Easy No-Bake Granola Bars
This granola bar recipe is so easy and delicious! These wholesome granola bars are naturally sweetened, gluten free, and the perfect healthy snack.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
Meet my favorite granola bar recipe. These granola bars are delicious and easy to make with basic pantry ingredients. You don’t even have to bake them!
These granola bars can pass as a quick breakfast, and they make a perfect snack. I love to pack these bars for road trips and flights, and I love hearing from moms who make these granola bars regularly for their kids. They’re a big hit with all ages.
As you’ll see, the recipe is versatile, so you can easily incorporate your favorite flavors, like nuts, chocolate and dried fruit. You’ll find my go-to flavorings in the recipe below if you want to follow my lead.
These granola bars have spared me from some hangry moments lately. They’re satisfying, just sweet enough, and stick with me for a few hours. Granola bars to the rescue!
Granola Bar Ingredients
Oats
Old-fashioned oats or quick-cooking oats will work here (steel-cut oats will not). Old-fashioned oats lend a more chewy, “rustic” texture. Quick-cooking oats disappear more into the bars. If desired, you can briefly blitz old-fashioned oats in the food processor to achieve the texture of quick-cooking oats.
Mix-ins of your choice
Here’s where we add more flavor! See below for options.
Nut butter
Nut butter helps hold these bars together, and offers protein, healthy fat and fiber. You could use peanut butter, almond butter, or even pecan butter. For a nut-free option, sunflower butter will work.
Honey or maple syrup
These natural sweeteners also help bind the bars together, and make these bars deliciously sweet (though not too sweet). Or, make date paste from fresh Medjool dates. Dates offer additional fiber, while honey or maple syrup do not. See the recipe notes for details.
Cinnamon, salt and vanilla extract
These add extra flavor to your bars. Technically, you could omit any or all of these, but the bars are more enticing with them. Salt enhances the flavor of all the other ingredients—cut it in half if you’re sensitive to salt.
Watch How to Make Granola Bars
Mix-In Options
Two cups of mix-ins add flavor, texture and more nutrients. Choose from any combination of the following:
- Nuts: Pecans, walnuts, almonds, or peanuts would all work well.
- Seeds: Pepitas (green pumpkin seeds) or sunflower seeds are good options. You could use up to 1/4 cup flax seeds or chia seeds—these seeds absorb moisture, which is why I suggest limiting the quantity.
- Chocolate: Mini chocolate chips are cute. If using regular chocolate chips or roughly chopped chocolate, blitz them for a few seconds in the food processor to break them into smaller pieces. Since chocolate is sweet, limit it to 3/4 cup or less.
- Coconut: Shredded or flaked coconut will work here. Unsweetened is best, since these are bars are sweet enough as is.
- Dried fruit: Dried cranberries, cherries, raisins, apricots, etc. Since these are sweet, limit them to 3/4 cup or less. Any fruit larger than a raisin will need to be broken up a bit more—either in the food processor or chopped by hand.
Granola Bar Variations
Here are some variations on this granola bar recipe that I’ve come up with over the years. I love them all!
- All Pecans: You can use use 2 cups pecans as your mix-ins, and you could even make pecan nut butter to match (here’s my recipe for pecan butter). Nut lovers, this would work with walnuts (presumably) or almonds, too.
- Almond Chocolate Chip: Use sliced almonds and mini chocolate chips, or blitz whole almonds and chocolate chips in the food processor before using.
- Almond Coconut: Use equal parts almonds and coconut flakes or shredded coconut.
- Cranberry Orange: Use a combination of dried cranberries, pecans, pepitas and fresh orange zest. Since this variation contains a lot of dried fruit, it’s the sweetest of them all.
Granola Bar Tips
These granola bars are quite simple to make, especially if you have a food processor (affiliate link).
Chop up your ingredients if they are large.
These bars hold together best when the ingredients are quite small. If using almonds, you’ll want to either start with pre-sliced almonds, or chop them up in the food processor or by hand (same goes for all nuts). It’s easy to throw all of your mix-ins into the food processor and blitz a few times.
