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.
Kate, I love your recipes! You’re my go-to for so many recipes now. I love these granola bars, and like some others have mentioned I’d like a way to lower the sugar a bit. I made a batch where I used between 1/3 and 1/2 cup maple syrup (so, reducing it slightly) and slightly more peanut butter (like a rounded cupful – probably adding maybe 1/8c more – sorry for my inexact measurements!). I made sure to really press down the bars more thoroughly than usual. They are beautiful! Much less crumbly than my past batches. I also use less mix-ins and it works well. :-)
These bars are delicious with unsweetened coconut, nuts, Lily’s chocolate chips (sweetened with stevia) and Sukrin syrup. I’ve made several batches this way, leaving out the dried fruits.
Hello! We love this recipe and use it often. Have you ever tried subbing plain popcorn for the oats?
Hi. I will try this recipe and let you know. It sounds amazing!
These are insanely good. The longer they sit in the fridge the more the flavors come out. Cant wait to make these again
Thank you for your review! I’m happy you enjoyed them.
SO GOOD! I had so much confidence in your recipes that I made a double batch.. really glad I did. Delicious.
I’m glad you loved it, Alyssa!
Are these soft or crunchy?
They are a mixture of soft with some crunchy aspects with the nuts mixed in. I hope that helps!
Yes it does, thank you!
Yum yum yum yum yum
My kids love these granol bars. I can only add 1/2 cup of nuts, anything more and the bars fall apart. We make these quite often. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you for Sharing this
I love the way you wrote about everything you had to say about your ingredients.
It really makes it easy when people you serve like this and that.
Would this work with pecan butter instead of almond/peanut?
It should work, too. Let me know what you think!
Loved it! Will make again for sure, thank you!
These are delish! I’ve been eating them as a healthy dessert :) They are so good fresh out of the fridge.
I used some trail mix that has been sitting in my pantry for a while + chocolate chips for the mix-ins. Throwing everything in the blender was the key to making this have such a nice texture.
Will make again.
Thank you for sharing, Lauren! I’m excited you plan to make these again.
Loved this recipe! I didn’t have honey, so I substituted with powdered sugar. And I wanted to add a little more texture, so I used crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy. A problem did arise when I was mixing the dry and wet ingredients; it was too dry. I added some water, and that seemed to make a nice consistency. This was probably just because I substituted a liquid (honey) for a powder (sugar.) It turned out delicious nontheless, and is definitely a redo. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing, Cathy! I’m glad they still turned out for you.
So I get busy in the morning and sometimes the kids don’t want cereal but I’m not able to cook breakfast. I found these. I used a sugar free imitation honey, fair life chocolate chips in dark chocolate, and this salad pizazz with dried cherries and walnuts (they taste great on their own and are highly addictive!). I was eating the mix before putting it in the fridge. These are yummy!
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad you enjoyed them, Ashley.
Hi my father in law loves healthy granola bars so I thought why not makes this recipe and gift it to him on Father’s Day, he along with his 2 sons loved them, they each bagged some to take home, thank you so much, the recipe was super easy to follow and I had all the ingredients at home and I was able to whip them up super fast.
How sweet! I’m excited they were such a hit. I appreciate your review.
I’ve made these every week since I discovered the recipe 3 weeks ago. I’ve tried a random mixture of nuts/dried fruit/chocolate chips and the bars turn out delicious every time. I’m thinking I might need to start doubling the recipe because they don’t last through an entire week! They make a great breakfast, snack and even a healthy dessert. Thanks for sharing Kate (and Cookie)!
I love that! Thanks for taking the time to comment how you are making your granola bars.
Hello,
I tried the recipe the taste is amazing, super healthy as a breakfast or snacks for the family, but when i cut it is crumbling!!! May I know why?/ otherwise it is super yummy
Hi! I’m sorry it is falling apart. Did you firmly pack it down?
Super easy yet wonderful recipe, thank you! Added some lemon zest too, goes really well with the shredded coconut.
Thank you for sharing your variation, Anna. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Hi, could I replace the Peanut butter with PB2 for lower calorie option?
Hi, you need a wet nut butter for these to work.
I was wondering if a date-paste would work to replace the peanut butter, since it’s also going to be sticky and wet?
I haven’t tried it, Emma. If you try it, let me know!
I made it with a little less honey and I stuck it in the freezer for an hour or so, it turned out great!! So good!
Thank you, Rachel. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Thoughts on replacing the honey with agave?
I haven’t tried it in this, sorry! Maple syrup works too.
Love this recipe! I used 3/4c pecans, 3/4c walnuts, 1/4c dark chocolate, and 1/4c pretzels (all chopped in my food processor) for my mix-in’s and chose peanut butter and maple syrup and they were delicious!
I have made these twice and I’m extremely happy with them. I especially love how easy they are. Instead of honey I used liquid chicory root sweetener.
Great to hear, Tania! I appreciate your review.
Hi Kate, possible to add in some coconut oil and reduce the honey so it won’t be so sweet?
I recommend this recipe as is for best results.
I’m obsessed with this treat and have eaten my bars for dinner three nights this week, Delicious!
Love how flexible this recipe is! It helped me use up a lot of the odds and ends I had leftover in my pantry: oats, hemp, chia, raisins, mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, pecans, unsweetened coconut, natural peanut butter, maple syrup–I didn’t need to buy a thing. And, YUM! (Congrats on Clover and the upcoming birth of your daughter!)
