Homemade Baked Granola Bars

Forget store-bought! Here is how to make delicious baked granola bars at home! Packed with good-for-you ingredients, these homemade bars are easy to make and taste incredible!

We love making granola bars around here! These granola bars are absolutely delicious, thanks to the baking. We mix some of our favorite ingredients with some sugar and honey. Then, as the bars bake in the oven, the sugar melts and caramelizes into the bars, and at the same time, the oats and nuts toast and become extra nutty.

These turn out golden brown, toasted, and just a little chewy. They are heartier than our softer, chewier, no-bake granola bars. I pack more goodies into these so they are thicker. I love these baked bars and give them an edge over the no-bake recipe. That said, my young son loves the no-bake bars, so you should look at both to see which style works best for you. If you love peanut butter, we also have these peanut butter granola bars (I told you we liked making our own!).

Key Ingredients

• Oats: We use oats two ways in these bars. First, you’ll add lots of rolled oats to the mix, and second, you’ll use oat flour or finely ground oats to help make up the glue that keeps these bars together.
• Sweetener: I use coconut sugar (or granulated sugar) and honey (or maple syrup) in these bars. The sugar melts in the oven, helping to glue the bars together. The honey helps, too, but mostly, it’s there for a little stickiness and flavor. I’ve reduced the sugar in these bars over the years. If you prefer a sweeter bar, add some chocolate chips or increase the sugar by a few tablespoons.
• Nuts and Seeds: I love adding a healthy amount of nuts, but I prefer to chop them pretty small before adding them. After making these many times, I’ve noticed that if they crumble, they do so where a larger piece of nut or dried fruit sits. So, by more finely chopping the nuts, we minimize crumbling. I love walnuts, pecans, crumbled sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds, dried coconut, and flaxseed meal. The options are endless!
• Dried Fruit: Just like with the nuts and seeds, we want to chop the fruit small. I love dried cranberries, but other fruits like raisins, golden raisins, apricots, and figs are excellent.
• Almond Butter: Substitute peanut butter, cashew butter, or sunflower butter. This helps to make the glue that holds our bars together. I love homemade almond butter when I have it on hand.
• Olive Oil or Melted Butter: I used olive oil in the bars in our photos, but butter works just as well! Coconut oil is an option, too!
• Egg: Originally, I didn’t add an egg to this recipe, but over the years, I’ve started and don’t plan on going back. It helps the bars hold together and gives them a bit more moisture, leading to a slightly chewier bar. You can substitute it with a flax egg.
• Vanilla, Salt, and Cinnamon: These make our bars taste amazing. Feel free to use your favorite baking spice blends like apple pie spice or pumpkin spice.

These baked granola bars really are so simple for you to make at home. You’ll mix the wet ingredients until smooth, then pour them into a bowl with the oats, nuts, fruit, and sugar. Make sure everything gets a really good mix, and then push it all down into a baking dish. Push firmly to really pack it in there, then bake in the oven until light golden around the edges. Simple, good for you, and delicious!