Who needs store-bought granola bars when you have this homemade healthy granola bar recipe? The best part is, you can make them in the shape of a wedge or bar. Easy, portable and so delicious! {Gluten-free, vegetarian & no refined sugar}
We’re always on the hunt for good snacks in our house that are also handy for taking on the go.
I’ve always wanted to try making my own healthier homemade granola bars since you can control what ingredients are going in there and you’re not stuck with the processed ingredients they sneak into the store-bought bars.
So we ended up coming up with this delicious homemade healthy granola bar recipe — that can be made into the shape of a wedge or a bar!
How fun is that?!
Why we love these homemade granola bars
- It’s unique! How many granola bars do you see cut like a pie??
- Easy to make. Only a few simple steps are required.
- SO much better than store-bought granola bars.
- Portable. Eat them at home or take them with you on the run!
- Perfect make-ahead snack for those busy days running around.
- So much texture…they’ve got it all. Chewy AND crunchy.
- Packed with fibre and healthy fats for a healthy and satisfying snack.
- Beautiful presentation. You eat them with your hands or eat it like you would a piece of pie!
How to Make this Healthy Granola Bar Recipe
What I love about these homemade granola bars is that they taste so fresh, unlike some of the stale granola bars you buy at the store (how long have they REALLY been sitting on that shelf?)
And it only requires a few steps to make these bars!
To prepare, in a large frying pan, toast oats and coconut for 3 minutes over medium heat. Add the chopped cashews, pumpkin seeds, and dried cranberries.
In a separate medium saucepan or frying pan, combine the coconut oil, honey, natural peanut butter, vanilla extract and salt. Cook for about 2 minutes or until coconut oil has melted.
Add the toasted oat and coconut mixture to the pan and stir to combine. Cook for an additional 2 minutes until oats are coated and sticky.
Place parchment paper in the bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan and grease the edges with coconut oil or cooking spray.
Dump the oat mixture into the springform pan and distribute evenly with spatula. Wet the spatula and press down on the surface until smooth and packed down.
Place in the freezer for 30-40 minutes. Once hardened, remove from springform pan.
Drizzle with melted dark chocolate, if desired. Cut into wedges while still partially frozen to help them stay together while cutting.
How to make the dark chocolate drizzle
So this part is totally optional, but who doesn’t love a little chocolate drizzle? It’s like the icing on the cake! If you have time, you can go ahead and make some chocolate drizzle using one of the following methods.
The microwave method: Place the dark chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave the chocolate for 30 seconds on high. Remove and give it a stir. Just as a tip, the chocolate chips will retain their shape until you stir them, so don’t just eyeball it. Get your spoon in there! Repeat with 10- to 15-second blasts until most of the chocolate is melted. Remove from microwave and keep stirring until the residual heat melts the rest of the chocolate.
The stove method: Pour a few inches of water into a pot. Position a bowl over the pot, ensuring that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Heat the water to a simmer. Turn off the heat and add 2/3 of the chocolate chips to the bowl. Stir gently to melt. Add the remaining 1/3 of the chocolate a little at a time and stir gently until melted.
Once the chocolate is all smooth and melted, you can grab a spoon and lightly drizzle it over the bars. It may take several minutes for the chocolate to harden. To speed up the process you can put bars with the drizzled chocolate in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes.
How to Store these Granola Bars
These granola bars can be stored in an air-tight container in the freezer for up to a month.
It’s generally best if you handle these bars while still partially frozen as they can get a little crumbly when completely thawed.
How to make the bars nut-free
If you need these granola bars to be nut-free, you can sub in seeds such as sunflower seeds for the cashews and use a sunflower or pumpkin seed butter instead of the peanut butter.
Only a few simple substitutions are required to make these bars nut-free!
Wedges vs. bars
The big debate…do we make this granola bar recipe into wedges or bars? Well the good news is that you can make them either way! If you want to make them into wedges, follow the instructions in the recipe below.
However, maybe wedges just aren’t your thing and you’d rather just make them into regular shaped granola bars.
Easy!
All that you have to do is prep the ingredients until you get to the part about the springform pan. To make bars instead of wedges, sub a square 8-inch baking pan in for the springform pan. Simply line the square baking pan with parchment paper. Press the granola bar mixture into the pan using a spatula, making sure that you press the mixture into the corners. Pop the pan into the freezer for 30-40 minutes or until mixture has hardened.
Remove the parchment paper with the bar mixture from the pan and cut into rectangles.
It all comes down to whether you choose to press the mixture in the shape of a circle or a square.
It’s a pretty BIG decision ;)
No matter how you choose to prep these granola bars, I guarantee these will become a new family favourite!
More healthy bars:
- Larabar Recipe {4-ingredients}
- 4-Ingredient No-Bake Peanut Butter Protein Bars
- No-Bake Key Lime Protein Bars
- Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
- Sweet Potato Bars
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a rating and review!
Homemade Granola Bar Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats can sub in gluten-free oats
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1/2 cup cashews finely chopped
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 5 tbsp. coconut oil
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter or sub in seed butter to make nut-free
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips melted (optional)
Instructions
- In a large frying pan, toast oats and coconut for 3 minutes over medium heat. Add the chopped cashews, pumpkin seeds, and dried cranberries.
- In a separate medium saucepan or frying pan, combine the coconut oil, honey, natural peanut butter, vanilla extract and salt. Cook for about 2 minutes or until coconut oil has melted.
- Add the toasted oat and coconut mixture to the pan and stir to combine. Cook for an additional 2 minutes until oats are coated and sticky.
- Place parchment paper in the bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan and grease the edges with coconut oil or cooking spray. Dump the oat mixture into the springform pan and distribute evenly with spatula. Wet the spatula and press down on the surface until smooth and packed down.
- Place in the freezer for 30-40 minutes. Once hardened, remove from springform pan.
- Drizzle with melted dark chocolate, if desired. Cut into wedges while still partially frozen to help them stay together while cutting.
- Serve immediately or store in the freezer for later.*
Notes
Nutrition
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Do you think you could replace the honey with maple syrup and get a satisfactory result?
Yes, maple syrup should work out fine!