With only a handful of ingredients and 5 minutes of prep, you can easily make soft and chewy homemade granola bars. This simple no-bake recipe is made with wholesome ingredients, yet tastes better than any store-bought granola bar on the market.
My recipe for homemade granola bars is the BEST granola bar recipe ever. PERIOD. Not only are these granola bars super simple to make, but they are also naturally sweetened, vegan-friendly, and gluten-free, making them a healthy snack option--that both big and small kids enjoy!
Soft and chewy granola bars are always a snack that kids love.
Most store-bought brands are loaded with sugar and often preservatives. And if they are made with quality ingredients, they are often really over-priced.
But you can easily make your own healthy granola bars. It only takes minutes of hands-on work and there are no special ingredients required.
In fact, I bet you already have the ingredients you need on hand to whip up a batch right now.
Ingredients for Granola Bars
- Dates: Be sure to use whole pitted dates. Not the chopped dates, as they are coated in sugar.
- Oats: Quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats both work for this recipe. Just be sure to use gluten-free oats for a Gluten-Free Granola Bar, if needed.
- Coconut Oil: The coconut oil will give these bars a similar taste to store-bought and help the granola bars stay together.
- Maple Syrup: Feel free to substitute maple syrup with honey if you are not looking for a Vegan Granola Bar.
- Nut Butter: Peanut butter, almond butter, or even soy butter or sunflower seed butter all work for this recipe.
How to Make Granola Bars
Making homemade granola bars is about the easiest recipe ever. It is as simple as throwing a few ingredients into a food processor, a few zaps, and you just DONE! Easy-peasy.
Step One: Soak Dates
If your dates have been sitting in your pantry for a long period of time, they may be a bit dried out and will need to be soaked in hot water for a few minutes, as soft dates are easier for your food processor to break down.
Step Two: Process Granola Bars
- Once the dates have soaked, drain off the soaking liquid and place them into a food processor and process until thick paste forms.
- Add in nut butter, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, and salt and process until creamy.
- Add in oats and pulse until combined.
- At this time if using add-ins, stir them into granola bar mixture.
Step Three: Form Granola Bars
- Line an 8x8 or 7x11 pan with parchment or wax paper.
- Add the oats mixture to the pan and using either moistened hands or wax paper (to keep the mixture from sticking to your fingers, spread out as evenly as possible.
- Place in the freezer for 5-10 minutes or the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes to solidify.
- Slice into bars and enjoy or store.
Storing Granola Bars
Because these granola bars are made without preservatives, they will only keep a week and are best refrigerated.
Once the bars are sliced, wrap each bar in a piece of wax or parchment paper and place them into an air-tight container or bag. Store in the fridge for up to 7 days.
More Healthy Snack Recipes
- Homemade Larabars--If you are looking for a grain-free granola bar recipe, or just love larabars, this DIY version will save you money just like these granola bars.
- Homemade Gogurts--Simple, wholesome, and FUN! This copycat recipe is one kids love.
- Instant Pot Yogurt--Control the level of sugar and additives with this 2-ingredient homemade yogurt.
- Easy Homemade Fruit Roll-Ups--Just like these granola bars, homemade fruit roll-ups are much better for you and are surprisingly easy to make at home.
These granola bars make a great treat for kids to enjoy any time! I hope that you give them a try for your own family and be sure to share pictures on social media tagging @amindfullmom and leave a comment below--I love seeing you make my recipes.
Homemade Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup pitted dates
- ¼ cup maple syrup or honey
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil melted
- 3 tablespoons peanut butter or sunflower butter or almond butter
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp sea salt omit if you are using salted peanut butter
- 2 cups oats quick cooking or old fashioned
- ½ cup optional add ins chopped nut, raisins, mini chocolate chips, dried fruit, sesame seeds, chia seeds, etc
Instructions
- Start by being sure your dates are relatively soft. If they are not, soak in hot water for 5 to 30 minutes. Drain off liquid, reserving if needed.
- Line an 8x8 or 7x3 pan with parchment paper or wax paper.
- Process dates in a food processor fitted with an s blade until a thick paste forms. Add in honey/maple syrup, coconut oil, nut butter, vanilla, and salt. Pulse until combined and creamy.
- Add in oats and pulse until just combines and all the oats are moistened well, adding up to 2 tablespoons of the reserved soaking liquid from dates if needed.
- Stir in any mix-ins into the batter you desire.
- Place mixture into prepared pan. Using mositened hands or a piece of wax paper, spread out mixture as evenly as possible.
- Place in fridge or freezer for 15 minutes until set up. Then slice into bars.
- Store these bars wrapped individually in wax paper and stored in the fridge.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- Be sure to use gluten free oats if you need these bars to be gluten free.
- Homemade granola bars will last in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- If you do not have coconut oil, use extra nut butter instead or melted butter.
- Raisins can be used in place of dates in a bind, but the bars will not stick together as well.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in 2016 and updated in 2020 with new pictures.
Katie Jenkins
This is my go to recipe! It turns out great even without the maple syrup. Still very sweet and satisfying. I usually soak my dates and add the water to make up for the missing liquid.
Kristen Chidsey
That is a great tip on how to omit the maple syrup! Thanks for sharing!
Kristina P
I already had everything needed to make these in my pantry. Love that! They were easy and fun to make, and I love that I can control the ingredients. The best part is that they were delicious! What a great back-to-school recipe! Whether we're in the classroom or not, we're all going to be on a different daily schedule and healthy snacks are a must, even for teachers like me! Thanks, Kristen. 🙂
Kristen Chidsey
So glad you enjoyed Kristina! Thank you so much for teaching and my thoughts and prayers go out to you right now as you deal with all the new guidelines!
Janelle
If I don’t have dates or coconut oil, can you recommend any good substitutes for them?
Thank you!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Janelle, while the bars may not hold together quite as well, you can use raisins in place of dates and extra nut butter in place of coconut oil.
Kristyn
My kids eat granola bars like there is no tomorrow! This will be fun to have them make them with me & of course, we like to add chocolate chips! These are perfect!
Kristen Chidsey
My kids LOVE adding chocolate chips Kristyn too! So glad your kids enjoyed!
Stephanie
These were so good! I love being able to control what goes in my granola bars so they're exactly how I like them.
Kristen Chidsey
Yay! So glad you enjoyed!
Krissy
My kiddos love granola bars. This will be so fun to make with them while we're stuck in the house. Thanks for the recipe. It looks great.
Kristen Chidsey
It is a great recipe to have kids make! glad they enjoyed!
Lory
Excellent granola bars. My kids and I love them! You will not miss the sugar at all! These are super sweet
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed these Lory!
Sharon
These were really tasty and satisfying. Easy to make with a food processor. I added some bran, coconut and walnuts. They set up nicely with good flavour. Thanks for the recipe!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed Sharon!
Erika
Is there an alternative to the dates? I'm not a fan of them.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Erika! Yes, you can use raisins. I would still soak the raisins. You may also need an additional tablespoon of peanut butter (or honey) to bring the mixture together. Hope you enjoy 💕
Suzanne
These r yum!!! Can you freeze them??
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Suzanne, I am glad you enjoyed! These bars can be frozen for up to 3 months--but I will be honest in saying I prefer them fresh 🙂