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Homemade Granola Bars are super-easy to make, with just 4 simple ingredients. They will quickly become one of your favorite healthy snacks!
Why You’ll Love Them
They taste amazing. Homemade granola bars taste better than the kind you’d buy from the store! The sweet and salty flavor is hard to resist.
They are easy to customize. You can add any mix-ins you love, such as sliced almonds, unsweetened coconut, dried fruits, or even some mini chocolate chips. If you don’t love peanut butter, feel free to use almond butter, or even sunflower seed butter for a nut-free option.
They are quick to prepare. All you need is 4 simple ingredients and about 10 minutes of time to prepare this easy snack. No oven required!
They are nourishing. The combination of whole grain oats and peanut butter will keep you feeling satisfied, with plenty of protein and fiber in each bite. When you add in extras like hemp hearts or dried fruit, like cranberries or raisins, you’ll get an even wider variety of nutrients, too.
They are gluten-free. Oats are naturally gluten-free, but be sure to buy oats that are certified gluten-free to help avoid any potential cross contamination that may occur during the manufacturing process.
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the base recipe, you’ll need only oats, honey, salt, and your favorite nut butter. If you’re not a fan of peanut butter, try almond butter or cashew butter, instead. From there, you can get creative with any additions you love, such as adding hemp hearts for extra protein.
Add a splash of vanilla extract for flavor, or stir in some walnuts, pecans, or sunflower seeds for crunch. Just like making energy balls, you can easily customize the flavor each time you make these.
How to Make the Best Granola Bars
1. Mix the dry ingredients.
This recipe moves quickly, so start by combining the rolled oats, salt, and any other additions you like, such as hemp hearts, in a large mixing bowl.
Stir well, and then set this aside while you boil the honey.
2. Boil.
Add the honey to a small saucepan, and bring it to a boil over medium heat. As soon as it starts regularly bubbling around the edges of the pan, set a timer for 1 minute.
3. Mix.
When the timer goes off, turn off the heat and mix in the peanut butter. You’ll want to stir quickly, because the mixture will become harder to stir as it cools.
Pour the peanut butter mixture into the bowl of oats, and stir well. It will become thicker and harder to stir as you go, but keep mixing until it looks like the oats have been uniformly coated.
4. Press.
Transfer the mixture to a 9-inch square baking dish lined with parchment paper. (Pro Tip: Spray the pan with oil first, so the parchment paper will stick in place.)
Use a spatula to flatten the bars into the pan. Press firmly, so they will be packed together and will cut easily later.
If you’d like a chocolate-coated granola bar, melt a 1/3 cup of chocolate chips and spread them evenly over the top. It will harden as the bars cool. You can also sprinkle coarse sea salt on top, for a sweet & salty flavor.
5. Slice & Enjoy!
Let the granola bars cool completely, then they are ready to slice and serve. Cut them into 12 bars, and store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. You can also store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
If you store them at room temperature, they may spoil more quickly, but they should keep well for up to a week.
These healthy granola bars will have a chewy texture when you serve them at room temperature, and they are crunchier when served chilled. They will keep well in your purse, or backpack, if you need an easy snack on the go!
Frequently Asked Questions
Cooking the honey is what helps bind this recipe, so the granola bars will stick together even when you serve them at room temperature. If you would prefer to skip cooking the honey, the bars will most likely need to stay chilled for serving. Or, you can try making a date-based granola bar instead, which has no cooking involved.
Yes, you can replace the honey with maple syrup. In my experience, maple syrup hardens a bit more than honey, so the texture might change slightly.
Yes, if you need an easy school lunch option, try using sunflower seed butter or tahini to replace the peanut butter. You can also stir in extra seeds for crunch, such as pumpkin seeds or chia seeds.
Looking for more healthy snacks? Try Banana Snack Cake or Peanut Butter Protein Balls, for more variety.
Ingredients
Granola Bars
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (use certified gluten-free if needed.)
