Here’s a homemade treat you can feel good about giving to your family. These from-scratch granola bars are loaded with nutritious ingredients that will keep you fuller longer (and they’re really easy to make, too!)
With back-to-school season in full swing, I’ve been stocking our freezer with quick and easy school snacks like muffins, cookies, and the homemade granola bars I’ve been making for almost 15 years now.
I first stumbled across a similar recipe in 2010, and it was good. But after tweaking it a bit, I created what I now refer to as my “winning granola bar recipe,” and I’ve been using it ever since.
We Love these Easy Granola Bars
These granola bars are as easy to make as Rice Krispies bars, but a lot more filling and more nutritious, too.
They are great any time of year, but especially nice when I need to pack lots of school lunches each week.
If you love a little sweet, a little savory, a little chewy, a little crunchy, and a little chocolatey, I just know you’ll love these from-scratch granola bars as much as my family does!
Ingredients for Homemade Granola Bars:
- 2 c. oats (I often use 1 c. quick oats and 1 c. traditional)
- 2 c. crisp rice or quiona cereal
- 1/4 c. ground flaxseed
- 2 T. wheat germ (optional, if you’re not gluten-free)
- 2 T. vanilla or chocolate protein powder (optional)
- 1/4 t. sea salt
- 3/4 c. honey (or corn syrup)
- 3/4 c. peanut butter (or nut-free alternative)
- 1 t. vanilla
- 1/2 c. chopped nuts or seeds of choice
- 1/2 c. mini chocolate chips or dried fruit
Ingredient Substitutions
As with most of my recipes, there is plenty of opportunity to swap and substitute ingredients based on your taste preferences, what you already have in the house, or what’s on sale at the store!
Oats: I often use a mixture of quick oats and traditional oats — just because I like the texture of the larger oat flakes, but I like how the smaller-cut quick oats stick together better. Both have the exact same nutritional properties, so it’s simply a matter of preference.
Rice 0r Quinoa Cereal: I love the crunchy texture this adds to the bars! Feel free to experiment with chocolate versions of either cereal, or use more oats if that’s what you have in the house. Sometimes I also add buckwheat groats for extra crunch.
Ground Flaxseed (or flaxseed meal): This is optional; I just always throw a few tablespoons in with smoothies and most of my baked goods because it adds some fiber. If you’re using it, make sure it’s “ground” or “meal” because our bodies can’t actually absorb whole flaxseeds, so they just pass right through 🙂
Wheat Germ: also optional, and something I add to a variety of baked goods for more fiber.
Protein Powder: another optional ingredient if you’re looking to boost the protein factor a bit. It really doesn’t change the texture at all, but if you use chocolate, it will make the bars darker (see picture of bars below).
Honey versus Corn Syrup: I originally used corn syrup for this recipe, but over the years, I’ve switched to honey — which is more nutritious and less processed. However, the corn syrup is “stickier,” so your bars will hold together better with corn syrup. You could also use half of each.
Peanut Butter: feel free to swap out any of your favorite nut-butter-alternatives if you’re allergic or your kids can’t take it to school.
Mix-Ins: You can use whatever you want here — just use around 1 cup total of nuts, seeds, dried fruit, or chocolate chips. Also, your bars will stick together better if your mix-ins are chopped into smaller pieces.
How to Make Granola Bars from Scratch
1. In a large bowl, stir the oats, cereal, flaxseed, wheat germ, protein powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a small microwave-safe dish, mix honey, peanut butter, and vanilla until smooth.
NOTE: I sometimes microwave for 15-30 seconds to help “thin” it down a bit. (Do NOT boil it or your bars will be rock hard).
3. Pour honey mixture over dry ingredients — mix well.
4. Stir in nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and/or chocolate chips.
5. Dump mixture into a 9″ x 13″ pan lined with wax paper.
6. Put another piece of wax paper on top of the mixture and press down with a flat-bottom measuring cup.
7. Refrigerate for at least one hour, or until firm enough to cut.
8. Cut into bars and store in an air-tight container.
NOTE: I cut mine into 24 bars that were about 1″ x 4″ (8 rows by 3 rows). I used a bench scraper because it cuts really straight lines — but a long knife would work just fine too.
