Meet my favorite granola bar recipe. These granola bars are delicious and easy to make with basic pantry ingredients. You don’t even have to bake them!
These granola bars can pass as a quick breakfast, and they make a perfect snack. I love to pack these bars for road trips and flights, and I love hearing from moms who make these granola bars regularly for their kids. They’re a big hit with all ages.
As you’ll see, the recipe is versatile, so you can easily incorporate your favorite flavors, like nuts, chocolate and dried fruit. You’ll find my go-to flavorings in the recipe below if you want to follow my lead.
These granola bars have spared me from some hangry moments lately. They’re satisfying, just sweet enough, and stick with me for a few hours. Granola bars to the rescue!
Granola Bar Ingredients
Oats
Old-fashioned oats or quick-cooking oats will work here (steel-cut oats will not). Old-fashioned oats lend a more chewy, “rustic” texture. Quick-cooking oats disappear more into the bars. If desired, you can briefly blitz old-fashioned oats in the food processor to achieve the texture of quick-cooking oats.
Mix-ins of your choice
Here’s where we add more flavor! See below for options.
Nut butter
Nut butter helps hold these bars together, and offers protein, healthy fat and fiber. You could use peanut butter, almond butter, or even pecan butter. For a nut-free option, sunflower butter will work.
Honey or maple syrup
These natural sweeteners also help bind the bars together, and make these bars deliciously sweet (though not too sweet). Or, make date paste from fresh Medjool dates. Dates offer additional fiber, while honey or maple syrup do not. See the recipe notes for details.
Cinnamon, salt and vanilla extract
These add extra flavor to your bars. Technically, you could omit any or all of these, but the bars are more enticing with them. Salt enhances the flavor of all the other ingredients—cut it in half if you’re sensitive to salt.
Watch How to Make Granola Bars
Mix-In Options
Two cups of mix-ins add flavor, texture and more nutrients. Choose from any combination of the following:
- Nuts: Pecans, walnuts, almonds, or peanuts would all work well.
- Seeds: Pepitas (green pumpkin seeds) or sunflower seeds are good options. You could use up to 1/4 cup flax seeds or chia seeds—these seeds absorb moisture, which is why I suggest limiting the quantity.
- Chocolate: Mini chocolate chips are cute. If using regular chocolate chips or roughly chopped chocolate, blitz them for a few seconds in the food processor to break them into smaller pieces. Since chocolate is sweet, limit it to 3/4 cup or less.
- Coconut: Shredded or flaked coconut will work here. Unsweetened is best, since these are bars are sweet enough as is.
- Dried fruit: Dried cranberries, cherries, raisins, apricots, etc. Since these are sweet, limit them to 3/4 cup or less. Any fruit larger than a raisin will need to be broken up a bit more—either in the food processor or chopped by hand.
Granola Bar Variations
Here are some variations on this granola bar recipe that I’ve come up with over the years. I love them all!
- All Pecans: You can use use 2 cups pecans as your mix-ins, and you could even make pecan nut butter to match (here’s my recipe for pecan butter). Nut lovers, this would work with walnuts (presumably) or almonds, too.
- Almond Chocolate Chip: Use sliced almonds and mini chocolate chips, or blitz whole almonds and chocolate chips in the food processor before using.
- Almond Coconut: Use equal parts almonds and coconut flakes or shredded coconut.
- Cranberry Orange: Use a combination of dried cranberries, pecans, pepitas and fresh orange zest. Since this variation contains a lot of dried fruit, it’s the sweetest of them all.
Granola Bar Tips
These granola bars are quite simple to make, especially if you have a food processor (affiliate link).
Chop up your ingredients, if large.
These bars hold together best when the ingredients are quite small. If using almonds, you’ll want to either start with pre-sliced almonds, or chop them up in the food processor or by hand (same goes for all nuts). It’s easy to throw all of your mix-ins into the food processor and blitz a few times.
Press the mixture down as firmly as evenly as possible.
Air pockets will cause problems. Use a sturdy, flat-bottomed jar to make sure the mixture is pressed down completely. You might then press down with your hands to ensure it’s not trying to sneak up the sides or corners.
Let the mixture rest for one hour or longer before using.
The oats need some time to soak up the moisture in the nut butter and sweetener. Chill the mixture for at least one hour (or as long as a day) before slicing.
Slice and store properly.
Use a sharp chef’s knife to slice these bars. I like to slice them into squares. Another option would be to slice them into bars like this. I think the squares are a little more sturdy. Be sure not to stack the bars on top of each other, or they can stick. You can store them flat, covered, or wrap them individually in plastic wrap or parchment paper.
