Homemade Granola Bars
Posted Jan 19, 2025
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These homemade granola bars are more delicious than store bought! This granola bar recipe is easy to make with 7 ingredients in 15 minutes!
I love making homemade versions of our family’s favorite on-the-go snacks (like fruit snacks, energy balls, etc), and this granola bar recipe is one of our favorites.
These homemade granola bars are made with 7 nutritious ingredients, and zero preservatives or artificial flavors.
Their flavor – imparted from butter, honey, brown sugar and vanilla – is absolutely irresistible. Once you take one bite of these homemade granola bars, you will say, “goodbye” to store bought varieties once and for all.
Homemade Granola Bars: Ingredients & Substitutions
- Salted butter. unsalted butter, coconut oil and ghee are all good substitutes.
- Honey. I don’t recommend substitutes for honey. Maple syrup works, but it will (obviously) impart a maple flavor.
- Light brown sugar. for a bolder molasses taste, use dark brown sugar.
- Quick-cooking oats. The texture is the best with quick cooking oats. If you only have old-fashioned (or rolled) oats, pulse them 2-3 times in a blender or food processor until they are the same texture as quick-cooking oats (slightly broken down, but not the consistency of flour).
- Mini chocolate chips. These are optional but recommended (obviously)!
How to Make Granola Bars
We’ll walk through this granola bar recipe step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video.
Begin by lining an 8×8” pan with parchment paper. Then set it aside.
Then, in a medium saucepan, heat the butter, honey, brown sugar and sea salt over medium-low heat until the butter is melted, and the sugar is dissolved, stirring often.
Once the ingredients are combined, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
Next, stir in the quick-cooking oats and let the mixture cool slightly – for about 5 to 10 minutes.
Once the mixture is slightly cooled, stir in the chocolate chips.
Then, press the mixture in an even layer into the prepared baking dish.
Top the bars with the remaining 2 Tablespoons of chocolate chips, then chill in the refrigerator until hardened.
Once chilled, use the parchment paper to lift the granola bars out of the pan onto a cutting board. Then, cut them into 8 granola bars (you can cut them larger or smaller based on your preferences).
Serve
I like to wrap these homemade granola bars individually in parchment paper so it’s easy to grab one and go when you need a quick snack.
I suggest serving them room temperature or slightly chilled for the best texture.
Store/Freeze
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or int he freezer for up to 2 months.
Granola Bar Recipe FAQS
Yes, double the ingredients and press them into a 9×13″ glass baking dish.
In this recipe, the butter, honey and brown sugar all aid in holding the bars together.
You do not have to soak the oats in this granola bar recipe.
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Homemade Granola Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ cup salted butter
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 cups quick cooking oats
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Line an 8×8” pan with parchment paper and lightly grease.
- In a medium saucepan, heat the butter, honey, brown sugar and sea salt over medium-low heat until the butter is melted, and the sugar is dissolved, stirring often.
- Remove the pan from the heat, then stir in the vanilla extract.
- Next, stir in the quick-cooking oats.
- Let the mixture cool slightly (about 5 – 10 minutes).
- After 5 or 10 minutes, stir in ¼ cup mini chocolate chips.
- Then, press the mixture in an even layer into the prepared baking dish.
- Top with remaining 2 Tablespoons chocolate chips, then chill in the refrigerator until hardened.
- Cut into 8 granola bars (you can cut them larger or smaller based on your preferences).
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Video
Notes
- Salted butter. unsalted butter, coconut oil and ghee are all good substitutes.
- Honey. I don’t recommend substitutes for honey. Maple syrup works, but it will (obviously) impart a maple flavor.
- Light brown sugar. for a bolder molasses taste, use dark brown sugar.
- Quick-cooking oats. The texture is the best with quick cooking oats. If you only have old-fashioned (or rolled) oats, pulse them 2-3 times in a blender or food processor until they are the same texture as quick-cooking oats (slightly broken down, but not the consistency of flour).
- Mini chocolate chips. These are optional but recommended (obviously)!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