9. Store individually wrapped in plastic wrap or in an air-tight container for up to a week. Or, throw them in the freezer for up to 6 months!
These Granola Bars Freeze Wonderfully!
This is a great recipe to double (or even triple) because they freeze so well.
Just make sure to cut and separate them into individual bars before freezing so you can quickly “grab-and-go” when you’re making lunches or doling out snacks later on.
From-Scratch Granola Bars
These from-scratch granola bars are loaded with nutritious ingredients that will keep you fuller longer (and they're really easy to make, too!)
Ingredients
- 2 c. oats (quick oats will stick together better than whole oats)
- 2 c. crisp rice or quinoa cereals
- 1/4 c. ground flaxseed (optional)
- 2 T. wheat germ (optional, if you’re not gluten-free)
- 2 T. vanilla or chocolate protein powder (optional)
- 1/4 t. sea salt
- 3/4 c. honey (or corn syrup)
- 3/4 c. peanut butter (or nut-free alternative)
- 1 t. vanilla
- 1/2 c. chopped nuts or seeds of choice
- 1/2 c. mini chocolate chips or dried fruit
Instructions
1. In a large bowl, mix the oats, cereal, flaxseed, wheat germ, protein powder, and salt. Set aside
2. In a small microwave-safe dish, mix honey, peanut butter, and vanilla until smooth (you may microwave for 15-30 seconds to help the mixture come together).
3. Pour honey mixture over dry ingredients — mix well.
4. Stir in nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and/or chocolate chips.
5. Press mixture into a 9″ x 13″ pan lined with wax paper.
6. Put another piece of wax paper over the top of the oat mixture and use a flat-bottom measuring cup to press the mixture flat.
7. Refrigerate for at least an hour so the bars can firm up a bit.
8. Cut into bars and store in an air-tight container.
NOTE: I cut mine into 24 bars, about 1″ x 4″ (8 rows by 3 rows). I used a bench scraper because it cuts really straight lines — but a long knife would work just fine too.
Notes
These bars are very freezer-friendly -- just make sure to cut them into bars before freezing so you can easily grab one or two whenever you need them for lunches or on-the-go events.
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Nutrition Information
Yield
24Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 203Total Fat 9gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 0mgSodium 129mgCarbohydrates 26gFiber 3gSugar 13gProtein 6g
Nutritional information is approximate and does not account for additional ingredients or added toppings.
This recipe is our family’s favorite homemade granola bar recipe — good enough that I stopped looking for better recipes almost 15 years ago. I just filed this one away, and it’s been going strong all these years later!
Do you have a favorite granola bar recipe? If so, leave it in the comments!
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Karen Rueger says
These are great! I made them with half corn flakes and half cheerios instead of the rice crispies, and they were still great! I added butterscotch chips and they have flavors of scotcharoos. Great recipe.
Andrea says
oh yummy! I love it when people take my recipes and make changes based on what’s in the pantry! Thanks for sharing your twist on our family-favorite recipe!
Sarah says
These are SO good! I wanted to freeze some for later. Alas, they didn’t make it but a few days. The guys couldn’t keep their mitts off 😉
Definitely a new favorite.
Kristine says
These are the best granola bars I ever made. I substitute sunbutter for peanut butter and did 1/2 chocolate chips and 1/2 shredded coconut. Kids devoured them. Thanks for the recipe!
Lisa says
Delicious!!! What do I do if I want to omit the peanut butter. Hubby doesn’t like pb in his? TIA
Kahlia says
My go-to is almond butter because 2 of my little ones have peanut allergies. I’ve also used sunbutter (ground sun flower seeds). I’m sure you could use any nut butter you like. Cashews might be nice!
