Homemade Granola Bars in 30 Minutes
Our family’s favorite healthy granola bar recipe is baked to chewy perfection and sweetened with honey. After much recipe testing, these are the homemade granola bars that made the cut with less sweetener than other recipes, using real food pantry ingredients, and ready in just 30 minutes. Using the mix-ins your family likes, these will become your go-to for snacks, lunchboxes, or quick breakfasts.
✩ What readers are saying…
“Thank you SO much! You solved my search for the perfect homemade granola bar! The only problem is that these are too good and we eat them up so fast I had to make another batch a few days later. Thanks again!” -Judith
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This is another wonderful Pantry Basic Staple – recipes of foods we typically think of as only store bought, but that are actually better tasting, and of course better for you when you make them yourself.
Granola bars. The store shelves are FULL of so many, from the classic crispy flat bars that came two to a package to the barrage of “chewy granola bars” that seemed to up the sugar content with some actually coated in chocolate. Um, isn’t that a candy bar?
Even so, the term “granola bar” still has a healthy association, doesn’t it? So much so that you can find whole sections of “healthy” bars with all nuts, all grain, only sweetened with dates, and so on. However, most still have long ingredient lists, questionable flavors, lots of sugar (or sugar substitutes) and tend to be more expensive (sometimes $4 for one bar!).
But granola bars are still one of the best ways to have a quality on-the-go snack, travel food, or meal replacement, especially when you can control the ingredients. So I began a quest to create a recipe that would stay moist and chewy, but not fall apart.
After trying what seemed like a million granola bar recipes, I came up with not one, but two that were just about perfect. A quick chewy no-bake granola bar and this hearty baked chewy granola bar.
Why two granola bar recipes? I like to make this baked granola bar recipe when I want a nutritionally dense, hearty bar that’s great to take hiking and for road trips. It’s also the one I make when I don’t have crispy rice cereal and granola to make the chewy no-bake bars. When I want quick bar, it’s great to have the no-bake option.
Which isn’t to say these baked bars are a second choice option – we LOVE them! They are just sweet enough, have great flavor, and are easy to customize. And with a 20 minute bake, it’s not like they take that much longer.
Even though they are baked, they are still chewy and these bars seem to stay fresher longer at room temperature than the no-bake variety, a plus for vacations.
All this is to say – I like having two go-to recipes for granola bars where I know the ingredients and can change them up with different flavors and add-ins. I hope you’ll try both and let me know if you also like the versatility of having two recipes!
Ingredient Notes
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this baked granola bar recipe:
The basic recipe is just six pantry ingredients with mix-ins added.
- Oats: Use whole, rolled oats for the best results.
- Butter: After more testing, the recipe is most consistent with all butter. If you’d like to use coconut oil to make these dairy free, see the FAQ section for options.
- Honey: Again, more testing indicated that the bars will hold together better with all honey (not using any maple syrup, which is less sticky), so now I only recommend honey in order for your bars to turn out like the bars pictured.
- Flour: I tested many recipes without flour and found that a little flour is what gives the chewy texture that holds together. To make the bars most healthy, use a whole wheat flour, but you can make them with any flour you have, including a 1:1 gluten free flour.
- Flax Meal: This is included for healthy omega-3 fats, fiber, and nutrients, but you can omit it if you don’t have any and replace it with an equal amount of flour.
- Mix-Ins: Choose 1 cup total for your mix-ins (though I use less mini chocolate chips because 1/2 cup seemed too many to us).
Favorite Mix-In Combos (ours and commenters):
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips + 1/2 cup sunflower seeds (or other seeds like whole flaxseeds, hemp, or chia)
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries + 1/2 cup chopped almonds
- 1/2 cup raisins + 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips + 1/4 cup pecans
- 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips + 1/3 sunflower seeds + 1/3 dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries + 1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds + 1/3 cup chia seeds
- 1/2 cup dried currants + 1/2 cup peanuts
- 1/3 cup coconut + 1/3 cup flax seeds + 1/3 cup chia seeds
Let’s Make Homemade Granola Bars
Wondering how easy it is to make your own homemade granola bars? About as easy as mixing together a batch of bar cookies!