These were easy and taste good but are not really granola bars in my opinion. They are more like energy balls – and it would probably be easy to turn them into those.
I made these for my 3 young kiddos and they just love them. I really enjoy them myself and it’s so nice to give my family a wholesome snack that doesn’t have rice syrup, palm sugar and all the other things you find in store bought bars. Oh and I forgot to mention how easy and FUN they are to make!
Thank you, Anna! I’m glad you enjoyed them.
These granola bars are great. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Thanks so much Kelsea. I’ll give that a try!
I’ve been making these granola bars since the beginning of summer2021 here in Italy and my picky but sporty elder teens LoVes them! Even my husband adores them! As I make a new batch today my eldest said her friend wants the recipe! Thank you for this life & time saver! See you in IG w/photos!
That’s great, Holly!
These were easy and delicious!
Wonderful, Amanda! Thank you for your review.
All best wishes to you and the addition to your family!
I’ve just made these bars for the second time and though you don’t have it as a category, you can truly add these bars to “make it no-sugar added” by substituting Sukrin syrup for the honey or maple syrup and using unsweetened coconut, all nuts and Lily’s chocolate chips. And both times I’ve simply mixed them with one hand and no spoon – much easier for my old craftsman hands and really not messy at all. :)
These are very high quality substitutions (I have no interest in the companies!) that compacted beautifully and allowed me to easily cut them into 32 squares. Fantastic flavor and texture. I can always count on you.
Thank you, Susan! I appreciate you sharing how you made these.
Hi, has anyone tried making these with chia seeds?
this is a great recipe made it for my family they loved it
*mmm
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These were delicious. I used natural peanut butter and honey. I will say these are substantial and calorie rich. Would be good to take camping or hiking, as long as they don’t sit in the heat. Must be sure you measure carefully. I had a bit too much butter and honey, so they were a little sticky. I will be careful next time.
Thank you for your feedback, Kay!
hi how many calories are in a bar
Hi Elizabeth, The nutritional information is below the notes section of the recipe.
Just found this recipe for Easy No-Bake Granola Bars. I cannot wait to try it! It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for!
Hi,
I’ve made these several times and they are outstanding! Sweet enough without too much. Full of our favorite seeds, nuts, and chocolate. My kids and husband enjoy them as a sweet snack. One issue is that I tried to double the recipe using your scale button to 2X. The only item that changed was cinnamon. I would love to know if you just double the all the ingredients or if anything else changes. THANK YOU!
I’m glad they loved it!
Made a few times now they are great. Make them for wife to bring to work in the morning. She asked me to not change the recipe she likes as in.
Hey can I use cashew butter for these? I don’t really care for peanut butter or almond butter. Thanks.
HI Gaby! It should work. I haven’t tried it, so please let me know how it works for you!
I’ve been eating baked oatmeal for too long…and was desperately looking for another option for breakfast. And then I discovered your EasyNoBakedGranola(with oatmeal). It’s fantastically good! I make this every other week to add to my Greek yogurt. I crumble the granola and use your recipe ChiaBerryJam as a topping! It’s filled with so much goodness, I feel marvelously healthy! ThankYOU so much for your wonderful recipes!
You’re welcome, Lia!
These have to be the best no bake Granola Bars ever. I made them with macadamia nuts crushed into chunks and goji berries. They were gone in one sitting after everyone tasted them. Thanks for sharing Kate. Well done!
Hey Kate! The recipe is delicious!
However, the granola bars don’t stick for me… It’s too fragile. I don’t understand because I followed the recipe. Any advices…?
Thank you very much :)
Hi! I’m sorry to hear that. Did you press it down firmly? How did you chop the ingredients?
These are an awesome way to use up all the random half eaten bags of nuts/seeds/etc that I have in the pantry, and so delicious too! After I make them I keep them in the freezer and pull them out as needed! Thank you for this recipe.
You’re welcome, Ashley!
I made these last night and they turned out fantastic! Everyone gave them a thumbs up!
(A little crumbly, but I think it was due to the ingredients I used) I had a bag of granola sitting around that no one cared for and I used it as my “mix-in” I used chunky peanut butter. I can’t wait to try again with a different combination of mix-ins. I plan on cleaning out the pantry of all the little bits of random nuts, fruits, etc.
These bars are the best!! My boyfriend and me are obsessed with them. I make them every week!!! Only thing is mine don’t look nearly as nice as yours. Lol.
As a fellow vegetarian and animal lover, finding your site was like finding the whole grail. You have the best recipes!
I’m happy you enjoyed it, Mary! Thank you for sharing.
Eating these as I type this review. Aside from being slightly crumbly (which is no problem as I can eat them happily with a spoon), these make for a decadent feel-good wholesome breakfast! For the mix-in’s I used 1 cup pecans, 1/2 cup roasted hazelnuts, 1/4 cup mini semi sweet chips, 1/8 cup slightly chopped sea salt caramel chips from Trader Joe’s, 1/4 cup chia seeds and 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut. I used 1/2 cup maple syrup and about 3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter to bind the dry ingredients. Added a generous dash of vanilla bean powder in addition to the vanilla extract and voila! Easily the heavenliest homemade granola bar I’ve ever had.
Sooo good! My kids love them! And I love them! Only issue is I want to sit and eat the whole pan in one sitting!! Thanks!
Wonderful to hear Vanessa! Thank you for sharing.
I made this granola recipe using maple syrup and almonds and shredded coconut – D E L I C I O U S !!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you, Kathee!