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 brand new stay at home mom. I cook simple, delicious, grain-free recipes, do crafts, decorate on a budget, and keep a happy home. I breastfeed, babywear, cloth diaper, and co-sleep, but I'm not a hippie.
i made these once before…maybe also borrowing from another recipe and they worked wonderfully the 1s time! this time i was low on honey and also substituted molasses….and as i mixed it i had a feeling it was not gooey enough or covering all the oats mixture (i also used more of everything almost doubling recipe), but after cooling in the wax paper baking dishes only a couple stayed together. the rest fell apart! now i don't know what to do…..do i need to wait till i get more honey and can i remix more of the wet mixture and cover the dry stuff and do over? or could maple syrup work? or should i just give up and turn it into granola, for cereal??
I love your homemade granola bar receipe. I mixed it up with different kinds of dried fruit, and I used 1 tsp of vanilla & 1 tsp of almond extract. Yummy!
I love this recipe … I never use peanuts, fruit, or wheat germ. But I do use ground flax, walnuts, almonds, and a few more seeds. FANTASTIC!!
Use Reynold's Easy Release Aluminum foil; super slick, works superbly, and doesn't require any kind of greasing. Available in every grocery store in America.
Thanks for the easy recipe! I used it as a guideline and made bars with what I had on hand: oats, flaxseed, wheat bran, almonds, poppyseeds, currants, craisins, and dark chocolate chips. The only unexpected thing was that my chocolate chips melted when I stirred everything together and now I have chocolate granola bars!
I also used a cone of piloncillo instead of the brown sugar – don't think it would taste much different though.
This is a great recipe. The only process step that I found a better way of doing is the toasting part, if you mix the grains/nuts and then toast, you get an uneven distribution of toasty-ness. I am toasting the ingredients separately and then mixing them together. Yum
These are wonderful. I love this recipe. I substituted flax meal for 1/2 the oat bran and real maple syrup for part of the honey. I like it with almonds and craisins. Very easy recipe.
You know I wish someone would tell me how to make the Toffee Granola bars? Nationwide Candy stopped selling them and said they have been discontinued. Here is what they look like: http://nationwidecandy.com/candy/itemdesc.asp?i… They were great wish they were still making them.
These look fantastic! I can't wait to try them. Thanks!
Tried this for our track team and they loved it. Watch the toasting stage, though. I almost burned the oats, etc. in the oven. Was a huge hit!
I have used this recipe a few times and love it! I have tried a few different combos, and all have tasted great. I only had two issues- with the dried pineapple it was way too sweet, so maybe try to find something without a lot of sugar. I also added less brown sugar because the bars were too sweet for me in general. I only added about 1 T; the bars don't stick together quite as well, but they are still sweet and so tasty. Thanks for the great recipe and the great pictures!
Thanks for the great recipe. I've been bouncing around looking for the right one and yours here is so simple and delicious it's my favorite. I really like the pressed in almonds with dried and chopped tiny cranberries and pineapple. Yum!
Fabulous recipe! I substituted 1/4 cup flax seeds, 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, & 1/4 cup steel cut oats for the 3/4 cup wheat germ. Also, I used dry roasted peanuts and found that roasting them in the oven with the oats made them too roasted and dried out. So next time I'll just put those when I put in the fruit.
There are awesome! I substituted half of the butter with almond butter. I also used molasses for some of the honey since I didn't have enough. So good and so easy!!
I loved your recipe, I had to fight the kids off! I didn't add the nuts due to nut allergies. I also left out the raisins and instead added dried blueberries and dried cherries. The granola bars turned out great! Thanks, Robyn
The bars are cooling. The syrup is tasty. For several years, I have used the best ever granola recipe from my school friend (class of '56). No sugar, just a 1/3 c maple syrup, 1/4 c olive oil and 1 tsp. vanilla is mixed into all the grains, nuts and brans before baking and stirring. I have always wanted a recipe that I could use my own granola to make into bars, so am trying your method. I did some substitutions: Raw sugar instead of brown, and maple syrup instead of honey. The rest of the method is the same. I used craisins, and I know soon dried blueberries will go into another batch. All that is left is to slice and wrap. These will certainly a be a wonderful treat for 14 grandchildren and their parents, and is a terrific substitute for store bought that has been their habit. Thank you! I have waited a long time for a good recipe!