Press the mixture down as firmly and evenly as possible.
Air pockets will cause problems. Use a sturdy, flat-bottomed jar to make sure the mixture is pressed down completely. You might then press down with your hands to ensure it’s not trying to sneak up the sides or corners.
Let the mixture rest for one hour or longer before using.
The oats need some time to soak up the moisture in the nut butter and sweetener. Chill the mixture for at least one hour (or as long as a day) before slicing.
Slice and store properly.
Use a sharp chef’s knife to slice these bars. I like to slice them into squares. Another option would be to slice them into bars like this. I think the squares are a little more sturdy. Be sure not to stack the bars on top of each other, or they can stick. You can store them flat, covered, or wrap them individually in plastic wrap or parchment paper.
Please let me know how your granola bars turn out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Looking for more healthy snacks? Try my favorite granola recipe, sweet and spicy roasted nuts, stovetop popcorn, or view a wide variety of snacks here.
Easy No-Bake Granola Bars
This granola bar recipe is so easy and delicious! These wholesome granola bars are naturally sweetened, gluten free, and the perfect healthy snack. Recipe yields 16 bars.
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups old-fashioned oats or quick-cooking oats
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt (if using regular table salt, scale back a bit)
- 2 cups mix-ins* (nuts, seeds, chocolate, shredded coconut or dried fruit)
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter or almond butter
- ½ cup honey or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line a 9-inch square baker with two strips of criss-crossed parchment paper, cut to fit neatly against the base and up the sides. The parchment paper will make it easy for you to slice the bars later.
- Place the oats in a large mixing bowl**. Add the cinnamon and salt, and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Now we’ll blitz the mix-ins briefly in the food processor or blender (or, you can chop them by hand). Add any large nuts (like almonds or pecans) first and blitz for a few seconds. Then add the rest and run the machine for a few more seconds, until the ingredients are all broken up into pieces smaller than your pinky nail. Pour the mix-ins into the bowl of oats.
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In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, measure out the nut butter. Top with ½ cup honey and the vanilla extract. Stir until well blended. If you must, you can gently warm the liquid mixture on the stovetop or in the microwave, but make sure it’s close to room temperature before you pour it into the dry mixture (this is especially important if using chocolate, since it will melt).
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Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a big spoon to mix them together until the two are evenly combined and no dry oats remain. This takes some arm muscles, but you can do it! If the mixture was easy to mix together, that’s a sign that you need to add some more oats—sprinkle in more oats until you can’t incorporate any more.
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Transfer the mixture to the prepared square baker. Use your spoon to arrange the mixture fairly evenly in the baker, then use the bottom of a flat, round surface (like a short, sturdy drinking glass) to pack the mixture down as firmly and evenly as possible.
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Cover the baker and refrigerate for at least one hour, or preferably overnight. (The oats need time to soak up some of the moisture so they aren’t sticky.) When you’re ready to slice, lift the bars out of the baker by grabbing both pieces of parchment paper on opposite corners. Use a sharp knife to slice the bars into 4 even columns and 4 even rows.
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Wrap individual bars in plastic wrap or parchment paper (if you store them all together, they will stick to one another). Bars keep well for several days at room temperature, a couple of weeks in the fridge, or several months in a freezer-safe bag in the freezer for best flavor.
Notes
*Mix-in options: Any combination of nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc.), seeds (pepitas or sunflower seeds), chocolate chips or roughly chopped chocolate, shredded coconut and/or dried cranberries or cherries. For the bars shown here, I used 1 cup pecan halves, ½ cup pepitas, ¼ cup shredded coconut and ¼ cup roughly chopped dark chocolate. Keep in mind that anything larger than your pinky nail will need to be broken into smaller pieces. If you don’t have a food processor, chop them by hand.
**Granola bar texture: If you’re using old-fashioned oats and would prefer a more smooth, less chewy texture (shown in my photos), blitz your oats in a food processor for 3 to 5 seconds to break them up. Then, add them to the bowl.