Please let me know how your granola bars turn out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Looking for more healthy snacks? Try my favorite granola recipe, sweet and spicy roasted nuts, stovetop popcorn, or view a wide variety of snacks here.
Easy No-Bake Granola Bars
- Author:
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes (plus 1-hour chill time)
- Yield: 16 bars 1x
- Category: Snack
- Method: No-bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
This granola bar recipe is so easy and delicious! These wholesome granola bars are naturally sweetened, gluten free, and the perfect healthy snack. Recipe yields 16 bars.
Ingredients
-
1 ¾ cups old-fashioned oats or quick-cooking oats
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-
½ teaspoon fine sea salt (if using regular table salt, scale back a bit)
-
2 cups mix-ins* (nuts, seeds, chocolate, shredded coconut or dried fruit)
-
1 cup creamy peanut butter or almond butter
-
½ cup honey or maple syrup
-
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line a 9-inch square baker with two strips of criss-crossed parchment paper, cut to fit neatly against the base and up the sides. The parchment paper will make it easy for you to slice the bars later.
- Place the oats in a large mixing bowl**. Add the cinnamon and salt, and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Now we’ll blitz the mix-ins briefly in the food processor or blender (or, you can chop them by hand). Add any large nuts (like almonds or pecans) first and blitz for a few seconds. Then add the rest and run the machine for a few more seconds, until the ingredients are all broken up into pieces smaller than your pinky nail. Pour the mix-ins into the bowl of oats.
-
In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, measure out the nut butter. Top with ½ cup honey and the vanilla extract. Stir until well blended. If you must, you can gently warm the liquid mixture on the stovetop or in the microwave, but make sure it’s close to room temperature before you pour it into the dry mixture (this is especially important if using chocolate, since it will melt).
-
Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a big spoon to mix them together until the two are evenly combined and no dry oats remain. This takes some arm muscles, but you can do it! If the mixture was easy to mix together, that’s a sign that you need to add some more oats—sprinkle in more oats until you can’t incorporate any more.
-
Transfer the mixture to the prepared square baker. Use your spoon to arrange the mixture fairly evenly in the baker, then use the bottom of a flat, round surface (like a short, sturdy drinking glass) to pack the mixture down as firmly and evenly as possible.
-
Cover the baker and refrigerate for at least one hour, or preferably overnight. (The oats need time to soak up some of the moisture so they aren’t sticky.) When you’re ready to slice, lift the bars out of the baker by grabbing both pieces of parchment paper on opposite corners. Use a sharp knife to slice the bars into 4 even columns and 4 even rows.
-
Wrap individual bars in plastic wrap or parchment paper (if you store them all together, they will stick to one another). Bars keep well for several days at room temperature, a couple of weeks in the fridge, or several months in a freezer-safe bag in the freezer for best flavor.
Notes
*Mix-in options: Any combination of nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc.), seeds (pepitas or sunflower seeds), chocolate chips or roughly chopped chocolate, shredded coconut and/or dried cranberries or cherries. For the bars shown here, I used 1 cup pecan halves, ½ cup pepitas, ¼ cup shredded coconut and ¼ cup roughly chopped dark chocolate. Keep in mind that anything larger than your pinky nail will need to be broken into smaller pieces. If you don’t have a food processor, chop them by hand.
**Granola bar texture: If you’re using old-fashioned oats and would prefer a more smooth, less chewy texture (shown in my photos), blitz your oats in a food processor for 3 to 5 seconds to break them up. Then, add them to the bowl.
Change it up: These bars can be sweetened (mostly) with Medjool dates, if you’d like to increase the fiber content. Soak 12 dates in piping hot water for 10 minutes, then tear them in half and remove their pits. Place them in a food processor with 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey and blend until completely smooth.
Make it gluten free: Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats.
Make it nut free: Do not use nuts (pepitas and sunflower seeds are good options) and replace the nut butter with sunflower butter.
Make it vegan: Use maple syrup instead of honey.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Marilyn wright
These are good—sweet, sweet, sweet if made with chocolate chips.
My grandchildren vote for Kate’s granola—I agree–it’s perfect!
★★★★
Jeanette Brown
Love this recipe…will make again and again!!!
★★★★★
Janna
This has become a staple in our house. We live in Devon, England and granola bars are a new essential in our week. my 4 kids love them! Thank you Kate!
★★★★★
Ashley Shinnan
Mmm. I just made these today and they are so delicious. I used shredded coconut, raisins, mini chocolate chips and chia seeds. Will definitely make again!
★★★★★
Kate
Great to hear, Ashley!
James Katehakis
Super easy to make and the results are amazing.i have stopped buying clif bars. Tip, spray a bit of cooki ng oil into the measuring cup and peanut butter and honey fall right out into the pan.
