during their growing season, because peanut crops are rotated with cotton crops and now that cotton as been genetically engineered to withstand higher doses of chemicals, the soil has become more polluted than ever. Because the peanuts are buried underground with a very soft, porous shell (unlike nuts, that have a very hard shell) they are able to absorb everything added to the soil.
Katlin
Dang, some serious conversation for a simple recipe.
Doreen
Simple is seriously the best, made these last night! Forget the store bought ones full of crap!
These are incredible!
Megan
These are Amazing!!
Jennifer
I made these as directed but even though I really pressed firmly, they ended up crumbling once I cut them into bars. Not really a loss though, as I just turned it into granola crumbles. :). I loved the flavor and will make these again, though with half the honey and maybe a quarter cup of melted coconut oil. I used a really thick, freshly ground peanut butter which is likely why it was too dry. Still delish!!
Kathy
My grandson and I made these today. He loves them. He decided to make them into balls that we rolled in shredded coconut. Yum!
jo
Am confused. Aren’t peanuts a protein and oats a starch = not optimum food combining?
Megan Gilmore
Yes, this recipe is not properly combined– it’s just an upgrade for those transitioning away from processed granola bars.
Jo
Ah, ok, thanks for that !!! Sounds divine anyway, I’m sure I’ll have to make some!
Leigh
Can you give us the nutritional info please?
Kayleigh
Any idea what the nutritional facts are on this? When I put the ingredients into My Fitness Pal it acted like the bars are 300+ cal per bar – totally ok, just wanted to make sure it was accurate. Thanks!
Erica
Do you have any tips if you are going to add chocolate chips? I used minis and it resulted in melted chocolate. Still taste good. I tried adding it both to the oats before I put the peanut butter and honey mixture as well as some after it was all mixed in. I think those survived the best but hard to tell in the melted chocolate mess.
Rebecca
Same issue! I even tried frozen chocolate chips and they still melted immediately!
Mindy
These are INCREDIBLE! ! The recipe says they last a week. They definitely do not last that long n my house. I had to make two batches in 24 hrs once.
Rachel
I’m wondering if anyone has made these using oat flour instead of whole oats. My toddler son really has a thing for texture and would probably prefer something more smooth instead. I’m going to try it out tomorrow an see how it goes regardless, they sound great.
Yvonne
Rachel,
You could pulse the oats in a food processor or blender first, or you could try using oatmeal (oats soaking in water or milk) to make a softer texture.
chen
how should i reduce the sweetness
Becky
Love these! So good, and my daughter loves them! Thank you!
Melanie
Do u know the nutritional values to these no bake granola bars? Mainly sodium cholesterol calories fiber carbs ect?
Pamela
I see that other people asked about the nutritional facts, but there hasn’t been an answer, I’m wondering that too. My fiance is on a strict low fat diet and I think he’d love these bars, but I don’t really want to make them for him if he can’t eat them. Does anybody know the grams of fat or percentage? Thanks.
Megan Gilmore
You can calculate any nutrition info you need using a free website like MyFitnessPal.com!
Stacey
131g of fat for the whole batch plus however much is in the honey, divided by however many bars you divide it into. If you cut 12 bars, it’s about 11g fat each.
Sarah
These bars are delicious! They make a great afternoon snack at work. Do you think they could be made with agave nectar instead of honey?
Diane
These were the perfect salty-sweet pre-workout energy boost—love them! I added chopped cashews and dates to the mix & they turned out amazing. Thanks for sharing another great recipe!
Cheri
Eh. Not terrible but not wonderful either. I won’t be making them again. My husband, who isn’t a complainer, said they have the texture of cardboard and tasted like sawdust with honey. I’ll eat them because I don’t want to waste them, but they’re not for us.
I followed the directions and didn’t change anything, in case anyone is wondering.
Joell
I took your recipe and went a little crazy with it. I can’t have honey so I swapped out with maple syrup. I wanted the benefits of millet. I boiled about a quarter cup of millet until softened but not to porridge. I also heated up about a quarter cup of raspberries. When the peanut butter and maple syrup where ready, I added the millet and raspberries and stirred ’til it was smooth. The rest of the directions I did just as you said. Oh my! Are these good!
Caroline
Love these thanks so much for sharing this recipe….I use cashew butter and maple syrup instead of peanut butter and honey then chuck in some cocoa nibs and top with a mocha icing using coconut oil, cocoa powder, steam pressed decaf ground coffee and maple syrup. Delicious…thanks for inspiring a delicious and healthy (ish!) treat.
Andrea
I’ve tried about a dozen different recipes looking for just the right recipe- not too dry, not too crunchy, not too fussy to make- and this was PERFECT! I sprinkled mini chocolate chips on top, but they really aren’t necessary! I ate almost half the batch before my kids ever woke up from nap lol. THIS is now my go-to recipe! Thank you!
Blogtastic Food
This is the kind of thing I need to snack on ore often (: