Homemade Granola Bars are so easy to make and taste better than the store bought variety! This easy granola bar recipe is filled with oats, rice cereal, honey, peanut butter, flaxseed and coconut oil.
Homemade Granola Bars are the perfect snack for kids (and us grown-ups too!) and I often make a batch of these on a weekly basis for my kids to eat in lunches and/or after school as a snack. My kids love to help make them too and it’s fun to change up some of the ingredients and add some different mix-ins to make them different occasionally.
What can you add to granola bars?
Besides the basic ingredients, the sky is the limit as far as what you can add in! We usually just sprinkle mini chocolate chips on the top, but you can add chopped nuts, dried fruit, white chocolate chips, mini M&Ms, sunflower seeds, etc. The recipe calls for peanut butter, but you can substitute a different kind of nut butter if you prefer.
Are granola bars gluten-free?
Yes, homemade granola bars are gluten-free! Just make sure that your oats and crisp rice cereal are gluten-free and the rest of the ingredients should be safe as well!
Ingredients in Homemade Granola Bars
Crisp rice cereal – This is basically Rice Krispies! If you are trying to make these gluten-free, make sure that you use a gluten-free crispy rice cereal because regular Rice Krispies are not gluten-free.
Oats – Old-fashioned oats work the best, but sometimes I use quick oats and they work great too. Or a combination of the two – whatever I’ve got on hand! Again, if you need to make these gluten-free, make sure that your oats are gluten free because not all oats are.
Flaxseed – Make sure to buy ground flaxseed! This can usually be found in the baking aisle at the grocery store and adds a great little nutritious boost to lots of different recipes.
Brown sugar – Light brown sugar works the best and you can reduce the amount a little bit if you’d like.
Honey – There’s a lot of honey in this recipe! Any type of honey will work – I usually get this at Costco since we go through a lot!
Coconut oil – You can use vegetable oil or canola oil, but I like the taste (and health benefits!) of coconut oil the best. You can use the solid kind (you’ll be melting it down in the recipe anyways), or you can use the liquid variety.
Peanut butter – I usually use creamy peanut butter because that’s what we keep on hand, but crunchy peanut butter works well too. You can also use another type of nut butter if you prefer (almond, cashew, etc).
Vanilla extract – Adds a great pop of flavor, but can be left out if preferred.
Mini chocolate chips – Can easily be left out, but sprinkling a few on the top is absolutely delicious and we usually add them in. You can use regular sized chocolate chips if you want, but I think the mini ones work better for this recipe.
How to make Homemade Granola Bars
In a large bowl, combine the oats, crispy rice cereal and ground flaxseed until well mixed.
In a small saucepan, add the brown sugar, honey and coconut oil. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Boil for one minute and then remove from heat.
Add the peanut butter and vanilla extract and stir until smooth.
Pour the peanut butter mixture over the oat mixture and stir until well combined. Let the mixture cool for about 6 or 7 minutes. While the mixture is cooling, line a jelly roll pan (about 12.5″ X 17.5″ X 1″) with parchment paper.
Once the mixture has cooled, pour the mixture onto the parchment paper lined pan and spread around with a mixing spoon until it’s evenly spread on the pan. Once the mixture is evenly distributed on the pan, you need to press it to compact it. The easiest way to do this is to use an identical jelly roll pan and press the granola bars down. Even if you don’t have another pan that is exactly the same size, you could use a 9X13 or another similar pan to press the granola bars down.
Sprinkle the mini chocolate chips evenly across the top of the granola bars and then use your extra pan to press them down into the granola bars. Only do this once and do it immediately after sprinkling the chocolate chips. I’ve learned the hard way that if you wait too long or you try to press them multiple times, the chocolate chips will stick to the bottom of your extra pan and get all melty. So do it quickly and do it once and it works perfectly!
You can slice and serve immediately, but if you let them sit for a few hours, they will set up a little bit more and be easier to slice up. If you are going to wrap them up individually, place the pan in the refrigerator or freezer for a bit so that the chocolate chips on top will harden up before wrapping them in plastic wrap. Can be stored at room temperature for up to a week (if they last that long)!
Homemade Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 4 cups crisp rice cereal
- 2 2/3 cups old fashioned oats
- 2/3 cups ground flax seed
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups honey
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 to 1 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the oats, crispy rice cereal and ground flaxseed until well mixed.