★★★★★
Jackie
I LOVE this recipe! So many options! One of my favorites is almonds, coconut, dried unsweetened cherries, and mini chocolate chips. But I always make it with my homemade almond butter and maple syrup. To make for easy packing down of the mixture in my 9×9 pan, I simple put wax paper over the top of the mixture and use my 8×8 pan to press it down. Thanks for a great recipe.
★★★★★
Jennifer
Hello! Coming back to make a bigger batch of these because the recipe is excellent! Just wanted to let you know that the buttons that allow the recipe to be scaled 2X and 3X are only changing one ingredient amount.
★★★★★
Kate
Hi Jennifer! I’m sorry the scale feature isn’t working perfectly. This happens sometimes and I haven’t been able to tell why. Be sure to double everything or triple everything. Sorry about that and if it’s cause frustration!
toni
Love this recipe! It really was so easy to make, and such an awesome way to satisfy my sweet tooth. I live in Lebanon, so I used some carob molasses and tahini to supplement half of the honey and half of the peanut butter (those are kind of expensive and hard to find here) and it tasted awesome all put together! A little middle eastern kick on the whole thing :)
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad you were able to adapt this recipe to work.
Cindy
Hello love this recipe !! I especially like that you’ve written it as so I can add other ingredients and or substitute too. I added ground up pretzels I had left over from another recipe I made. It doesn’t matter if it adheres in bars or not cause I am love granola and this is an excellent recipe for it!!
★★★★★
Emma
I don’t suppose you have the ingredients in gms do you? I’m reading your recipes from Wales,UK where we tend to use kg, gms etc rather than cups. Thanks
Kate
Hi Emma, unfortunately, I haven’t found a great converter to add to the blog just yet that I love. But, I know others have a had success with my recipes using online conversion tables.
Emma
Thank you for the link, really helpful.
★★★★★
Antoinette
HI. We love these granola bars and have made them many times in big batches. Both times I used maple syrup instead of honey they came out crumbly. Any thoughts on whether the quantity of maple syrup needs to be adjusted? Also, any suggestions on how to salvage the large bowl of crumbly granola bar bits I have back into bars?
Kate
Hi! I’m sorry they came out crumbly for you. Were you sure to press them firmly? You can serve your crumbles as granola perhaps?
Erin Thompson
Hi! I just made these and mine are super crumbly too. I used a mixture of maple syrup and honey. I also pressed them down really well. Is there an additional ingredient you suggest including to bind them a bit better?
Kate
Hi Erin, I’m sorry to hear that. It may be the mixture of the two sweeteners, but that does seem curious. How large of a dish did you use to press them into? Were they thin or thick?
Julia
Hi. Having discovered your delicious granola recipe I thought I would give this a go. It’s definitely another winner!
I have only ever used one other granola bar recipe and they were soft but always fell apart. I was therefore delighted that these did not.
I used a mix of sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, cranberries and apricots. I also used maple syrup.
This recipe is definitely a keeper and I look forward to trying your suggested flavour combinations.
Thank you so much for sharing. I must look at some more of your recipes.
★★★★★
Cleopatra
Hi there. I just made these for the first time. I used honey, and I used a combination of peanut butter and cashew butter (which is very sticky). I pressed them very firmly into the pan and they are not at all crumbly, luckily.
Jeanette
EXELLENT…I’M SHARING WITH EVERYONE I KNOW
★★★★★
Kate
Wonderful, Jeanette! Thank you for your review.
Maddi Palser
Just wondering if you could bake this? My kids like crunchy bars….
Kate
Hi! This one isn’t meant for baking, sorry.
Morgan
These are a hit! I used pepitas, walnuts, peanuts, dried cherries and dark chocolate. This will definitely be made a bunch more times in my household!
★★★★★
Kate
Wonderful, Morgan! Thank you for your review.
Anita from Canada
Made with cashew butter, maple syrup, almonds and a bit of dark chocolate. Addictive, but at least I know what I am eating. Mine were a tad crumbly at the sides only, not that big of a deal.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Anita. I’m sorry they seemed a bit crumbly. I’m happy you still enjoyed them.
Samantha Westbrook
Love this! Enjoyed reading your recipe and making my bars! I used chopped dates–my favorite!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Samantha!
dominique
Can I use compound chocolate in this instead of chocolate chips?
Kate
You can try it. Let me know!
Jenny
These are absolutely stellar. Make them now. Seriously!
For those of you from a Mediterranean or Middle Eastern background, they almost taste like a nutritious version of wheat flour halva (not the tahini-based kind), which is an extra point!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for your vote of confidence with this recipe, Jenny! I appreciate your comment and review.
KS
Do you cook the oats?
★★★★★
Kate
Hi! No need to cook.
