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This simple homemade granola bar recipe is the ultimate protein-packed vegan snack! Each bite is loaded with wholesome ingredients like nuts, seeds, and oats that will fill you up and keep you going all day long. These delicious plant-based granola bars are gluten-free and free of refined sugar.
I originally posted this granola bar recipe on 10/23/15 but I updated the recipe with better instructions and helpful notes on 7/21/19.
Hands down, this is the best homemade granola bar recipe that you’ll ever taste! These crunchy granola bars are loaded with heart-healthy and high-fiber oats, almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, and hemp seeds. Every tasty bite is packed with sweet and salty caramelized nuts that make it taste more like a dessert than a wholesome snack!
This vegan granola bar recipe is easy to make and it’s the perfect light breakfast or quick and satisfying snack for when you need an afternoon pick-me-up. You can enjoy these bars on the go because they don’t need to be refrigerated and they’re very hearty so they travel perfectly!
You could pack these bars to bring with you when you’re traveling, going to Disney World (like we do!), going camping, or if you’re just out running errands during the day. My mom actually mailed a care package of these granola bars to my brother in college and they arrived in perfect condition!
How to Make Granola Bars – Step By Step Instructions
Step #1 – First, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Step #2 – In a large mixing bowl, combine the old fashioned oats, coconut oil, and sea salt. Mix it well, so each oat is lightly coated in oil. Lay the oats on a parchment-lined 15-inch baking tray and bake it for 18-20 minutes or until the oats are lightly golden and toasted. Stir halfway through.
Step #3 – While the oats are toasting, mix the maple syrup and coconut sugar in a small pan over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved (about 5 minutes). Once the sugar has dissolved, add the cinnamon and vanilla extract. Stir it well.
Step #4 – Remove the tray of oats from the oven and carefully pour them back into your mixing bowl. I’ve found that the easiest way to do this is to carefully pick up the top and bottom right corners of the pachment paper with your right hand and pick up the top and bottom left corners with your left hand. Then create a funnel to pour the oats back into the bowl. Also, reduce the heat to 300 degrees.
Step #5 – Add all of the nuts and seeds to the bowl with the oats. Pour the syrup mixture you just made over the oats and stir to combine everything.
Use a large spoon to scoop the oat mixture out of the bowl and back onto the parchment-lined tray. Spread the oats out evenly, and use a piece of parchment paper to lay on top of the oats and press down firmly with your palm. Pressing down will help the oats stick together better and form a solid bar.
Step #6 – Bake the granola bars for 28-30 minutes or until the granola is golden brown. If you see any darker spots beginning to form, rotate the tray or remove it from the oven so it doesn’t burn.
Step #7 – When the granola bars are done baking, remove the tray from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes. Use a pastry cutter or thin spatula to slice the granola into 4 x 5 rows to make 20 bars. If you don’t slice the granola bars now, you won’t be able to later because they will be too hard.
If you miss the window to easily slice the bars (been there, done that!), don’t panic! You can still use your hands to break it up into chunks and I promise, it will taste just as good.
What Are The Healthiest Granola Bars?
In my opinion, the healthiest granola bars you can eat are homemade granola bars. Store-bought granola bars tend to be higher in sugar, salt, cheaper non-organic ingredients, and fillers. When you make your own granola bars you can control the amount (and what kind) of nuts, seeds, sugar, and salt is used.
Is This Granola Bars Recipe Gluten-Free?
Yes, this vegan granola bar recipe is gluten-free as long as you use gluten-free oats.
Are these Baked Granola Bars Crunchy or Chewy?
These delicious homemade granola bars are super crispy crunchy! If you want a soft no bake granola bar recipe, this is not the recipe for you. If you want a chewy granola bar recipe, try this one. If you prefer a soft peanut butter granola bar recipe, try this one.
How Long Will These Crunchy Granola Bars Stay Crispy?
