For a fast and filling snack — or okay, sometimes a meal — granola bars just can’t be beat. They’re portable and tasty and can pack a healthy punch. I decided it was time to learn how to make granola bars back when my kids were in elementary school, and these are still a favorite today.
Click here to see my great big collection of healthy homemade granola bars.
Once upon a time, when my boys were young and in Little League, we did a lot of eating on the run. The slow cooker helped us manage meals, but people were hungry during those games and seemingly never-ending practices.
Granola bars were my go-to grab and go snacks. I chose what I thought were the healthiest bars, but not long into the season I realized that 1. we were creating a lot of trash and 2. we were spending a lot of cash.
Time to learn how to make granola bars myself!
The good news is, it’s not hard. It’s a simple matter of combining ingredients, pressing them into a pan, and baking. The house will smell lovely, you will have snacks, and you’ll save money.
Related: Persimmon Homemade Granola is an Autumn Treat
How to make granola bars at home
These granola bars, adapted from this recipe over at Zoom (remember THAT?), became our standby snack on those busy days. Even now, my adult children will fall back on this recipe when they know they’re going to be out and about all day long and in need of sustenance.
This granola bar recipe calls for oats as the base, combined with peanut butter and honey. You can customize these to suit your fancy, though, by adding various nuts, dried fruits, or chocolate chips.
★ Did you make these granola bars? Don’t forget to give them a star rating below!
Homemade Granola Bar Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/4 tsp, sea salt
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or oat flour for gluten free)
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup organic raisins or cranberries
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (optional)
- 1 cup nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix peanut butter, honey, vanilla, and eggs in a bowl. Stir in salt, flour, baking powder, and oats. Add raisins, chocolate chips, and nuts.
- Spread mixture into a greased 9"x 13" pan (or onto a jelly roll pan if you like your bars thinner).
Place a piece of waxed paper or a silicone baking mat over the mixture, then press the mixture firmly down into the pan with your hands. Bake 15 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Cool, then slice into bars.
Recipe Notes
You can customize these to suit your fancy, though, by adding various nuts, dried fruits, or chocolate chips.
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Thanks so much for including me!!! What a great round-up.
These look yummy, am moving Saturday will actually have a kitchen so now maybe, I can experiment more with goodies like these, especially since i view most recipes as guidelines not true rules. except baking and rice, and things like that.
Can you tell me whether your recipe (the first one) results in a crispy crunchy bar or a chewier bar? My biggest peeve with *all* of these recipes is that they never describe the texture to expect!! [makes sad puppy face]
They’re a bit dry/chewy, except for the bits that are really well browned on the edges. Those are crispy. 😉 I’ve yet to find a recipe that mimics the super crispy store bought bars.
Could I sub maple syrup or brown rice syrup for the honey? Have you tried?
I’ve not tried, but I see no reason you couldn’t!
This makes a yummy snack and was easy to make.
I live in the UK and have been searching for a long time for a recipe for a healthy granola bar. Read your recipe and instantly jumped up to make them. Took 30 minutes from start to taking out of the oven and washing up. Really easy to put together ………. The longest 10 minutes waiting for them to cool enough to eat. And the verdict from both my husband and myself is delicious. I cannot wait to share this recipe with my daughter. Thank you.
What a delightful comment! I’m glad you enjoyed them.
How long will theses keep? Do they need to be refrigerated? Could I use almond flour, and if so, would I use the same quantity as the w/w flour? Thanks for sharing! Will post a rating once I’ve made them!:)
My family goes through them really quickly. They should keep a week or so; for longer storage you can freeze them. Almond flour should work, 1:1, but know that I’ve not tried that myself.
I am wondering what you would substitute for the peanut butter? There is an allergy in our family and I am not a big fan. Most recipes call for peanut butter.
Any kind of nut butter would work, as would sunflower butter.