Meg
Delicious! Made these with pecans, coconut, and sunflower seeds for our mix-ins. Do you see any issue with just cutting them as we want to eat them? Or is it best to individually wrap them after they set?
★★★★★
Kate
Hi Meg! You can, but see the final step, they will stick together :)
Halle
Wonderful recipe! I had fun making them and my family loved the bars!
★★★★★
Claire
Do these need to be refrigerated after being cut? Planning to make these for a road trip.
Kate
Hey Claire, they’ll keep at room temperature for up to a week. Discard if you see or smell anything funny. Safe travels!
Pete Wilson
Greetings from Reno, NV! Kate, I can’t have sugar, maple syrup, agave, honey, etc. I bake with granular stevia. Would this recipe work with that or would it have a problem sticking together? Could I use ripe bananas and stevia together perhaps in lieu of the honey and maple syrup? Thanks! Very much enjoy your website by the way. I’ve been following it for quite some time!
Kate
Hi Pete! I’m sorry to disappoint, but you need the liquid sugar to help hold these together. I don’t think the banana will get you what you want.
Pete Wilson
Thanks kindly for your reply Kate. It’s appreciated!
Kelsea
Pete, have you considered making a syrup out of your stevia? I haven’t tried personally, but if Kate says you need a liquid sweetener, adding stevia and just a few tablespoons of water to a stove top pot, bring to a boil stirring constant and then turning off the heat as soon as it boils would probably render a sticky liquid sweetener. As I said, haven’t used stevia in this way but it’s how you make basic simple syrup. (Usually a different ratio but I would be wary to add too much liquid to this recipe!)
Carolyn
The liquid sweetener helps hold the product together because it contains carbohydrates. Liquefying stevia by adding a liquid to it would not work. The sweetener allulose is now available in the US and should work fine.
Hayley
These were so good. Needed a healthy treat for pre/post strength training and yoga routines, so I used mostly nuts for addins for fat and protein but used a small amount of chocolate too.
★★★★★
Darbs
Wow! These are insanely good and rather addictive! I used almond butter, chopped dark chocolate chunks and various odds and ends of mixed nuts and seeds I had and it all came out perfect. I’d give these a 10 if I could!
★★★★★
Maclean Nash
These are wonderful! I added some puffed rice cereal and added dried cranberries and coconut and pepitas!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for you review, Maclean!
Remo
High recommend these. I’ve made them a few times now I keep them in the freezer and pull them out for hikes. About 2-3 hours into the hike, they’ve warmed up enough to be perfect.
If they’re in the fridge or at room temp., they’ll warm up a little too much on the hike.
★★★★★
Jess
Made these twice now. Used dried apricots choc chips and flax. Was goooood
★★★★★
Melinda Muyargas
I liked the recipe – especially the flexibility of the mix-ins – but with all that honey it is WAY too sweet! Even as I was filling that 1/2 cup of honey, I knew it would be too much, but I didn’t want to omit it incase that would mess up the texture and the result might be too crumbly. Any suggestions on how to make it less sweet but still stick together?
★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Melinda! It took sometime to get this one right, so I recommend it as is. If you find something that works for you, be sure to report back.
Jenny
I wonder if date-paste would work to replace the honey?
★★★★★
carolyn
I used 1 c pecans, 1/2 c dried cherries and 1/2 c pepitas (and maple syrup instead of honey). Mine are pretty gooey but I am not complaining! They are so delicious! And as I was trying to mix my almond butter prior to using it in the recipe, I wonder if some of the moisture in the recipe is dependent upon the brand of nut butter we use and how well we get the oil incorporated.
This batch went in a care package to my college-age son, but I’m excited to try different flavor combos and will make them again soon.
★★★★★
Jess
10 stars!!! Loved these. They are easy to make. I put chopped dried apricots in mine. Only lasted a couple days lol
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Jess! I’m happy you enjoyed this recipe. Sounds like it is time to make more :)
Anita from Vancouver BC
I made these again last night and in the past I have rated them 5 stars. I accidentally used a tsp of ground GINGER rather than cinnamon. While I cook with ginger quite a bit, I am not a fan of ginger tea or “ginger forward food”. These have a bit of a kick, leaving a buzz in my mouth after eating. Perhaps ginger loving fans might like these?
I added 1/2c dark chocolate, 1 1/2 cups almonds,1c of cashew butter made at home. Other ingredients as listed.
T Smith
I made these last night and did a combo of toasted shredded coconut, dark chocolate chunks, and almonds (all chopped to be a smaller) plus a few other modifications. They are so good! Thanks for the awesome and easily customizable base recipe :D
★★★★★
Emma
I’ve tried a lot of granola bar recipes and this one is my favorite so far. I did add dates to have a bit more stick as well as coconut for flavor. I found that they stayed together better after a few days in the fridge. Will be making these again.
