Homemade Granola Bars Recipe

Homemade granola bars are a great snack that is kid-friendly and perfect for packing into a lunchbox. Because the recipe uses all-natural ingredients, you can feel good knowing that your kids will be snacking well, and they’ll be happy they have this delicious snack.

A stack of three Homemade Granola Bars sitting on parchment paper.

The kids are heading back to school, and moms everywhere are facing the “what to pack in their lunch” dilemma. The truth is, kids just want a lunch that tastes good and makes them feel like they are “part of the crowd” in the lunch room. This no-bake healthy snack does exactly that.

Healthy Lunchbox Snacks

Having healthy snack recipes on hand is an important part of the parental to-do list. This is an easy recipe that makes quick snacks or a quick breakfast using healthy ingredients. It uses cocoa nibs, though you could replace those with chocolate chips if you prefer.

An overhead view of a white casserole dish filled with Homemade Granola Bars. One has been removed and is sitting on top of the others.

Recipe Options

With this healthy granola bar recipe, you have two choices: quick oats or traditional oats. Depending on what you use, you will get a different texture.

Quick oats – This will give you a finer, chewier texture that is less toothsome. It will be more like a commercial granola bar.

Traditional oats – These will give you a chunkier bar because it will be more of a chunky granola mixture that gets pressed together.

You can also choose what type of nut butter you use. Try creamy peanut butter, roasted almond butter, or even sun butter.

But no matter how you make them, they are a great snack for school lunches and much better than anything you can pick up at the grocery store.

A closeup of three Homemade Granola Bars laying on parchment paper.

How To Adjust Homemade Granola Bars

  • Oats – You can use either traditional (old-fashioned) oats or quick-cooking oats. The traditional oats will give you a chewier texture, while the quick oats will blend in with the other ingredients more. If you are making these for kids, you might try the quick-cooking oats first. They give a texture that is more conducive to what kids usually like. But if your kids are used to eating whole grains, then the traditional oats will be just fine.
  • Nut butter – You can use any type of nut butter (or seed butter) you prefer. In fact, if your child’s school has strict rules for nut-allergy kids, then something like sun butter will work well here, too. Pick the nut butter you like best for flavor. Just be aware that if you choose peanut butter, that will then become a predominant flavor. Almond butter is a milder flavor that will showcase the flavor of your mix-ins more.
  • Mix-ins – Mix-ins are what give you granola bars that extra zing. Feel free to play around with what you add here. You don’t have to use the same ones I did. While I love this particular combination, there are many other possibilities out there that would be equally delicious. Try other dry fruits, chopped nuts, cacao nibs, or even seeds like chia seeds, flax, or sesame.
  • Sweetener – Using a sticky sweetener like honey will give you a slightly sticky granola bar. I have found that the benefits of the flavor and sweetness level of the honey make a little bit of stickiness worth it. But if you have a child with texture issues or want something that is just slightly less intense in sweetness, you can also use maple syrup. And if you really want to cut down on any stickiness at all, you can use half maple syrup and half dry sweetener such as Sucanat or coconut sugar. You can also use a piece of parchment to really press down on your granola bars without getting your hands sticky. If it sticks together once pressed, it will hold together in a lunchbox.
A side view of a stack of three Homemade Granola Bars.

Tips On Making Homemade Granola Bars

  • Chop – The best texture in a no-bake granola bar happens when your chunky ingredients aren’t too big. Feel free to chop ingredients as needed. This will help the bars stick together better and give them a better texture for eating as well.
  • Press – Make sure you really press everything down. Compression is the key to everything sticking together.
  • Set – Let the bars rest before you cut them. Give them an hour or two minimum to let everything set and stick.

The Homemade Granola Bars Pan

The shape and size of your pan will affect the size and number of bars you end up with. I’ve noted my pan size in a few places (9 x 4½). But if you want more bars that are smaller or thinner (and therefore lighter in calories), use a slightly larger pan. Just make sure you press them really well so they don’t fall apart. They will still be slightly crumbly like most granola bars, but the harder you press them, the better they will stick together.

Homemade Granola Bars still in a casserole dish. Three of them have been removed.

About The Homemade Granola Bar Recipe Ingredients

Old-fashioned oats – You can also use quick-cooking oats if you prefer them.

Dried cranberries – Fruit juice sweetened.

Mini dark chocolate chips – Or raw cacao nibs

Ground cinnamon

Salt – Add a pinch of salt to truly bring out the sweetness. A little goes a long way.

