By Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship® / Published: 10/05/2016 / Updated: 10/11/2021
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Table Of Contents
- Transformations – Make your Healthy Homemade Granola Bars Different Every Time!
- More Healthy Bars!
- Almond Power Bars
- Quinoa Oat Protein Bars
- Grain-free Quinoa Bars
KS Healthy Granola Bar Recipe
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star4.8 from 8 reviews
- Author: Katie Kimball
- Yield: 20 bars 1x
Description
Simple, healthy granola bars, no refined sugar, and tons of variations to fit your family’s tastes.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 c. butter, softened
- 1 c. honey
- 4 1/2 c. rolled oats
- 1 1/2 c. whole wheat or spelt flour
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- Add-ins to equal 2 cups total:
- mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- chopped walnuts
- dried fruit
- sunflower seeds
- coconut (use the code STEWARDSHIP for 10% off at that site!)
- other nuts…
Instructions
- Lightly butter a 9”×13” glass pan. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, honey, and vanilla. Tip: If your butter isn’t softened, use a rolling pin and roll it between two sheets of wax paper. Or mash it with your hands while in the wrapper. Our secret.
- Add the oats, flour, and baking soda. Beat well until combined. Stir in add-ins by hand. Press mixture hard into pan. (You can use your hands!)
- Bake at 325 degrees F for 15-22 minutes until just golden brown on the edges. You will think they are too soft. They are not. Just remind yourself that there’s not even any egg in the recipe, so you can’t hurt anybody if you underbake.
- Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into bars. Let bars cool completely in pan before removing and serving. Store at room temperature or freeze.
Notes
Stickier, Chewier Granola Bars:
The one drawback of this original recipe is that it tends to be a bit crumbly, especially if you overbake the bars even slightly. You can avoid that by melting the butter, honey and vanilla in a saucepan and cooking on low for 5 minutes after the butter melts, then mixing the liquid ingredients into the dry.
Originally adapted from a recipe in Faith and Family Magazine.
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This recipe for healthy granola bars was one of the first favorites here at KS wayyyyyy back in 2009, and I’ve since improved it quite a bit since then as I republished Healthy Snacks to Go – no coincidence that it’s one of the most popular eBooks here!Scroll to the end of the post for a FREE printable preview of the eBook!
Many people are surprised that you can whip up homemade granola bars as easily as a quick batch of chocolate chip cookies. There are endless variations to this recipe, and I can almost guarantee it will become a family favorite! And in fact, there are even more tips to save time if you combine making these bars with making our healthy crunchy homemade granola.
Lately it’s even more one of my favorites because my son is getting into making them for his own lunches and snacks to share with friends. Be still, my beating heart! A boy who can cook/bake is definitely a thrill as a mom and I know he’ll impress the right kind of girl someday. 😉
He’s also been able to exercise his creative muscles by playing with the variations including chocolate, peanut butter, gluten free, dairy free and more!
His own healthy granola bars have shown up as his birthday treat for his class at school, soccer snacks, and something his friend with a ton of allergies can actually eat. #proudmom
Let’s see what your kids can do with this simple recipe – either the making or the eating!! Check out the many transformation options below…
Transformations – Make your Healthy Homemade Granola Bars Different Every Time!
- Chocolate: Add 1/4 cup cocoa powder and skip the chocolate chips – or double up on chocolate!
- Nutty Butter: Use 1/2 cup natural peanut butter, almond butter or sunbutter in place of 1/2 cup of butter – divine!
- Want crunchy bars? Spread a full batch into a large cookie sheet or a half batch in a 9×13 pan. Press firmly and bake as usual. Cool completely and cut apart, then spread individually on a baking sheet or stone and toast again for ~10-13 minutes in a preheated 325F oven. Watch carefully for browning on the edges. Now, listen closely – do not touch. Got that? Wait until the bars are totally and completely cooled on the pan before removing, and you will have sturdy, crunchy granola bars to die for.
- Bars too crumbly? Follow the directions for a brief re-toast in the bullet point above and you’ll be thrilled with the results – just slightly crunchy on the edges and with triple the stick-together-ness of the original.
- Gluten free: Just sub GF all-purpose flour for the whole wheat and it works acceptably, but more crumbly. Another used a cup mixed sorghum and brown rice flour plus a teaspoon of xanthan gum.
- Dairy free: Coconut oil (use the code STEWARDSHIP to get 10% off) works fine in place of butter, especially in the nut butter versions.
- High protein: Add up to 1/2 cup of collagen peptides to the recipe to pump up the protein and other benefits!
- Less sweetener: Honey is expensive and the “unhealthy” ingredient in this recipe. When you heat the honey, you can definitely cut it down by at least 1/3 cup and everything still holds together. I also had success substituting natural applesauce for up to 1/2 cup honey, but the resulting bars weren’t very sweet. The chocolate chips were a necessity.
- Crumbs in the bottom of the storage bag? So yummy over homemade yogurt with fresh fruit!
- What else can you do with these? Do share!
I get at least 20 good-sized bars from this recipe. I figure it might be the equivalent of 3 boxes of Quaker chewy granola bars, so even though butter and honey are on the pricey side, this still works out to be nicely frugal and so much healthier.
Lunch-packing tip: Have the kiddos (or whomever) bring home the plastic baggie each day and just toss a new bar in. Easy way to save packaging and remember to take a bar every day! OR better yet, try reusable bags – I reviewed a bunch of them to help you find the best one!
Check out all my healthy lunch packing tips and green lunch ideas, too!
More Healthy Bars!
The homemade granola bars aren’t the only easy, healthy snack bar at KS. Try these recipes for more variety:
Almond Power Bars
Quinoa Oat Protein Bars
Grain-free Quinoa Bars
Healthy Snacks to Go includes Popeye Bars, Protein Bars, and Homemade “larabars” (above). Here’s a free preview of Healthy Snacks to Go!
If you can’t see the preview above, click HERE to view it in a separate window. Click here if you like what you see and you want to order the ebook!
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Unless otherwise credited, photos are owned by the author or used with a license from Canva or Deposit Photos.
Category: Real Food Recipes
Tags: evergreen, healthy snack ideas, honey, kid-friendly, Real Food Recipes, rolled oats, snacks
