Name: Healthy Granola Bars
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 24
Ingredients: 4 cups Old-fashioned rolled oats; 1 cup roughly chopped nuts - we love almonds; 1/2 cup Sunflower seeds; 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes; 1/2 cup raisins or craisins; 1 cup honey; 2/3 creamy peanut butter; 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 cup chocolate chips

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These healthy granola bars will make your taste buds sing with joy and are filled with ingredients that not only can you pronounce, unlike the granola bars at most grocery stores, but you can also readily find. The base of the bar is oats, peanut butter, and honey. The remaining ingredients have a variety of mix-in ingredients that you can sub out for your own favorite, or follow the recipe precisely.

There's something about creating something that you know they cannot duplicate in the stores. Something about making a recipe for your family that is void of an endless list of ingredients.

I've honestly been experimenting with a healthy granola bar recipe for years. I would make one and then eventually get tired of the amount of time it took to prep, bake, cut, and store. All too soon, I would be grabbing the healthiest version of granola bars off the shelf, or buying outrageously expensive ones online that actually were healthy!

As much as I like the healthy ones from Trim Healthy, I just can't consistently spend over three dollars a bar! However, when I am pregnant, I do stock up on them for postpartum and that has always been helpful.

These crunchy or chewy (depending on how long you bake them) are easy to put together and are a crowd pleaser.

One of the reasons I have transitioned to making our own granola bars is that my children love granola bars as snacks, and I honestly couldn't afford the amount they would consume! These are not only a healthier alternative, but much easier on our budget!

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Ingredients
Instructions
Variations
Equipment
Storage
Top tip
FAQ
Related
Healthy Granola Bars

Ingredients

For this recipe, you will need very basic ingredients. Many times they are ingredients that are already in your pantry. Don't forget that you can vary the ingredients based on what you have on hand. Leave the oats, honey, and peanut butter as the base of the recipe and vary the remaining ingredients.

Old-fashioned rolled oats
Roughly chopped nuts - we love almonds
Sunflower seeds
Unsweetened coconut flakes
Raisins or craisins
Honey
Creamy peanut butter
Pure vanilla extract➡️ Grab my homemade recipe here
Ground cinnamon
Redmon Real Salt➡️ Take 15% off your order with code HEALINGHOME
Lily's Chocolate chips

See the recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking pans with parchment paper so that the two sides of the paper hang over the edges like handles.

Mixing ingredients for healthy granola bars

Add the oats, nuts, pumpkin seeds, unsweetened coconut flakes, and raisins or craisins into a bowl. Combine well.

Add the honey, peanut butter, and vanilla. Mix everything together well. This part gets hard to do by hand, so alternatively you can use a mixer.

Scooping healthy granola bars into baking dish

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan. With the back of a spatula, press the bars into a single layer. If you need to use your fingers, it helps to wet your hands.

Press chocolate chips into the bars before baking.

Bake the healthy granola bars for 15 to 20 minutes: 20 minutes will yield crunchier bars; at 15 they will be slightly chewier. With the bars still in the pan, score the bars to your desired size. Let the bars completely cool before removing them.

Once the bars have cooled completely, use the parchment to lift them out. Use a knife to cut the bars again in the same scoring place. Pull apart and enjoy!

Hint: If you need to use your hands to press the batter into the pans, make sure to wet your hands first. This will help with the amount of stickiness!

Variations

There are many different ways you can vary this recipe. Keep the oats, honey, and peanut butter as the base of the recipe, and then vary the remaining ingredients based on your own preference or what you have on hand! I often am out of pumpkin seeds so I just add in a few more nuts, crasins, or raisins!

Chia seeds
Apricots
Dark Chocolate
Dried apples
Cloves spices

Also, see an additional granola bar favorite in my family here. It uses baobab and is low-carb!

Equipment

Mixing bowls
Measuring cups and spoons
Baking pans (recommended 9x13) ➡️ I love cast iron options in my kitchen!
Parchment paper ➡️ Shop unbleached here.

Storage

These store fine on the countertop for up to one week. Make sure to use a sealed or airtight container.

If you want to freeze them, I recommend individually wrapping them and then placing them in a freezer bag for long-term storage. Here are my favorite reusable freezer bags. They even come with a drying rack!

Top tip

20 minutes will yield crunchier bars. At 15 minutes they will be slightly chewier.

FAQ

Do I need to use sugar-free chocolate chips

No. However, if you are living the THM lifestyle, this recipe would be a crossover, and keeping the ingredients on plan with THM would be necessary.

Can I use a peanut butter alternative?

Yes. Any alternative will yield a similar result to the original recipe.

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