Just discovered your recipe.. Yummm!!! Any chance you could calculate the calories per bar (more or less)?
wonderful recipe. i also always adjust recipes and i added molasses and pumpkin seeds. also flax seed, chopped walnuts and chopped dates. they are absolutely delish. thanks!
I love this recipe! I halved it as I'm just making them for myself and cut the brown sugar a bit more– down to 1/4 cup instead of 1/3 cup (for half a recipe). I also used veg oil instead of butter. I had toasted hazelnuts on hand and used chopped dried apricots for fruit– delicious. Next I'll try peanuts and raisins and substitute peanut butter for some of the oil. Thanks for the inspiration!
I made these today and they are so delicious! For the fruit, I used homedried apples & really ripe bananas, plus dried Craisins, mangos, & blueberries. I didn't have enough sunflower seeds so instead I used 1/4 C sunflower, 1/4 C flax, & 1/4 cup sesame seeds. I also didn't have enough for 1 C peanuts so- I used 1/2 C crushed peanuts & 1/2 C slivered almonds instead. I knew my dehydrated bananas were extra ripe/sweet so I only used 1 tsp of vanilla in the “glue”. The result?! AMAZING!!! Thank you so much for this recipe! My hubby & little boys thank you, too!!
I made some of these last week and they were great! Mine didn't stick together as well, but they tasted great and everyone that I shared them with loved them. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
I have been looking for an easy, yet tasty recipe for homemade granola type bars. My college daughter takes them for her snack when her classes don't allow time for lunch, and being laid off right now, I can't afford to purchase the Fiber One bars she likes so well. I came across this recipe this morning and made it right away….I also made a few changes because I didn't have the listed ingredients. In place of peanuts, I used walnuts, in place of honey I used peanut butter and added it with the butter and vanilla to make the gloo. I also didn't have waxed paper (supplies are VERY low…) so I placed a new garbage bag in the dish to line it. There was plenty of bag to fold over and press, and when I lifted, it looked like the waxed paper did in the directions. I have ann appointment and will be back in a couple hours to check on them. I am SO excited!!!!!
[...] So I am trying to find the perfect granola bar to make for my boys (and me and BHE). I found this recipe at Joyful Abode and had to try it out, and the results are delicious! Here’s my end [...]
It was very good! It was a hit with grandparents and kids. Making it the second time. Doubling the recipe so the grandparents can have some too. Thanks for the recipe.
Haven't made these yet but I am excited to try them! I recently went on a low sodium diet and developed an allergy to soy (to add to my peanut allergy). Trying to find a granola bar in the store that fits all these categories has been a nightmare! By substituting almonds for the peanuts this will work perfectly.
Found this on google and now RAVE about these awesome granola bars! thank you so much for posting this.
these granola bars are the best!! so easy and soooo delish! i too altered the recipe, adding walnuts, a few chocolate chips, and pumpkin seeds, and a bag of mixed nuts instead of just peanuts. instead of using honey, i used raspberry syrup from Summerland, BC, Canada (http://www.summerlandsweets.com/). the outcome was so tasty and super healthy.
great recipe, i'll be sure to whip up a batch weekly.
thanks!
thank you so much for sharing! this recipe is amazing, i will be checking and recommending your blog often:-) have a great weekend!
I LOVE this recipe!! It is so easy and the results are SO delicious. The bars came out perfect on my first try. What I like best is, as long as you get the dry/wet ratio correct, you can use any ingredients you like and change the recipe around based on your tastes/ cravings that day. I did not have peanuts so I used sliced almonds. Replaced 1/4 cup of wheat germ with flax seeds (will use more flax next time). Used only 2 T brown sugar ( don't really need brown sugar at all). Also used almond butter to replace all but 1 T of butter. These bars are delicious, healthy, yummy, economical, and so easy to make it's ridiculous. I love the fact that I can control exactly what goes into them. I got 16 bars out of this recipe, 1 1/2 by 4 inches, and I estimate my cost to be approx. 20 cents per bar….crazy!! You can kiss the high priced and poor quality “health” bars in the stores goodbye if you make this recipe.
This recipe was great. I used almond butter for the butter and threw some fruit preserves for the “glue.” This recipe doesn't need the brown sugar. I also used already toasted wheat germ instead of toasting it with everything else b/c wheat germ easily burns. Dried blueberries and cranberries are the way to go. Parchment paper worked the best and it doesn't need the non-sticking spray. That's why bakers use parchment paper. You can toast everything at 345 so the fat from the nuts doesn't turn into trans-fat. The best part of this recipe is that it can be manipulated so easily.
