Homemade Granola Bars

Simple, wholesome ingredients come together in less than 5 minutes to create a chewy homemade granola bar that is better and healthier than any store bought granola bar on the market. These healthy homemade granola bars are no-bake and gluten-free. 

My husband is a granola bar addict.

And while that is not such a bad thing when he is snacking on homemade granola bars, when he grabs a store-bought granola bar, it is not such a great idea.

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Wholesome snacks like Banana Sushi, Trail Mix Snack Bars, Cinnamon No Bake Breakfast Protein Bites and a Cherry Pie Smoothie are great options as they are balanced in fiber, healthy fats, and healthy carbs.

Thankfully, he loves my wholesome homemade granola bars and they are SO easy to make, that I almost always have them on hand.

Homemade Granola Bars

My recipe for homemade granola bars are the BEST granola bar recipe ever–PERIOD.

Chewy Style Granola Bars are:

• adaptable to your preferences
• require no baking
• gluten-free
• dairy-free
• naturally sweetened
• high in fiber
• provides a dose of healthy fats
• super easy to make (like my kids make them all by themselves)
• are perfect snack for any time
• pickey eater approved

Ingredients for Homemade Granola Bars

• Dates
  • Use whole dates that are not coated in sugar.
• Oats
  • Use gluten free oats for a Gluten Free Granola Bar.
• Coconut Oil
  • The coconut oil will give these homemade granola bars a similar taste to store bought chewy granola bars and help the bars to solidify.
• Maple Syrup
  • Feel free to substitute maple syrup with honey if you are not looking for a Vegan Granola Bar.
• Nut Butter
  • Peanut butter or almond butter work great in these No Bake Granola Bars.
  • If you are nut-free, use soy butter or sunflower seed butter.
• Add-Ins
  • Feel free to add in up to 1 cup dried fruit, chocolate chips, etc to flavor homemade granola bars.

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 made DIY granola bars! Easy-peasy.

Step One: Soak Dates

• Soak unsweetened dates with hot water for 5 minutes to soften for easier processing.
• After 5 minutes, drain dates.

Step Two: Process Granola Bars

• Place dates in food processor 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 a 8×8 or 7×11 pan with parchement or wax paper.
• Add the oats mixture to the pan and using either moistened hands or wax paper, spread out as evenly as possible.
• Place in freezer for 5-10 minutes to solidify and then slice into bars.

Storing Granola Bars

• Wrap granola bars in wax or parchment paper and place into a air-tight container or bag.
• Store in fridge for up to 6 days.

Notes on No Bake Homemade Granola Bars

• Pro-tip for working with dates: Soak unsweetened dates with hot water for 5 minutes to soften for easier processing.
• If you don’t have coconut oil, you can use melted butter, but the coconut oil is key in reproducing the flavor you get in store-bought granola bars.
• Do not use canola oil in place of coconut oil. The canola oil will not solidify and your granola bars will never set up properly.
• If you have peanut allergy, use almond butter or sunflower butter in these granola bars.
• Be sure to use gluten-free oats to keep these granola bars gluten-free if needed.
• Quick-cooking oats or old-fashioned oats work in this granola bar recipe. Steel-cut oats do NOT.
• If you want to keep these granola bars vegan, use maple syrup instead of honey. But both options work well.

More Healthy Snack Recipes

• Homemade Larabars
• 2 Ingredient Homemade Gogurts
• Homemade Microwave Popcorn
• Instant Pot Yogurt
• Easy Homemade Fruit Roll Ups

Homemade Granola Bar Recipe

5 from 3 votes

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Homemade Granola Bars

Simple, wholesome ingredients come together in less than 5 minutes to create a chewy homemade granola bar that is better and healthier than any store bought granola bar on the market. 

Course Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword Gluten Free Granola Bars, Homemade Granola Bars

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Servings 12

Calories 147 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 cup pitted dates
• 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil melted
• 3 tablespoons peanut butter or sunflower butter or almond butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp sea salt omit if you are using salted peanut butter
• 2 cups gluten free oats
• optional: add up to 1/2 cup of the following: chopped nuts raisins, mini chocolate chips, dried fruit, sesame seeds, chia seeds, etc

Instructions

1. Start by being sure your dates are relatively soft. If they are not, soak in hot water for up to 30 minutes and then drain.
2. Process dates in food processor and then add maple syrup, coconut oil, peanut butter, vanilla, and salt.
3. Add in oats and pulse until just combines and all the oats are moistened well.
4. Stir in any mix-ins into batter you desire. (I choose to use 2 tablespoons of chia seeds and then drizzled dark chocolate I melted over the top for the pictured batch--INSANE!!!)

5. Place into a 8x8 pan that has been lined with wax or parchment paper. Add the oats mixture to the pan and using either moistened hands or wax paper, spread out as evenly as possible.

6. Place in freezer for 15 minutes and then slice into bars.

7. Store these bars wrapped individually in wax paper and stored in the fridge. 

Recipe Video

Nutrition Facts

Homemade Granola Bars

Amount Per Serving

Calories 147 Calories from Fat 45

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 5g 8%

Saturated Fat 2g 10%

Sodium 116mg 5%

Potassium 170mg 5%

Total Carbohydrates 23g 8%

Dietary Fiber 2g 8%

Sugars 12g

Protein 3g 6%

Calcium 2.1%

Iron 4.3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.