My Homemade Granola Bars Recipe is a chewy, crunchy, flavor packed no- bake recipe! As perfect as lunch box snack or an on-the-go treat these are salty, sweet, healthy and adaptable.
Granola Bars Are An Easy No Bake Snack!
Trust me, I buy granola bars ALL the time…I’m not over here making homemade granola bars for my wee precious children to pack in their bento box lunches. My kids buy lunch at school more than we pack, and grab Oreos more often than they eat a Homemade Granola Bar. BUT with all that said, I do really love making snacks for my family…I just don’t do it as often as I should!
And this recipe is the ultimate example. These Granola Bars are SO easy to make, completely adaptable to suit any taste, and have the perfect salty/sweet bite. Plus, making granola bars from scratch makes me happy. It’s a thing.
Are Granola Bars Good For You?
Being able to control the ingredients that go into your bars gives you the power!
While I am certainly no nutritionist, I can say that making granola bars homemade certainly allows you to control what goes into them. If you’re trying to cut back on sugar, leave out the chocolate chips, or want to add a little protein, go ahead and throw in a scoop of protein powder or nuts!
Are These Granola Bars Chewy or Crunchy?
My recipe for granola bars gives you chewy bars that are filled with crunchy ingredients…make sense? So while pretzels and granola are crunchy, they are, as a whole, a chewy bar…got it?
What Ingredients Do You Need To Make Granola Bars?
I take a major shortcut in these bars my starting with a pre-made granola. You can ABSOLUTELY make your own granola and use that as the base if you wan to go completely “from scratch”. But for the sake of keeping it easy, I usually use store bought. Here are the other ingredients:
- Honey Brown, Brown Sugar, and Butter. The mixture of these 3 ingredients creates the binding. It holds your bars together while keeping them chewy.
- Rice Krispies Cereal. The addition of crispy rice cereal adds crunch!
- Raisins and Chocolate Chips. These are actually both optional ingredients in terms of flavor. If you hate raisins, omit them and add in some nuts or more granola in their place. Don’t want to add chocolate chips? No problem, leave them out!
- Pretzels. I got a little creative with my recipe and added some broken pretzels. I love the salty crunch they add!
How To Make Chewy Granola Bars
The secret to keeping these chewy is the combo of butter, honey, and brown sugar AND the fact that you don’t bake these!
You could certainly bake them if you prefer they are crunchy, but it’s no necessary! If you were to bake them, I would recommend baking at 300°F for 25 minutes. Cut them in the pan while they are still warm and then allow them to cool completely to crisp up!
How Can You Switch Up This Recipe?
This is an easy recipe to make your own. Just remember the trick to these bars working is the ratio of mix-ins to the honey/butter/sugar. If you add in too many extras you will end up with dry, crumbly bars. If you omit some of the mix-ins and don’t replace them with something else, you will have sticky, soft bars. So just keep the proportions intact! Here are a few ideas to get you started, but you can be creative and come up with your own:
- Use any flavor granola you like! There are so many fun flavors on the market now, this is an easy place to start! I usually just use an Oats & Honey flavored granola, which is a great place to start!
- Skip the raisins and use another type of dried fruit. Craisins are great in these…especially if you swap out the chocolate and peanut butter chips for white chips! Dried cherries paired with chocolate chips would be delicious as well! The possibilities are endless!
- Add nuts or seeds! Of course you can add nuts to these…I would start with 1/2 cup chopped nuts in place of 1/2 cup of the other ingredients.
- Protein powder. If you like protein powder you can absolutely use some in this recipe. Mix it into the honey mixture to make sure it gets dissolved!
Make Sure Your Granola Bars Don’t Fall Apart!
It’s the special combination of honey, brown sugar, and butter that is the special sauce to holding the bars together. I played around with a lot of different measurements for the “glue”, and I came up with the perfect combo. They hold together beautifully, but are not too sticky!
And don’t forget you have to press the granola mixture into the pan firmly to hold together as well. The tighter you pack the bars, the more dense they will be! The lighter you pack the granola, the more likely you are to having your bars fall apart.
How Long Do These Last?
These keep really well at room temperature, as long as you store them airtight! You can use a zip-top bag, or an airtight container with a lid.
If you stack them in a container, I do recommend placing a sheet of parchment paper down in between the layers so they don’t stick together!
Can You Freeze Granola Bars?
Absolutely! You can freeze these granola bars in an airtight container for up to 2 months!
Looking For More Granola Recipes? Try These:
Description:
These Easy No Bake Granola Bars are the perfect lunch box treat or snack on the go!
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups granola, any flavor you prefer
- 1 cup Rice Krispies
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup thin pretzel sticks broken in half
- 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup peanut butter chips
Instructions:
- Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper or foil. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan or Dutch oven on medium-high heat, combine the brown sugar, honey, butter, and salt, stirring frequently until the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the granola, Rice Krispies, raisins, pretzels, and salt until evenly combined.
- Press the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Press the chocolate and peanut butter chips evenly into the top.
- Place the pan in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to set.
- Remove the bars from the pan using the parchment or foil. Cut into 2 x 3- inch bars.
Notes:
You can use any brand or flavor granola you prefer.
You can use any combination of 1/2 chips you like
Store airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days
Keywords:: cookies and cups, granola bars, homemade granola bars, chewy granola bars, no bake granola bars, no bake recipe
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