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great! Thank you for sharing, Emma.
R.F Jr.
Hi, your food is so great and is made me to cook and eat more food than before. Thank you, I liked.
★★★★★
Linnea
I found this recipe and it looks amazing! The one problem is when I change the scale, the only ingredient that changes is the cinnamon. Thought I should let you know, someone might end up with a bit too much cinnamon in their granola bars! (if too much cinnamon exists!)
Kate
Hi Linnea! I’m sorry you are having issues. Yes, double everything if you change the recipe.
Sharon
Super easy and tasty, my son loves them
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great, Sharon! Thank you for your review.
Lisa Ward
YUM! I love these! Shared this with my parents who don’t use the internet and they love them too.
★★★★★
Lisa
These are SO easy and so delicious – I have a feeling I’ll be making a ton of granola bars in my future! I used sliced almond and dried cherries. I followed the recipe exactly. The amount of honey does make them decently sweet, so if you want it to be less sweet, I think you could do a 1/3 cup of honey and still be ok.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing how you adapted this one, Lisa! I appreciate your review.
Tricia
I made this today. I have lots of dried fruit… meant to make fruit cake a few years ago. Yes, years. Also, I had a jar of cardamom cashew butter I don’t care for as the cardamom is a little too much. I used the cardamom butter, honey, (salt & cinnamon, too)… then added pulverized crystallized ginger, a few tablespoons of flax seed meal, dried peaches, and almonds. I am glad I read about mixing because I wondered for a while if I needed to add water/liquid. These are awesome!! I will be making again. Great to add to my desk drawer rather than eat something worse. I hope dried blueberries and plain ‘ol peanut butter go well together?
★★★★★
Janie
Katie I’m a diabetic and this was perfect control for my diabetes Thanks a million help for a great breakfast on the go. Thanks Janie
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Janie! Thank you for your review.
Lisa
I followed the recipe exactly—except for only using half the maple syrup because I don’t like granola bars that are very sweet. I guess I should have cut the amount of oats too, because I ended up with a pan full of crumbs.
Kate
Hi! Sorry, but changing the sweetener will impact how they stick together.
Lucie
I made these with peanut butter, honey, almonds, dried apricots and chocolate chips and they were delicious. I doubled the recipe and ended up using about 1 cup and a half of peanut butter and 3/4 cup honey, because I added it progressively and it held together before I used up the whole amount. I blitzed the almonds and then remembered that they might taste better roasted, so I put them in the toaster oven all blitzed up. I wished the recipe had suggested to roast before blitzing, because roasted nuts have a lot more flavor, especially in a no bake recipe like this. But apart for this minor detail, I am really grateful for this great, easy, delicious recipe, and will be making it again!
★★★★
Kate
That does sound delicious, Lucie! Thank you for your review.
Lucy Conway
Thank you for the recipe. I have a question. It does not look like you toasted the nuts and seeds. Can I bake this recipe for a few minutes or will it ruin the recipe? If I decide to bake it, what temperature and time would yo suggest?
I know that this is a no bake recipe but was just wondering if it could be baked. Thanks.
Kate
Hi! I don’t recommend baking this recipe as it wasn’t designed to be baked. Sorry!
Jemma Brinker
Can you use coconut flour instead of oats?
★★★★
Kate
Coconut will not be a good substitute.
Kimberly
These are amazing! So chewy, dense and flavorful. When I make them I eat way more than I should in one shot…
★★★★★
Caroline Spector
I love the recipe for the no-bake granola bars, but they fall apart! Maybe I was making them too thin. Any tips on how to fix this (after 12 hours in fridge).
★★★★
Kate
Hi! I’m sorry to hear that. What size of dish are you using? If they are too thin, they will fall apart. Make sure you press them down firmly as well.
Maya
I can already tell that these are going to be addicting, and they haven’t even finished chilling yet. I had to try to stop myself from licking the bowl! Anyway, here are my notes for those who are curious:
– Add-ins: I didn’t have many options (I do think I would have loved it even more had I used dried fruit), so I used hazelnuts I found in the back of my pantry as well as cacao nibs, and they gave it a good crunch.
– Consistency: I’ve seen a lot of people commenting that it was very crumbly, but I didn’t seem to have that problem. But we’ll see in the morning!
– Sweetness: This is my only criticism, and I honestly didn’t mind this that much. I found the bars to be very sweet, and the was after I had dialed the maple syrup from 1/2 a cup to 1/3 cup. I understand that the maple syrup/honey content stated is probably best for the texture, but for those who don’t like sweet stuff very much, maybe dial it down a little?