Good Granola B recipe… But would like to find a way to eliminate the non-stick spray because it leaves a shiny residue around the bars. And its not adding any nutritional value.
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I've made it several times now, and it never gets old. My favorite variation so far is subbing out the peanuts with the South Beach Diet nut mix (almonds, macadamias, and cashews), and using dried cherries and cranberries. It's also good with a little unsweetened coconut.
i love your recipe! thank you so much for posting it. i tried the almond butter substitution for the butter and it worked very well. the only wheat germ i could find had cinnamon added to it which turned out delicious in these bars. i used 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds and 1/2 cup flax seed instead of the peanuts and used dried currants for my fruit. i did not add any brown sugar. i think they turned out really well and i look forward to using this basic recipe to make lots of variations in the future!
omgosh these were delish!! i opted for the white choc morsels and dried cranberries. everyone that has tasted them has loved them!! thanks for sharing!!
I'm so excited to try this recipe!!!!
Thanks for your detailed expertise
These granola bars are the best ever!!! I have tried a few different variations but so far the best is walnuts for the nuts and chopped up heathbar (instead of the dried cranberries). Not as healthy but very good! I was thinking I could probably leave out the sugar next time since they are very sweet but sooooooo good! Another fabulous addition is cinnamon chips! very good
Hi! I found your recipe when I Googled for granola bar recipes. I made some today and LOVED them! Thanks so much! I blogged about it too, so you're welcome to check it out!
Glycemic index is what I wrote, computer knew better jan
I will try these but will use blue agave sweetener. It can be substituted for honey , has the lowest hypoglycemia index and is a bit less sweet with fewer calories than honey. I use Agave to sweeten most things You can even find it at Costco and most of it is organic, Jan
Do you know if these can be kept in the freezer? I'm thinking that if I made some on the weekend, then I would eat them during the week. However, I don't want to have to eat all of them everyday so that they don't go bad.
My bars never turn out looking that good! Maybe it's becuase I haven't beem using rolled oats (just quick oats). I love the pictures; they look delicious!
These look great. I'm planning on trying them out this week. Grocery store granola bars are too expensive and too full of strange ingredients.
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. My family loves them. I won't buy them again fron the store.
I LOVE this recipe. This is one of those situations in which the internet makes life SO easy, because I was able to find your blog and this recipe. It is amazing how we have been fooled into thinking that granola bars are good for us, when in fact, 90.0% of the products are loaded with corn syrup!
Thank you so much for sharing!
OH, and I meant to say that I used almonds instead of peanuts.
Thank you for posting this recipe! This no-bake recipe is a very easy and sooooo much healthier than commercially available bars and sooo much less expensive. After some experimentation, I omitted the brown sugar substituted 1/4 cup creamy style almond butter for the butter and used a full cup of sunflower seeds. I also omitted the wheat germ. I found that the 1/2 cup of honey made the bars plenty sweet! I also prefer keeping food raw as much as possible, so although I heated the “glue” mixture (almond butter, honey and vanilla) I didn't toast the nuts/seeds or grains. Even my friends thought they tasted great!
TOTALLY loved these! I didn't have any wheat germ so I just used ground flax seed and instead of peanuts used chopped pecans. I am SOOO excited, the spoon tasted YUMMY!
I regularly eat granola bars as a quick pick-me-up snack between meals. I don't like that every one you buy at the store has all that high fructose…high maltose…etc stuff in it–NOT GOOD! I came across this recipe, and it turned out great! I changed it up a bit, like most people on here. I cut down on the honey and brown sugar and added about 1/2 cup or so of peanut butter. I threw in some cashews as well, and added some cinnamon to the mix. Everything was great! For storage, I used our FoodSaver and sealed them in packs of two. We'll see how that goes. They are neat little packages though! Great recipe!
Love these bars! Mostly because my anti-breakfast 15 year old daughter loves them. She can grab a bar while leaving out the door, eat it on the way to school and one bar will last all morning between classes. Quite filling. This morning battle has been solved, at least for now!
Great job – love the pics too!
Love this recipe! I added flax seed and used mixed nuts instead of peanuts. I actually got 20 bars out of it by cutting the bars to about the size of a traditional grocery-store bar. Even at that size, they are filling and very high-protein. They are a little sweet for me, though, so I think I might try adding a little peanut butter to the “glue” next time I make them. Great, high-protein snack!