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.

Making your own granola bars can be cheaper than buying pre-packaged ones, especially if you buy ingredients in bulk. I often buy old fashioned oats, seeds, chia seeds, and flaxseed in bulk which is cheaper than buying the smaller packages.

Using the right binding agent in your granola bar recipe is a crucial part of keeping your bars from falling apart. While there are several different sticky ingredients that you can use, we've found that the binding agent that works the best is honey!

Store them in the fridge or freezer.

I recommend storing them with a sheet of parchment paper between layers so that the bars don't stick together. They'll keep for up to a week in the fridge, but you can also freeze them for up to 2 months.

Nature Valley bars are a good source of energy, but some are lower in protein and higher in sugar than you may want in a healthy snack bar. When choosing a healthy granola bar, look for at least most of these factors: High fiber content: I usually look for protein or granola bars with at least 3 grams of fiber.

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.

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.

Cereal bars were nutritionally better and slightly more natural, but had longer ingredient lists, as compared to chocolate bars. Nutritional quality and food naturalness were only weakly correlated, which suggests that they are two distinct food characteristics.

What binds granola bars together? ›

While the oats and nuts bake, you can make the sticky glue that holds our bars together. You'll melt butter, honey, and brown sugar in a saucepan and simmer until the sugar dissolves. Mix this sticky mixture with the toasted oats and nuts. Allow everything to cool, and then toss in dried fruit and chocolate chips.

Possible downsides

Granola bars are often considered a healthy snack, but despite these marketing claims, many are loaded with added sugar, calories, and artificial ingredients. For example, Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Harvest granola bars can contain up to 15 grams of sugar per serving — mostly from added sugar.

Great granola bars put the flavor of the oats at the forefront while supporting players back them up with a mellow sweetness. We found that toasting the oats with a little oil and salt before mixing them with the other ingredients really deepened their flavor.

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.

Less added sugar: Many store-bought granolas contain a lot of added sugars (think: white refined sugar, brown sugar syrup, tapioca syrup, high-fructose corn syrup), which can impact your health and weight loss goals if eaten in excess. By making your own granola, you have the power to sweeten it the way you like.