Homemade Granola Bars

These homemade granola bars aren’t as hard to make as they look.  And they are amaaaaaazing!

This post was originally shared by Andrea from Knitty Bitties for my Funner in the Summer Series. 

I love to make homemade snacks for my little guy. I just feel like knowing what goes into the snack makes it 100x better than a store bought version. I don’t go sugar {or even chocolate} free, but I *try* to balance it out with healthy ingredients and just trust my gut {literally} that homemade is better.

You might like these ideas too:

• Self Serve Healthy Snacks for Kids
• Homemade Lara Bars
• A Month’s Worth of After School Snacks
• Healthy Snacks for Teens

Granola Bars

After trying several recipes, my latest was a huge success. It passes the picky eater seal of approval, the husband seal of approval, sister seal of approval and fellow mommy seal of approval.

Granola Bar Recipe

I used this recipe with a few small modifications ~ Homemade Whole Grain & Nut Energy Bars (which is really close to my second favorite, Thick, Chewy Granola Bars). I noted my changes in parentheses.

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Homemade Granola Bars

These Homemade Granola Bars aren't as hard to make as they look. And they are amaaaaaazing! So much better than the store bought versions.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time45 mins

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Homemade Granola Bars

Servings: 24

Calories: 218kcal

Author: Mique Provost

Ingredients

• 2 c old fashioned oats
• 1 c raw nuts (½ c pecans & ½ c unsalted cashews)
• ½ c raw seeds (unsalted/unroasted sunflower seeds)
• 1 c shredded coconut
• ½ c ground flaxseed (½ c wheat germ)
• ⅓ c natural peanut butter (almond butter/a tiny bit of Jif when I ran out of almond ;D)
• ⅔ c honey
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter (more like 4 tbsp since I had half a stick in the fridge)
• 2 tsp Vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• pinch of coarse salt
• 1 c dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate chunks

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
• Line 13x9 baking pan with foil or parchment paper (for easy removal), and butter all sides.
• Toast oats, nuts & seeds, and coconut on a cookie sheet in the oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring peanut butter, honey, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt to a simmer to a small saucepan. Reduce heat to low.
• Transfer toasted mixture to a large mixing bowl, and add the flaxseed (**wheat germ**).
• Carefully pour the wet mixture into the bowl, and stir until fully combined; incorporate the chocolate chips.
• Transfer mixture to the prepared pan, and use the back of a spoon to pack it in really well.
• Bake for 30 minutes.
• Cool in the pan for a few hours, then cut into bars and enjoy!

Notes

** I skipped step 3 and instead put all the dry ingredients (minus the oats) in the food processor to get a finer mix. **

Nutrition

Calories: 218kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 37mg | Potassium: 193mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 45IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 1.1mg

**I purchased all of my nuts/coconut/wheat germ from the bulk section at Win-Co making it slightly less expensive. I also buy my almond butter fresh ground as well as my honey from Win-Co. I wouldn’t say this is a ‘cheap’ replacement for store bought granola bars, but they are so, so, so much better tasting (and better for you). Plus it makes 16 bars, which is about 2 boxes … so it’s probably a wash or a slight savings. **

Unlike the other recipes I had tried, these cut really nice about 2 hours after baking and didn’t require overnight cooling to come together. I cut the pan into 16 rectangular bars which really stayed together. Sure there are still a few crumbles, like any granola bar, but so much less than my earlier attempts.

Now, not all of our snacks are homemade. Some of my store bought favorites are::

• Archer Farms {Target} Real Fruit Strips
• Dried fruit {no added sugars or preservatives} from our local farmer’s market
• Pretzels {add a bit of natural peanut butter for a yummy dip}
• Goldfish
• Archer Farms Monster Trail Mix
• Cheesesticks
• Simply Gogurt {although I still think this is a lot of sugar}
• Simply Fruit Roll-Ups {new to me … but no sugar added and all fruit!!}

I hope this gave you a new idea or encouraged you to try a homemade version of one of your family’s favorite store bought snacks.