Chewy No-Bake Homemade Granola Bars
Make simple, chewy granola bars at home without baking. These bars use natural sweeteners and allow you to add your favorite mix-ins for a quick, healthy snack.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 0 min
- Total Time: 2 hr 15 min
- Yield: 12 bars
- Category: Snack
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup crispy rice cereal (optional, for texture)
- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter or almond butter
- 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup mix-ins (e.g., chopped nuts, seeds, dried fruit, mini chocolate chips)
Instructions
- Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal.
- In a large bowl, combine the rolled oats and crispy rice cereal, if using.
- In a small saucepan over low heat, warm the peanut butter and honey (or maple syrup) until smooth and easily stirrable. Do not boil.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet mixture over the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly until everything is evenly coated.
- Stir in your chosen mix-ins.
- Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the prepared pan. Use the back of a spatula or another piece of parchment paper to compact the mixture tightly.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until completely firm.
- Lift the bars out of the pan using the parchment paper overhang. Cut into 12 or 16 even bars.
- Store the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Notes
- For a gluten-free option, use certified gluten-free rolled oats.
- If you prefer a firmer bar, slightly reduce the amount of liquid sweetener.
- You can substitute sunflower seed butter for nut butter to make these school safe for nut-free environments.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 200
- Sugar: 12
- Sodium: 50
- Fat: 10
- Saturated Fat: 2
- Unsaturated Fat: 8
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 25
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 6
- Cholesterol: 0