These vegan granola bars will stay crispy for four days and then they start to get a little soft and chewy (but still delicious!) by the fifth day. However, I highly doubt that these homemade granola bars will last that long in your house. They always seem to disappear by the third day at the latest in our house!
What to do With Leftovers?
If you find yourself with too many leftover granola bars then you could break them up into small chunks in a bowl, add your favorite plant milk, and eat it like a bowl of cereal for breakfast. That’s what I do, it’s delicious. Or you could sprinkle the broken bits over plant-based yogurt with fresh fruit for a healthy lunch.
Tester Notes
- You can use coconut nectar (it has a lower glycemix index), or agave in place of the maple syrup to get the same result.
- It doesn’t matter if you use gluten-free or regular old fashioned oats, the bars will turn out the same.
- Don’t substitute quick oats for old fashioned oats, because quick oats are thinner, softer, and they don’t hold their shape as well once baked. You must use old fashioned or rolled oats to make a crunchy granola bar.
- You could susbstitue organic cane sugar for coconut sugar if you prefer.
- You could also use brazil nuts, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, or sunflower seeds in the granola bar mixture.
- If you’re nut-free, substitute extra seeds instead.
- You can double this recipe (this is how my mom prefers to make it) to make really solid, thick granola bars.
- You could also add a drizzle of melted dark chocolate over the bars after you cut them for a decadent treat!
Tips to Make This Easy Granola Bar Recipe
- Use raw unsalted nuts and seeds so you can control how much sodium is in the granola bars + you’ll be roasting the nuts anyways while the bars bake.
- If you have a newer oven (mine is old) or you know that it runs hot, make sure to check on the granola every few minutes to make sure it’s not getting too dark. My mom loves this granola bars recipe and makes it often but she has a new oven and she reported back that it didn’t take as long to bake her granola bars as my oven takes.
- When you pour the oat/nut mixture back onto the tray, try to press the edges in towards the center so they are pretty solid and even lines. You want one big solid rectangle. If the edges look loose on the tray then they might break off of the bars when you cut them.
- Don’t skip the step to place a piece of parchment on top of the bars and press down. This step is very important to help the bars meld together and form hearty, solid bars. If you don’t have parchment paper you could also use foil, wax paper, the bottom of a cup, or even just your hand. The barrier is just to keep your hands from getting sticky.
- Once the granola bars come out of the oven, let them cool for about 5 minutes (so you can safely touch them without burning yourself). Then you must use a thin sturdy spatula or a pastry cutter to cut the granola into 12 bars. The bars firm up quickly as they cool and if you wait too long to cut them then it’s next to impossible to cut them into traditional bar shapes. If you forget about cutting them and they’ve completely cooled by the time you remember then your best bet is to just break the granola up into random shapes. It will still taste great, promise!
- While you’re cutting the bars, if you have any loose edges that break off you can put the loose pieces in a separate container to use for cereal with plant milk, sprinkle over a vegan yogurt parfait, or add it to trail mix.
- Make sure that you store the leftover granola bars in an airtight container on the counter (not in the fridge) so they will stay crunchy for the max amount of time.
More Vegan Snack Recipes You’ll Love!
Watermelon Kiwi Mango Fruit Salsa
Chocolate Peanut Butter Dessert Hummus
If you’ve made this crunchy granola bar recipe, please rate the recipe and leave me a comment below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious vegan recipes!
Loaded Granola Bars Recipe
Equipment
- Large Baking Tray (15x11-inch)
Ingredients
- 3½ cups old fashioned rolled oats (aka rolled oats)
- 1/4 cup organic coconut oil (virgin, cold pressed, unrefined)
- 1/2 tsp Himalayan pink sea salt
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ceylon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup raw unsalted almonds
- 1/2 cup raw unsalted cashews
- 1/2 cup raw unsalted pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup hemp seeds
- 2 tbsp chia seeds (black or white)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the old fashioned oats, coconut oil, and sea salt. Mix it well, so each oat is lightly coated in oil. Lay the oats on a parchment-lined baking tray and bake it for 18-20 minutes or until the oats are lightly golden and toasted. Stir halfway through.
