A no-bake recipe for homemade granola bars that is super easy and fast! This chewy granola bar recipe uses just a few pantry ingredients so you can have a healthy snack ready for your kids any day of the week.
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My boys prefer these homemade granola bars over their favorite chewy store-bought kind. We typically make them with chocolate chips, but you can create your own with your favorite add-ins -- like nuts, dried fruit, seeds, peanut butter, puffed rice, etc. They are best stored at room temperature. This granola bar recipe makes 12 granola bars in an 8x8-inch pan, but there is no baking involved!
Granola Bar Recipe
It is not difficult at all to make homemade granola bars and only takes a few pantry staples. Some recipes require oven time, but these are quickly cooked on the stove. We've been making these simple no-bake granola bars for over 6 years! Gather these ingredients:
Grocery List for Homemade Granola Bars:
- Quick oats, NOT instant (2 ½ cups)
- Light brown sugar (⅓ cup)
- Honey (¼ cup)
- Chocolate chips (¼ cup)
- Butter (3 Tbsp)
- Vanilla extract (1 tsp)
How to Make Granola Bars
- Line 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper.
- In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.
- Stir in honey, brown sugar and vanilla. Whisk frequently until sugar dissolves.
- Remove from heat and add oats. Stir for 3 minutes.
- Spread mixture into prepared pan.
- Press chocolate chips over top.
- Refrigerate 30 minutes, slice and serve.
Click here for the full granola bar recipe ingredients and instructions.
How do you get granola bars to stick together?
Some recipes for homemade granola bars can be dry and fall apart. These chewy granola bars stick together and do not fall apart. If you plan on adding more than chocolate chips, I would suggest adding a little more honey to the mix, maybe a tablespoon, to ensure they stick together with the extra ingredients.
The brown sugar and honey help as a binder for the granola bars. Do not overcook the sugar liquid, or it will become crystallized and you'll risk the mixture falling apart after it cools. Press the mixture into the lined pan while it's warm and then refrigerate only 30 minutes. Store at room temperature to keep them nice and chewy without falling apart.
Granola Bar Variations
Change the mix-ins. You can add chopped nuts or seeds or puffed rice to the chocolate chips. Or, eliminate the chocolate chips altogether and mix in your favorites. Maybe dried fruit (chopped up).
Peanut butter granola bars. I haven't yet tried it, but soon I'm testing out a peanut butter version of this recipe. It will be good, I just know it. If you do it before I do, leave me a comment on your results!
Granola bar bites. Instead of slicing these into bars, try cutting into bite sized squares and serve on a plate for an accompaniment to breakfast or snack for a larger crowd.
Other easy snack recipes
- Easy Peanut Butter Chex Bars
- Candied Nuts
- 15-Minute Skillet Granola
- No-Bake Cowboy Cookie Energy Balls
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Recipe Card
Homemade Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup honey
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups quick 1-minute oats , not instant
- ¼ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Butter the bottom and sides of an 8x8-inch baking pan, then line with parchment paper. (The butter is to help the parchment paper stick to the bottom and sides of pan.) Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in the honey, brown sugar and vanilla. Whisk frequently until the sugar is dissolved, do not over cook. Remove from heat. Mix in the oats with a wooden spoon. Stir for 3 minutes.
- Spread the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Quickly press the chocolate chips over top.
- Refrigerate 30 minutes. Slice into 12 bars. Store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Nutritional value is an estimate only, based on 1 bar per serving.
- Try adding your favorite mix-ins like nuts, dried fruit, seeds, puffed rice cereal, etc.
Nutrition
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