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Optional toppings or Mix-Ins
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips , melted
- 1/4 cup raisins or dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup almonds or hemp hearts (see notes for tips)
Instructions
- Pour the oats, salt, and any of the optional dry mix-ins, like hemp hearts, into a large bowl and stir well, then set it aside. Lightly grease a 9-inch square pan with cooking spray and press a square of parchment paper into the bottom. (The oil will hold the parchment paper in place, so it doesn't move around later.)
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the honey to a boil. Set a timer and allow the honey to boil for 1 minute, without stirring.
- Remove from the pan of honey from the heat and stir in the peanut butter. As soon as the mixture is smooth, pour it over the oats.
- Use a spatula to stir quickly, coating the oats evenly with the peanut butter mixture. It will harden as it cools, so it may become more difficult to stir as it cools down.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan, and press it very firmly into the bottom. If you're adding any of the optional toppings, like the melted chocolate, you can spread it over the top now. For extra crunch, you can sprinkle chopped almonds or other nuts on top of the melted chocolate, too.
- Let the granola bars cool in the fridge for freezer for up to 30 minutes, then use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan and slice them into 12 pieces. These granola bars can be kept at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 month. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months if you'd like to make a larger batch. They can thaw overnight in the fridge.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this granola bar recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like them.
These look great, but I’m wondering if I could use maple syrup to make them vegan and up the nutritional profile? I heard honey loses much of it’s goodness when heated. Thanks!
I used maple syrup and they turned out wonderfully
Thanks again for another delicious-looking recipe! Strange question – do you think this would work with something other than oats (ie chopped or slivered nuts etc) – wwould it hold together? I’ll make it exactly like this for the kids, but I don’t tolerate oats well… Thank you!
Just an idea but you might try quinoa flakes? I’ve seen them at the healthfood store near the other cooked breakfast cereals (like oatmeal, buckwheat, cream of rice). I’ve never tried them myself, but a friend has and likes them!
How many bars does this recipe make?
8-10 bars
Oh I SO pinned these, so simple and Brit will LOVE them.
I’m just wondering if the oats are tough since they they aren’t toasted first…
I didn’t find the oats tough in these bars, but you can always toast them first if you prefer! I’ve always made no-bake cookies with un-toasted oats, and this recipe is basically based off of that concept.
OK, I just made these and the leftovers on the spoon tasted wonderful. I added chocolate chips to the oatmeal but the mixture was too hot to let them stay in chip form so I have a chocolaty granola bar. We’ll use these as a healthy dessert/treat. Looking forward to making other yummy combinations with this super-easy method! Thanks!
These look great. I think my husband will love them too. Question…I know it’s weird since everyone is going gluten-free but will oats with gluten also work or will they become gummy? (We are okay with gluten & I need organic oats (reaction to pesticides on oats & haven’t found an organic gluten free oats readily available. And gluten has not been an issue.)
They don’t have to be gluten-free if gluten isn’t an issue for you!
Thanks! That’s what I thought, I guess I just always called it a bread pan!
This sounds like great recipe I’d like to try. I’m not a novice baker by any means, but I always get confused by “loaf pan.” Is this a bread pan or a cake pan? I’ve wanted to ask this question to someone for ages!
Loaf pans are the long, narrow pans typically used to bake loaves of bread in. Cake pans are available in every size and shape your heart could imagine, but a few basic examples would be 10″ round pans, standard sheet cake pans, and bundt cake pans. Hope that helps! If not, I’d be happy to try to explain differently! Happy baking!
I’m glad you asked because I was wondering the same. That’s what I call my meatloaf pan. Lol
I think I might just have to ask Olaf to give you a warm hug for me because this is exactly what I was looking for. I’ve seen lots of granola bar recipes on the net, but nothing these easy, unprocessed and only 3 ingredients. You’re speaking my language! No matter how much I like a recipe, if it’s not easy, I just won’t do it. I’m tempted to add a few peanut butter chips in these for the kids but hope that won’t spike my blood sugar. Love how you can freeze these too and pull out as needed, that’s a huge bonus right there! Maybe I’ll add a few almonds? Or even peanuts. I was actually reading the other day that peanuts get a bit of a bad rap for no reason, they’re actually not that bad for you!