- While the oats are toasting, mix the maple syrup and coconut sugar in a small pan over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved (about 5 minutes). Once the sugar has dissolved, add the cinnamon and vanilla extract. Stir it well.
- Remove the tray of oats from the oven and carefully pour them back into your mixing bowl. I’ve found that the easiest way to do this is to carefully pick up the top and bottom right corners of the pachment paper with your right hand and pick up the top and bottom left corners with your left hand. Then create a funnel to pour the oats back into the bowl. Also, reduce the heat to 300 degrees.
- Add all of the nuts and seeds to the bowl with the oats. Pour the syrup mixture you just made over the oats and stir to combine everything. Use a large spoon to scoop the oat mixture out of the bowl and back onto the parchment-lined tray. Spread the oats out evenly, and use a piece of parchment paper to lay on top of the oats and press down firmly with your palm. Pressing down will help the oats stick together better and form a solid bar.
- Bake the granola bars for 28-30 minutes (watch it carefully!) or until the granola is golden brown. If you see any darker spots beginning to form, rotate the tray or remove it from the oven so it doesn’t burn.
- When the granola bars are done baking, remove the tray from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes. Use a pastry cutter or thin spatula to slice the granola into 4 x 5 rows to make 20 bars. If you don’t slice the granola bars now, you won’t be able to later because they will be too hard.If you miss the window to easily slice the bars (been there, done that!), don’t panic! You can still use your hands to break it up into chunks and I promise, it will taste just as good.
- Let the granola bars finish cooling completely and then store them in an airtight container for up to one week.
Notes
- Use raw unsalted nuts and seeds so you can control how much sodium is in the granola bars + you'll be roasting the nuts anyways while the bars bake.
- If you have a newer oven (mine is old) or you know that it runs hot, make sure to check on the granola every few minutes to make sure it's not getting too dark. My mom loves this granola bars recipe and makes it often but she has a new oven and she reported back that it didn't take as long to bake her granola bars as my oven takes.
- When you pour the oat/nut mixture back onto the tray, try to press the edges in towards the center so they are pretty solid and even lines. You want one big solid rectangle. If the edges look loose on the tray then they might break off of the bars when you cut them.
- Don't skip the step to place a piece of parchment on top of the bars and press down. This step is very important to help the bars meld together and form hearty, solid bars. If you don't have parchment paper you could also use foil, wax paper, the bottom of a cup, or even just your hand. The barrier is just to keep your hands from getting sticky.
- Once the granola bars come out of the oven, let them cool for about 5 minutes (so you can safely touch them without burning yourself). Then you must use a thin sturdy spatula or a pastry cutter to cut the granola into 12 bars. The bars firm up quickly as they cool and if you wait too long to cut them then it's next to impossible to cut them into traditional bar shapes. If you forget about cutting them and they've completely cooled by the time you remember then your best bet is to just break the granola up into random shapes. It will still taste great, promise!
- While you're cutting the bars, if you have any loose edges that break off you can put the loose pieces in a separate container to use for cereal with plant milk.
- Make sure that you store the leftover granola bars in an airtight container on the counter (not in the fridge) so they will stay crunchy for the max amount of time.
Nutrition
Like I said at the beggining of this post, my mom made a big batch of this healthy granola bar recipe and made up a care package to send to my brother in college. If you also have kids in college, this would be the perfect recipe to make and send to them to show them that you’re thinking about them.
These hearty granola bars travel perfectly and can hold up 1-2 days in the mail. When your child opens up the care package, the granola bars will taste just as fresh as the first day they were made!
In addition to the granola bars and any other goodies they might enjoy, it might be helpful to include a box of Emergen-C, a bottle of Advil Liqui-Gels, and a container of Centrum MultiGummies to make sure they’re taking care of themselves while they’re away from home.
What else would you put in the care package? Let me know in the comments!
