Homemade Granola Bars Recipe
Easy homemade granola bar recipe made with pantry ingredients. Chewy, healthy, and perfect for snacks, lunchboxes, or breakfasts.
Servings: 18 -20 bars
Calories: 190kcal
Equipment
- 13x9 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
*Update 1: I used to have a coconut oil option, but the bars seem to hold together better using only butter. You can still try them with 1/2 cup butter + 1/4 cup coconut oil, or all coconut oil for dairy-free, but I can't guarantee they will hold together like in the photos.
**Update 2: I no longer advise a a mix of 1/2 cup honey + 1/2 cup maple syrup or all maple syrup - people who used this (including me) had bars that didn't hold together well. It seems the stickiness of honey allows the bars to hold their shape like the photos (both types of bars shown - the cranberry and the chocolate chip- were made with all honey).
***It's your choice to use 1/2 c. chocolate chips to equal the 1 cup add-ins, we think it's too much in these bars, so I use the lesser the amount.
Variations & More Add In Options
- 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
Serving: 1bar of 20 | Calories: 190kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Sodium: 83mg | Fiber: 2.5g | Sugar: 13g
