I've been wanting to try my hand at homemade granola bars for years now. I'm not sure whats been stopping me, probably the ease of simply picking up a box of them at the grocery store.
In an effort to eat overall less processed this month, I'm happy to say I took the leap and experimented with my first homemade granola bar, but sad to say the result wasn't very granola bar like. However, they were yummy and still worth sharing as my goal is to inspire, not necessarily give you the most perfect recipe.
They tasted delicious. It was more the texture that make me hesitant to call them granola bars. I wonder if I made them thinner (in a larger pan) they would have come out crispy. Mine were soft but not "chewy" in the traditional granola sense.
The 18 month old loved them and has eaten them for days now.
The 7 year old wasn't convinced. He said he liked the way they tasted but didn't like the large chunks of nuts. Next time I'll won't leave any whole and see if it makes a difference.
Here's how I made this version…
Ingredients
- 1 ripe banana
- ½ cup almond milk (other milks would work, it's just for moisture)
- 2 tablespoon honey (42g)
- 3 tablespoon Chia Seeds (32g)
- 1 ½ Cup Old Fashioned Oats (120g)
- 2 tablespoon mini chocolate chips (28)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup of roasted peanuts
- ½ cup cocoa roasted almonds
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mash the banana. I happen to have a professional banana masher on hand.
He does a great job too!
Add the milk and honey to the mashed banana and whisk.
In another bowl add the chia seeds, oats, chocolate chips, and cinnamon. Measure out the nuts adding a few to the bowl if you want the chunks and the rest to your bullet or processor.
Pulse the nuts to make a meal.
Note: Don't run the processor continuously or you'll get nut butter!
Add the processed nuts to the rest of the dry ingredients and mix well to combine all the yumminess.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.
Lay some parchment paper in an 8 x 8 baking pan (or larger if you want thinner bars,) pour in the nut/oat mixture and press it into the corners.
I used the back of a form to pat down and flatten.
Bake for 30 minutes. Time will vary if you used a larger pan.
Remove from the oven and pull out the parchment paper. Cut into 10 bars.
Marvel and the nut and oat yumminess!
I know I did. 🙂
Once cooled, I cut and wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in the fridge. They've been in there for 5 days so far and are still good. I'm guessing they'll be fine for about a week.
I've eaten about 1 a day since I made them (enjoying it right now actually) and thought at first I wouldn't like them out of the fridge. I was wrong. I can't wait to try my hand at another batch!
📖 Recipe
Nut and Oat Bars
Ingredients
- 1 ripe banana
- ½ cup almond milk other milks would work, it's just for moisture
- 2 tablespoon honey 42g
- 3 tablespoon Chia Seeds 32g
- 1 ½ Cup Old Fashioned Oats 120g
- 2 tablespoon mini chocolate chips 28
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup of roasted peanuts
- ½ cup cocoa roasted almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Mash the banana. I happen to have a professional banana masher on hand.1 ripe banana
- Add the milk and honey to the mashed banana and whisk.½ cup almond milk, 2 tablespoon honey
- In another bowl add the chia seeds, oats, chocolate chips, and cinnamon. Measure out the nuts adding a few to the bowl if you want the chunks and the rest to your bullet or processor.3 tablespoon Chia Seeds, 1 ½ Cup Old Fashioned Oats, 2 tablespoon mini chocolate chips, 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pulse the nuts to make a meal.
- Add the processed nuts to the rest of the dry ingredients and mix well to combine all the yumminess.½ cup of roasted peanuts, ½ cup cocoa roasted almonds
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.
- Lay some parchment paper in an 8 x 8 baking pan (or larger if you want thinner bars,) pour in the nut/oat mixture and press it into the corners. I used the back of a form to pat down and flatten.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Time will vary if you used a larger pan.
- Remove from the oven and pull out the parchment paper. Cut into 10 bars.
Notes
- Don't run the processor continuously or you'll get nut butter!
Bridget
It does, Jessica! Thank you!
=-)
-Bridget
Jessica
Bridget do you have a food scale? I just read your comment after I put mine in the oven, but I measured my nuts by grams as well as 1/2 cup, and each type of nut was 68 grams for 1/2 cup. Hope that helps!
