My Favorite Granola Bars. A super easy granola bar recipe that you can customize with your favorite add-ins. These homemade granola bars are my absolute favorite because they're loaded with healthy ingredients and perfect for on-the-go. So many of you have asked for an Aldi food finds and here it is!

You can substitute your favorite nuts for this recipe. I use walnuts but almonds, cashews, or pecans are all great choices! Even though you should refrigerate your granola bars to help them firm up quickly, you do not need to store them in the refrigerator. You can have My Favorite Granola Bars using 11 ingredients and 8 steps. Here is how you cook that.

Ingredients of My Favorite Granola Bars

It's 1 1/2 cups of quick oats.
It's 1 cup of crisp rice cereal.
It's 1/4 cup of ground flaxseed.
It's 1/4 cup of unsalted butter.
It's 1/4 cup of honey.
Prepare 1/4 cup of brown sugar.
You need pinch of salt.
It's 1/4 cup of pepitas (also known as pumpkin seeds).
You need 1/4 cup of almonds, roughly chopped (could also used sliced).
You need 1/4 cup of craisins (or raisins or other dried fruit).
It's 1/4 cup of shredded coconut (could also use coconut chips or a mix).

My favorite granolas - snack bars are: cranberry + coconut, pb, date + walnut. Homemade Granola Bar recipe is quick and easy to make. These never last long around here. Satisfying in all the ways that count; filling without making you feel full, and a salty-sweet flavor balance The brown rice syrup makes the granola bars ooey-gooey, but because it isn't overly sweet, I poured in a few tablespoons of maple syrup for good.

My Favorite Granola Bars step by step

Optional first step : lay out the oats on a baking tray and bake at 350°F for 10 or so minutes, until everything is toasted and golden. Keep a close eye on them though, as the oats can burn quickly. Toasting the oats beforehand just adds a nice flavor to the finished bars, but this step isn't necessary..
Line a 8x8"or a 9x9" pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to easily lift the finished bars out and set aside..
Toss the oats, rice cereal and ground flaxseed together in a large bowl. Set aside..
In a medium saucepan, start heating your butter over medium heat. Once it begins to melt, whisk in the brown sugar, honey and pinch of salt. This will form a kind of sticky caramel sauce, which will be the glue that holds the bars together. Let this come to simmer, then remove from heat..
Pour the sauce over the ingredients in the bowl and use a rubber spatula to mix it all in. Make sure everything is fully saturated. Then fold in the rest of the ingredients. If using chocolate chips as one of your ingredients, barely fold them in after everything else is fully mixed, that way they won't melt from the initial heat of the sauce..
Pour this mix into the prepared baking pan and use either a spatula or another pan or your hands to press down on the granola mixture very firmly. Whatever you're using to press down the granola, spray it first with non-stick cooking spray. Its important to really pack it down hard or you'll end up with crumbly granola chunks instead of bars..
Place the pan into the fridge for at least 2 hours. Then, remove the granola from the pan using the parchment paper. Use a large, sharp knife to cut it into bars (or squares)..
That's it! For grab and go convenience, you can individually wrap these using parchment paper and string or you can wrap them in plastic wrap. Store them for up to 1 week. They're a bit hard and crunchy straight out of the fridge, so I'd recommend letting them sit out at room temperature for a few minutes before eating..

These healthy Peanut Butter Granola Bars are one of our favorite snacks to bring along on our adventures. They are super healthy, sweetened only with dates, and loaded with protein and fiber! They also freeze beautifully, so it's easy to make a batch and always have them on hand for snack. Dip the cooled granola bars straight into the melted chocolate so that the top is plain and the bottom is chocolate-covered. Set on parchment until set, sticking in Big, crunchy chunks of almonds make the granola bars worth living for.