I am hesitant to put this down on paper (as you will) since writing it will seem to make it true. But alas, there is no avoiding it. This summer has come to an end, and not just because New England seems to be on strike with producing warm weather.
Zach and I must return to work as teachers tomorrow. Siggghhh.
I know, I know… we are lucky we had a summer vacation at all. Sorry, I got sulky there for a second. Let me look at the silver lining! For one thing, I can get back to problem solving for this blog and really hone in on the real food for busy people aspect… I have drifted away from this since I have had inordinate amounts of time for the past six weeks to make whatever cooking creations from scratch I wanted! So, good news for the blog.
For another thing, back to school means more snacks, which I like to keep as healthy and as energizing as possible, as well as easy-to-make. So, without further ado (and complaining), the first back-to-school snack on the menu: DIY chewy granola bars!
What is awesome about these granola bars? I will tell you.
- You can basically use any combination of ingredients you want! This recipe consists of oats, nuts/seeds, and dried fruit, bound together with coconut oil and sweetened with honey.
- These are no-bake granola bars, which makes them really easy! The method is similar to making rice crispy treats- just heat up some liquid ingredients, add the dry, and press into a baking dish and allow to cool. Boom. Done.
- They stick together! There is no crumbly mess! (well, maybe there are one or two crumbs, but almost every other granola bar recipe I have made has resulted more in granola rather than a bar, which is less portable and totally not as fun).
- They are super duper healthy. No refined sugar, good-for-you coconut oil, and lots of fiber and good fats from the oats, nuts, and seeds. It will keep you going for a long time.
- Did I mention they taste amazing? Especially since you can add whatever fruits and flavors you want, catering it to your own tastes.
When I made these, I used what I had available. I had dried figs leftover from a recipe I made months ago, plus some almonds, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds. I have a never-ending amount of chia seeds (anyone else have this problem? They really should come in smaller packages, if you ask me.) so I threw some of those in there as well, and since I made a delicious coconut cardamom granola a while ago, I added cardamom for flavor, along with cinnamon and nutmeg, which paired VERY well with the figs.
In the recipe below, I explain the ratios I used for these cardamom fig granola bars, as well as how to add your own ingredients. On my mental list of future granola bar combinations:
- Orange cranberry (I’ll add orange zest as a spice and dried cranberries to the bars)
- Ginger molasses (I’ll substitute molasses for the honey)
- Carrot cake (think I can use shredded carrots in place of dried fruit?)
- Honey almond (simple, no extra spices and omit the fruit)
- Peanut butter (add peanuts and peanut butter to the mix)
- Chocolate coconut (coconut flakes and cocoa powder)
If you make these and find a magical combination, or if you have any other ideas for combos, please share it below!
One important note: it is very important to press these into the baking dish very well- as much as you can. I used my Lodge Cast-Iron Grill Press to make sure it was sufficiently pressed, but you can also just use your hands. Just cover the top of the granola bars with parchment paper and press away!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go sulk because summer is over. (and by sulk, I mean eat a granola bar) :-)
DIY No-Bake Chewy Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup coconut oil or butter
- 1/4 cup honey or other sweetener, such as molasses, agave, etc.
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- other spices/flavors I used 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon cardamom, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and a pinch of nutmeg
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup nuts/seeds I used 1/2 cup sliced raw almonds, 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, and 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 cup chopped dried fruit I used chopped dried figs. You can omit the fruit if you want.
Instructions
- Melt coconut oil, honey, salt, and other spices/flavors in a medium saucepan.
- When liquid mixture melts and becomes a bit foamy, turn the heat down to low, add the oats and stir to coat.
- Add the nuts/seeds, and stir to coat.
- Finally, add the dried fruit, and fold in to the mixture.
- Continue cooking on low heat for just a couple minutes (this will soften the ingredients slightly before you cool them, allowing them to stick together better).
- Meanwhile, line a small baking dish (mine measures 6" by 8") with parchment paper or plastic wrap, leaving the sides of the paper/wrap long.
- Add the mixture to the dish; press with the back of a wooden spoon so it is evenly spread out.
- Fold the parchment paper/plastic wrap over the granola so the top is covered (get more if necessary). Press the granola aggressively, so it is as packed as you can make it. I used my grill press, but you can also use a dish or cup, or your hands. Just make sure it is well packed and evenly distributed!
- Place in refrigerator and allow to cool completely- at least two hours, but I recommend overnight.
- Remove granola from parchment paper- it should be in one big block. Cut into 6-8 bars, and wrap individually in plastic wrap. Store in the fridge for about 2 weeks.
