Snack

Homemade Granola Bars

By Amy Flanigan

Updated Aug 6, 2025

Read 43 Reviews

Prep 10 minutes mins

Cook 2 minutes mins

Servings 10 bars

By Amy Flanigan

Updated Aug 6, 2025

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These Homemade Granola Bars are chewy, crispy, and loaded with mini chocolate chips. Super quick and easy to make, I love that they are made without preservatives or high fructose corn syrup, and are unbelievably delicious!

Easy Homemade Granola Bars

Store bought granola bars are a nightmare when you’ve got kids with peanut allergies. They’re the biggest culprits for peanuts, and therefore used to be my nemesis, until I found out how easy and fast it is to make them. I’ve tried a gazillion recipes for homemade granola bars; some have been like candy, and some have tasted and felt like cardboard.

This granola bar recipe is hands down my favorite! Soft and chewy, with a slight crunch, sweet, and without preservatives or HFCS. And no nuts. We love them so much that one batch doesn’t last long—great as a snack or breakfast on the go.

Helpful Tips & Variations

• Substitute for honey. Honey not only provides sweetness, but more importantly acts as a binder so everything stays together. If you need the bars to be honey-free, brown rice syrup is a good substitute. Avoid maple syrup, which isn’t sticky enough.
• Make sure the honey mixture boils long enough. If your granola bars aren’t staying together once you cut them, it’s possible the honey mixture didn’t boil long enough. (Alternatively, if you boil the mixture too long, then they’ll be too hard to eat.)
• Don’t make the granola bars too thin. This granola bar recipe calls for pressing the mixture into an 8×8 square pan. Don’t try using a bigger dish or the mixture will be spread out too much, be too thin and can fall apart.
• Chill for a bit. You can try placing the bars in the fridge for 15 minutes or so, but be careful not to have them in there too long or they’ll become super hard and difficult to eat.
• Possible add-ins. If you want to tailor these a bit to your family’s taste and replace the mini chocolate chips, go for it! Just keep the ratios the same. Some possible mix-ins include coconut flakes, raisins, cinnamon, and yes, even nuts.

4.94 from 43

Homemade Granola Bars

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 2 minutes mins

Total: 12 minutes mins

Servings: 10 bars

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These Homemade Granola Bars are chewy, crispy, and loaded with mini chocolate chips. Super quick and easy to make, without preservatives or high fructose corn syrup, they are unbelievably delicious!

Step-by-step photos can be seen below the recipe card.

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 cups quick-cooking oats, (not rolled or steel cut)
• ▢ 1 cup crispy rice cereal
• ▢ 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• ▢ ¼ cup honey
• ▢ 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• ▢ 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢ 3 tbsp mini chocolate chips

Instructions 

• Lightly coat an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray, then line with parchment paper; set aside.
• In a large bowl, stir the oats and rice cereal together; set aside.
• In a small saucepan, bring the brown sugar, honey, and butter to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
• Pour the melted mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well until everything is moistened.
• Pour the oat mixture into the prepared pan and really press down to ensure that the ingredients are tightly compacted in the pan. Sprinkle the top evenly with the mini chocolate chips and press down on the top lightly with the back of a spoon.
• Cool at room temperature for a couple hours, then slice into bars.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 155kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 29mg | Potassium: 42mg | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 350IU | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.

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How to Make Homemade Granola Bars Step by Step

Prepare a pan and combine the oats and cereal: Lightly coat an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray, then line with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, stir 2 cups of oats and 1 cup rice cereal together.

Boil brown sugar, honey, and butter: Bring 1/3 cup brown sugar, ¼ cup honey, and 4 tbsp butter to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

Mix wet and dry ingredients: Pour the sugar mixture over the oats and cereal; mix well until everything is moistened.

Press mixture in pan: Transfer mixture to a parchment-lined 8×8 baking pan; press down so it’s very tightly compacted. Sprinkle with the mini chocolate chips and press down lightly.

Cool: Cool at room temperature until fully set, slice and enjoy.

How to Store Homemade Granola Bars

These are best enjoyed at room temperature. I prefer not to refrigerate or freeze them since once hardened and thawed, they lose their wonderful chewy, crispy texture. After the mixture has set, cut into individual bars, then wrap each one in plastic wrap or parchment paper. Store all of them together in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

What to Serve With

Granola bars are the ultimate kid-friendly snack and taste even better when paired with a steaming cup of hot chocolate, whether it be a white hot chocolate or a more traditional creamy hot chocolate.

More Snacks To Try

• Stovetop Popcorn
• Homemade Granola
• Almond Joy Stuffed Dates
• Fire Crackers
• Ranch Pretzels
• Hot Buttered Cheerios