- In a small saucepan, add the brown sugar, honey and coconut oil. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Boil for one minute and then remove from heat.
- Add the peanut butter and vanilla extract and stir until smooth.
- Pour the peanut butter mixture over the oat mixture and stir until well combined. Let the mixture cool for about 6 or 7 minutes. While the mixture is cooling, line a jelly roll pan (about 12.5" X 17.5" X 1") with parchment paper.
- Once the mixture has cooled, pour the mixture onto the parchment paper lined pan and spread around with a mixing spoon until it's evenly spread on the pan. Once the mixture is evenly distributed on the pan, you need to press it to compact it. The easiest way to do this is to use an identical jelly roll pan and press the granola bars down. Even if you don't have another pan that is exactly the same size, you could use a 9X13 or another similar pan to press the granola bars down.
- Sprinkle the mini chocolate chips evenly across the top of the granola bars and then use your extra pan to press them down into the granola bars. Only do this once and do it immediately after sprinkling the chocolate chips. I've learned the hard way that if you wait too long or you try to press them multiple times, the chocolate chips will stick to the bottom of your extra pan and get all melty. So do it quickly and do it once and it works perfectly!
- You can slice and serve immediately, but if you let them sit for a few hours, they will set up a little bit more and be easier to slice up. If you are going to wrap them up individually, place the pan in the refrigerator or freezer for a bit so that the chocolate chips on top will harden up before wrapping them in plastic wrap. Can be stored at room temperature for up to a week (if they last that long)!
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Can granola bars be frozen?
Yes, granola bars can very easily be frozen. Although, my kids eat them so fast that we don’t usually find it necessary to freeze them. To freeze the granola bars, slice them up and then place in the freezer for about an hour. Once they are partially frozen, they can be individually wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in the freezer. This works great for school lunches – kids can grab them out of the freezer in the morning, stick them in their lunch and it will be completely thawed in plenty of time for lunch!
More peanut butter snack recipes:
- Creamy Peanut Butter Dip
- Oatmeal Peanut Butter Protein Balls
- Peanut Butter Pretzels
- Peanut Butter Popcorn
- No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookies
- Peanut Butter Fudge Cups
- Peanut Butter Banana Bars
- No-Bake Peanut Butter Banana Fudge Bars
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Dip
Homemade Granola Bars are so easy to make and they taste better than the store bought variety! This healthy granola bar recipe is filled with oats, rice cereal, honey, peanut butter, flaxseed and coconut oil.
Jessie says
Yum! These look fabulous!
Marsha Baker says
Oh I was just going to say the same thing! These look fabulous! YUM-OOOOO! Thanks for sharing at Weekend Potluck.
T.D. says
Hi there, just popping in from the Tatertots and Jello link party. These are drool worthy; I've always wanted to know how to make Granola Bars!
Amber Brady says
I love the bulk section at WINCO! Thanks for sharing at Sweet & Savory Saturdays!<br /><br />~Amber<br />http://dessertnowdinnerlater.blogspot.com/
Shelly L Broeckx says
Hi,
I made this today and even though I left off 1/2 cup honey, it is too sweet for me. It was quite sticky so I added about 1/3 cup coconut and about 1/4 cup quick oats. Still had lots of stick togetherness.
Can I use only 1/2 cup honey and still have them hold together?
Nellie says
The granola bars are pretty sweet! I’m not sure if they would stick together if you reduce the honey to 1/2 cup. They would still taste good though, so you could just eat them with a spoon at that point if they don’t!
Sarah says
Mine have been cooling for approximately 1 hour and not hardening? Any suggestions?
Nellie says
They shouldn’t really harden too much, but should set up enough that they don’t fall apart when you pick up each granola bar. Did they ever set up?
Barbara Falstad says
These are delicious! It bugs me a bit when people write all the changes they made to a recipe, but I needed to cut down on the sweetening. I used recommended amt of rice cereal and oats, and I added approx half a cup of raisins, I/2 c dried cherries, around a third cup each of pumpkin seeds and 1/3 cup sunflower seeds. Used the recipe amounts of peanut butter and coconut oil. Cut the brown sugar in half , and honey to one cup. Sprinkled mini choc chips on top. Thanks for the great recipe
Guadalupe E Martinez says
I don’t have coconut oil, what can I substitute? They look delicious
Nellie says
You can swap in vegetable or canola oil if you prefer.