Virgin coconut oil – It has to be virgin coconut oil so that it will harden when cold.

Honey – Or brown rice syrup

Pure vanilla extract – The real stuff. Not vanilla flavoring.

Raw, creamy almond butter – Or sunflower butter for nut-free

Optional Additions For Homemade Granola Bars

  • Sunflower seeds
  • Other dried fruit like raisins

How To Make Homemade Granola Bars

Ingredients for Homemade Granola Bars on a gray surface.

Gather and measure all your ingredients.

Dry ingredients for this Homemade Granola Bars Recipe in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, cranberries, chocolate chips, and cinnamon. Stir well.

Wet ingredient being whisked in a pot on a cooktop.

In a small pot, combine the oil, honey, vanilla extract, salt, and almond butter over medium heat. You want to warm this enough to combine the liquids well. But DO NOT BOIL or simmer! Stir constantly to avoid any simmering and only long enough to whisk everything together into a fluid state. This warmth is strictly to get everything to combine and to make it fluid for mixing with the oats.

Nut butter mixture added to dry ingredients in a white mixing bowl.
Homemade Granola Bar batter mixed in a white mixing bowl with a wooden spoon.

Pour the nut butter into the mixing bowl and mix well to completely coat the oats.

Pressing the granola bar batter into the casserole dish.

Press the mixture into an oiled or parchment paper-lined baking dish. (Mine -pictured above- was 9 x 4½)

A white casserole dish of Homemade Granola Bars sitting in a freezer.

Freeze for 2 hours. Remove from the freezer and allow them to warm up a bit for 10-20 minutes so they are easier to cut.

Slicing the granola bars after freezing.

Cut the homemade granola bars with a sharp knife and store them back in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 2 months, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap so no air gets to them.

Two Homemade Granola Bars on a piece of parchment paper.

Note that by snacktime, these will no longer be frozen and will be perfect to eat at room temperature. (They keep in the fridge for about a week.)

More Homemade Granola Bars And Granola

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A stack of three No Bake Granola Bars sitting on parchment paper.

Homemade Granola Bars

These delicious granola bars are a great way to beef up your lunchbox game!
5 from 1 vote
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Course: Snack
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 7 bars
Calories: 468kcal

CLICK TO WATCH THIS RECIPE IN ACTION!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups old fashion oats
  • ½ cup dried cranberries (fruit juice sweetened)
  • cup mini dark chocolate chips (or raw cacao nibs)
  • 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 pinch sea salt (optional)
  • cup coconut oil
  • cup honey
  • 1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup raw, creamy almond butter

Instructions

  • Gather and measure all your ingredients.
    2 cups old fashion oats, ½ cup dried cranberries, ⅓ cup mini dark chocolate chips, 2 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1 pinch sea salt (optional), ⅓ cup coconut oil, ⅓ cup honey, 1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract, ¾ cup raw, creamy almond butter
    Ingredients for No Bake Granola Bars on a gray surface.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, cranberries, chocolate chips, and cinnamon. Stir well.
    2 cups old fashion oats, ½ cup dried cranberries, ⅓ cup mini dark chocolate chips, 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
    Dry ingredients for this No Bake Granola Bars Recipe in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon.
  • In a small pot, combine the oil, honey, vanilla extract, salt, and almond butter over medium heat. You want to warm this enough to combine the liquids well. But DO NOT BOIL or simmer! Stir constantly to avoid any simmering and only long enough to whisk everything together into a fluid state. This warmth is strictly to get everything to combine and to make it fluid for mixing with the oats.
    ⅓ cup coconut oil, ⅓ cup honey, 1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract, ¾ cup raw, creamy almond butter, 1 pinch sea salt (optional)
    Wet ingredient being whisked in a pot on a cooktop.
  • Pour the nut butter into the mixing bowl and mix well to completely coat the oats.
    Nut butter mixture added to dry ingredients in a white mixing bowl.
  • Press the mixture into an oiled or parchment paper-lined baking dish. (Mine -pictured above- was 9 x 4½)
    Pressing the granola bar batter into the casserole dish.
  • Freeze for 2 hours. Remove from the freezer and allow them to warm up a bit for 10-20 minutes so they are easier to cut.
    A white casserole dish of No Bake Granola Bars sitting in a freezer.
  • Cut the homemade granola bars with a sharp knife and store them back in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 2 months, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap so no air gets to them.
    Slicing the granola bars after freezing.
  • Note that by snacktime, these will no longer be frozen and will be perfect to eat at room temperature. (They keep in the fridge for about a week.)
    Two No Bake Granola Bars on a piece of parchment paper.

