If you’ve done much reading on this blog, you know that I love to cook and eat delicious foods. Unfortunately, they’re not all the healthiest choices, so my husband and I have decided to make more of an effort to plan healthy, lower-fat, lower starch, higher fiber, more veggie-filled meals. I also made a list of healthful snacks we should try to have on hand.
On the list was granola bars.
But do you know what??? They’re not all healthy! Some of the granola bars you can buy in stores may as well be candy bars, with the amount of sugar and “fluff” they include in their ingredients. And most of them (except Kashi) also have high fructose corn syrup as a main ingredient. Disgusting. While I love Kashi granola bars, the guy and I tend to go through a bunch of those, so it gets pretty expensive.
So I decided to take matters into my own hands. After reading tons of granola bar recipes (and throwing out the ones that sounded like disguised candy), I came up with my own mixture that works deliciously well to create healthful, filling granola bars. If I eat half of one of these and a small piece of fruit, I’m good to go for several hours. And it makes me happy knowing that I didn’t eat anything disgusting to feel full.
So here’s my recipe. Let me know if you try it out!
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Gather your ingredients:
- 2 cups oats
- 3/4 cup wheat germ
- 3/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1 cup peanuts, crushed
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- approximately 8 oz. dried fruit
To crush your peanuts, put them in a plastic bag and smash them with a heavy mallet, measuring cup, or sauce pan.
Then, mix the peanuts, oats, wheat germ, and sunflower seeds in a baking dish with sides. Toast them in the oven for 10-12 minutes, stirring every few minutes so that they don’t get burned.
Meanwhile, prepare a glass baking dish (about 11 x 13 inches) for your granola by lining it with waxed paper lightly sprayed with a nonstick spray.
Put the brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, and salt into a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. (I forgot to take a picture of this step, but it looks so pretty!)
By now, your grains and nuts should be toasted, so mix everything together in a large bowl. The grains, the liquid “glue,” and the dried fruit. Oh, and turn off your oven, because you’re finished with it now.
Mix everything REALLY WELL because you want to make sure the “glue” gets all over everything. Now, dump your granola mixture into your prepared baking dish.
Spread out the mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Now fold over the sides of the waxed paper or add a sheet on top, and PRESS HARD all over the granola. You want to compact it together so that your bars won’t fall apart when you cut them.
Wait 2-3 hours or until the granola has totally cooled.
Then, open the waxed paper …
And carefully turn the granola onto a large cutting board, peeling away the rest of the paper.
Now, firmly pressing down with a big knife (not sawing), cut your granola into whatever size bars you’d like.
I wrapped ours individually in plastic wrap, so that we could just throw one into our bag or lunch box in the morning. If you’d like to save on packaging though, you can store yours in an airtight container, between sheets of waxed paper (so they don’t stick together).
Enjoy!
Of course, you can mix up the recipe. I used peanuts because they’re what we had, but next time I’m going to make the granola nutless at first, but during the pressing-down part, I plan to press almonds into the top of the bars.
Another combo that would be fun to try is macadamia nuts, dried pineapple, and coconut flakes.
Or try dried cranberries, walnuts, and white chocolate chips (just a few).
I also plan to add flax seed to my granola mix.
Different flavors of honey would also probably change the final outcome too. Mmm…
So many options! Good thing we have time!
Hi! I'm Emily. I'm a Navy wife and stay at home mom of two beautiful children. I cook simple, delicious, grain-free recipes, do crafts, decorate my home on a budget, and keep a happy household. I tandem breastfeed, babywear, cloth diaper, practice elimination communication, homebirth, and co-sleep, but I'm not a hippie.
Great recipe! Just made some using sesame seeds, cashews, and almonds! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Just made granola bars for the third time (improvised off of your recipe) I used flax meal instead of wheat germ, used cranberries and dark chocolate chips, and for nuts used sunflower seeds, sliced almonds (they are great for holding things together for chewy bars), crushed peanuts, pecans, and cashews. For the “glue” I used honey, freshly ground peanut butter (no sugar added) and reduced the amount of sugar. I used a tablespoon of mild olive oil and reduced the butter to less than half. They're great, I find that putting really hard pressure when pressing down and putting slided almonds and chocolate chips that end up melting into the whole thing really increase the chewiness and sticking together! Thanks!
Some people have added peanut butter to the honey/sugar mixture while melting/cooking it. Maybe try that? Reduce some of the honey and sugar, probably…
These are delicious, but way too sweet for my taste. They were not as chewy as I'd hoped, but I did leave them out overnight. Thanks for the recipe!
My daughter likes the peanut butter granola bars and I am looking for a healthier and cheaper version. I am going to try this recipe but I was wondering about adding peanut butter to it. Any advise?