Step 1: Start by creaming butter, coconut oil, honey, and vanilla. Add the remaining ingredients and mix to combine.
Step 2: Pat into a parchment-lined (or greased) baking pan.
Step 3: Bake for about 20 minutes, until just browning around the edges.
Step 4: Cool about 10 minutes on a rack before scoring into bars while in the pan and then let them cool completely.
Dried Cranberry and Sunflower Seed Option show above
TIP: I like to cut these into long bars to resemble granola bars, either 16 or 20, but they are pretty big – and nutritionally dense – so you may want to cut them into smaller bars.
Mini Chocolate Chip and Chopped Peanut Option show above
Storage
- Room Temperature: You can keep these in an airtight container or individually wrapped for 4-5 days.
- Refrigerate for longer storage, 5-8 days.
- Freeze for even longer storage, up to 6 months.
TIP: When my kids were younger, I always wrapped these individually in parchment or in baggies to keep in the snack basket for easy grabbing. Now I simply keep them in an airtight container in the freezer because we eat them less often and freezing them means they are fresh whenever we want them.
I like to grab a bar to keep in my purse for long days in town running errands and they’re perfect in a backpack for a day of kayaking or hiking.
If you’ve got these waiting, there’s never a need for questionable store-bought bars, no matter how “natural” they proclaim to be. It’s so nice knowing exactly what is in what you’re eating, isn’t there?
Reader Raves
“These are so good. Tastes so much better than the ones at the grocery store, and my picky five year old loves snacking on them.” -Hannah
“I’ve made these many times and my family loves them! Thanks for sharing and love your site! I use it often for recipes.” -Brittany
“Just made these without flax meal, added 1 t. sea salt and my add ins were coconut, flax seeds and chia seeds, YUMMY!! Thanks for sharing!” -Cori
I hope you love this granola bar recipe as much as we do – make sure to leave a review to let me know!
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Homemade Granola Bars Recipe
Equipment
- 13×9 inch baking pan
- Large mixing bowl and spoon or stand mixer
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter*
- 1 cup honey**
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4½ cups rolled oats
- 1 cup whole wheat or spelt flour (or all-purpose or gluten free 1:1 four)
- 1/4 cup flax seed meal, optional (if not using add 1/4 cup more flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup total add-ins
A few favorite add-in combos are:
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips*** + 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, whole flaxseeds, or hemp seeds
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries + 1/2 cup chopped almonds
- 1/2 cup raisins + 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
Instructions
- Line a 13″ x 9″ pan with parchment (or grease lightly) and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Combine the butter, honey, and vanilla in a large bowl and cream together well. Add the oats, flour, flax meal (if using), and baking soda and mix until combined. Stir in the add-ins you're using.
- Scrape into prepared pan and firmly press mixture evenly with your hand (wetting your hand helps if it sticks) or the bottom of a greased glass.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the edges are just browning. Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then score into bars (18 – cut 6 x 3 – for traditional bar size or 16 or 20 long and narrow bars) before letting cool completely in the pan.
- Remove from pan, cutting through bars as needed and store in air tight containers or baggies in the fridge or freezer. These are good at room temperature, too (which is nice for vacations and hikes), but I usually stick them in the freezer for longer storage – they freeze great for at least 6 months!
Notes
- Peanut butter variation (or other nut butter), replace 1/2 cup butter with nut butter (so you’ll use 1/2 cup nut butter with 1/4 cup butter total).
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips + 1/4 cup pecans
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries + 1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds + 1/3 cup chia seeds
- 1/2 cup dried currants + 1/2 cup peanuts
- 1/3 cup coconut + 1/3 cup flax seeds + 1/3 cup chia seeds
- 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips + 1/3 sunflower seeds + 1/3 dried cranberries
Nutrition
Baked Granola Bar FAQs
The simple answer seems to be to use honey, which is sticky enough to act like a “glue” for the other ingredients. Based on my continued testing after comments from readers who used maple syrup or half and half, I’ve changed my recommendation to using only honey in the recipe.
