These homemade Granola Bars are perfectly chewy and delicious and so good you’ll never buy store bought granola bars ever again!
We’ve been doing a TON of meal prep recently and homemade granola bars are on the weekly to-do list! Thomas and I are both mega snack fans and neither of us do well when our blood sugar gets low. That means it’s VERY important that we have some healthy snacks on hand at all times in case things get bleak!
These homemade Granola Bars are the perfect mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack. They are also great for a quick breakfast on the go, or to pack in school or work lunches! All the ingredients are super clean so you know these are going to taste great! And there’s room for jazzing these up on your own… here’s the deal!
Homemade Granola Bar Ingredients:
- Old Fashion Oats – grab your favorite brand and toast the oats! This is the base of the entire recipe!
- Almonds – gotta get those healthy fats. You could also sub another one of your favorite nuts if you prefer. Walnuts, pecans, cashews… you name it.
- Honey – this helps everything stick together! Agave nectar will also work!
- Butter – I use an unsalted butter because I love the depth of flavor it provides. If you want something other than butter, coconut oil is a great substitute
- Brown Sugar – more flavorful that white sugar!!
- Vanilla – you could also use chocolate extract if you prefer. Or leave it out if you don’t have any on hand.
- Chia Seeds – I love adding a little extra oomph into this recipe. If you want to omit the chia, that’s no problem. Or they can also be swapped out for flax or hemp hearts.
- Salt – don’t skimp on it! It elevates all the flavor.
- Dried Fruit – you can use any dried fruit in this recipe! Just make sure you chop it into small pieces if it’s something bigger than a dried cranberry.
- Chocolate Chips – what is a granola bar without some chocolate?!?!
Now that we’ve got the ingredients out of the way – let’s talk about the process! These are pretty straight forward however there are some key tips to making these extra delish and reminiscint of those store bought bars we all grew up with!
Tips and Tricks for Homemade Granola Bars
Toast the Oats – this is super important to really get all the flavor from the oats! You want them to just get a little toasty in the oven before mixing in all the other ingredients
Really press the mixture down in the pan. Use a spatula or your clean hands and press the granola bar mixture down once you’ve transferred it into the pan. And feel free to put some weight behind it. That will help ensure the bars don’t fall apart when you’re slicing and serving.
Don’t skimp on the chill time. You know how I always insist we chill blondies and brownies before slicing and serving… same thing goes for granola bars. This step (while tedious) just helps everything firm up and cutting will be cleaner and easier. Once they are chilled and sliced, you can let them come to room temperature before serving so they are chewier.
Storing the bars. I store the granola bars in the fridge at all times (or the freezer if it’s going to take you a while to get through them! Just take them out of the fridge for at least an hour before serving.
And if you want a step by step video to make life even easier… here you go!
Homemade Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup whole almonds, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon chia seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup dried golden raisins
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips, plus extra as needed
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line bottom of a 9-inch square pan with parchment paper. Then lightly spray the parchment with cooking spray.
- Combine the oats and roughly chopped almonds to a small baking sheet then bake 10 minutes until lightly toasted. Transfer to a large bowl.
- While the oats are toasting, combine the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla extract seeds, chia and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until butter melts and the sugar completely dissolves, making sure to stir occasionally. Pour the butter mixture over the toasted oats and almonds and add the cranberries and golden raisins. Mix well. Let cool for 15 minutes then add the mini chocolate chips. Stir to combine.
- Transfer the oat mixture to prepared pan. Using a rubber spatula or clean hands and firmly press the mixture into the pan until the mixture is in a uniform layer. Really press it down so you don't wind up with loose granola. Scatter remaining a few extra tablespoons of mini chocolate chips over the granola bars and use the same rubber spatula to gently press them into the granola so they stick. Transfer the entire pan to the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours.
- After the granola has cooled completely, gently lift it out of the pan using the parchment paper as handles and cut it into squares or bars. Serve as needed.
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe from What’s Gaby Cooking
These granola bars are perfect! I always need a healthy snack to pack in my hubbies lunch – and I hate store bought granola bars! Pinned!