Change it up: These bars can be sweetened (mostly) with Medjool dates, if you’d like to increase the fiber content. Soak 12 dates in piping hot water for 10 minutes, then tear them in half and remove their pits. Place them in a food processor with 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey and blend until completely smooth.
Make it gluten free: Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats.
Make it nut free: Do not use nuts (pepitas and sunflower seeds are good options) and replace the nut butter with sunflower butter.
Make it vegan: Use maple syrup instead of honey.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Not good because they are dangerously delicious . I chopped unsalted mixed nuts baNana chips, oats, dark chocolate chips and peanut butter with honey..it’s like you can’t taste the individual ingredients they all blend deliciously HARD TO EAT JUST ONE
Thank you so much for this recipe. I made them tonight and my husband couldn’t gush enough about how much he loves them. My one year old and I loved them too. I’ve been cooking things from your blog for a while and it is by far my favorite go to for recipes. I don’t think we have cooked one thing from here that we didn’t love. Thank you!
Hi Kate
I replaced did the dates option and the bars are very crumbly and not holding their shape.
Should I have added more of some other liquid?
Thanks
I’m sorry to hear that! I have made these bars with the date option and it turned out well. I think you need a small amount more maple syrup or nut butter to hold them together.
Love this recipe! Have made it almost a dozen times now. Doubles well. I have used a variety of fix ins, natural peanut butter and regular peanut butter. Always turns out and quick to make. A crowd pleaser and perfect with a cup of coffee or tea to satisfy my sweet cravings mid afternoon:-)
These are just the best! So easy and great for the summer when you don’t want to turn your oven on. These are my go to and tomorrow I am taking them to work for my co workers. So nice to have a treat which is actually healthy. I love your recipes, I have yet to try something that isn’t good. Thanks so much for these Kate.
I have made these twice now. Once with dates and once with honey. Both times I tried different add-ins. They are amazing! I have a 3 week old baby that wants to nurse all day long and two other kids to keep up with. These are the perfect snack to get me through the day even when I don’t have time to eat well. The best part is they come together in no time at all. Thanks for this awesome recipe.
Wonderful recipe! Definitely a keeper. The type of bar my husband enjoys most. I used pecans, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, hemp seeds, and a few raw cacao nibs. My peanut was organic Santa Cruz chunky. I deceased the maple syrup to 1/3 cup. My pecans are chopped small; I did not run the seeds through my chopper. My bars are slightly crumbly. Is it my choice in natural peanut butter or the slight decrease in maple syrup? Perhaps a combination of both. Thank you.
Hi Carrie! Likely your combination, sorry!
These are fire! And that is coming from someone who does not gravitate towards granola bars. Yum!
Good day ,
I love your receipts, i would like to know how long may they last ?
Thanks
Bars keep well for several days at room temperature, a couple of weeks in the fridge, or several months in a freezer-safe bag in the freezer for best flavor.
These are absolutely delicious! its heavenly actually i’m currently eating clean and wondered what healthy snacks i can incorporate into my routine i’m so glad I found this recipe. Anyways I’m from Sri lanka and I made variations with whatever I could find at home, I used coconut treacle instead of honey and used toasted coconut flakes, toasted sesame seeds and chopped pecans.
it was the yummiest granola bar i’ve ever had.
it didn’t last 2 days in my house my entire family loved it.
thank you for your recipes.
made these and the granola recipe. Yum. Very addictive . Good to find a homemade recipe so it costs less and I know what it is made of. I’ve made granola in the past and I think it lacked the salt in these- it really helps enhance the flavor. Thanks for sharing your yummy recipes and cute pictures of Cookie.
We made these bars with dried cherries, raisins, dessicated coconut, pecans with peanut butter for binding. Delish! Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
I’m glad you loved them! Thanks for sharing how you made these.
The batter tastes awesome, and I can’t wait to try them later today or tomorrow! Thanks for a GERD friendly recipe.
These are so good – I had to hold off making a second batch because the first batch were eaten far too quickly. I used a combination of walnuts, pepitas, dark chocolate and cranberries. While I loved the bars the first time, they were a bit too sweet for me (possibly because the chocolate and cranberries added sweetness), so I cut the honey down to 3/8 c. this time – having already tasted a spoonful, I think this was the right approach for me.
