The Best Homemade Granola Bars Ever
Warning: these bars are addictive!! I finally found the perfect, healthy Granola Bar recipe and I am thrilled to share it with you here. Most granola bar recipes contain loads of butter to obtain their distinct crunchiness, but this recipe only has a couple tablespoons of oil and is loaded with texture and flavor.My boyfriend and I are loving these crunchy, sweet, nutty treats. They are the perfect midday snack or nighttime nosh. This recipe features peanut butter, mashed bananas, honey and a variety of your fave mix-ins, including fudgy chocolate chips. Feel free to add/modify your favorite mix-ins as you wish. This is a great base recipe for endless variations. Make them today – you will not be disappointed.
Homemade Peanut Butter Banana Granola Bars
Ingredients
1-2/3 cups old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup white or whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup honey (tip: spray measuring cup with cooking spray first so honey doesn’t stick)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2-3 cups of mix-ins (your choice): I used: 1/3 cup wheat germ, 1/3 cup flax seeds, 2/3 cup whole almonds, and 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Here are the steps. Full directions are below!
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Line a 9×13″ baking pan with parchment paper. Make sure to leave a few inches of paper hanging over the sides (this will help tremendously when you remove the baked bars from the pan)
- Combine the dry ingredients: oats, flour, salt, cinnamon, dry mix-ins as desired (wheat germ, flax seeds, almonds, mini chocolate chips)
- In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients: honey, brown sugar, oil, mashed bananas, peanut butter, vanilla extract
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, mixing well until combined
- Pour mixture into baking dish, making sure to spread evenly throughout the pan. Press the mixture down with a spatula to make sure it is firm and packed
- Bake for 35 – 40 minutes or until golden brown on top
- Cool completely in pan
- Once cool, slice into bars of desired size
- Store in airtight container in refrigerator to retain crispiness
The Best Homemade Granola Bars Ever
Try having just one! 😉
Ingredients
- 1-2/3 cups old-fashioned oats
- ⅓ cup white or whole wheat flour
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup honey (tip: spray measuring cup with cooking spray first so honey doesn’t stick)
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 ripe bananas, mashed
- ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2-3 cups of mix-ins (your choice): I used: ⅓ cup wheat germ, ⅓ cup flax seeds, ⅔ cup whole almonds, and ½ cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Line a 9×13″ baking pan with parchment paper. Make sure to leave a few inches of paper hanging over the sides (this will help tremendously when you remove the baked bars from the pan)
- Combine the dry ingredients: oats, flour, salt, cinnamon, dry mix-ins as desired (wheat germ, flax seeds, almonds, mini chocolate chips)
- In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients: honey, brown sugar, oil, mashed bananas, peanut butter, vanilla extract
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, mixing well until combined
- Pour mixture into baking dish, making sure to spread evenly throughout the pan. Press the mixture down with a spatula to make sure it is firm and packed
- Bake for 35 – 40 minutes or until golden brown on top
- Cool completely in pan
- Once cool, slice into bars of desired size
- Store in airtight container in refrigerator to retain crispiness
6 Comments
ciaolinda
These look fabulous!! Can’t wait to try them !!
Janelle
They are great! The peanut butter / banana combo works really well!
Jane
Would replacing honey with syrup be detrimental to their consistency?
I don’t keep honey on hand, but always have (at least maple) syrup…
Janelle
You can absolutely substitute maple syrup for the honey, in fact, some people prefer the maple taste over the honey. Let me know how it comes out!
Allyssa
These are soooo delicious! Will be making these often! Do you happen to know the calorie count on the bars?
Sarah
I made these and they were very good. I used semi-sweet chocolate but I wouldn’t do that again. It needs the sweetness of the milk chocolate. I think next time I will add more peanut butter, though. But very good!