I love the look of these, they are perfect. I eat a granola bar a day as well and will be making these soon. Just pinned.
No shame in your love of granola girl!! I don’t really eat it, and by looking at these ingredients I have no idea why?? Probably because for a while people were saying granola isn’t good for you…blah blah blah. How is it not? Love homemade anything and this looks simple and divine! Awesome touch of chocolate chips 😉 Thank you for another fab recipe!!
I’m a bit of a granola bar snob! I see so many recipes for them on blogs that I know won’t hold up after baking. But these look perfect!
Hands down the best show on earth. If you really want to mess yourself up, then read the books. They are so addictive and so much more detailed than the show. I went through all of them in a few weeks- by husband thought he had lost me forever! Granola bars look great!!
Granola bar perfection!
I LOVE granola! My car seat and my lap are going to love these bars much better than the loose granola I am always tossing in my mouth (and missing obviously)!
I can’t wait to make these today!
These look amazing! It’s great when you can control the ingredients in a snack. I’m on the chia band wagon too!
I definitely think home made granola is best, this is following making your coconut granola twice now! Could I substitute coconut oil for the butter? Oddly enough, I was thinking how I might make the granola into bars when I last made it for my birthday.
Always better than store bought!
granola is one of the only breakfasts i can eat.yummmm xxx
Homemade granola and granola bars are the best!!
These look awesome. Totally making them ASAP.
I just made these but used coconut oil instead of butter and maple syrup instead of sugar.. They are fantastic! I love your recipes
Shawna: Do you mind sharing the measurements you used? Thank you!
Nothing better than a delicious, homemade granola bar!
These bars are fabulous, Gaby! I love all those wholesome, colorful ingredients you packed in there, too. This would be as delicious sprinkled over Greek yogurt as it is in bar form! Great recipe!
Love it! Who wants a million strange ingredients in a granola bar when you buy them at the store! So much better to make them fresh!
I only eat homemade granola too – the store bought stuff just doesn’t but it. Love the look of these delectable bars – and the easy recipe!
These will be perfect when my kiddos have after school activities! Thanks Gaby!
We love these granola bars!! I don’t think I will ever get store bought again. These are fantastic!! Thank you so much for a great recipe.
Made these today and they were delicious!! They look so much like store bought granola bars but taste so much better. Kids and hubby approved, too. Thank you for the great recipe! I don’t think I will ever buy store bought granola bars again, these were so easy. I’m curious if you know the calorie and / or fat count on these?
Hi Suzanne! So glad your whole family enjoyed them 🙂 Unfortunately at this time I don’t have any info on calorie count. Sorry!!
I am about to make these for my hubby! He eats (store bought) granola bars everyday at work and I have been looking for the perfect recipe to use! I’m excited, thanks for the recipe!!!!!
yay!! Let me know what you think 🙂
We both loved them!! Even our 3yr old loves them! Thank you 🙂
I’ve already made one batch and they went down so well I’m making my second. One apreciative colleague told me they were good enough to sell at the farmers market. High praise indeed.
Hi,
I may be missing something but do I need to bake after combining all the ingredients, it only says about the chilling.
Your coconut granola recipe had baking times. Thank you in advance for your clarification.
Ps – your recipe was the best I found and I am baking at midnight as I immediately wanted to try it 🙂 Sri xx
You toast the oats in the oven initially and then you dont have to bake it anymore after that 🙂 enjoy!!
I was wondering if these bars are crunchy/dry or chewy/moist? I am looking for one not so crunchy. Thank you!
it’s absolutely more on the chewy side!!
Thanks…will try these soon!
I have made these twice now and they are just perfect!
These are absolutely delicious and so easy to make. One tip I have to share that worked well for me; after the mixture was complete I spread it onto a parchment paper lined jelly roll / cookie sheet that had sides to it ( like the directions said), but then I put another layer of the paper on top and with a rolling pin flattened the mix between the two sheets of paper. That provided for a more uniformly thick and denser bar which tended to hold its shape better after the refridgeration and cutting. The pan is about 13X18 inches and it held a double batch nicely.