Overall it was amazing and I highly recommend it!
★★★★
Kate
I appreciate your detail, Maya! Thank you for your review.
Pam
Absolutely delicious!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m happy you enjoyed them, Pam! I appreciate your review.
Zainab
Fantastic! Made exactly as listed except cut the cinnamon to 1/2 tsp and dry toasted the oats and nuts first. I used honey, and my mix-ins were: 1 cup almonds, 1/4 cup pecans, 1/4 cup flax seeds, 1/4 cup pepitas, 1/4 cup chopped dates.
★★★★★
Miriam
A big hit with my kids. Not sure there will be enough left for breakfast Day 2… Made these with pecans and walnuts, chocolate chips, a few dates and dried cranberries. One note – we used sea salt but it wasn’t fine enough. Will use regular salt next time.
★★★★★
Kate
That’s fantastic! I’m happy you enjoyed them, Miriam. Thank you for your review!
Jake
I grind the sea salt with a mortar and pestle to make it finer and it seems to work well and it’s so much nicer than regular table salt.
Evie
Thank you for your recipe! Can I make a big batch and freeze this?
★★★★★
Kate
Hi! See step 8.
Stephanie Bulanda
These are so tasty! And so versatile. Mine were very crumbly though (no biggie, just ate over yogurt with blueberries).
I used maple syrup and a combination of almond and peanut butter. Would using more peanut butter help? I also tried to use the dates and ended up adding more maple syrup as it looked like the mixture was very dry. I did tamp is down into the pan with a mason jar and pressed very firmly.
I would absolutely love to perfect the making of these granola bars and stop buying granola bars from the store. (These are wayyyyyy better)
Kate
Hi Stephanie, I found that slight variance of the liquid ingredients can impact your results. Or if you nut butters were extra thick that can impact your results. Let me know if you try it again!
LeeAnna
I have been looking for a granola bar recipe exactly like this. It is perfect!! A huge hit with the whole family. I can’t wait to play around with the mix-ins and try different combos.
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great! Thank you for you review.
Heather
Kate, I love your recipes! You’re my go-to for so many recipes now. I love these granola bars, and like some others have mentioned I’d like a way to lower the sugar a bit. I made a batch where I used between 1/3 and 1/2 cup maple syrup (so, reducing it slightly) and slightly more peanut butter (like a rounded cupful – probably adding maybe 1/8c more – sorry for my inexact measurements!). I made sure to really press down the bars more thoroughly than usual. They are beautiful! Much less crumbly than my past batches. I also use less mix-ins and it works well. :-)
★★★★★
Susan lips
These bars are delicious with unsweetened coconut, nuts, Lily’s chocolate chips (sweetened with stevia) and Sukrin syrup. I’ve made several batches this way, leaving out the dried fruits.
★★★★★
Adriann
Hello! We love this recipe and use it often. Have you ever tried subbing plain popcorn for the oats?
Sandra Lechner
Hi. I will try this recipe and let you know. It sounds amazing!
Deborah
These are insanely good. The longer they sit in the fridge the more the flavors come out. Cant wait to make these again
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for your review! I’m happy you enjoyed them.
Alyssa H.
SO GOOD! I had so much confidence in your recipes that I made a double batch.. really glad I did. Delicious.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you loved it, Alyssa!
Teri
Are these soft or crunchy?
Kate
They are a mixture of soft with some crunchy aspects with the nuts mixed in. I hope that helps!
Teri
Yes it does, thank you!
Eva
Yum yum yum yum yum
★★★★★
Kim
My kids love these granol bars. I can only add 1/2 cup of nuts, anything more and the bars fall apart. We make these quite often. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Jeri Radcliffe
Thank you for Sharing this
I love the way you wrote about everything you had to say about your ingredients.
It really makes it easy when people you serve like this and that.
Szandra
Would this work with pecan butter instead of almond/peanut?
Kate
It should work, too. Let me know what you think!
Dee Dee
Loved it! Will make again for sure, thank you!
★★★★★
Lauren W
These are delish! I’ve been eating them as a healthy dessert :) They are so good fresh out of the fridge.
I used some trail mix that has been sitting in my pantry for a while + chocolate chips for the mix-ins. Throwing everything in the blender was the key to making this have such a nice texture.
Will make again.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Lauren! I’m excited you plan to make these again.
Cathy
Loved this recipe! I didn’t have honey, so I substituted with powdered sugar. And I wanted to add a little more texture, so I used crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy. A problem did arise when I was mixing the dry and wet ingredients; it was too dry. I added some water, and that seemed to make a nice consistency. This was probably just because I substituted a liquid (honey) for a powder (sugar.) It turned out delicious nontheless, and is definitely a redo. Thank you!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Cathy! I’m glad they still turned out for you.