SS
My first batch is in the oven~ I came across some other recipes that toast the oats first, and wonder if this would be crunchier. I wanted to try this way first to see how texture is. Smells delicious cooking, and seems like a "baked" version of my favorite toppings for oatmeal~Thanks for the great recipe!!
Mo
Update-
I gave in and had one of the pumpkin ones with tea. They aren't as sweet as I'd like, so I'll need to change that up the next time. I didn't mind it, but the kids might. I can't get over how large mine were for what isn't too many calories. Compared to the store brand they were almost 3 times bigger and only 60 more calories.
Mo
Rebecca
Couldn't resist. Had to try this right away and guessed at applesauce before reading a reply to my question regarding quantity. Used raisins and slivered almonds (what I had on hand). AWESOME!!! Everyone here requests this to be in permanent rotation. Thanks for the recipe......and a tip to others: Measuring of "extras" not critical!
Bridget
I have a question - once ground up, what was the amount of nut flours? I have peanut and nut flours in the house already, more often than whole nuts. So, I'd probably use those if I make this recipe. I was just wondering if someone could do a quick measure the next time they make the recipe? Thank you in advance!
-Bridget
roni
I'm loving all the experiments this post has started! I'm going to try a new batch today using pumpkin, oats, seeds and nuts! I'll keep you guys posted!
Rebecca
Sounds great! If you substitute pumpkin or applesauce, what quantity would you use?
Mo
Roni, I am on my second batch of the morning. I made your recipe, but tweaked it a little. My major tweak was I didn't use the milk to moisten it. I used peanut butter and with the honey, it held it together great. They seem very much like the texture of the granola bars you'd buy in the cereal aisle. The last 15 minutes of cooking them, I put on my oven's "Speed Bake" feature which made them appear crunchier.
My second batch just came out of the oven. I used-
100% Whole Grain Quick Oats, 2 cup dry, 100% Natural Pumpkin, 1/2 c, Creamy Peanut Butter, 2 tbsp, Clover Honey, 2 tbsp, 1 medium banana, Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Morsels, 1/4 c, and Pumpkin Pie Spice, 1 tsp
(Using MFP 8 servings- 158calories per bar)
I used the Speed Bake on these, too. They look amazing!
Now my problem is "the taste test". It's going to be VERY hard not to try them today. I reached my WW LT goal weight window AGAIN yesterday and even though I'm not doing WW, I miss the group of women at the meetings. Now that I don't have to pay to attend, I'm thinking of heading back tonight.
I'm going to have to report back once the kids get home and the real taste testers give them a try.
Again, I have to thank you for the inspiratation! You had perfect timing with this recipe, as I had bought all kinds of ingedients last week to tackle a morning bar for the kids to grab on their way out the door in the morning, but had no idea where to start. Imagine my surprise to see your Facebook post that you were also trying your first bars!
Mo
Sherri
Where in the grocery store would I find chia seeds or do you have to get in a Health Food Store?
Karen
Rebecca, I used approximately 1 cup of pumpkin for a 9x13 size recipe. Prior to that, I had used the 8x8 size pan and used a half cup of applesauce, which I thought would be the equivalent of about one apple. I had to make the 9x13 size because they went too fast. I forgot to mention before that they freeze well. Wrap up individually in plastic wrap and store in a freezer bag.
roni
I don't see why not but you may want to up the honey since the banana adds more natural sugar than the pumpkin would. If you try it let me know how it turns out!
Karen
I recently acquired this recipe from a personal trainer friend of mine. I use the chia seeds, but I've used almonds or walnuts, raisins or dried cranberries. I have not used the chocolate chips as I try to keep everything low-glycemic. I also use agave nectar instead of honey. You can also use unsweetened apple sauce or pumpkin in place of the banana. As Roni says though, you may need to add a little more sweetener to your taste. What's great about this (aside from the awesome taste), is that it is gluten-free if you use gluten-free oats. Yummy!
Mehgann
Do you think you could use pumpkin instead of banana?
Lynda
These sound great! I love your pumpkin muffin recipe and make those all the time, so these might be a nie change from my usual muffin. Your recipes and ideas inspire me to be creative and add different nuts, dried or frozen fruit, whatever I may have. I love your site.