Additionally, I’m also using a “your mileage may vary” with the coconut oil option if you’re having issues with the bars falling apart. The bottom line is when I make them with all honey and all butter, the bars turn out exactly like they are pictured – easy to cut without falling apart.
If you are trying to avoid honey and butter, then I’d try making them with the syrup and coconut oil and add an egg with the liquids to hold the bars together OR use margarine instead of butter.
One commenter said they turned out great using King Arthur Flour’s 1:1 gluten free flour.
The basic recipe doesn’t include nuts or nut butter. If you’d like to try the variation, use a sunflower seed butter or other nut-free butter that has a similar consistency to peanut butter.
Like I mentioned above, you can make them with margarine to be the most similar to butter or coconut oil (but add an egg to help them stick together at room temperature).
More Homemade Snacks To Try
- Ultimate No-Bake Chewy Granola Bars
- Chocolate Chip Almond Granola Bites (+ Lots of Variations)
- Easy & Healthy Spiced Nuts
- Healthy Maple Sweetened Chili Pecans
This recipe has been updated – it was originally published in 2011 and updated in 2018.
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I made these with Wow-nut butter instead peanut butter because my son has a nut allergy. Delish!
I’m glad that worked so well, Niki!
I’m so excited about your blog! I’ve “pinned” many of your recipes for a “real food”, homemade lifestyle. Thank you!
With this recipe, I’ve made it twice now, and the bars seem to be dry/crumbly. In the first batch, I did your recipe as-is. In the second batch, I swapped the butter for peanut butter and added a 1/2 tsp of almond oil. I baked both for 20 minutes.
Any suggestions? I wondered about soaking the oats in milk prior to baking.
Hmmm. Not sure why that is happening for you – maybe your oven is hotter and you can bake them less? You can certainly try soaking the oats if you’d like.
I’m so glad you’ve found some recipes to make on the site!
Thank you, Jami! I’ll try baking them for less time, and I might try soaking the oats, as well. My oldest daughter (3-yrs) and I enjoy them, but my husband won’t touch them. I’m not giving up yet. 😉
🙂
I made these with all butter, no coconut oil, and agave syrup instead of honey. My add-ins were dried cranberries, raw pumpkin seeds, and chia seeds. These are perfect for my breakfast/lunch. They are a little thick for my taste, but all in all, great. Next time, I will try with dried apricots, pistachios, and a little whole flaxseed.
That sounds like a great combo, Pattie! You can pat them in a large pan if you’d like them thinner, too.
I made this with all coconut oil, all maple syrup, and old fashioned oats. When I went to cut them they tended to fall apart. I put the whole pan in the freezer, and that seemed to solve the problem. My question is, do you use the old fashioned oats or the quick cooking kind? I thought these were really good! just a little crumbly.
I use old fashioned, but quick would also work. I haven’t noticed ours being crumbly. I actually always use some honey – maybe the stickier honey helps hold them together more?
I always use less vegetable fat than animal fat in baking recipes – for example, a batch of 24 cookies uses about an ounce less coconut oil than butter (for my recipe, anyway). If you are swapping for all coconut oil, I would start by reducing it and see if that solves the problem. Hope this helps!
Coconut oil has a lower melting point than butter. The butter stays hard whereas the coconut oil is a less stable fat.
Love love love these. My daughter loves granola bars from the store, but they’re pretty pricey, and if we’re honest, they’re just glorified candy bars lol. I’ve been wanting to try making my own, but needed to find a recipe to start with. Chose this recipe, and made bars with half dried currants and half peanuts for the add ins. I didn’t have enough flax so just left it out. They were still super soft after setting at room temp, so I’m storing them in the fridge, and froze half. These are so good. Tastes so much better than the ones at the grocery store, and my picky five year old loves snacking on them. I’m going to have to try adding peanut butter next time, but I cut the bars into 24 so I wont have to make another batch for a little while haha.