Ashley Barnes
So I get busy in the morning and sometimes the kids don’t want cereal but I’m not able to cook breakfast. I found these. I used a sugar free imitation honey, fair life chocolate chips in dark chocolate, and this salad pizazz with dried cherries and walnuts (they taste great on their own and are highly addictive!). I was eating the mix before putting it in the fridge. These are yummy!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad you enjoyed them, Ashley.
Baljinder Dhesi
Hi my father in law loves healthy granola bars so I thought why not makes this recipe and gift it to him on Father’s Day, he along with his 2 sons loved them, they each bagged some to take home, thank you so much, the recipe was super easy to follow and I had all the ingredients at home and I was able to whip them up super fast.
★★★★★
Kate
How sweet! I’m excited they were such a hit. I appreciate your review.
Lauren
I’ve made these every week since I discovered the recipe 3 weeks ago. I’ve tried a random mixture of nuts/dried fruit/chocolate chips and the bars turn out delicious every time. I’m thinking I might need to start doubling the recipe because they don’t last through an entire week! They make a great breakfast, snack and even a healthy dessert. Thanks for sharing Kate (and Cookie)!
★★★★★
Kate
I love that! Thanks for taking the time to comment how you are making your granola bars.
mariam
Hello,
I tried the recipe the taste is amazing, super healthy as a breakfast or snacks for the family, but when i cut it is crumbling!!! May I know why?/ otherwise it is super yummy
★★★★★
Kate
Hi! I’m sorry it is falling apart. Did you firmly pack it down?
Anna
Super easy yet wonderful recipe, thank you! Added some lemon zest too, goes really well with the shredded coconut.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing your variation, Anna. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Gisella
Hi, could I replace the Peanut butter with PB2 for lower calorie option?
Kate
Hi, you need a wet nut butter for these to work.
Emma
I was wondering if a date-paste would work to replace the peanut butter, since it’s also going to be sticky and wet?
Kate
I haven’t tried it, Emma. If you try it, let me know!
Rachel | Approaching Home
I made it with a little less honey and I stuck it in the freezer for an hour or so, it turned out great!! So good!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Rachel. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
MOIRA LARDAKIS
Thoughts on replacing the honey with agave?
Kate
I haven’t tried it in this, sorry! Maple syrup works too.
Morgan
Love this recipe! I used 3/4c pecans, 3/4c walnuts, 1/4c dark chocolate, and 1/4c pretzels (all chopped in my food processor) for my mix-in’s and chose peanut butter and maple syrup and they were delicious!
★★★★★
Tania
I have made these twice and I’m extremely happy with them. I especially love how easy they are. Instead of honey I used liquid chicory root sweetener.
★★★★★
Kate
Great to hear, Tania! I appreciate your review.
Chui Chui Toh
Hi Kate, possible to add in some coconut oil and reduce the honey so it won’t be so sweet?
Kate
I recommend this recipe as is for best results.
Re
I’m obsessed with this treat and have eaten my bars for dinner three nights this week, Delicious!
★★★★★
Karen T
Love how flexible this recipe is! It helped me use up a lot of the odds and ends I had leftover in my pantry: oats, hemp, chia, raisins, mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, pecans, unsweetened coconut, natural peanut butter, maple syrup–I didn’t need to buy a thing. And, YUM! (Congrats on Clover and the upcoming birth of your daughter!)
★★★★★
Penny
These were easy and taste good but are not really granola bars in my opinion. They are more like energy balls – and it would probably be easy to turn them into those.
Anna
I made these for my 3 young kiddos and they just love them. I really enjoy them myself and it’s so nice to give my family a wholesome snack that doesn’t have rice syrup, palm sugar and all the other things you find in store bought bars. Oh and I forgot to mention how easy and FUN they are to make!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Anna! I’m glad you enjoyed them.
Nancy
These granola bars are great. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Pete Wilson
Thanks so much Kelsea. I’ll give that a try!
Holly Peno
I’ve been making these granola bars since the beginning of summer2021 here in Italy and my picky but sporty elder teens LoVes them! Even my husband adores them! As I make a new batch today my eldest said her friend wants the recipe! Thank you for this life & time saver! See you in IG w/photos!
Kate
That’s great, Holly!
Amanda
These were easy and delicious!
★★★★★
Kate
Wonderful, Amanda! Thank you for your review.
Susan Phillips
All best wishes to you and the addition to your family!
