Easy Homemade Granola Bars with Mixed Nuts and Honey

Who doesn’t love granola bars? I know I do! These easy homemade granola bars are a tasty and portable snack that everyone will love.

They're healthier than store-bought granola bars and come together quickly. Soft and chewy, they’re everything you’d dream a granola bar would be!

Homemade granola bars are simple to make with wholesome ingredients. This flavor-filled version gets its sweetness from honey, is loaded with oats, mixed nuts, and includes just a pinch of salt. You’re about to fall in love with these!

What is a Granola Bar?

So, what exactly is a granola bar, anyway? A granola bar is a snack made from a mixture of oat and other ingredients. These other ingredients include nuts and seeds such as peanuts, walnuts, pecans, almonds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds.

Fresh or dried fruits are also added to them at times, such as cranberries, cherries, blueberries. These granola bars usually include natural sweeteners such as honey, maple syrup, dates, or nut seed butter such as peanut butter, almond butter, etc.

Many people love granola bars with some coconut flakes or chocolate chips. As you can see, they can have a wide variety of flavors! They can also be vegan and gluten-free!

Are Granola Bars Healthy?

Whether granola bars are healthy or not depends largely on the ingredients. The ones you buy from a grocery store will almost always have loads of preservatives and unhealthy ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup.

The healthier they get in-store, the more expensive they get as well. That’s why homemade granola bars are incredibly good for you!

Not only do they cost a fraction of the price to make, but they are many times healthier for you as well! Plus, you can customize the flavor to fit exactly what you like with a variety of ingredients!

In terms of nutrition, granola bars can pack a punch! They’re a good source of fiber and protein, which helps curb your appetite and makes for a great healthy snack since they’re also low in calories.

In my granola bar recipe, oats help lower cholesterol levels, enhance the immune system, and stabilize blood sugar. Honey, on the other hand, helps prevent cancer and skin diseases. Even the spices are good for strengthening your digestive system!

What is the Difference Between Granola and Granola Bars?

Granola is a toasted mixture of oats, nuts, and seeds which is usually served as a breakfast. Granola bars are when you take that granola oats mixture and add a binding agent to it such as honey, dates, maple syrup. This is then baked to create granola bars.

Granola bars tend to be a handy breakfast or on-the-go snack, while granola is more of an at-home treat.

What You Need to Make Homemade Granola Bars

Making granola bars at home is incredibly easy! Makes me wonder why anyone ever opts for the store-bought versions.

To make the recipe super easy to follow along with, I’ve divided the ingredients into dry and wet categories. Here’s what you’ll need to make them at home:

Dry Ingredients:

Oats: This is the base of what granola bars are all about! We’ll be using a combination of quick-cooking oats and old-fashioned oats.

All-purpose flour: It helps to bring everything together.

Nuts: Nuts, loads, and loads of nuts! I’m using chopped peanuts and almonds in this recipe.

Dried fruit: The one I’m using is raisins, they go incredibly well with all types of nuts and seeds.

Spices: We’ll be using two types of spices that will add an extra something to your granola bars, namely nutmeg, and cinnamon.

Salt: Just a pinch of salt to enhance all the flavors!

Wet Ingredients:

Honey: This is what makes everything come together.

Butter: We’ll be using melted butter in this recipe, which adds a deliciously subtle flavor to the bars.

Egg: One large room temperature egg is all you need! It helps a ton in the baking process.

Brown Sugar: This enhances the flavor overall and will bring everything together.

Vanilla Extract: A teaspoon of vanilla extract will help bring out the flavors.

How to Make Them at Home - Step by Step

Making granola bars at home is way easier than you can imagine! Here’s a step-by-step guide to get going:

Preheat oven: Start by preheating your oven to 350F or 180C.

Line baking pan: Line an 8 by 8-inch square pan or 10 by 6-inch with parchment paper and set it aside.

Mix all the wet ingredients: In a large bowl, add the melted butter and honey, make sure the butter is not hot. Add the vanilla, brown sugar, and the egg, beat the mixture until well combined. Now is the time to add the spices, salt, and flour to the previous mixture. Mix well.

Add the dry ingredients: You can now add both rolled and quick oats to the mixture, and mix until combined, then add the raisins and the chopped nuts. Make sure that the nuts are chunky.

Pour mixture: Pour the mixture into the lined baking pan. Distribute evenly using the back of a spatula or spoon. You can also place parchment paper over the granola mixture and then press the granola down with your hand or a measuring cup just like how it is shown in the video.

Bake: Bake for 25 minutes.

Cool and cut: Let the granola cool. Cut to even bars using a sharp or a serrated knife.

How to Store Homemade Granola Bars

After you’ve cut your granola bars using a serrated knife, you can transfer them to an airtight container for storage. Place a sheet of parchment paper between layers to make sure the bars don’t stick together while storing.

You can store them in the fridge for up to a week or freeze them for up to 2 months!

They’re great to have straight out of the fridge (that’s what I prefer doing!). When taking them out of the freezer, let them thaw on the counter for about 20 to 30 minutes before eating them.

Other Recipes You'll Love

Crunchy Granola French Toast: In the mood for some other ways to have granola? This granola french toast is an amazing and delicious breakfast that is healthy, fast, and looks good. Why not have some this morning?

Pumpkin Pie Spice Granola: This delicious, festive granola is not only perfect as a healthy breakfast but incredible as a healthy snack too! My recipe uses molasses and honey instead of sugar for added health benefits!

Blueberry Strawberry Butter Bars: These delicious, buttery bars are everything you look for to satisfy your cravings for an elegant and delicious dessert.

Mixed Nuts Honey Granola Bars

Homemade granola bars are so much healthier than store-bought ones. This recipe with mixed nuts, honey, and oats makes a great breakfast or snack.

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Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Granola bars

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Servings: 6 people

Author: Muna Kenny

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

• 1 ½ tablespoon all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• ½ cup old fashioned rolled oats
• ¼ roughly chopped peanuts
• ¼ cup sliced or roughly chopped almonds
• ⅓ cup raisins
• Pinch of salt

Wet ingredients

• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 2 tablespoon honey
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• ¼ cup brown sugar packed
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
• Line 8x8 inch square pan or 10x6 inch pan with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, add the melted butter, honey, vanilla, brown sugar, and an egg. Beat well until combined.
• Now add the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and flour to wet ingredients and mix well.
• Add the rolled and quick oats mix and then add to it the raisins and the chopped nuts mix with a spatula.
• Transfer the granola mixture to the previously prepared baking pan. Using a spatula spread the granola evenly in the pan. To make sure that the granola is spread evenly, place a parchment paper over the granola and press it down by your hand or the back of a measuring cup.
• Bake for 25 minutes.
• Let the granola cool. Cut to even bars using a sharp or a serrated knife.

Video

Notes

• You can use the nuts you have available at home instead of what is mentioned in the recipe.
• If you wish you can only use one type of oats in this recipe, but keep in mind that using only quick oats the granola bars will turn out very chewy and soft.
• You can either use roasted nuts or raw nuts since they will get roasted in the oven.
• Granola bars can be thick or thin, it all depends on how crunchy or chewy you like them.
• For thinner granola bars use larger baking pan or sheet.
• The baking time will be less than 25 minutes so keep an eye on it.
• This post was published in 2016 and is updated with new images, more information, and video.

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