Homemade Granola Bars
Save RecipeMy Homemade Granola Bars recipe results in the perfect portable snack packed with flavor, crunch, and chew — with no mystery ingredients.
Hi Bold Bakers!
Some of my favorite recipes to create are homemade versions of things you typically buy. From homemade cereal like my Bran Flakes Cereal recipe to Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches, no matter what it is, it’s always better homemade. My Homemade Granola Bars recipe is no exception. These quickly baked granola bars are the perfect portable snack packed with flavor, crunch, and chew, but with no mystery ingredients.
Homemade is better, and I’ll prove it!
Why do Granola Bars Need To be Baked?
While some granola bars are no-bake, like my No-Bake Granola Bars recipe, my Homemade Granola Bars are the opposite.
The reason I chose to make a baked granola bar recipe is not just because I absolutely love the toothy crunch and toasty flavor of the oats, but because the baking process helps the granola bars hold together without the use of too much liquid sweetener.
These bars start by combining a bit of honey, maple syrup, and brown sugar in a pan with butter. This forms a little bit of a sticky syrup that goes a long way. After making the syrup in a large deep pot, I go right in with lost of oats, shredded coconut, chewy dried cranberries, and chopped almonds. From there, this mixture gets pressed into a small sheet tray and baked until golden brown.
After coming out of the oven, I cut these into perfectly portioned bars — but it doesn’t stop there. In true Big and Bold fashion, I dip the granola bars in chocolate. If these don’t get you through a snack attack or an extra long afternoon, then I don’t know what will!
Why are My Granola Bars Sticky?
This can happen if you don’t allow the syrup base of the bars to properly come together. To avoid this, I suggest letting the butter melt all the way, then add in the brown sugar, honey, and maple syrup. Don’t be tempted to over stir this mixture, either. Just allow the sugar to naturally dissolve.
After the sugar has dissolved, allow this to simmer over low heat for just a few minutes. This should yield the perfect result! If your granola bars are coming out a bit sticky, it may also mean they need to be baked longer, as after baking they should be crunchy on the outside and hold together on the inside.
Why are My Granola Bars Too Crunchy?
While on the one hand, you don’t want your granola bars to be too sticky, you also don’t want them to be too crunchy either. To make sure they come out just right, I suggest you bake them for the exact time in the middle rack of the oven, allowing them to toast up evenly.
Another trick to getting them to the perfect texture is to really press the oat mixture down into the lined pan before baking the bars. This will compact the oats and all the mix-ins, making sure that the whole mix bakes and toasts up evenly from corner to corner.
What can I Add to My Granola Bars?
I love the combination of coconut, dried cranberries, and almonds. All topped off with chocolate this is heavenly. However, my recipe is wonderful to get creative with, from raisins and other dried fruit to whatever mix of nuts you have on hand, you really can’t go wrong here. If you are looking to make a slightly less sweet granola bar, feel free to leave out the chocolate too!
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My Homemade Granola Bars recipe results in the perfect portable snack packed with flavor, crunch, and chew — with no mystery ingredients.
- 6 tablespoons (3oz/85g) butter, melted
- 1/3 cup (5oz/142g) honey
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 cups (9oz/255g) rolled oats
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 ½oz/43g) coconut, shredded and unsweetened
- 1/2 cup (2 ½oz/71g) dried cranberries, or raisins
- 1/2 cup (2 ½oz/71g) almonds, chopped
- 1 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate, melted
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Pre-heat your oven to 350°F (180°C), then line a 9 x 12 inch baking tray with parchment, set aside.
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In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the butter, honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
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Allow to simmer until the sugar has dissolved and a dark syrup has formed.
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Remove from the heat and fold in the oats, salt, coconut, dried cranberries and almonds. Using a spatula, continue to fold everything together until evenly coated in the syrup.
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Transfer the oat mixture to the prepared baking tray and press down using your spatula into one evenly packed layer.
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Bake the granola bars for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and toasted on top.
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Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before lifting the whole sheet out of the tray.
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Cut them in 1 1/2 x 4 inch bars. This will yield 18.
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Dip the bottom half of each bar in melted chocolate then allow to set, chocolate side up, on a rack. If your bars do not set up after 30 minutes to an hour, place them in the fridge until the chocolate has hardened.
