8 Easy Granola Bar Recipes

4.91 from 83 votes

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These 8 easy granola bar recipes come together in a snap for a no-fuss, no-bake healthy snack. Made with oats, honey, nut butter, and EIGHT different flavor mix-ins, you’ll find the perfect granola bar mixture for your dream granola bar!

variety of granola bars on white background.

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 they are highly customizable. You can make your own at home, changing the ingredients to suit your preferences. This allows you to control the amount of sugar used and avoid any additives or preservatives found in some store-bought bars.

variety of granola bars on white background.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • Prep Ahead: These store super well in the fridge or freezer.
  • Easy Snack: These are a super healthy snack and packed with nutrients.
  • Make At Home: They are quick and easy to make at home with simple ingredients you have on hand in the pantry. No more granola bars from the grocery store.
  • Great Consistency: These bars have a chewy texture, just the way my family likes their granola bars!

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.

a round plate with rectangle strips of homemade granola bar recipe with chocolate chips on top.

How to Make Homemade Granola Bars

clear mixing bowl the progress of making the homemade granola bar recipe.
clear mixing bowl the progress of making the homemade granola bar recipe.

Step 1: Toast the nuts and oats and boil the sugar, butter, and honey.

Step 2: Add the wet ingredients and dry ingredients to a bowl and stir.

granola bar mixture being pressed into pan by measuring cup.
top view of granola bars on a cutting board.

Step 3: Press the mixture into a pan and refrigerate to set.

Step 4: Remove from the pan, cut, and enjoy!

Recipe FAQs

How do you get granola bars to stick together?

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.

How long do granola bars last?

They last a good long while just at room temperature in an airtight container and even longer in the fridge! I’d say 5-7 days on the counter and 10+ cold in the fridge.

Can I use maple syrup in place of the honey?

Yes, it will work fine, but you will need to cook it a few minutes longer since the syrup has more moisture than the honey.

top view of granola bars in a plastic container.

Expert Tips

  • Honey Fans: If you like a stronger honey flavor, use 1/3 cup honey and 1/4 cup brown sugar in this recipe.
  • Chocolate Tip: 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 is Good: Toasting the nuts and oats is optional, making the granola bars taste like cookies. I highly recommend it.
  • Great for Trips: Granola bars make an excellent on-the-go food. Pack up a tote bag with these bars, some maple banana muffins, and drinks, and you’re ready for anytime hunger hits!
a plate of homemade granola bars with chocolate chips.

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
Title Image for 8 Homemade Granola Bars with images of 8 different homemade granola bars.

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
variety of granola bars on white background.

More Healthy Snack Recipes to Consider

4.91 from 83 votes

Easy Granola Bar Recipes

These 8 easy granola bar recipes come together in a snap for a no-fuss, no-bake healthy snack. Made with oats, honey, nut butter, and EIGHT different flavor mix-ins, you’ll find the perfect granola bar mixture for your dream granola bar!
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
Servings: 16

Ingredients 

Master Granola Bar Recipe

  • 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 following recipe mix-ins for options.)

Blueberry Granola Bars

  • Almonds
  • ½ cup dried blueberries
  • ¼ cup shredded coconut

Dark Chocolate Cherry Granola Bars

  • Pecans
  • ½ cup dried cherries
  • ¼ cup dark chocolate chips

Tropical Granola Bars

  • Cashews
  • ½ cup chopped dried fruit, pineapple, mango, and mandarin oranges
  • ¼ cup coconut

White Chocolate Cranberry Granola Bars

  • Almonds
  • ¼ cup dried cranberries
  • ¼ cup sunflower seeds
  • ¼ cup white chocolate chips

Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola Bars

  • 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

  • ¼ cup creamy peanut butter, add this when you add the vanilla and salt and stir well to combine
  • cup broken pretzel pieces
  • ¼ cup peanut butter chips
  • ¼ cup mini chocolate chips

Spiced Nut Granola Bars

  • 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

  • Almonds
  • ¼ cup sunflower seeds
  • ¼ cup candy-coated sunflower seeds
  • ¼ cup shredded coconut
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Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch square baking dish with parchment paper or aluminum 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 airtight 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 nutritional information was calculated by 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.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 of 16 servings, Calories: 134kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 8mg, Sodium: 40mg, Potassium: 83mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 89IU, Vitamin C: 0.04mg, Calcium: 15mg, Iron: 1mg
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Recipe Rating




303 Comments

  1. Danielle Brown says:

    Hi there. After my husband found your recipe a couple weeks ago, ive just now made a batch. Weve been looking for recipes like this in order to give our kids more real food. It took a while to get ingredients all in the pantry at one time. Were just not used to stocking these items on our tight budget but i finally got em. I made it with just raisins and fingers crossed the kids love it tomorrow.

