This post may contain affiliate links. Read disclosure policy
These HOMEMADE GRANOLA BARS are a total hit with my kids and I love that I know exactly what goes into them. They’re easy to whip up and they always disappear quick. Soft, chewy, and loaded with goodness.
If you’ve been reading for any length of time, you know that my kiddos are homeschooled…well, my daughter is, but my son just started college. They wouldn’t let me homeschool him through that. 😉
Anyway, lunch time and snack time are honestly my biggest challenge with homeschooling. Feeding these kids every dang meal every dang day gets overwhelming and tedious. No one wants to cook three full meals a day seven days a week.
We resort to cereal and sandwiches quite a big, so I like keeping healthier snacks and homemade treats on hand so I don’t start feeling too guilty. 😉
This chewy granola bar recipe is one of those that we keep on hand quite a bit. Plus, it’s easy enough for my daughter to make on her own. I love recipes like that!
How to make granola bars:
Gather up your ingredients. You’ll need: rolled oats, whole wheat flour, wheat germ, brown sugar, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, cinnamon, and salt to start.
Whisk all of that together.
Stir together some honey, avocado oil (or oil of your choice), vanilla, and an egg.
Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir well to combine.
Press your granola into a foil lined 9×13 baking dish and pop the mixture in the oven.
For chewy granola bars, bake for 15-20 minutes, until the edges are beginning to brown. For crunchy granola bars, bake for 25-30 minutes.
Let your granola bars cool for about 5 minutes before removing the foil from the pan and slicing your bars. Finish cooling completely before handling or your homemade granola bars will fall apart.
Healthy Granola Bars:
Not feeling the chocolate and peanut butter chips? You can totally swap in healthier options.
Add in some dried fruits or sunflower seeds in place of the chips.
Dried apples + slivered almonds would be great for fall. Sprinkle in a little nutmeg too!
Raisins and sunflower seeds add sweetness and crunch.
Dried cranberries + white chocolate chips would make a festive treat during the holiday season.
How to store homemade granola bars:
To store homemade granola bars, wrap them individually in plastic wrap or place them in individual plastic bags. As long as they are wrapped well, the granola bars should last 2-3 weeks at room temperature.
For longer storage, wrap granola bars individually with plastic wrap or in baggies and then place in a freezer proof zip top bag. Freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw on the counter the night before you’d like to eat the granola bars.
Whole wheat vs. white flour:
You may use whatever flour you have on hand. I always have both, so I grab the whole wheat for this granola bar recipe, but white flour works just as well.
More kid friendly snacks to try:
Butterfinger Fruit Dip: Pair with apples and you’re in heaven.
Fruit Pizza: I skip the cookie base and use crescent roll dough instead.
Bold Chex Mix: This makes a big batch so it’s nice to keep on hand!
Restaurant Style Salsa: Add chips and you’ve got my favorite snack!
Sweet Chex Mix: Made with cinnamon and sugar for a sweet treat!
Homemade Pizza Rolls: My kids make these for a quick lunch or a hearty snack.
Homemade Granola Bars Recipe:
Homemade Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup wheat germ
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup peanut butter chips
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup neutral oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix together the wet ingredients. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and mix well.
- Press the granola mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes for chewy granola bars. The edges should just start to turn brown. For crunchier granola bars, bake until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing from the pan with the foil. Cut into 18 bars.
- Cool completely before handling the bars or they will fall apart.
- Store individually wrapped and air-tight for 2-3 weeks at room temperature.
Nutrition Information:
This granola bar recipe was originally published April 2010. It was updated May 2019 with new photos and a video. Original photo below.
shelly (cookies and cups) says
love homemade granola bars!I wish I made them more often because my kids love them….I am pretty sure that a fruit roll up does not count as produce, so the teacher and the lady behind me in line at the grocery surely shake their head and deem me “loser”. 🙂
Karly says
BethieofVA,
I think you’d be fine replacing the wheat germ with more oats!
Enjoy!
Karly
Karly says
Memoria,
I should have used the term “scored” rather than “judged” maybe. I’m not looking at the PERSON buying the groceries, just the groceries themselves. I have many, many friends who never (ever!) buy fresh food and prepare it themselves. I’m not “judging” them at all. If that works for them, then that’s what matters. Sure, I think it’d be great if they ate healthy, but I don’t think less of them because they don’t.
I just use my little grocery game as a way to pass the time and motivate me to buy more healthy food!
Either way, you’re right, it’s not my business, but people are nosy by nature. 😉
Thanks for reading!