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Once the chocolate has set, use the additional melted chocolate to drizzle over the top for garnish. Once the chocolate drizzle has set, enjoy!
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Cover and store the granola bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. They can also be kept in the freezer for longer.
Watch the Recipe Video!
Meet Gemma
Hi Bold Bakers! I’m Gemma Stafford, a professional chef originally from Ireland, and I’m passionate about sharing my years of experience to show you how to make game-changing baking recipes with over-the-top results! Join more than 1 Million other Bold Bakers in the community for new video recipes every week!
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Gemma,
Thank you for all the great recipes. I make the granola bars for my golfing buddies and they can’t get enough of them. One clarification, please? Can I mix any seeds, dried fruit and nuts, as long as I don’t exceed one and a half cups by volume, or weight? I personally use dried apricots and cranberries, toasted almonds, toasted sesame seeds and sunflower seeds. I like to mix them in different amounts to get different flavors.I also substitute coconut oil for the butter.
Hi Tom,
lucky golfing buddies bet they are delighted! Yes, that is the idea. The important thing is that you do not exceed the ability of the sugars and fat to hold the mix together. Other than that, go for it. I like the idea of your blends, ideal, lovely flavors from the fruit and the coconut, and sesame seeds are so delicious when toasted. A little extra nutrition from flax seeds too, especially when they are milled, good for heart health.
Thank you for telling us about this, it will inspire other bold bakers,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma,
I just made these bars. Baked for 24 mins & they look more towards brownish then golden. I hv coated them with choc but they taste slightly less sweeter than the market ones. Should I increase sugar?
Hi, yes you can if you like them more sweet. Enjoy!
Hi Gemma, I made your granola bars, but I overcooked them a bit. When I went to cut them they were a dry mess, so in the bin they went. Going to try a smaller tray.
Aw no, Margaret. Yes make them thicker and bake for less. Incase it happens again you can save it and use it as granola for breakfast with fruit and yogurt.
Best,
Gemma.
Hi Gemma. I am a fan of Ur recipes. Tried this one as well. Nd the taste was great !!!
The only problem I faced was. When I cut these bars.. they are too crumbly. Doesn’t hold a proper shape .
Wat should be done. ?
Hi, this can happen if they are underbaked, you can also add more honey which will help hold them together.
Hi Gemma, I have just made these, still in the oven and smell great. I thought I had some honey but didn’t so substituted with golden syrup, hope they turn out ok 🙂
That’s a great substitute, enjoy!
Hi Gemma!
Maple syrup is not available so I used honey & molasses.It tastes nice.
That’s a great substitute, thank you for sharing!
Hi, can i add whey protein?
As for the no bake granola bars…aren’t raw oats bad?
Thanks
Hi Anas,
The oat question first. If you mean the processed oats we get in out stores for porridge, then generally, when properly packaged and stored they will not be harmful to you. Remember these are already cooked in the processing. Raw from the field would be inedible!
Yes, you can add a little whey powder, not too much though as it may upset the balance in the recipe,
Gemma 🙂
I want to try this but I dont have maple. Can coconut nectar be used instead?
Hi, yes that will work here! Enjoy!
Hihi I made this granola recipe today … flavour was amazing !!! Thanks so much !! One issue I had and that was the granola stuck to the parchment paper !!!! Is there any way I can stop this the next time I make this recipe ???
Hi there, next time i might grease the parchment paper with butter.
Hi! Had the same issue as others: It was too crumbly to be cut as bars 🙁
Hi this can happen if they are under baked actually.
Gemma, I used 1/2 cups of cranberries, almonds and sunflower seeds. I made them twice. The first time, I made them in 12×9 cookie sheet, they were very thin and crumbly. 2nd time, I made them in a smaller container, 9×9 Pyrex. They were thicker but they were sticky but broke up into smaller pieces. I feel that 142g of honey is too much. When watching your video, the amount of honey you use seems a lot less. More like 2 tbsps. Please advise. Thank you
Hi, it might look like less but it really needs the full amount to help hold together.
I did use 142 g of honey and they were still falling apart. Any suggestions?
Hi, there sometimes when they crumble it is because they are under-baked, were they baked for the full time?
Ok, I must admit I wasn’t prepared for this insane taste! Absolutely incredible! Loved it! ❤❤
Though I have a question: what could I have done wrong if they broke down easily?…
I’m delighted to hear you enjoyed them. That can happen if they’re slightly over baked. To avoid it you can add a bit more butter and sugar, enjoy!