This recipe is my absolute favorite! It lends itself to so many substitutions and always comes out awesome! My family of 5 loves it!
Minuit54 says
I’d also been looking for a granola bar recipe, and I’d also been looking for one that could be made with common ingredients already in the pantry. You’re talking my language! Thanks for the information, and best of luck with your business.
mary says
If I use ground flax seed don’t I have to keep them in the refrigerator?
Therefore I cannot put them in the lunch bag for school.
Krista says
I’ve made these probably six times and have always left out the flax seed and wheat germ. This last time I tried throwing in a 1/4 cup of steel cut oats just for the fun of it. They came out great! If you are worried about the flax seed and want to send them in kids’ lunches, just leave it out. They work great without it.
Candace says
Just a bit of advice- don’t substitute molasses in as a sweetener unless you really, really like the flavor of it! I think it is ok, but not my favorite. I added 1/4 cup and it overwhelmed the flavor of everything else in the bars! Without the molasses, these are great and easy!
Soli says
We make these all the time now and our 4 kids eat them nearly everyday in their school lunches. To make them more healthy we use quick oats, organic brown rice cereal (looks like rice crispies but theyre brown), real natural peanut butter (only ingredient is peanuts), organic honey, organic turbinado sugar, organic unsweetened shredded coconut, raw chopped almonds, and dark chocolate chips. They are so good and for my family of 6 I always double the recipe. We keep them in a large Tupperware container in the fridge and they stay great. Definitely refrigerate them after you put them in the pan and before cutting. They stay together great. Thanks for this awesome recipe!
Heather says
Looks like a great recipe! I have a child with wheat sensitivity, so instead of wheat germ, I’ll add a couple scoops of protein powder. You can get it in most grocery stores these days. It adds some more nutrition to the bars, and it doesn’t really change the flavor. I use the vanilla kind. 🙂
Hallie says
Just a tip if you use chocolate chips – freeze your chocolate chips before mixing into the hot granola and you will avoid the chocolate goo and have bars that look more like the ones you buy. The freezing will keep the chocolate chips intact while being mixed into the hot granola and makes it much less messy! 🙂
Nicole says
this may sound silly, but i am a novice at “from sratch” baking. (my family is impressed with my baking when i add things to store bought mix, we are so not used to real baking.) here are some questions i can’t seem to find the answer to on google:
what does the corn syrup do? if i use honey instead will something bad happen? i like the taste of honey, but every granola bar recipe i tried had honey in it and they never kept their shape. will corn syrup help with that?
also if i want to use wheat germ and exclude flax seed, should i bump up the wheat germ in the recipe to account for excluding the ground flax seed?
thanks guys.
TKDmom says
I have packets of plain instant oatmeal laying around that my kids will NOT eat. Do you think I could use them in this recipe?
Melissa says
Is there any way to make these without the peanut butter so they would then be school friendly.
schoe says
I use sunflower seed butter in place of peanut butter- you can’t tell the difference and I have to put in a note to teachers explaining that it is sunflower seed and not peanut butter. They’re that similar.
Lindsey says
Hi I waas wondering if you have tried freezing these yet? For how long can they be in the Freezer for??? Has anyone tried putting in mini m&m’s?
Thanks
Lindsey
Andrea says
Yup, I freeze them ALL the time and they turn out great. And I’d definitely give the M&M’s a try… I’m pretty sure they would work!
patty says
I made these and couldn’t get them to firm up and hold together … but they are super-yummy. I think I didn’t get the whole thing mixed soon enough so the corn syrup, honey, pb mixture started to cool before I got all the fixins mixed in. Still worth the very easy effort … and I will try to do things faster next time so I get better “bars” instead of yummy chunks! Thanks for sharing this!!
Krystina says
Just made these, they are cooling in the fridge. I doubled the recipe and instead of using a 9 X 13 cake pan I used a medium sized jelly roll pan. Lined with wax paper, topped with wax paper and rolled a rolling pin over the top. I can just take out the wax paper and cut with a regular knife. Yum!