These crunchy homemade granola bars are a tasty and healthy snack... Customize the dried fruits and nuts to make them your own!
After school snacks are a big deal in our house. With little downtime before rushing off to soccer or baseball practice, it's essential that my kids have something that's healthy and nutritious to eat, fueling them with plenty of energy for practice and filling enough to tide them over until dinner. Yes, it's not ideal, but we often don't get to eat dinner until between 7:30-8:00pm in the evening. Whatever works, works!
So today I'm sharing some of our favorite after school snacks, including a new recipe for homemade granola bars.
How To Make Homemade Granola Bars
I love developing easy recipes to make store-bought staples from scratch, and these healthy homemade granola bars totally fit the bill. Whole grains provide plenty of fiber, while dried fruits offer lots of flavor, as well as energy.
And the best part is that, like our favorite No Bake Peanut Butter Bars, you can totally customize this recipe to your tastes by choosing your favorite dried fruit and nuts. I made this batch with dried mango and pecans, but these are some of our other favorites:
dried fruits — cherries, raisins, cranberries, apricots, blueberries, etc., coarsely chopped for larger pieces.
nuts/seeds — peanuts, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts, sunflower seeds, etc.
As I've mentioned many times before, my favorite source for budget-friendly dried fruits and nuts is the Great Value brand at Walmart. The price and quality just can't be beat!
I also love that the cleanup is SO easy... Lining the baking pan with parchment paper means there's virtually no mess. You can lift the entire sheet out of the pan with the paper, and transfer it to your cutting board.
Cut it right on the paper. Then just fold up the crumbs inside when you're done cutting and toss. Easy-peasy!
Paired with a glass of milk, these homemade granola bars are my youngest's favorite snack. And how much are those two missing front teeth killing me right now? Stop growing right now!
Oh, and I noticed that my ultra-picky 8-year-old daughter packed one in her lunch this morning, so apparently she loves them too... Yay for small victories!
Printable Recipe ↓
Crunchy Homemade Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 4 cups old-fashioned oats
- ½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- ½ cup dried cranberries - chopped
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- ¼ cup whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup salted butter
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 325℉. Line a 13x9-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Combine the oats, coconut, dried fruit, nuts, flour, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.
- Gently warm the butter and coconut oil in a medium saucepan over low heat to melt. Stir in honey and vanilla extract.
- Pour the honey mixture over the oats mixture, and stir to combine thoroughly.
- Press the mixture firmly into the lined baking pan using a small piece of parchment paper.
- Bake at 325℉ for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown.
- Cool completely, then cut into bars with a sharp knife
Recipe Notes
Tasty After School Snacks
Along with these delicious crunchy homemade granola bars, here are four more after school snacks that we rotate through — all mom-tested and kid-approved!
Did you make this recipe?
I'd love to see how your granola bars turn out... Tag me @Unsophisticook on Instagram or use the hashtag #Unsophisticook so I can check it out. Enjoy!
Erin says
I would love it if you'd add nutrition facts to your recipes, especially the healthy ones.
Christopher says
Didn’t work at all, they just crumbled into loose granola. I pressed on them heavily with a spatula to make them as firmly compressed as possible. There needs to be more of a binding agent like a nut butter or something.
Julie says
oh these taste great but they're not bars, they're just loose granola. What did I do wrong? Followed the recipe to a "T"!
Tara Kuczykowski says
Hi Julie! Just to confirm, you used old-fashioned oats (not quick or steel cut oats), right? Other culprits could be not compressing the mixture into the pan enough, overbaking them slightly, or trying to cut them before they are cooled completely. Try using a flat-bottomed measuring cup or similar to press the mixture into the pan next time and also decrease the baking time slightly to see if that helps.
Julie says
@Tara Kuczykowski, thanks for your response! I did use the right kind of oats. Will try your other solutions, and I appreciate the response.
Neethu says
Can I use instant oats in this recipe?
Tara Kuczykowski says
Hi Neethu! Yes, you could substitute quick cooking oats for the rolled oats in this recipe. I'd recommend cutting the cooking time back to about 20 minutes, because they will cook more quickly. You might even want to start checking them around the 15-minute mark. Also note that the texture will be slightly different.
Wondering says
Hi, don't mean to be grumpy, but what's the point of using honey if it going to be baked anyway? After processing in a high temperature, honey loses its nutrient value, so it's becoming just fructose and glucose, nothing more.
Tara Kuczykowski says
Honey is simply the best binding agent for granola bars — and we like the honey flavor! But you can replace it with maple syrup, agave, brown rice syrup, corn syrup, etc.
Angie says
Hi there! Do you think using gf flour would work ok?
Thanks!
Tara Kuczykowski says
Hi Angie! I don't have a lot of experience using gluten-free flour, but give the small amount used in this recipe, I would think using a variety that substitutes 1:1 should work. If you try it, I'd love it if you'd come back and report your results!
Dunja says
Can I also use maple syrup instead of honey if yes how much?
Tara Kuczykowski says
Yes, you could use maple syrup, as well! Just use an equal amount to the honey.
Dina says
So i love the ingredients in this! Its amazing. I put almonds , cherries, blueberries and cranberries. I also doubled the recipe and added more liquid ingredients.
Dome notes... There is no size indication for the pan . Do we spray the parchment that gores in the baking pan. And it doesnt say how high it should be in the pan.
Tara @ Unsophisticook says
Hi Dina! Per the recipe, you should use a 13x9" pan. No need to spray the parchment — just make sure it comes up the sides of the pan so you can lift the whole bar out in one piece after baking.
Kat says
we have a coconut allergy in the family- can that be left out or something else substituted?
Tara @ Unsophisticook says
Kat, you could just leave out the shredded coconut and add additional dried fruit if you'd like. You can substitute all butter for the coconut oil, although this will produce a crunchier bar, or try whatever mild-flavored oil you generally use for cooking.
Jen says
Do you think you could use sweetened coconut and reduce the amount of honey to compensate? I have sweetened coconut in my pantry that's begging to be used in something.
Tara @ Unsophisticook says
Hi Jen! I think you could use sweetened coconut without changing anything. I've swapped it out in a pinch in my No Bake Peanut Butter Bars, and they're a touch sweeter but not overly so. I just recommend the unsweetened variety for those trying to be a little more health conscious.
Donna H. says
Would love to see a carb count on these granola bars.. i'd leave out the fruit though for that very reason. otherwise, sounds and looks really good :)