Notes

Please note that the nutrition data below is a ballpark figure. Exact data is not possible.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bar | Calories: 468kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 0.1mg | Sodium: 19mg | Potassium: 356mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 3IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 139mg | Iron: 2mg


Recipe from the Gracious Pantry archives, originally posted 9/23/13.

Author: Tiffany McCauley

Title: Journalist

Expertise: Food, cooking, travel

Bio:

Tiffany McCauley is a nationally syndicated journalist and an award-winning cookbook author. She is also a food blogger. She has been featured on MSN, Huffington Post, Country Living Magazine, HealthLine, Redbook, and many more. She has helped thousands of people learn to cook simple, clean, and healthy foods in their own home kitchens. She lives in Maine and loves Elvis, sunflowers, and a good seafood chowder, as well as travel writing.

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186 Comments

  1. Taylor Widler says:

    Do you have the nutritional information for these bars? I meant to try to figure out the calories when making them and totally forgot.

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Taylor – No, sorry. But MyFitnessPal.com has a good nutrition calculator.

  2. I am new to your site and this is the first recipe I tried. They came out amazing! Way better than anything store bought. These were a great to go breakfast 🙂

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Amber – I’m so happy you enjoyed them! 🙂

  3. I have been trying to find more choices for my husband’s breakfast. He gets burned out on cereal and oatmeal pretty quick so I think this with a smoothie or homemade Greek yogurt will be a different choice. Thank you for sharing your brilliance, I can’t wait to try them.

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Jennifer – I hope he enjoys them!

  4. My family loves these granola bars!! I make them at least once a week using the base ingredients but change it up a bit by making various batches. I will add peanuts. Reduce the cinnamon, remove the cranberries and add raisins. We usually look at the granola bars at the grocery store and tweek this recipe to replicate them 🙂

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Leanne – How fun!!! I’m so glad you’re enjoying them! 🙂

  5. We all love these! I used clean pb instead since that’s what I had on hand! 🙂 These are sure to be a new staple in our house! Thank you.

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Julie – My pleasure! I’m so happy you enjoyed them! 😀

  6. Rebecca Knight says:

    I’ve just made these but had to swap the cranberries for goji berries as I can’t seem to find unsweetened cranberries anywhere – grr! However they taste amazing and I will definitely be making them again.
    Almond butter is expensive in the UK so could you use peanut butter instead? X

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Rebecca – Absolutely!

  7. Stephanie says:

    This is delicious. My daughter and I made these today. I love them cold straight from the freezer. But question for you: How do you get these out of the dish easily? I used Coconut Oil Spray from Trader’s to oil it up, but they are hard to cut and to get out. Mine fell apart. Any suggestions?

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Stephanie – If they are really sticking, the best bet is to line the dish with parchment paper. That way you can just lift them right out. So glad you like them! 🙂

  8. I just made these, they’re so good! The process made my house smell good too with the heated up vanilla. Thanks for sharing!

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Jenna – My pleasure! So glad you enjoyed them! 😀

  9. Vanessa - Natural Family Today says:

    Yum! These look awesome. We are going on a road trip in a couple of days and I think I will make these for the morning that we leave. They look like a great “grab and go” breakfast item. I shared this on my pinterest and facebook page 🙂

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Vanessa – Thanks so much! I hope you enjoy them! 🙂

  10. I’d love to know the nutritional info for this. Also would it be ok to add protein powder? Thanks!

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Jodi – There are lots of online calculators you can enter the recipe into. I usually use MyFitnessPal.com. And in theory, you could add protein powder. But I’m not sure what that would do to the texture or if the bars would still hold together. You’d have to experiment a bit with that.

  11. Delicious!! Healthy and quick treat.
    I definitely am going to try with protein next time.
    These sure are hearty as well.

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Matthew – So happy you enjoyed them! 😀

  12. Would agave syrup work in place of honey?

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Peggy – It wouldn’t be considered clean, but yes, it would work. 🙂

  13. How many calories per slice? or the hold batch of granola

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Fabiola – I recommend MyFitnessPal.com. They have a good recipe calculator that will give you that information.

  14. I love your clean eating ideas and recipes. Do these bars actually have 458 calories EACH, or is that the total for the entire batch?

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Kathryn – Thanks so much! If you cut this into 7 bars, then yes. That’s the ballpark figure on the nutrition. More of a meal replacement bar in that respect.