I’ve just made these bars for the second time and though you don’t have it as a category, you can truly add these bars to “make it no-sugar added” by substituting Sukrin syrup for the honey or maple syrup and using unsweetened coconut, all nuts and Lily’s chocolate chips. And both times I’ve simply mixed them with one hand and no spoon – much easier for my old craftsman hands and really not messy at all. :)
These are very high quality substitutions (I have no interest in the companies!) that compacted beautifully and allowed me to easily cut them into 32 squares. Fantastic flavor and texture. I can always count on you.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Susan! I appreciate you sharing how you made these.
Lilian
Hi, has anyone tried making these with chia seeds?
Sehaj
this is a great recipe made it for my family they loved it
*mmm
*mmmm
*mmmmm
★★★★★
Kay
These were delicious. I used natural peanut butter and honey. I will say these are substantial and calorie rich. Would be good to take camping or hiking, as long as they don’t sit in the heat. Must be sure you measure carefully. I had a bit too much butter and honey, so they were a little sticky. I will be careful next time.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for your feedback, Kay!
Elizabeth Yates
hi how many calories are in a bar
Kate
Hi Elizabeth, The nutritional information is below the notes section of the recipe.
Tina Riddle
Just found this recipe for Easy No-Bake Granola Bars. I cannot wait to try it! It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for!
Maureen
Hi,
I’ve made these several times and they are outstanding! Sweet enough without too much. Full of our favorite seeds, nuts, and chocolate. My kids and husband enjoy them as a sweet snack. One issue is that I tried to double the recipe using your scale button to 2X. The only item that changed was cinnamon. I would love to know if you just double the all the ingredients or if anything else changes. THANK YOU!
Kate
I’m glad they loved it!
Zhozan
Made a few times now they are great. Make them for wife to bring to work in the morning. She asked me to not change the recipe she likes as in.
★★★★★
Gaby
Hey can I use cashew butter for these? I don’t really care for peanut butter or almond butter. Thanks.
Kate
HI Gaby! It should work. I haven’t tried it, so please let me know how it works for you!
Lia
I’ve been eating baked oatmeal for too long…and was desperately looking for another option for breakfast. And then I discovered your EasyNoBakedGranola(with oatmeal). It’s fantastically good! I make this every other week to add to my Greek yogurt. I crumble the granola and use your recipe ChiaBerryJam as a topping! It’s filled with so much goodness, I feel marvelously healthy! ThankYOU so much for your wonderful recipes!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Lia!
Chris L
These have to be the best no bake Granola Bars ever. I made them with macadamia nuts crushed into chunks and goji berries. They were gone in one sitting after everyone tasted them. Thanks for sharing Kate. Well done!
★★★★★
Anais
Hey Kate! The recipe is delicious!
However, the granola bars don’t stick for me… It’s too fragile. I don’t understand because I followed the recipe. Any advices…?
Thank you very much :)
★★★★★
Kate
Hi! I’m sorry to hear that. Did you press it down firmly? How did you chop the ingredients?
Ashley
These are an awesome way to use up all the random half eaten bags of nuts/seeds/etc that I have in the pantry, and so delicious too! After I make them I keep them in the freezer and pull them out as needed! Thank you for this recipe.
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Ashley!
Erin
I made these last night and they turned out fantastic! Everyone gave them a thumbs up!
(A little crumbly, but I think it was due to the ingredients I used) I had a bag of granola sitting around that no one cared for and I used it as my “mix-in” I used chunky peanut butter. I can’t wait to try again with a different combination of mix-ins. I plan on cleaning out the pantry of all the little bits of random nuts, fruits, etc.
★★★★★
Mary Ann
These bars are the best!! My boyfriend and me are obsessed with them. I make them every week!!! Only thing is mine don’t look nearly as nice as yours. Lol.
As a fellow vegetarian and animal lover, finding your site was like finding the whole grail. You have the best recipes!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m happy you enjoyed it, Mary! Thank you for sharing.
Millie
Eating these as I type this review. Aside from being slightly crumbly (which is no problem as I can eat them happily with a spoon), these make for a decadent feel-good wholesome breakfast! For the mix-in’s I used 1 cup pecans, 1/2 cup roasted hazelnuts, 1/4 cup mini semi sweet chips, 1/8 cup slightly chopped sea salt caramel chips from Trader Joe’s, 1/4 cup chia seeds and 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut. I used 1/2 cup maple syrup and about 3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter to bind the dry ingredients. Added a generous dash of vanilla bean powder in addition to the vanilla extract and voila! Easily the heavenliest homemade granola bar I’ve ever had.
Vanessa Kosloski
Sooo good! My kids love them! And I love them! Only issue is I want to sit and eat the whole pan in one sitting!! Thanks!
Kate
Wonderful to hear Vanessa! Thank you for sharing.
Kathee McNulty
I made this granola recipe using maple syrup and almonds and shredded coconut – D E L I C I O U S !!!!!!!!!!!!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Kathee!