Karly
Karly says
Oh, Matt, you’re full of questions this morning, aren’t you? 🙂
I didn’t have any issue cutting them at all. I waited for them to cool for just a few minutes, then I used a pizza cutter and sliced through them all. I then waited until they were fully cooled before taking them off the baking sheet. Cut them before they cool completely, but let them finish cooling after they’re cut. Make sense?
I always make them chewy. Just watch for the edges to start to brown and then take them out of the oven. Every oven is different, so your time will vary a bit.
I’ve never tried making them in a 9×9 pan before. I have used my 9 x 13 pan and left about a 1-2 inch gap at the edge of the long side of the pan, just to make them a bit taller. They don’t spread, so you don’t have to worry about that. I would go ahead and give it a try and just remove them from the oven once the edges are brown.
Hope you enjoy these little guys!
Karly
Matt says
The granola bars look great, and I can’t wait to try them!
Did you have any issue cutting? I’ve made Alton Brown’s granola bars before, but cutting them into actual bars was always a frustration. I either cut too soon and they fell apart, or I waited until it was cool and couldn’t cut them at all.
Have you cooked them at the “chewy” time level? I prefer chewy but have only ever made crunchy bars.
Also, could this recipe fit a 9×9 pan and just make taller bars without adjusting the cooking time?
BethieofVA says
I would to give these a try and everything, but the wheat germ. Do you think I could just bump up the oats or the flour?
Thanks!
grace says
i definitely have similar issues. i’m a grocery-cart-judger to the extreme, and i can only hope that i don’t accidentally ‘tsk’ out loud or shake my head too noticeably…
yes, homemade granola and granola bars are a must–they’re so much better than boxed stuff since you can pick EXACTLY what you want to go inside. great post, karly. 🙂
Memoria says
Wow. hearing that so many people play this sort of game makes me not want to go shopping anymore. What I buy is supposed to be MY business, but I now see that it is the business of others, as well. I never look at what other people buy unless I’m shopping with the person. I don’t think we should judge others because you don’t know why they are buying what they buy, and you have no right to know either.
Well, on a positive note, i think your granola bars look amazing. I like that you didn’t add nuts to them. I think this is one granola bar I could actually make.
Heather says
Thanks for the recipe!! Always looking for healthy ways to feed my family.
And….I LOVE playing that game!!! I’m convinced that we’d see less diagnosis of some behavioral disorders, less scripts for behavior modifying drugs, better performance in schools, etc. if parents would stop and pay attention to what they are putting into their children’s bodies!
Convenience is great, no doubt. But my families health is more important.
Linda says
I completely agree that it’s not ALWAYS cheaper, but when time = money (and in our society it does) convenience is key. It sucks that good food isn’t readily available to everyone and it’s easy to judge people who make “bad” decisions even if there wasn’t much of a choice in the matter. If only fresh fruits and veggies were subsidized like genetically modified corn!
I wasn’t necessarily offended by the “game”–just thought I’d offer a little perspective/insight because no one likes to be judged and food doesn’t give or take away moral value to those who eat it. 🙂 fortunately or unfortunately, though, judgment and fear of being judged are great at motivating people to eat healthily. Maybe. IDK.
Social politics and soapboxes aside, I do think your blog is totally awesome.
Karly says
Linda,
I didn’t mean to offend anyone. My little game is just for fun and more often than I’d like, I’m the one with the cart full of junk. I just think it’s entertaining to see if I can “beat” the other shoppers and it motivates me to stuff my cart with veggies instead of frozen pizzas.
That being said, I have to disagree that eating fresh food is always more expensive than the processed/frozen meals. I think it’s more of a convenience factor, but I don’t want to get in a debate.
Thanks for reading!
Karly
Linda says
These look delicious, but it’s pretty classist to judge folks based on what’s in their shopping carts. Processed “food” is full of crap, yes, but it’s also much cheaper than Real Food. I’m not saying I’ve never judged anyone with a cart full of processed crap but not everyone has the resources to eat well and that shouldn’t be a moral issue.
/soapbox
Amber says
Judging people in the grocery line is my favorite part about shopping….glad to know I am not alone here.
Karly says
Em,
I’ve never tried baking with any flours other than wheat before, but I imagine that they would work just fine! I’d replace the wheat germ with more oats and try out a different flour. Let me know how it goes!
Karly
Em. says
I totally play that same game at the grocery store. I’m constantly judging people instantly based on what kind of garbage they’re hiding in their shopping cart.
Now, do you think there’s a way to craft these yummy little friends without the wheat flour or wheat germ? More oats, maybe? And a different flour?