Going camping this weekend and these will be a great treat! Made mine with peanut butter, almonds, cashews, and chocolate chips. I’m excited to portion them out and wrap them, so I can stop grazing from the pan. :)
Thank you Kate!!! This turned out so good and I am eating it write now. If you don’t know I am a 12 – year old Indian girl and I can make this recipe because it is so easy and I think 8+ kids(have to be a parent in the kitchen also),tweens,teens and adult can also make it from my experience.again THANK YOU KATEEE!!! and say HI and THANK YOU to COOKIE from me also.
Hello! You have some fantastic recipes on here that I am looking forward to try! However, my doctor has recommended I go sugar free and gluten free for 2-weeks. Any tips or ideas? This is so overwhelming to me! Thank you! :)
Hi Jodi! I’m not sure on your specific needs and direction from your doctor, but I have lots of gluten free recipes and typically provide options on how to make gluten free in the notes section of the recipes. Good luck!
I’ve made so many recipes on your blog and decided it was time for a comment! I absolutely loved these granola bars and have been munching on them all week! I have a tree nut allergy and find store-bought granola bars very limiting and so I rarely eat them! But, I made these with peanut butter and pumpkin seeds and mixed in some dried cranberries – definitely always making my own from now on. They are so filling and tasty – truly the perfect snack. Even boyfriend approved! Thank you for this!
I have made these twice now, they are fabulous! I used pepitas, dried cranberries and peanut butter. Huge compliments from the family, son in law and grandkids devoured them! Thanks so much for the recipe! Your cook book is my go to these days! Healthy AND delicious Thank you!
I’m happy to hear that, Pam! Thanks for the comment and review.
Thanks for the vegan part. Much appreciated!
First, this is my go to website for recipes and I’m obsessed with the cookbook! These granola bars are yummy but way too sweet for me. My kids love that the granola bars taste like cookies, but I think I’ll cut the honey/maple syrup by at least half next time. Also, our peanut butter (Spread the Love) is a little on the thin side, so I added an extra half cup of oats to try to cut the sweetness but they’re still too sweet for me. If you want dessert, this is the granola bar for you.
I add flaxseed (1 cup) and use these as lactation granola bars. They’re delicious!! Any chance off a gnocchi recipe?
I’m glad you love them, Lara! I don’t have a gnocchi recipe yet. Sorry!
Hi there, love these they are scrummy thank you. One little query do you do a calorie break down for your recipes please, as I cannot seem to see one. Thank you
I made them per your instructions and they were quite crumbly, probably because I didn’t tamp them down enough. Second batch I made in a mini muffin pan, lined with baking cups. No need to cut or wrap bars.
Decadent! For the mix-ins, I used 1 cup ginger candies and 1 cup walnuts. I made two batches to take on vacation and they were the hit. So yummy – thank you!
Is it safe to eat Raw oats? without baking or soaking in water?
Hi Alwyn, it is safe, because old-fashioned and quick-cooking oats are steamed as they are rolled flat. The steam kills any pathogens, to my understanding.
Delicious!! Filling, satisfying and just the right amount of sweet. I’ll be making these on repeat. Your recipes are always a hit. Everything I’ve made, we like. Thank you!!
Finally leaving a review on these amazing granola bars! Since my partner and I have been staying home, I’ve made these bars every 2-3 weeks to keep us with a constant supply. They are the perfect snack for working from home, when you just need something healthy, tasty and filling. I usually make mine with chocolate chips, almonds, pepitas, cranberries and almond butter. Pulsing these in the food processor is so easy, and makes this recipe come together in about a 1/2 hour. I seriously love these granola bars, thank you Kate!
I’m happy to hear that, Adina! Thank you for sharing.
Hi! I’ve had issues with honey and Maple syrup not holding granola bars together very well in the past… have you had the same issue with these granola bars? If so do you think rice syrup would hold them together better? Thx!
Hi! These hold together nicely and work well. The key is to pack them per my instructions and get the ratios just right. Let me know if you try them!