Notes
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Desmond Downs
I’m enjoying this recipe, my wife is happy that I’m actually doing stuff like this in the kitchen. To me the biggest challenge has been to know when to turn the heat down – perhaps a video would help in this regard. I got one batch perfect because I had the ingredients evenly matched and the whole lot frothed up so I turned the heat down and added my ingredients. On this last batch I think I had too much coconut oil so I slightly burned the mixture waiting for the whole lot to froth up which it obviously can’t with too much coconut oil. At the moment I’m using 500g honey and 500g coconut oil – maybe I should make smaller batches while I’m still experimenting :)
Elizabeth
So happy you are liking this recipe, and it sounds like you’re having lots of fun experimenting! Thanks very much for the suggestion on a video- I think I’ll do that soon. You really don’t need to cook it much- just enough for everything to melt together and soften the ingredients a little bit. I think as soon as everything melts you can turn the heat down and should be fine! Thanks for the comment :-)
Annette Murphy
Hi these are fab, iv been making no bake granola bars from other recipes found on line but wondered why they fell apart easily , thank you for your version …putting all ingredients into the melted coconut pot to soften… Wow….of course this is the solution , thank you lots …oh and I use a potato masher to compact the ingredients…works well too . ?
Elizabeth
So glad you liked them! Thanks for the tip about the potato masher- genius!
Emily Wolfhardt
I really like the recipe but had to find somthing differenz instead of honey because honey is not vegan
Elizabeth
Agave syrup would probably work well, or maple syrup!
Susan White
These are awesome and so easy to make! It’s so great to know exactly what is in my granola bar. I think I will never buy another granola bar since these take just minutes to prepare. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Elizabeth
Yay! Happy you liked the recipe. Thanks for the comment :-)
Caro
Really delicious and hard not to dtuff your face wiyh them xx do you have carb/calorie count ??
Elizabeth
So glad you liked them! I’m in the process of updating my recipes to have nutrition information. I went ahead and added it to this one based on your comment (so, thanks!). Looks like it’s about 308 calories and 41.4g carbs per bar. Keep in mind that I do my best to provide accurate nutrition information for my recipes, but I am not a nutritionist. The provided nutrition information is my best estimate. It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I used this calculator to figure it out. Hope that’s helpful!
Emily Widor
I make these every week for my family. Some adds I’ve enjoyed: dried apples and cinnamon, vanilla, sesame seeds, spirulina, maple syrup and walnuts, almond butter, and cashew butter (a little gooy-er). I’ve also added nutritional yeast and flax (with other flavors) as galactagogues. It’s fun to experiment and a nice way to use up pantry items!
Elizabeth
So happy these have been good for you and your family! I love your add-ins. I agree- it’s great to use up that random 1/4 cup of whatever you have left in your pantry without letting it go to waste. Thanks for the comment!
Lauren
My husband and I love these!! Any idea what the nutritional info is per bar?
Elizabeth
So glad you both like this recipe! I don’t include nutrition information on my recipes… yet. It’s on my 2018 to do list! :-) In the meantime, you can use this nifty calculator to figure it out easily. Hope that helps!
Naomi
Where I live it’s sometimes hard to find GF oats – could you sub rice krispies??
Elizabeth
What a fun idea! I haven’t tried it, but I think it would work, and I think it would have an awesome texture.
Susan Paquette
When you use coconut oil do you mean the kind that is solid at room temperature or the oil that is liquid?
Thanks
Elizabeth
I use the kind that is solid at room temperature- unrefined, virgin. I don’t think you can find one already in liquid form that’s unrefined/virgin (which is healthier, similar to olive oil). Hope that helps!
Bibi Eik Bergfjord
First foolproof no bake bar recipe!
I manage my epilepsy by way of ketogenic diet, so I replaced oats with finely shredded coconut, doubled the coconut oil, went with flax, sesame and pumpkin seeds, omitted the fruit, sweetened with stevia, cinnamon, cardamom and gave it a shot of cayenne for fun.
For my son I just made a regular batch with vanilla and popped amaranth.
Thank you – it’s been sort of life changing…????
Bibi Eik Bergfjord
Oh – raw cacao butter and cacao makes a lovely version that keeps very well together even at room temperature!
Elizabeth
Such a great tip, I can’t wait to try this!
Elizabeth
I’m so happy you like the recipe! I LOVE your suggestions, especially adding cardamom and cayenne (so creative and yummy!).
Lauren
Just made these but used Carob chips chips instead of fruit. They turned out so well! I’ll definitely make them again. Thanks for the recipe!
Elizabeth
So glad you liked them!
Rose
Hi there
Any advice on how I could remove the oats from this recipe, making it gluten free?
Many thanks.
Rose
Haha. That sounds like a ridiculous question with a very obvious answer: “remove the oats!” My concern is that the oats are the main binding ingredient. So my question should have been, can you suggest an alternative to oats?
