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Healthy (refined sugar-free) and fast homemade granola bars satisfy kids and adults!
Granola bars. One snack it’s hard to live without these days.
When you need an afternoon pick-me-up or something tasty while on the go to hold you over until the next meal, a granola bar does the trick.
Yet, most store-bought granola bars come with nasty high fructose corn syrup and artificial ingredients you can’t pronounce. Fortunately, there are so many healthy homemade versions that are easy to make, low in sugar, and pack a protein punch to keep you going!
This recipe is so easy, it’s one of the first recipes I taught my husband to make by himself! It takes literally 5 minutes to mix up. No baking, just ready to eat!
We often whip it up after dinner when we need a (healthy) sweet treat!
What I also love about this recipe is that it can be adapted to your own preferences. Substitute raisins or other dried fruit for the chocolate chips; omit chia seeds or ground flax seed altogether. Use any kind of nut butter or seed butter to replace the peanut butter. We’ve made a few different variations and it always turns out great! (No wonder it gave my husband confidence — it’s pretty much a no-fail recipe!)
Note: Unsweetened coconut can be difficult to find in local stores, so I always buy this one on Amazon. We also get our chia seeds and honey online and our oats at Aldi (always the best price!).
Another thing we love to do is make a large batch and divide the granola bars (or squares) into individual snack bags to throw into the freezer for a quick snack on-the-go or lunchbox side. The frozen bars thaw quickly and are ready to eat in no time!
The recipe is also kid friendly; these bars disappear faster than cookies at our house!
Yield: 16 bars
Healthy and fast homemade granola bars satisfy kids and adults.
10 minPrep Time
10 minTotal Time
Ingredients
- 2 cups oats
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1 cup peanut butter
- ¼ cup ground flax seed
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup raw honey
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Gently press the mixture into a 9" x 13" pan (or 9" x 9" pan for thicker bars) and refrigerate about 30 minutes.
- Cut into bars (or squares) and wrap tightly with plastic wrap or place into individual resealable bags for grab-and-go snacks!
- Store in the refrigerator for 1 week or freeze up to 2 months.
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