These are excellent! Thank You so much! Never buy another granola bar. Of course,I did put in some chocolate chips
They sounded really good, but I couldn't get the ingredients to stick together. I even tried to put them in the frig, then frezzer… to no avail…so I put everything into another recipe that had flour and baking soda. They came out ok sorta of like a oatmeal soft cookie bars. Maybe I'll try them again….
I use 2 TB blackstrap molasses (strong, but the only sweetener w/ any kind of nutritive value)and instead of honey I use natural maple syrup. I reconstitute TVP w/ water and blackstrap (1 TB) and add that too. I put flax seeds in as well and used your idea of roasting the oats, seeds, and nuts in the oven. Yummy, it makes a fuller flavor. Okay, if I'm being honest, I toss in mini choc chips too. I agree, the dates are good!
My Sweet niece Kathleen in Seattle hooked me up with your recipe on Facebook.. I made a double batch in 2 different pans and it was easy.. My facebook friends are impressed so I will pose your site on there.. We love Kashi and these will be great.. Loved the pics also.. I put dates in mine
[...] by a friend who said she’d recently made mushy granola bars, I started out by referring to this recipe. Since I didn’t have wheat germ, I substituted some wheat bran, and I decided to use [...]
I made these with pre-made almond/raisin Quaker oats natural granola and added some dried cinnamon apples & cranberries and a can of pureed pumpkin (I heated the pumpkin with the sugar mixture). I also sprinkled a cinnamon/brown sugar mixture on top and used agave nectar instead of honey.
My ingredients were based on what I had on hand and needed to use up. I was going to grind up some flax seeds (whole flax seeds just pass right through you because they are too small, you have to grind them to get the nutritional benefits) but I didn't, maybe next time.
These look and smell wonderful, but I have yet to taste them as they are cooling right now.
Thank you so much for the recipe!
Great recipe, but I have made changes. I double the recipe, add cup of each chopped almonds,pecans, craisens, and scoup of peanut butter. And flax seed. When its all ready I use a cake sheet with spray oil. Flatten and spread with mixing spoon, cover with waxed paper and use a rolling pin to flattten and even out the mixture. Love them!!! Tougher to mix with a double recipe though.
I found this recipe a couple weeks ago and have been dying to try it out. Because I have a inclination to start changing recipes before I've tried them, I only make half batches. Good thing too, because my first attempt was aweful!!! haha. I think I pinpointed the problems though. First, I used blueberry ground flax (smells bad, and doesn't taste good either!), and second, I tried to use a little syrup instead of all the brown sugar. I'm not a huge syrup person, so I'm not sure why I thought I would like it better in the bars.
So, next time I am just going to use whole flax seeds since I like them so much. And instead of using syrup I am just going to stick with the brown sugar and then rework it from there if I don't like the out come. Wish me luck!
(Oh, so after I tried them, wanting to salvage something, I picked out the whole Almonds to use the next time : ) )
Hi,
I have tried gronola bars with some dry fruits & oats with the same measurement. it was crumbly. taste was great. we finished all but we had to eat with a cereal. can you pl. give me a suggestion or where did i go wrong? why it was crumbly.
thanks
sd
I just love this site and want to say thank you so much for all of the recipes and the pictures are delightful. I am a 65 year old, grandma and still working full time nurse. I love to cook and just have to give this recipe a try since I have not done granola bars before. Thank you again.
Thanks for this recipe as I no longer eat sugar (if I can avoid it) and using honey is a great alternative here.
Thanks for your trial and error, I'm going to try to make these and see how they turn out.
Sounds yummy!
I've been making my granola bars using Granola cereal from Aldi plus half a bag of marshmallow, but it is too messy. I will try this recipe instead… -Henry
I love this recipe! I plan on making some regularly to keep for snacks at work. Thanks so much!
I'm glad you're enjoying them! What do the kids think?
That is the sweetest granola bar story I've ever heard! Thank you for sharing with me. I'm so glad to be a part of your memories of home.
oh that sounds like a good idea – the molasses/honey thing. And the peanut butter dipping? WOW.
You're welcome! I'm glad you're enjoying them.
You're welcome! Let me know how it goes.
this sounds so great! I am going to try so many combinations!! Thanks for the post!
Thanks for such a brilliant recipe!! I've just made my second batch, with 1 tsp of butter and 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup honey (trying to cut back!) I'm delighted to finally have a quick and delicious recipe!! only problem is ……….they taste too good!!
These were chewy and delicious! I substituted about 2 T of the honey for molasses, and it was awesome. I didn't even use any of the seeds or nuts and these were still fabulous. Great dipped in peanut butter too.
Copy and paste it all into a word document and then delete the pictures.
