Toast the oats, almonds, and sunflower seeds for around 12 minutes at 350ºF/170ºC. Keep an eye on them so they don't burn. Bake them for a couple of minutes longer if you prefer a more golden, crispy texture. Once you take them out of the oven, let them cool down a bit.
While the nuts are roasting, mix all the wet ingredients in a bowl. Add protein powder or cinnamon (or spices) if using and stir well.
Add the roasted nuts and seeds to the bowl and mix well. Add a bit more honey (or your liquid sweetener of choice) if the mixture isn't sticky enough. This will need to be adjusted as you adjust the granola bar recipe ingredients.If wanted, you can mix in the chocolate chips now. I prefer to keep them separate and put them on top of the granola before chilling.
Cover a small tray or square bowl with a piece of parchment paper. I use a 9 x 9-inch pan (23x23 cm). Adding a bit of oil or butter to the tray helps the paper stick to it.
Pour the granola bar mix in and stack well. Use a spatula or a glass/cup with a flat bottom to spread and press the granola onto the tray. If you keep your chocolate chips aside, place them on the granola now, then press down so they stick to the mixture.
Chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Once hardened and cool, cut into even-sized rectangular bars. I cut mine into 10 bars.
Storage Instructions
Fridge: keep these healthy granola bars in the fridge for up to a week.Freezer: freeze them for up to two months. Store in an airtight container with parchment paper between the layers of breakfast bars so they don't stick to each other.
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Notes
You can crush your nuts before roasting if you want smaller pieces in your granola bars. It also helps the bars stick together better, with the smaller pieces.Granola Bars Variations:
Sweetener: If you're wondering how to make granola bars vegan, the trick is in the honey. Swap it out for maple syrup or a combo of agave nectar and coconut oil. Alternatively, you could use Medjool dates as they’ll make the granola sticky and act as a natural sweetener, giving you the perfect chewy granola bars.
Protein Blend: If you’re looking for an optional boost in these soft granola bars, I love adding some Homemade Protein Blend for an easy nutrition bump.
Dried Fruit: For added flavor and sweetness, use dried fruits. I love using dried cranberries, raisins, apricots, and figs – but you can add whichever you like.
Freeze-dried Fruit: A budget-friendly option to give crunch to any healthy snack bars recipe is freeze-dried fruit like banana chips, strawberries, and raspberries.
Spices: You can give your chewy granola bar a true cookie feel with extra spices like cinnamon or vanilla extract for extra flavor.
Sea Salt: Salt is especially important in sweet treats as it brings out the flavor of the chocolate and counterbalances the sweetness of the honey/syrup in these snack bars.
Coconut: My unsweetened shredded coconut is also great for adding flavor, as well as texture, and nutrition to this breakfast bar recipe. They're also a brilliant complement to freeze-dried berries.
Additional Seeds: For extra nutrition and texture in your breakfast bar, go for flaxseeds, chia seeds, and pumpkin seeds.
Check the blog post for more tips and ingredient notes!