Homemade Granola Bar Recipe: Finding the Perfect One for You!

A great homemade granola bar recipe can have you saying goodbye to prepackaged snacks. Healthy granola bars are easy to make, free of additives, and you'll add fewer wrappers and packaging to trash cans.

You likely have an assortment of oats, dried fruits, seeds, and nuts in your cupboard anyway, so make the most of what you have instead of purchasing more packaged products. Plus, when you make your own snacks, you can control the amount of sweetener and the quality of the ingredients, too.

Basic Granola Bars

A great way to get started is to establish a basic homemade granola bar recipe to work from. Which recipe works for you has a lot to do with preference. My go-to bars do crumble a bit, so if you want something that binds together more you might opt for a recipe with flour.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees while you stir your oat base together in a large bowl:

• 2 cups rolled oats
• ½ cup flax seeds
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Next, add the liquid:

• ½-1 cup vegetable oil
• ½-1 cup honey
• 1 egg

Once all your oats and seeds are coated, press onto a cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool, then slice.

Vegan No-Bake Granola Bars

If you're going vegan, you can skip the egg altogether and try a recipe like this one that uses nut butter as a binder. Here's what you'll need:

• 2 cups rolled oats
• ½ cup chopped nuts
• ½ cup seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, or both)

• ½ cup pure maple syrup
• ½ cup creamy nut butter (almond or peanut)
• ¼ teaspoon salt

First, stir together oats, seeds, and nuts. Next, use a whisk to blend the syrup, nut butter and salt in a separate bowl. If you'd like, you can warm the bowl over low heat to blend them together more easily.

Add the nut butter and syrup mixture to the oat mixture and stir until everything is coated and combined. If the oats aren't saturated, you can add a bit more syrup or nut butter. Line a pan with parchment paper or foil and press the mixture into it. Cover and refrigerate the bars for 3-5 hours.

Get Creative!

Once you've established a basic homemade granola bar recipe you love, you can really get creative with the mix-ins. Try a few combinations and find a tasty new favorite for you and your family:

• Chopped nuts (almonds, pecans, or cashews)
• Pumpkin seeds
• Wheat germ
• Dried fruit (apricots, blueberries, prunes, or raisins)
• Coconut flakes

Homemade granola bars taste delicious, travel well, and can be stored easily. Keep them in an airtight container for immediate snacking. To keep them longer, store tightly wrapped bars in the fridge or freezer. Keep your waste down by using reusable containers.

Voila! Healthy snacks that send less packaging to the landfill. Try not to eat them all at once!

Do you have a homemade granola bar recipe you love? Share your thoughts and photos on Twitter.

Image source: Mali Anderson | Mali Anderson | Mali Anderson

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