I have been making granola bars according to your recipe for couple of months while living in New York. In the meantime I have moved to Serbia and today I organised shopping trip just to buy all necessary ingredients and make your delicious granola bars again, enjoy them and bring back memories from eating them in New York. I believe flavors and little rituals bring back memories and this one is certainly a pleasant one
Thank you!
Just want to say these are awesome!! My sister-law made these for a snack and they were so good!!! I do daycare and these are a perfect after school snacks for the older kids Thanks for having your website
Yeah, that was my problem when I tried different “glues”… this caramely version seems to be the best for sticking.
Your 7 year old has got it right!! That's awesome.
So glad you like them!! You're so welcome.
That's a good idea…
Also, I'm trying to find a good plugin for making printable pages without all the photos. I'll definitely post a blog entry when I've figured it out!
Copy and paste the words into a word document and print it out that way.
I'd like to be able to print out your recipies without all the pictures…I don't have a computer in my kitchen! There are too many pages for printing out what's on the screen. Any suggestions?
Tried your recipe – hallelujah! After several other recipes and failures, I tried your recipe and my wife and I love these bars. Easy to make and delicious – and the bars stay together. A nice switch. Thanks!
[...] http://www.joyfulabode.com/2008/04/11/homemade-granola-bar-recipe-no-high-fructose-corn-syrup-in-the… [...]
Well, I substituted maple syrup for half the honey in my above recipe revision. The glue didn't get near hard enough. The granola bars are falling apart! Back to my original version…
Mmmmm. These are great. My 7-year-old daughter, upon tasting one, said, “Homemade everything is better!” She is taking them to school on her snack day. At a friend's suggestion, I used some agave syrup in place of half of the honey. I used tupelo honey, speaking of using different honeys. This is only my first batch, so I don't know if it makes it taste different.
Here's what I've done to make these granola bars a little less sweet (and maybe healthier!). to fill a 9×13 pan, I use 3 1/2 cups of oats, 2 cups of nuts, and varying amounts of raisins. I omit the sunflower seeds and wheat germ. For the glue, I use 3 Tbsp butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup honey. I'm going to try substituting maple syrup for the honey. This ratio of oats to glue makes the bars still tasty, but not so caramel-y.
I will try these out as soon as I can. About the sugar content We only put it in 2x's as to where the manufacturer's put in sugar 3-6 times depending on its name.. so right there we already made it better for ourselves and our children and we do not use things that we cannot pronounce like glutonate etc. etc. Just be happy with the fact that you took a healthy step too feed your selves and your children. And did not buy into the advertising. Kudos for that most definitely.. Sincerely concerned praent with 2 special needs kids .. Lara
Seriously yummy granola bars! I used the Splenda brown sugar mix and cut it in half and I also cut the dried fruit in half to reduce some calories. There is still plenty of fruit though – way more than you'd get in a store bought brand of granola bars. I used used 3/4 cup almonds in place of the cup of peanuts too and that was still plenty. I will be making these again…. and again…. and again….. Thank you for the awesome recipe and those gorgeous pics!
Must say they are delicious. I did add a few things andI cut down on the Br sugar and added a heaping TBsp of molasses instead. Along with the wheat germ and ground flax (short 1/4 C each) I added Bob's 10 grain hot ceral…(toasted it with the oats and nuts). I added Craisins and raisins. Tried them on my daughter and grandson…they loved them. Thank you so very much. Great recipe!
These sound great- I'm looking for a healthy granola bar too and your recipe along with the great pictures looks like a perfect place to start. Thanks for sharing.
I made the bars and they are even better than the recipe looks! They are perfect!!! The recipe is easy to follow and right on. The photos helped. The pan is cooling now and it has been 2 hours. I have already tasted it about 5 times and they are delish!!!!!!
Thanks for your recipe, I'm going to try it today!
i like the idea of toasting the seeds and grains and then just
pressing them down. my recipe calls for baking the bars &
it is tricky to cut them without crumbling the bars all up so i am
going to try your version tonight. i wanted to mention i always put
flax seeds in my recipe but i grind them in a coffee grinder first then
add to the concoction. this way you get all the nutritional benefit from
the seeds and no one knows you added them. apparently the whole flax
seeds do nothing for you if they are not broken up first. health food stores
sell flax crushed but it is expensive and so easy to do yourself.
thanks for sharing :]
I used ground flax seed. Worked fine. I use brown rice syrup instead of honey. Anything sweet and thick would work.
Cashews and almonds worked great.
I hear your complaint about granola bars that should be haled as candy. How do you not count all the sugar you put in? 1/2 C of honey plus 2/3 C br. sugar……that's a lot of sugar too. I am going to try the recipe and limit the sugar more…maybe take out the br. sugar all together. I know you need sticky to hold them together. We'll see what happens.