35+ Healthy Granola Bar Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Are homemade granola bars healthier? ›

Are Granola Bars Healthy or Unhealthy? While store-bought granola bars can be unhealthy and full of added sugars, these homemade granola bars are healthy in moderation. They're a delicious and nutritious snack option compared to those that come in a package.

Granola can give us many essential vitamins and minerals. Research suggests that granola may increase the amount of good intestinal flora. I recommend you may consume granola bars but in moderate amounts.

Homemade granola bars aren't hard to make once you have all the right ingredients and they'll certainly save you money in the long term. It's hard to fight against the convenience and habit of picking up a box of bars at the store, but it really seems like it's worth trying to make our own.

Ensure any nuts you use are very small as larger nuts will make your bar fall apart when you cut into your granola bars. Use a binding ingredient such as a flax seed egg! Make sure bars are compacted into the pan – use either the granola bar press OR a piece of wax paper to firmly press down on the bars.

Store them in the fridge or freezer.

They'll keep for up to a week in the fridge, but you can also freeze them for up to 2 months. I like to eat these granola bars straight out of the fridge, but if they're frozen, let them thaw at room temperature for 20 minutes before you eat.

Which One Is Better for Breakfast? Both oatmeal and granola make for a healthy, nutritious breakfast, but the winner for us is granola—the added nuts, seeds, and dried fruits give you a source of fiber and healthy fats that oatmeal can't quite compete with.

How much granola should you eat a day? The prevailing belief is that you should consume 45-50g of granola daily. This is frequently the recommended portion size on the granola cereal package. Suggested portion sizes are often 45g, only about three tablespoons full.

A Quick Review. Peanut butter packs many health-promoting nutrients that benefit heart health, blood sugar, and weight management. The nut butter might help you get a good night's rest and help you feel full longer. Peanut butter can be a good companion to apples, bananas, chocolate, or simply eaten by the spoonful.

CLIF BARs are not recommended for weight loss as they are high in calories, carbohydrates, and added sugar. They are marketed as a way to provide energy before, during, or after a workout and they are not meant to replace meals. People trying to lose weight should try whole food snacks over CLIF BARs.

Do granola bars count as junk food? ›

Often touted for their whole grain goodness, most granola bars are sticky-sweet junk food in disguise. Don't let a few oats fool you — especially when you also see marshmallows and chocolate chips. Instead: If granola bars are a must-have, choose one with 6 grams of sugar or less per bar, and hopefully some fibre.

While there are several different sticky ingredients that you can use, we've found that the binding agent that works the best is honey! When added to your homemade granola bars, honey acts as glue that sticks all the pieces together.

The better you press, the better the bars hold together.

When you're happy with the pressed mixture, press a spoonful of chocolate chips on top, and then chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. This hardens everything and makes it easy to cut the granola mixture into bars.

Clumpy Granola Method: Add Whole Wheat and Almond Flour

First, it adds a combo of whole wheat flour and almond flour (or almond meal), which act as a binder to hold the oat mixture together.

YUM! More reasons to obsess over homemade granola: Healthier: it has less sugar and is lower Calorie than anything you'll find at the store. Freezer Friendly: It will keep for months in the freezer, stored in a freezer safe bag.

Store-bought granola bars are counted as ultra-processed, but you can look for options that are more nutritious. Ultra-processed foods typically contain ingredients not used in home kitchens,13 so preparing granola bars at home would make them less processed.