Last Updated on March 7, 2025 by PorchLightReading
Easy homemade granola bar recipe that is soft, chewy, and packed with flavor! Made with just a few simple panty ingredients like oats, honey, and peanut butter.
Wandering down the grocery aisles I’m always looking for healthy snacks to send to school with the kids. Of course the cereal bars are an easy grab but lately, I’m not that into them. Many are packed with added sugar and preservatives and the ones I actually do like, I can’t afford. Ok, can’t is a stretch. It’s won’t.
I will not spend $7 on six granola bars. So I started making them from scratch and I can not believe they are this easy and delicious! Not to mention made with simple ingredients you most likely already have on hand.
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- Table of contents: Homemade granola bar recipe
- Why you’ll love this recipe
- Ingredients
- Step by step directions
- Variations
- Frequently asked questions
- Jump to recipe
When you realize how easy some of these pre packed snacks are to make at home, you begin to get a bit angry with how much you’ve spent buying them. It wasn’t that long ago that something as simple as granola bars were just a couple of dollars, but now it just doesn’t make any sense to buy them.
At least it doesn’t make sense in our household. Of course, if you are buying them to save yourself time and convince, by all means! No one is judging. But I was tired of the mindset I use to have. The mindset that said “it’s too complicated to make myself.” Because the truth is, it’s not.
Homemade Granola Bar Recipe
Since we are an ingredients household, we already have everything we need to make homemade granola bars from scratch. Oats, honey, peanut butter- the main ingredients to our recipe. And by making them ourselves there are no preservatives and no refined sugar.
30 minutes, that’s all the time you need to make this easy snack. One that you can enjoy at the breakfast table, or for a quick grab-and-go.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple pantry ingredients- Made with ingredients you may already have on hand.
- No refined sugar- Naturally sweetened with honey or maple syrup.
- Easily customizable- Add your favorite nuts, seeds, dried fruits, or chocolate chips.
- On the go snack- Make ahead for an on-the-go snack.
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups oats
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup peanut butter
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ cup mixed nuts, fruit, trail mix, or chocolate chips (optional)
Granola Bars – Step by Step Directions
Preheat oven to 350℉- Preheat oven to 350℉ and line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper. You can also use a small baking try with a lip.
Prepare dry ingredients- In a large bowl add oats, salt, and any extras you’ll like to add in such as mixed nuts or dried fruit.
Heat the wet ingredients- In a saucepan over low heat, melt peanut butter and honey together. Stir in vanilla extract.
Mix and shape- Pour the wet ingredients over the oats and stir until everything is evenly coated. Transfer the mixture to prepared baking pan. Press firmly using a small piece of parchment paper to compact evenly, getting into the corners.
Bake and cool- Bake at 350℉ for 20 minutes or until slightly golden brown on top. Allow to cool fully before slicing into rectangle bars. Store in refrigerator for a more chewy texture.
Granola Bar Variations
This simple recipe is a great base to branch off and create something a bit more to your liking. Perhaps your kids really love M&M’s, you can put in a few mini ones to make it more of a special treat. Or add raisins for an added chewy texture.
If you get a little too heavy handed with the extra add-ins, and it now seems too dry to bind together, simply add a bit more peanut butter, honey, or maple syrup.
- mixed nuts
- trail mix
- dried fruit
- raisins
- chocolate chips
- M&M’s
Note- When it comes to adding chocolate be sure that the peanut butter, honey mixture isn’t too warm, as it will start to melt the chocolate.
Frequently Asked Questions
The key to keeping homemade granola bars together is using a biding like honey, maple syrup, or peanut butter. Pressing the mixture firmly, baking, and allowing to fully cool, helps the bars maintain their shape.
You can use either old fashion oats or quick oats for this recipe. Both work great but personally we like using quick oats as it seems to have more of a chewy texture we are use to.
Homemade granola bars last up to 7 days in an airtight container. They can be placed on the counter for easy grabbing or in the refrigerator for a more chewy bar.
There are recipes for no bake granola bars, but I find that by baking them they stay together better. No bake granola bars tend to break apart easily and not keep their shape very well.
This granola bar recipe is so easy to make and takes no time at all. An easy on the go snack made from ingredients I already have in the house. So what are you waiting for? Give them a try and let me know what you think!
Recipe Card
Homemade Granola Bar Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups oats
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper. You can also use a small baking try with a lip.
- In a large bowl add oats, salt, and any extras you'll like to add in such as mixed nuts or dried fruit.
- In a saucepan over low heat, melt peanut butter and honey together. Stir in vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the oats and stir until everything is evenly coated. Transfer the mixture to prepared baking pan. Press firmly using a small piece of parchment paper to compact evenly, getting into the corners.
- Bake at 350℉ for 20 minutes or until slightly golden brown on top. Allow to cool fully before slicing into rectangle bars. Store in refrigerator for a more chewy texture.
Notes
- Mixed nuts
- Trail mix
- Dried fruit
- Rasins
- Chocolate chips
Nutrition
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