Many thanks
Elizabeth
And you’re right- it is the binding ingredient so you definitely need them! :-) If you don’t want the oats at all (even gluten free ones) you might need a completely grain free recipe- here’s one that looks pretty good! It uses a ton of nuts and seeds. http://againstallgrain.com/2012/02/10/dark-chocolate-peanut-butter-granola-bars/
Heidi
Or try using the flax egg substitute which is an excellent binding alternative: 1 Tbsp milled flax seed plus 3 Tbsp warm water. Mix in a bowl and let sit for 5 minutes. Works like a charm!
Elizabeth
Oats are gluten free- just make sure you buy certified gluten free oats at the store (some brands process it in factories with gluten products so they sometimes get contaminated).
Rachel
would these come out ok if I left out the oil/butter?
Elizabeth
I’ve never tried it, but my instincts are telling me that it wouldn’t work. I think the oil helps bind the bars together (which is one of the reasons why they need to stay refrigerated). You could try cutting the oil in half, if you want! Also, I think you could try using peanut butter or almond butter instead (they have a high natural oil content, but also have a ton of protein to make the bars even more nutrient packed). In any case, 1/4 cup is only 4 tablespoons, which means about a half a tablespoon of oil per bar. If you try this with PB, less, or no oil, let me know how it comes out- I’m curious :-)
Rachel
thank you for your quick response.I will try them with natural no added oil peanut butter I’ll let you know how it goes
Savannah
Hello,
I’m thinking about trying this recipe, and I’m curious to know if fresh fruit would work with these bars. More specifically, I want to know if I can use fresh blueberries instead of dried ones. Since honey or molasses is in the ingredients, I don’t want the bars to be too sweet. I have such a hard time finding unsweetened dried blueberries.
Elizabeth
The only problem with dried fruit is its high water content, which can make the bars fall apart. I tried making them once with fresh cherries and they completely fell apart! Dried blueberries can be hard to find. Do you have a trader joes near you? I think they have some! If not, I would stick to other kinds of dried fruit for this recipe.
Savannah
Yes, there’s one near me. I’ll be sure to check there. Thanks.
Debriana
If there is a Winco grocery store near you they have an excellent bulk food section with a wonderful dried food section.
Mitch
This is great! We just used oats and raw unsalted pumpkin seeds, but made sure we roasted both of them. So basically, we didn’t follow your recipe much at all. (laugh) It tasted fabulous! Thank you so much.
Mary Kate
These are fantastic. They got rave reviews froom my hubby as well as my 3 and 5 year olds. Thanks for such a flexible recipe! I’ve tried several and this one is so easy and helps me clean out my pantry.
Elizabeth
Thank you so much, Mary Kate! So glad you and your family liked them. I agree- you can use up almost anything you have in your pantry for them and clear some space, which is great!
Robyn
Hi, i’ve made these 3 times now! Firstly I used honey, coconut oil, vanilla extract, sea salt and 1 tbspn cacao with oats, 1/2 cup flaked almonds 1/2 cup desiccated coconut (no fruit) LOVED these, so did them again but with 2 tbspn cacao to up the choco hit. Then I used your orange and cranberry idea. Honey, coconut oil, sea salt, 2tbspn cacao, 1tbspn orange zest. Then oats, 1/4 each of chia seeds, flaked almonds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds and 1/2 cup cranberries. Now THIS is better than any shop bought granola bar! Tastes just like orange chocolate :p thankyou for the awesome reciepe base!
Elizabeth
Robyn- I’m so so so happy you like these so much! And thanks so much for providing all of these awesome suggestions!! :)
dianepage
These are a good chewy bar – mine also do fall apart if left too long at room temp, which makes sense. Doubled the recipe and chilled in a 9×13. Used 1/3 oats, 1/3 nuts (ground almonds, coconut), 1/3 fruit (raisins, dates, apricots). Thanks!
Steph
Just made these… with some of my own twists :)
They’re cooling now, so time will tell, but they look so yummy, and it was super easy! I usually avoid granola bar recipes that involve more than one dish.. but these were pretty close!
So heres what I did:
I doubled the recipe…
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup LSA mix
2 cups nuts (i used sunflower, white chia, crushed pecans, roughly shred coconut, slivered almonds)
1 1/2 cups dried fruit (1 cup goji berries & 1/2 cup sultanas)
I can’t wait to try them!!!! thanks!
Elizabeth
Thanks so much for sharing your twists! I love the addition of peanut butter. I bet that makes them stick together better at room temperature (my recipe keeps together well if they are refrigerated, but falls apart at room temp). Can’t wait to try some of these! Hope you like them!
Cassie
I love how easy you’ve made it to customize this recipe. I can’t wait to try it because every granola bar recipe I’ve tried has turned into granola too!
Rachel @LittleChefBigAppetite
These look so yummy!
Mary
Can makes these with dates instead of honey
Elizabeth
Great idea, that would totally work!