Best Homemade Granola Bars

These are the best homemade granola bars out there. My kids LOVE them, and they only have 7 ingredients (Quaker Chewy has 28+). Ditch the mystery ingredients and go natural!

Quick quiz: Which would you rather put in your mouth? Your kids’ mouths?

Quaker Chewy Granola Bar ingredients:

Best Homemade Granola Bar ingredients:

GRANOLA (WHOLE GRAIN ROLLED OATS, BROWN SUGAR, CRISP RICE [RICE FLOUR, SUGAR, SALT, MALTED BARLEY EXTRACT], WHOLE GRAIN ROLLED WHEAT, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN AND COTONSEED OILS* WITH TBHQ AND CITRIC ACID ADDED TO PRESERVE FRESHNESS AND/OR SUNFLOWER OIL WITH NATURAL TOCOPHEROL ADDED TO PRESERVE FRESHNESS, DRIED COCONUT, WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, SODIUM BICARBONATE, SOY LECITHIN, CARAMEL COLOR, NONFAT DRY MILK), SEMISWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS (SUGAR, CHOCOLATE LIQUOR, COCOA BUTTER, SOY LECITHIN, VANILLA EXTRACT), CORN SYRUP, CRISP RICE (RICE FLOUR, SUGAR, BARLEY MALT, SALT), INVERT SUGAR, SUGAR, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, GLYCERIN, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL*. CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF SORBITOL, CALCIUM CARBONATE, SALT, WATER, SOY LECITHIN, MOLASSES, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, BHT (PRESERVATIVE), CITRIC ACID.

Oats Wheat flour Butter Vanilla Honey Baking soda

Are you as surprised as I was? There are waaaaay too many mystery ingredients in those packaged bars. Nobody wakes up in the morning and says, “Hey! I think I’ll have a bit of hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils with my breakfast. Plus I’ll be sure to send some with the kids for their snack.”

That’s not the least of my complaints. Most packaged granola bars are made in factories that process nuts–definitely a concern if someone in your family has nut allergies. And, of course, there’s the persistent fact that packaged granola bars are tiny and never contain enough chocolate chips. Ahem. That’s why I’m excited to tell you about this fantastic recipe.

You’re going to love these easy, homemade granola bars. The kids have decided that they’re the best! If you can make cookies, you can make these granola bars. The hearty, healthy oats will help fill you up. Add raisins, chocolate chips, nuts–whatever sounds delicious to you.

Tools Used to Make Homemade Granola Bars

Here are the tools I recommend to make this recipe quickly and easily:

KitchenAid mixer: to mix everything quickly and easily

9 x 13 Pyrex baking dish: please don’t use nonstick baking pans (here’s why)

Mini chocolate chips: smaller chocolate chips means more chocolate per bar–always a good choice.

Best Homemade Granola Bars

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 cup flour (I used whole wheat)

1 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla (extra credit for homemade)

3/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon baking soda

Plus 1 cup of add-in goodies if desired: mini chocolate chips, raisins, coconut flakes, chopped dried apricots, dried cranberries, etc. (We like to add mini chocolate chips and chopped walnuts).

Instructions:

Lightly butter a 9 x 13 pan and preheat the oven to 325 F.

Combine the butter and honey in a large bowl and mix well. (I used my trusty KitchenAid mixer and it took just a few seconds.) Add all ingredients except the add-ins and mix until combined. Stir in the add-ins by hand.

Press the mixture into the pan. It’s a little sticky, so it helps to put a few drops of water on your hands and press the mixture in firmly.

Bake at 325 F for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. They won’t look quite done, but will firm up while they cool. After they cool for about 10 minutes, you can cut them into bars.

Store at room temperature in an easily accessible container. They will be gobbled up faster than you can imagine.

As you can see, this is easier than making a batch of homemade cookies. And you can customize the recipe as much as you want!

Want more easy, super-healthy snack recipes?

This fantastic recipe for homemade granola bars is from one of my favorite recipe books, Healthy Snacks to Go.

Healthy Snacks to Go is an ebook that you can buy instantly online here and read on your iPad/phone, or print out for reference.

It has more than 45 natural, healthy recipes for snacks like:

• Wheat Thin-style crackers
• Fruit Roll-ups
• Peanut Butter Kisses
• Easy One-bowl Muffins

Besides all the recipes and tips, it includes 3 bonus sections:

• Basic Snacks Checklist
• Soaking Grains Primer
• Sanity-Saving Lunch Packing Tips

Give it a try—we’ve saved tons of money just by making our own granola bars. We’re trying Peanut Butter Kisses next.

Get Healthy Snacks to Go today and start snacking!

Best Homemade Granola Bars

Yield: 20 bars

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes

Total Time: 28 minutes

Your family will love these natural, healthy granola bars. And they only have 7 ingredients (Quaker Chewy has 28+). Ditch the mystery ingredients and go natural!

Print

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Plus 1 cup of add-in goodies if desired: mini chocolate chips, raisins, coconut flakes, chopped dried apricots, dried cranberries, etc. (We like to add mini chocolate chips and chopped walnuts).

Instructions

1. Lightly butter a 9 x 13 pan and preheat the oven to 325 F.
2. Combine the butter and honey in a large bowl and mix well. Add all ingredients and mix gently until combined.
3. Press the mixture into the pan. It’s a little sticky, so it helps to put a few drops of water on your hands and press the mixture in firmly.
4. Bake at 325 F for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. They won’t look quite done, but will firm up while they cool. After they cool for about 10 minutes, you can cut them into bars.

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