Hi Gemma! I love your recipe for these bars. I omitted the currents for more nuts (chopped pecans, hazelnuts and sliced almonds). The first time I made this recipe I checked them at 22 minutes and the bottom was very dark, nearly ruined. They were tasty but I discarded the burnt edges. For my second batch I increased the ingredients by 50% and it fit my larger pan perfectly. It’s a 15×10 pan. This time I checked in at 16 min and they were golden brown and smelled delicious.
I know it is important for the contents to touch the sides of the pan in order to cook properly but I can’t figure out why my oven is cooking them so much faster, I’m at a normal altitude on the east coast of the U.S. Thank you! My friends and family love them!
Ah, those are lovely additions, so glad you got it right after all!
I don’t have dried coconut, I have fresh grated coconut. can I still use it? also can i substitute maple syrup for pancake syrup?
Yes absolutely fresh coconut will work well. You could just use all honey if you don’t have maple syrup.
Best,
Gemma.
Hey Gemma! I want to know which brown sugar do you use? Light or dark brown sugar ?
good question. I mostly use light unless a recipe specifies. C&H is the brand I like.
Best,
Gemma
Hi my bars didn’t really hold together and they were not really sticky. I did really press them I the tin, any tips please for next time. The mixture did taste lovely so will try again. Could different brands of maple syrup make a difference.
Hi there, i might add a bit more butter sugar to make them hold together. Are you sure you baked them for the full time? They should hold together really well.
Could I add peanut butter to this? Ideally, could I swap out the brown sugar for peanut butter?
Hi, yes you could do that here. Enjoy!
Thks Gamma! I simply love your recipes and cooking style. So easy to pick up and grasp. You’re definitely my favourite moving forward 😊
Thank you, that is very kind,
Gemma 🙂
The best granola bars and we know what’s in it! I changed a little bit the recipe, like added more honey than sugar (as I also didn’t have maple syrup), added pumpkin seeds and raisins. I’m not a big fan of raisins but here they make the granola extra sweet and chewey. Sooo good! I’m addicted to them now haha
Hi Catarina,
You could not choose a better thing to be addicted to, these will not do you any harm, as far as I can see! Moderation of course is key!
Haha, I hope you enjoy these, the changes to the recipe sound great,
Gemma 🙂
Can’t get enough of these, quick and easy, had to leave the chocolate out though😢need to keep the calories down
I am delighted to hear that 😀
Hi, Gemma!
Would dried currants work in this recipe? My grandson and I are looking forward to making this together. 😊
Hi, yes that would be lovely!
Hi Gemma, thanks for sharing this recipe! I do have quite a bit of allergies, so this is perfect…if I take out the nuts! 🙂 Question: can I substitute both the maple syrup and brown sugar with honey? Or can I substitute the brown sugar with regular white sugar. There is no brown sugar where I live unfortunately. Thank you!
Yes, and of those swap outs would work. Enjoy!
Hi Gemma…
I am in love with this recipe,but where i live i dont get maple syrup so what is the best substitute?
Thanks .
Sure, using all honey will be just fine.
Best,
Gemma.
Hey Gemma what about subing out the amonds for cashus dried pineapple and bandannas? Or what about using white chocolate or butterscotch or Carmel?
Hi there,
Yes! you can do all of these things. These will affect the result of the bake, especially if you use fresh fruit. Dried fruits, seeds and nuts will give the best result. You can experiment a lot with this recipe, just take note of the affect the changes will have,
Gemma 🙂
I don’t have nuts at home (allergies) any suggestion?
Also no maple syrup available what can I use instead?
Hi Mina,
The maple syrup can be replaced with more honey, or with date syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
The nuts can be replaced with seeds, sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, chia,flax etc.
I hope you enjoy this bake,
Gemma 🙂
Love the new Recipe!! but i have a small question, can I remove the sugar completely? i am trying to cut all sugar from my diet, and i was wondering if i can just remove it without substituting with anything.
Thanks in advance
Hi Dalia,
I hear you!
When you wish to change an ingredient in a recipe you need to ask yourself what the function of that ingredient is.
Here in this recipe there are a few jobs for the sugar.
1. flavor
2. Texture
3. the glue to hold the bars together.