The main reason I made these is because my daughter is in her freshman year of college and is on the varsity rowing team at her school. A grueling early morning routine which doesn’t always allow for a good breakfast, dining hall isn’t open at 4:30 AM 🙂
She typically eats the store bought bars at $1.50 each. She would eat two every morning and practices 6 days a week. Doing the math that is $72 a month. I figure I am about a third of that cost and I know where all the ingredients are coming from (an added bonus).
My only problem now is trying to keep up, I dropped a double batch off on a Thursday night and she texted me the following evening saying they were almost all gone. Nice to hear she is sharing with her teammates, she has suddenly become very popular, but, so, forget about that whole savings analysis thing 🙂
In closing, to top things off, I started a bee hive this year and am enjoying a small amount of the busy little guys (eh mostly girls) honey this year.
Thanks for sharing this recipie, it’s going on an index card in the family favorites.
Steve
Brentwood, NH
So happy to find this recipe! I love granola, and a bar would be easier than trying to scoop granola/trail mix into my mouth while driving!!!
Looks delicious and will have to try these!
What a great on the go snack!
These are amazing! Even my “anti granola” husband asked for more.
whoa!!!! yessss 🙂 that’s awesome
Hi Gaby! These are seriously the most delicious granola bars. I only discovered your recipe last week and I have already made them twice!
yayayayyayayay THANK YOU
ran the recipe through myfitnesspal.com and came up with if you cut the recipe into 10 portions, they would be 249 calories per bar.
Hiya! I have been doing some serious granola (muesli) bar recipe research, and I believe I may have found “the one”! 😉
YUM! I love these so much! So does my husband and all his coworkers- they all say it’s much better than store bought ones. Maybe this can be a yummy step toward stopping buying pre packaged snacks altogether. Happy happy wife here, I am inspired! Thank you!!
Awesome recipe. Made these for my first sportive of the season and they kept me powered for 110km
I made these tonight and cooled oat mixture for 5 mins as recipe says. Turned out it wasn’t long enough though because all the chips completely melted. I would suggest waiting until mixture is cool enough not to melt the chips which might be longer than 5 mins.
Hey Julie! So sorry the chips melted! The recipe says let cool for 15 minutes so they don’t get too melted – but either way, at least there’s chocolate!! Thanks for making them 🙂
These look fabulous! And I am sure my kids would love!
These look very interesting,but what EXACTLY is or are the nutritional values for each of these bars?… You know;: Protien in grams, carbs, calories, fiber, sugar(s) etc.? With that information one could know exactly what real benefit they might be for the consumer.
Hey Rich! I don’t calculate nutritional values for any of my recipes – but I know there is free software online if you want to check it out before making! Thanks!
So tasty! But not sure if I’m missing something? After I let the granola cool for 10-15 minutes I added the chocolate chips, mixed it, and put them in a square pan,
It was almost completely hard so they didn’t meld properly into the pan. So I don’t have squares, so much as lose granola haha.
I let the mix cool on the same pan as I put in the oven and not in a different bowl. Could this be my problem?
yes – that could be it because the residual heat from the pan could have continued to cook the nuts!
I have been watching your Snapisodes from the first episode and to be honest it’s something I look forward to every Friday after work! Sometimes I’m a little bummed with you’re on vacation and can’t do one. My husband knows I’m a fan and always asks what did Gaby make for this week,
Anywho, I made these granola bars this morning and they turned out amazing! I did sub a few ingredients. For the brown sugar I used maple syrup, and for the butter I used coconut oil. Added a little bit of coconut flakes, some almonds and cashews, SO GOOD. I will never ever ever buy another granola bar again.
thank you Lori!!! seriously, this just made my day! xx
Ohh gracias, creo que estan deliciosas, las hare, gracias por tu receta
I’ve made these no less than 9 times in the last 2 weeks, a million different combos, and they are AWESOME! I’d recommend trying them with toasted pecans, dried blueberries (from TJ’s), and some coconut… it tastes like pie or a crisp and it is amazing. SO SO amazing. Thanks for the recipe girl!