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Photo: Fred Hardy
There are plenty of good options in the granola bar aisle at the grocery store, but some are loaded with added sugar. Homemade granola bars are super-easy to make-and you can control the ingredients and keep added sugar to a minimum. Using this granola bar formula, you can pick your favorite combination of nuts, seeds, fruit and flavorings. If you’re a parent, this is a no-brainerhealthy kids' snackto pack for school or camp. Make a big batch at the beginning of the week and have healthy grab-and-go snacks all week long. Try one of our favorite flavor combos or make up your own.
Basic Granola Bar Recipe
Active Time:20 minutes |Total Time:1 1/2 hours
To make ahead:Individually wrap and store at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Equipment:Parchment paper
Makes:2 dozen bars
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup crispy brown rice cereal
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cupsMix-Ins(see below)
2/3 cup brown rice syrup or corn syrup
1/2 cupNut or Seed Butter(see below)
1 teaspoonFlavoring(see below)
Here are the 4 steps to the best healthy granola bars:
1. Prep Your Pan.
Photographer: Fred Hardy II, Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey, Prop Stylist: Claire Spollen
Lightly coat with cooking spray.
2. Mix the Dry Ingredients.
Fred Hardy
The base starts with rolled oats (for gluten-free granola bars, be sure to buy gluten-free oats), brown rice cereal and a mix of nuts, seeds, fruit, coconut and/or chocolate. Cut larger dried fruit into 1/4-inch pieces, otherwise the bars could fall apart. Toast your seeds and chopped nuts to give them more flavor.
Combine 3 cupsold-fashioned rolled oats, 1 cupcrispy brown rice cerealand1/4 teaspoon saltwith2 cups total mix-insin a large bowl. Here are some ingredients you could mix in:
Driedfruit(chopinto¼-inch pieces if large):
Choppedtoastednuts:
Toastedseeds:
Other add-ins:
3. Hold It Together.
A sticky combination of brown rice syrup and nut or seed butter glues the bars together. We tested several other sticky sweeteners, including maple syrup and honey, but found brown rice syrup held the bars together the best. The nut or seed butter adds a bit of extra stickiness plus a bit of protein.
Combine 2/3 cupbrown rice syrup, 1/2 cupNut or Seed Butterand 1 teaspoonFlavoringin a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds (or heat in a saucepan over medium heat for 1 minute). Add to the dry ingredients and stir until evenly combined. Transfer to the prepared pan and firmly press into the pan with a spatula.
Nut or Seed Butter:
Flavorings:
4. Bake ‘Em Up.
Whether you choose chewy or crunchy granola bars, both will be soft when they come out of the oven but will firm up as they cool.
For chewy granola bars:Bake until barely starting to color around the edges and still soft in the middle, 20 to 25 minutes.
For crunchy granolabars:Bake until golden brown around the edges and somewhat firm in the middle, 30 to 35 minutes.
Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Using the overhanging parchment, lift the bars out of the pan onto a cutting board (they will still be soft). Cut into 24 bars and let cool completely without separating the bars, about 30 minutes. Once cool, separate into bars.
Our Favorite Flavor Combos to Try
01of 07Coconut-Chocolate Chip Granola BarsFred HardyTry the Recipe1 cup semisweet chocolate chips1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut1/2 cup tahini1 tsp. vanilla extract02of 07Cranberry-Almond Granola BarsTry the Recipe1 cup dried cranberries1/2 cup each almonds and pecans1/2 cup smooth almond butter1 tsp. vanilla extract03of 07Banana-Peanut Granola BarsTry the Recipe1 cup chopped dried banana1/2 cup each macadamia nuts and unsalted peanuts1/2 cup smooth peanut butter1 tsp. ground ginger04of 07Apricot-Sunflower Granola BarsFred HardyTry the Recipe1 cup chopped dried apricots1/2 cup each unsalted pepitas and sunflower seeds1/2 cup smooth sunflower butter1 tsp. ground cinnamon05of 07Date-Pistachio Granola BarsTry the Recipe1 cup chopped pitted dates1/2 cup each chopped hazelnuts and chopped unsalted pistachios1/2 cup tahini1 tsp. ground cardamom06of 07Blueberry-Cashew Granola BarsTry the Recipe1 cup dried blueberries1/2 cup chopped unsalted cashews and flaxseed1/2 cup smooth cashew butter1 tsp. coconut extract07of 07Cherry-Chocolate Chip Granola BarsTry the Recipe1 cup chopped dried cherries1/3 cup each chopped unsalted almonds, mini chocolate chips and unsweetened shredded coconut1/2 cup almond butter1 tsp. vanilla extract
01of 07Coconut-Chocolate Chip Granola BarsFred HardyTry the Recipe1 cup semisweet chocolate chips1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut1/2 cup tahini1 tsp. vanilla extract
01of 07
Coconut-Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Try the Recipe
02of 07Cranberry-Almond Granola BarsTry the Recipe1 cup dried cranberries1/2 cup each almonds and pecans1/2 cup smooth almond butter1 tsp. vanilla extract
02of 07
Cranberry-Almond Granola Bars
03of 07Banana-Peanut Granola BarsTry the Recipe1 cup chopped dried banana1/2 cup each macadamia nuts and unsalted peanuts1/2 cup smooth peanut butter1 tsp. ground ginger
03of 07
Banana-Peanut Granola Bars
04of 07Apricot-Sunflower Granola BarsFred HardyTry the Recipe1 cup chopped dried apricots1/2 cup each unsalted pepitas and sunflower seeds1/2 cup smooth sunflower butter1 tsp. ground cinnamon
04of 07
Apricot-Sunflower Granola Bars
05of 07Date-Pistachio Granola BarsTry the Recipe1 cup chopped pitted dates1/2 cup each chopped hazelnuts and chopped unsalted pistachios1/2 cup tahini1 tsp. ground cardamom
05of 07
Date-Pistachio Granola Bars
06of 07Blueberry-Cashew Granola BarsTry the Recipe1 cup dried blueberries1/2 cup chopped unsalted cashews and flaxseed1/2 cup smooth cashew butter1 tsp. coconut extract
06of 07
Blueberry-Cashew Granola Bars
07of 07Cherry-Chocolate Chip Granola BarsTry the Recipe1 cup chopped dried cherries1/3 cup each chopped unsalted almonds, mini chocolate chips and unsweetened shredded coconut1/2 cup almond butter1 tsp. vanilla extract
07of 07
Cherry-Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
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