The last thing here is vital for this recipe, they cannot stay together without the sugar.
Eggs bind ingredients too, and you could try that, but it will not be the same thing. There are other syrups, date syrup, brown rice syrup which may work for you, a different result too, also it is a sugar, maltose and fructose specifically.
Check out Olivia’s recipes here (https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/category/recipes/dietary-preferences/low-sugarlow-carbs/). Liv is dedicated to low sugar low carb and is our alternative baker here at BBB. Her no bake brownies will give you the idea of how to use dated for instance.
I hope this is of help, good luck with your no sugar journey,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma! I just made this today but it turned out to be a crumbly mess… but boy it tastes sooooo good! I ended up eating it with fresh milk. ( cereal style) I substituted raisins instead of coconut flakes and sliced almonds instead of chopped. Any idea what went wrong? Thanks!
Hi Ana,
I think there was some unbalance in the ingredients! Perhaps a substitution? This recipe is working well for other bold bakers. I think your additions will not cause an issue, unless there is too much for the other ingredients. The lamonds and raisins wil lneed something to hold them in the mix.
I am not sure I have figured this out, but I hope this helps a little,
Gemma 🙂
These were amazing!!! I drizzled Reece’s peanut butter chips in top, oh my, better than candy!! Thank you!!!
Hi Shanae,
Good woman, not that really would rock up this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing this tip,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma, is there any other ingredient that I could change for the six tablespoons of butter and still get a nice bar?
Hi Chris,
Coconut oil will be a good substitute for the butter here. A hard baking margarine, would work well too. Not so much the tubs which are designed for spreading.
I hope you enjoy this bake,
Gemma 🙂
These are AMAZING! I will never buy store bought granola bars again! So versatile and DELICIOUS!
Hi Kari,
Thank you for this very kind review of this recipe, I appreciate it,
Gemma 🙂
Thank you Gemma, they so sweety and great. My family Love them
Hi jemma.
Can i bake it in a 9×13 inch glass dish or it has to be 9×12.
Thankyou in advance.
Love from Pakistan
Hi, yes either will work here. Enjoy!
Hello Gemma.
So I really love how simple and healthy this is and thank you. What could i substitute the brown sugar for?
I’m delighted to hear that! You can use coconut or date sugar instead. Enjoy
Hi Gemma,
What can I substitute the coconut with, the boss does not like coconut. Would like to make these for her,
Regards……….Tony
Hi there, you can just omit it or add in another dried fruit. Enjoy!
Hi Gemma, I just made a batch with almond, dark chocolate chips and cranberries. They turned out crumbly but tasted amazing. I managed to cut them but not as pretty as yours! I have squares, rectangles, broken bits and triangles 🤣. My kids didn’t care, they loved it. What can I do to make them less crumbly?
Jade xx
Hi there, i’m delighted to hear that. If you like you can add a bit more honey to hold them together, but they should not be too crumbly.
Hi Gemma, can I use coconut sugar instead of brown sugar? How would this affect the result? I definitely need to make this since I’m a serial snacker.
Hi there, yes coconut or date sugar would work very well here!
It would be really nice if glycemic index could be included with nutritional information, especially for your ‘healthier’ options like granola bars.
That’s a great suggestion, thank you!
Thank you Ms. GEMMA for sharing. God bless
It’s my pleasure, enjoy 😀
Love,love all your recipes. Clear, consice and easy to understand.
These granola bars are great to take in the car for a snack. My husband is a diabetic and he eats these when his blood sugar feels low. By the way, I like them too.
YAY i am delighted to hear that, they are one of my favorites!
How much brown sugar should be added?
Hi there, 2 tablespoons 😀
The amount of brown sugar is not mentioned in the ingredients – how much is needed?
Hi, it’s 2 tablespoons.
Butter — salted or unsalted?
Hello, i use salted but you can use whatever you have.
Hi Gemma
How much brown sugar do I add? It is in the instructions, but not the list of ingredients.
Thanks
Nancy
Hi there, it’s just 2 tablespoons.
This recipe could not have come at a better time! My family is trying to achieve a zero waste lifestyle and these would be perfect to add to the repertoire of snacks! I cannot wait to make these!
I am delighted to hear that, enjoy 😀
The amount of brown sugar is missing from the recipe.
Hi there, it’s just two tablespoons.