Homemade Granola Bars

Hi! How's it going? We're good here. We had a couple of cooler days, which was really nice in the middle of constant 90's. But other than those days, it's still too hot to cook/bake in my book. So today I'm sharing this recipe for no-bake granola bars that we tried. It's one of those where you can switch out almost any ingredient for another similar one and still have it turn out great (is that the definition of fool-proof?). These are great for school lunches or after-school snacks. 

I made two batches at once, but mixed them separately so that we could try different flavors. We made a fruit and nut version: dried cranberries, natural coconut flakes, and peppitas, and a double chocolate: chocolate rice cereal, and chocolate chips. 

No-Bake Granola Bars

(each recipe makes one bread pan)

Cranberry Nut

2 cups rolled oats

1 tbsp. chia seeds

1/3 cup melted peanut butter

1/4 cup honey

1/3 cup chopped dried cranberries

2 tbsp natural dried coconut flakes

2 tbsp pepitas 

Double Chocolate

2 cups rolled oats

1 tbsp. chia seeds

1/3 cup melted peanut butter

1/4 cup honey

1/3 cup chocolate rice cereal

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Mix ingredients well and press firmly into a parchment-line bread pan. Refrigerate at least one hour. Then lift parchment out and cut into bars. Makes 7-8 bars. 

Be warned , they are a bit soft, meaning they will crumble if handled a lot. They hold together better when cold, so I just put the whole batch with the paper in a tupperware and keep it in the fridge. 

I love these for breakfast, lunch or dessert. Granola bars are my kids favorite snack, so I'm happy to have our own recipe to make them now. Plus, with oats, chia seeds, and pepitas, I'm feeling pretty good calling this healthy. This is also an easy project to let kids help with; all the measuring is simple and there's no heat involved. Hope you had a great week, friends! Happy Friday!

You are loved!