    1. Melissa says:

      Welcome! How did the kids like them? My kids always prefer chocolate over raisins but you know… kids ๐Ÿ™‚ I on the other hand love all of the fruit granola bars! Hope you all did too!

  2. Hope says:

    5 stars
    Well, I must say I was emotional unprepared for how AMAZING this recipe is. I’m seriously blown away. I’ve been eating crap granola bars from the grocery store this whole time and this recipe has been out for YEARS? This will be something I make in my house every week for the rest of time. Melissa – my family and I can’t thank you enough.

  3. Joy says:

    5 stars
    I want to thank you for all the yummy recipes. I will be making the Dark Chocolate Cherry bars (using tart cherries of course) and a little change up on your Cranberry White Chocolate bars. Iโ€™m going to use Dark Chocolate (a little healthier I think).

    1. Jim says:

      5 stars
      This is what I did. Tart dried cherries, dark chocolate, and coconut. I found this recipe and bought the ingredients a couple of weeks ago, but just didn’t get around to making them until today. Had I known how delicious they were going to be, I definitely would not have waited! Going fishing with my son and wanted snacks. I don’t know if they will even last until we leave.

      I can’t TELL you how YUMMY these are! Thank you so much.

    2. Jim says:

      5 stars
      Oh yeah, we doubled the chocolate. Even though we waited 15 minutes, the chocolate chips melted. But like my son said, “Oh darn! I guess we’re going to have to add more chocolate later.” Because these are OUR granola bars and we can make them any way we want!

      So now we have gooey melted chocolate AND solid chocolate chips. Double bonus!

    3. Melissa says:

      THAT sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing your success!

    4. Melissa says:

      The dried tart cherries are SO good aren’t they!

  4. Jackie says:

    MElissa, do you know approximately How much fiber is in the โ€œbaseโ€ mix? I need to add some fiber and protein to my very restricted diet (fructose, lactose and gluten
    intolerant )and I wonder if adding a small amount of psyllium and whey isolate protein powder would work. I would need to replace the honey with maple syrup and carefully choose additions). Thanks!

    1. Melissa says:

      I don’t know for sure but there are some free online options for calculating nutrition info that might work really well for you! I think you could definitely play around with the recipe to get the results you need!

  5. Granola bar lover says:

    5 stars
    Perfect! I added 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds (the kind for baking), 1 tablespoon flaxseed and 1 tablespoon chia seeds. I can’t wait to try more variations! Loved it.

    1. Melissa says:

      Your additions sound wonderful, can’t wait to try them myself, thank you for sharing!

  6. Maria Williams says:

    5 stars
    “Healthy homemade granola bars. This recipe is easily customizable. You can substitute the dried fruit, pecans, and chocolate morsels out for what you like.”

  7. Nutan Lohiya says:

    5 stars
    Fabulous recipe . I made a mix of Organic jaggery, butter, honey with a little water. On boiling added chopped dates,raisins,dried apricots and dried figs. Added to the baked mix of oats and slightly ground almonds and cashews. Left it to rest overnight. Thanks for this amazing healthy snack ????

  8. Terry says:

    Hi, I just read your first recipe listed. It is what I’ve been looking for. It is healthier than I thought it would be too. I will try it today and I’ll be back.
    Terry

  9. Nikki says:

    4 stars
    Made these and they crumbled into granola instead of a “bar”. I followed the directions as stated and do not understand why they did not “stick” together. I went to the internet and found out that this is a common thing, what could have went wrong? The taste is beyond amazing just didn’t get that “bar”.

    1. Melissa says:

      You were probably just a little more generous on your measurements for dry ingredients and additions “extras”, just up the honey/butter/brown sugar by a tablespoon or so each next time or add less oats!

  10. Elle says:

    5 stars
    I used pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and chocolate chips for nut-free ๐Ÿ˜‰

    1. Melissa says:

      OOhhh! Thank you for sharing your substitutions with us to make them nut-free, super helpful!