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These Homemade Granola Bars are a wholesome, no-bake treat that's perfectly sweet, soft, and chewy. They are naturally sweetened, gluten-free, and take just minutes to make.
Looking for more no-bake kid-friendly snack options? Don't miss my recipes for Copycat Larabars, PB Oat Bars, and Oatmeal Date Energy Balls.
Kristen's Keys for Homemade Granola Bars
With just a few tips, you can make homemade granola bars using better-for-you ingredients that taste even better than any soft and chewy bar on the market.
- Use whole dried dates, not chopped dates. Pre-chopped dates are coated in sugar and sometimes even preservatives.
- Give the dates a quick soak in hot water. This will help the dates be nice and soft and easier to incorporate into the granola bars.
- Use a food processor. It makes quick work processing the dates and oats into the perfect consistency for homemade granola bars.
- Don't skip the parchment paper. Use parchment paper to line your pan and press the bars into the pan. This makes the process of lifting the bars out of the pan to slice seamless and prevents sticky fingers.
5-Star Reader REview
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. -Sharon
Ingredients at a Glance
The following tips are provided to help you select the correct ingredients -- as there are a lot of varieties of oats, dates, and nut butter on the market. 😉
- Dates: While you can use either dried Deglet Nour Dates and dried Medjool dates, I typically opt for Deglet Nour dates, as they are less expensive, already pitted, and I always have a big bag in my pantry.
- Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats: Old-fashioned rolled oats give these homemade granola bars a chewy texture. If you only have quick-cooked, rolled oats, they can work in a pinch, but your bars may be on the softer side.
- Coconut Oil: The coconut oil helps to keep the granola bars intact and give them a nutty undertone that is similar to store-bought varieties.
- Maple Syrup: Maple syrup naturally sweetens the granola bars while adding a rich, warming flavor. Feel free to use honey in its place.
- Vanilla: Enhances the sweetness and warmth of the vanilla and maple.
- Nut Butter: Use an all-natural peanut butter or almond butter for this recipe. If unsalted, add a pinch of salt to the bars to enhance the flavors.
- Nuts/Optional Additions: If desired, you can add mini chocolate chips, toffee bits, dried fruit, cinnamon, or chopped nuts into your granola bars to change up the flavor and/or add texture.
How to Make No-Bake Granola Bars with Dates
After soaking the dates, simply dump the ingredients into a food processor, give it a good zap, and press the bars into the pan. It really is that easy to make granola bars at home.
Step One: Prepare Dates
If needed, slices the dates in half lengthwise and remove and discard the pit.
Place the pitted dates into a heat-safe bowl and pour hot water over them and let them soak anywhere from 5-10 minutes. Once softened, drain the dates, but reserve the soaking liquid. You may need this to help bring the granola bars together.
Step Two: Process Ingredients
Place the soaked, pitted dates into a food-processor fitted with an s-blade and process until a thick paste forms. Once the dates are broken down, add in the maple syrup, coconut oil, nut butter, vanilla, and a pinch of salt and process again to combine.
Add the oats and pulse the mixture together a few times until everything is cohesively combined. If you feel the mixture is too dry, add a bit of the reserved soaking liquid, a tablespoon at a time, until the mixture comes together.
Step Three: Add Mix-Ins
After pulsing the ingredients together you can stop right there OR you can add additions like chopped nuts, dried fruits, and/or chocolate chips. After adding, quickly pulse 1-2 times to incorporate without breaking down the additions too much.
Step Four: Press into Pan
Transfer the oat-date mixture to a square baking dish lined with parchment paper. Using a second piece of parchment paper, press the mixture into an even layer.
Step Five: Chill and Slice
While the granola bars are technically ready to eat right away, I find it is best to pop them in the fridge or freezer for 10-15 minutes to let them harden up. Once chilled, lift the parchment paper out of the pan, slice into bars, and serve or store.
Note on Storage
Since these granola bars are made with coconut oil and contain no preservatives, they are best stored in the refrigerator to maintain their shape and stay fresh.
Place the sliced bars into an airtight container, separating layers with pieces of parchment paper. Store in the fridge and enjoy within 7 days.
Recipe Modifications
- Oil-Free: Replace the coconut oil with an equal amount of additional nut butter of your choice. Keep in mind that the granola bars will still be delicious, albeit a bit more crumbly.
- Nut-Free: Swap out the nut butter for soy butter or sunflower seed butter.
- Notes on Additions: Feel free to get creative with additions. Just keep in mind that you want to avoid adding more than ½ cup of additions. More than that, your granola bars will likely fall apart. It is also best to lightly chop larger additions before adding them to the food processor, so that you don't overprocess the bars.
Homemade Granola Bars
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole dried dates, pitted
- ¼ cup maple syrup, or honey
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted and cooled
- 3 tablespoons creamy nut butter, all-natural is best
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon sea salt, omit if you are using salted nut butter
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- ½ cup optional add ins, chopped nuts, raisins, mini chocolate chips, dried fruit, sesame seeds, chia seeds, etc.
Instructions
- Line an 8x8 square baking dish with parchment paper or wax paper.
- If needed, cut the dates in half lengthwise and remove the pit. Unless your dates are incredibly soft, place them in a large heat-safe bowl and cover with hot water. Let soak for 5 to 30 minutes. Drain the dates, reserving the liquid.
- Place the dates into a food-processor fitted with an s-blade. Process until a thick paste forms. Add in ¼ cup maple syrup, 2 tablespoons coconut oil, 3 tablespoons creamy nut butter, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, and ½ teaspoon sea saltPulse until combined and creamy.
- Add in 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats and pulse until just combined and all the oats are moistened. If needed, add some of the reserved liquid from soaking the dates, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture comes together.
- If desired, add optional add-ins like chocolate chips, chopped nuts, etc. Pulse 1-2 times briefly to incorporate, but not breakdown the additions.
- Transfer the oat mixture into prepared pan. Using another piece of parchment paper, press the mixture into the pan into an even layer. Place in fridge or freezer for 15 minutes until set up.
- After chilling, use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan. Cut into bars.
- Store the bars in an airtight container, separated by layers of parchment paper. paper and stored in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This granola bar recipe was posted in 2016 and updated in 2026.
SOOO GOOD!!
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.
That is a great tip on how to omit the maple syrup! Thanks for sharing!
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. 🙂
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!
If I don’t have dates or coconut oil, can you recommend any good substitutes for them?
Thank you!
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.
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!
My kids LOVE adding chocolate chips Kristyn too! So glad your kids enjoyed!
Can I use applesauce in place of dates?
Hi Madison! Applesauce is not as sticky as dates, so the bars will not hold together well. You can opt to use extra nut buter/honey or raisins.
These were so good! I love being able to control what goes in my granola bars so they're exactly how I like them.
Yay! So glad you enjoyed!
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.
It is a great recipe to have kids make! glad they enjoyed!