My oven is broken so I made the pecan, orange zest option but used golden raisins instead of cranberries and added some crushed dark Lindt chocolate.
So easy to make and delicious..It’s not going to last long..
Thank you for the inspo
Made these today, and they are DELICIOUS! I put cacao in mine to make them chocolaty… yum, yum, yum!!! Thanks, Kate!
Your’e welcome, Eva! I love how you got creative. I may need to try!
This recipe is really good. Thank you.
These are amazing! I love the versatility of the mix-in options – I just used 2 cups of random nuts, dried fruits, etc that I had in my pantry. Thanks for the easy grab-and-go granola bar recipe!
These granola bars are absolutely delectable! Made a batch today, and they came out PERFECT!
Loved them, Kate :)
I’m excited they were perfect for you! Thank you for sharing, Sam.
I love your cook book and I have been looking up your recipes from your cookbook on your site to look up calories and serving suggestions and I can not find some of the recipes on your site and I am looking for the Trail Mix Granola Bites calories and serving size. Can you please tell me the calories and serving suggestions. Thanks for a great cookbook!
Looks delicious
Can’t wait to try it out!
ur Recipes r AMAZING
These no bake granola bars are great! Easy to make, lots of mix in options, and filling.
This granola bars recipe is the best I’ve made! Exquisite, thanks for sharing I made a tray and in two hours was gone.
the no bake granola bars are a family and friends favourite. All ages enjoy them and I have been asked to make them many times. An easy snack or great for breakfast
I’m happy you love them, M! Thank you for taking the time to review.
Just made these today and they are a winner.. I didn’t have peanut butter so I used an over ripe mashed banana along with pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, walnuts, almonds and chocolate chips and they’re packed with flavour.
Thanks so much for a great recipe
For the bars that are in the main image… what type of nut butter did you use? And since the bars aren’t baked, how do they get their nice golden colour as shown in the photo?
Thanks, Sienna :)
Hi Sienna! The images are the exact recipe in the instructions, using the first nut butter I listed – peanut butter.
These are delicious (but I don’t think I’ve made a Cookie and Kate recipe yet that hasn’t been)! I used slivered almonds, shredded coconut, pecans, pumpkin seeds, ground flax seed, and dried cranberries; a mixture of almond butter and sunflower seed butter; and about half date paste and half maple syrup. I did have to add more oats than was called for. I thought the mixture was pretty sticky, but it firmed up nicely in the fridge. Great snack while breastfeeding!
Hi I’m Felicity. I’m definitely going to try these but I want to use granola muesli instead of oats and I’m going to let you know how they turn out!
The best granola bars I ever tasted. I used nut and seed butter to finish it and completed the amount with smooth peanut butter. Add inns were almonds,hazelnuts, pecans and walnuts,sunflower seeds ,coconut , dried blueberries and mangoes
Haven’t made them yet, but would just butter be okay? I’m not sure I’ll be able to go to the shop for the next few days.
Hi Grainne! You will want the nut butter to help hold this together.
So good<3
Made these with almond butter, pecans, coconut, mini chocolate chips and chia seeds (bascially just used what I had on hand!) and they were delicious, everyone in the family loved them. One downside was they were very crumbly. Any suggestion for how to get them to hold shape and stick together better? Would love to make them more portable. Thank you for all the recipes!!
Hi Catherine! I’m sorry these fell apart for you. Did you blitz them and pack them down firmly?
Yes, but could probably press down more firmly next time. Stuck them in the freezer and that helped. They are a big hit, so will make them again!
Thank you again for another great recipe! My whole family loved these granola bars. I always appreciate the versatility of your recipes, that’s what keeps me coming back again and again!!
How kind, Erin! Thanks so much for making this granola bar recipe and for your review.
Can’t wait till tomorrow morning to try them.Your website and cookbook are great.
this bars are awesome.I’ve made them few hours ago and left them to chill in the fridge,all i was thinking durings this time is that i really wanna try one. When finally the moment arrived, the texture is really nice and smooth and the taste is a burst of flavours and really sweet. I’m really impressed ,thank you for the recipe