SO glad these are working for you, Hannah. I totally agree – so much better than store bought!
Are you able to use regular white flour in place of the wheat or spelt flour?
Sure!
Found your site looking on P for a ketchup recipe. Spent a LOT of extra time researching your other recipes and ideas. I try to stay away from refined oils, sugars and syrups, and any processed ingredients. ANY oil that does not say “EXPELLER PRESSED” will kill you, that simple. I was involved in the production of many types of edible oils in a past life. Great ideas and comments, will be trying a number of recipes. Thanks.
Glad you are finding recipes you can use, Gary.
Thank you SO much! You solved my search for the perfect homemade granola bar! The only problem is that these are too good and we eat them up so fast I had to make another batch a few days later. Thanks again!
I’m so glad to know that, Judith – you’re so welcome!
I’ve made these many times and my family loves them! Thanks for sharing and love your site! I use it often for recipes.
Wow, thanks so much for letting me know, Brittany – your kind words just made my day!
Just made these without flax meal, added 1 t. sea salt and my add ins were coconut, flax seeds and chia seeds, YUMMY!! Thanks for sharing!
I have a friend asking if the flax meal is necessary?? Is it just for texture, or is it used as an egg substitute?? BTW – I’ve made this several times and my kiddos don’t even wait for it to cool before devouring the whole pan!!
No, the flax isn’t needed for anything other than an added health benefit, Amy. I just try to sneak in healthy ingredients where ever I can. 🙂 Glad your family likes them!
What a great idea to make your own granola bars. I have a severe allergy to sesame and never buy them in the store because I worry that they may contain tiny sesame seeds. I will definitely try your recipe.
Thank you for your comment on our kitchen cabinets. Yes, it’s a big difference without those small cabinets on both sides of the window, and we don’t even miss the storage.
Kinga
yum – must try . i was just thinking about homemade granola and where in the world to start!! 🙂
these look good! I would like to try them because healthy ones are so expensive to buy.
These look delicious! I’m going to have to give them a go. Saw you over on Funky Junk.
Thanks!
Maggie
Shannon- Yeah, I wish I had found them earlier, too. 🙂 And my kids like the chocolate chip variation best, too, I think!
Maggie- Thanks! I’ll check it out…
I have a VERY similar recipe that I make (slight changes to ingredient amounts, but same ingredients) and we absolutely LOVE them! I was fortunate to stumble on the recipe early in my quest for “The Perfect Granola Bar”, that I never thought to keep looking for something different. I’ve never thought to make it with maple syrup – now I’m going to have to make a batch tomorrow to give that variation a try! One of our favorite ways to have them is a white chocolate chip/mini chocolate chip combination. They’re a bit more “dessert-y” that way, but sometimes that’s what we’re looking for – a little sweet something without eating a cookie,brownie, or piece of cake. And because I make them frequently enough, it helps keep the super sweet sweets (cookies, etc) out of our house…Lord knows my hips don’t need those! I also love that my kids love them too. They actually request that I make them, and that is music to my ears – that they crave something healthier!!Thanks for the variation ideas, and Happy Cooking!
Jami,
I think you are one shining star of a blogger that I really am glad I am getting to know through your posts. Thank you for your recipe this morning…I have a high school son who is working at learning to cook and this is a perfect recipe for him to try. Looks yummy. We will be trying these next week and I will link back over to your post. 🙂
Barb- You sweet thing! Thank you. 🙂 I’ll be waiting to hear how they work for you and your son!
Heather- Let me know which recipe you try and is most similar to the store-bought one you like!
Oh, these look really, really yu mmy. I was telling my father about these the other day. We like a particular brand of organic granola bars, but they are bit spendy. So now we can make them ourselves at home. These look really, really good 🙂 🙂 Love and hugs from Oregon, Heather 🙂