Homemade Granola Bars
These Homemade Granola Bars are so simple and tasty! They’re loaded up with chewy rolled oats, peanut butter and honey, nuts, dried fruit, and chocolate chips. Best of all, they’re so customizable! Make them as-is or switch things up to make your perfect no-bake snack.
Easy Granola Bar Recipe
I’ve always loved granola bars. I grew up on the processed, sugary ones you can get at the store. But, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to really appreciate ingredients that are a bit cleaner.
Enter this homemade granola bar recipe. This simple snack is made with just a few good-for-you ingredients and comes together almost as quickly as you can grab a box of snack bars at the store!
Whip a batch of these homemade peanut butter granola bars to use as a quick and easy snack for work, school, or home when you don’t feel like coming up with something else!
Prefer to snack on granola rather than granola bars? Try our pumpkin spice granola!
How to Make Homemade Granola Bars
This delicious and chewy granola bar recipe takes a total of 10 minutes to prepare!
Scroll to the recipe card below for ingredient amounts and full instructions.
- In a mixing bowl, warm the peanut butter, honey, and vanilla on half power until stirrable. Mix well, then add oats, seeds, dried fruit, and salt. Stir to combine, then mix in the chocolate chips.
- Transfer the mixture into a parchment-lined pan, then press firmly into the bottom to compress.
- Chill the bars in the fridge for 1 hour, then slice and serve or store.
Tips and Notes
- Line the pan. I recommend lining the bottom of the baking pan with parchment paper to prevent the bars from sticking.
- Don’t overheat the wet ingredients. Heat them only until they can be easily stirred. If they’re too warm, then the chocolate chips will just melt when you try to add them into the mix. If necessary, let them cool a bit first before mixing everything up.
- Press the mixture into the pan well. We want the mix to be nice and compact to ensure the granola bars aren’t too crumbly when you try to cut them.
- Chill for at least an hour or longer to give the honey and peanut butter time to solidify. This helps the bars hold their shape and makes cutting them a lot easier!
- To help them chill faster, pop the bars in the freezer instead!
Variations
- Swap the nut butter. You can use whatever nut butter you like best. Try almond butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter, etc. If you use another nut butter, just make sure it isn’t too dry. The moisture is part of what holds the granola bars together.
- Swap the sweetener. You can swap the honey out for maple syrup if preferred. Just keep in mind that maple syrup has a different consistency and level of sweetness. So adjust as necessary. I recommend starting with less and adding more only as needed.
- Dip them in chocolate. Want a little extra sweetness? Dip your granola bars in melted chocolate after chilling them in the fridge, then line them on a baking sheet to let them set up.
Storing and Freezing
Refrigerator: These homemade peanut butter granola bars will last in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. They are best stored in the refrigerator separated by pieces of parchment paper. They will become soft and sticky at room temperature and tend to fall apart easily.
Freezer: For longer storage, you can freeze your homemade granola bars for up to 2 months in an airtight container or freezer safe bag. To freeze them, I recommend chopping them into individual bars so they’re easy to thaw and eat as needed.
Are Homemade Granola Bars Good For You?
Yes! Homemade granola bars are definitely a great snack option—especially compared to store-bought granola bars which tend to have lots of sugar and other additives.
Making your granola bars at home ensures that they’re made with ingredients you recognize!
Bonus: they’re also less expensive than the store-bought variety, so they’re good for your wallet too!
Can You Use Instant Oats for Homemade Granola Bars?
You can, but I don’t recommend it. The texture will be less chewy and hearty than the texture you get by using rolled oats or old-fashioned oats.
How Do You Get Granola Bars to Stick Together?
The combination of peanut butter and honey is what helps the rest of the granola bar ingredients stick together. Make sure you’re measuring everything accurately so the ratio is just right!
If the mixture seems too dry, add a little more honey until it reaches your desired consistency.
If the mixture seems too wet or won’t stick together, add a tablespoon more of oats until it does!
More Snack Recipes to Try
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- ⅔ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups old fashioned oats
- ¼ cup pepitas, or sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup raisins, or dried cranberries
- ½ teaspoon salt, optional
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Line an 8×8-inch pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, heat the peanut butter, honey, and vanilla extract on half power in the microwave until it’s easy to stir. Mix until well combined and smooth.1 cup creamy peanut butter⅔ cup honey1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Add the oats, seeds, dried fruit, and salt. Stir to combine, then incorporate the chocolate chips.2 ½ cups old fashioned oats¼ cup pepitas¼ cup raisins½ teaspoon salt½ cup mini chocolate chips
- Press the mixture into the prepared pan, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Cut into slices, and serve.
- Scroll up and see the post for tips, FAQs, and storage information.
We make this recipe often with a few modifications based on our personal preferences. We use pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries and leave out the chocolate chips. We also reduce the peanut butter to 3/4 cup and use 1/2 cup of maple syrup instead of honey. We also reduce the salt to 1/4 teaspoon. Thanks for sharing!! =o)
Good morning Sam, thank you for commenting and rating the recipe! Those sound like tasty substitutions. Does reducing the peanut butter make them more fragile? How well do they stay together? Just curious. Thank you again and have a lovely day 🙂
Yummy! Home made granola bars. I make them a lot and after I cut them I wrap them in plastic wrap and put in a freezer bag and they freeze really well. I use honey for a couple of granola bar recipes but I find those ones I have to eat while they’re still pretty much frozen because they’re too sticky! For a recipe like this when I use oats, I find condensed milk does a much better job than honey on the stickiness scale! When I make granola bars with oats, I add sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, craisins, chocolate chips, sliced almonds, and sometimes crushed pretzels if I have them on hand. Granola bars can be such a versatile recipe!
Good Morning, huh, I’ve never frozen them before. Honestly, they usually don’t last long enough to justify freezing lol! When I said they’re a guilty pleasure, I wasn’t kidding. We’ve also never used condensed milk. I will have to try that sometime. When it comes to personal favorites, I like dried cranberries, walnuts, and dark chocolate. Thank you for commenting, it was good to hear from you, take care, Cheryl!