Healthy Homemade Granola Bars {Meal Prep Friendly Recipe} (2024)

FAQs

Are homemade granola bars healthier? ›

Granola bars are a convenient, flavorful, and portable snack. Still, many prepackaged varieties are high in sugar, calories, and ingredients that may harm your health. Studying ingredient lists carefully or choosing to make your own granola bars can ensure that your snack is both nutritious and delicious.

Homemade granola bars aren't hard to make once you have all the right ingredients and they'll certainly save you money in the long term. It's hard to fight against the convenience and habit of picking up a box of bars at the store, but it really seems like it's worth trying to make our own.

When added to your homemade granola bars, honey acts as glue that sticks all the pieces together. Another upside of adding honey to your recipe is that it is a natural sweetener, meaning you won't have to add any artificial sweeteners to your recipe.

Store them in the fridge or freezer.

I recommend storing them with a sheet of parchment paper between layers so that the bars don't stick together. They'll keep for up to a week in the fridge, but you can also freeze them for up to 2 months.

Processed ingredients

Many commercial granola bars contain processed ingredients like refined grains, artificial flavours, and preservatives. Consuming a diet high in processed foods has been linked to an increased risk of inflammation, digestive issues, and other health problems.

The Bottom Line

Granola is healthy in small amounts, especially because oats, nuts, seeds and dried fruit in granola provide some fiber that's good for heart and gut health. However, granola can also be a rich source of calories, saturated fat and sugar, depending on the brand you buy.

Higher temperatures can cause ingredients like nuts, seeds, and coconut to burn before the batch has a chance to properly dry out and crisp up, Perry says. Stick with a low temperature, keep an eye on your mixture, and stir it from time to time to help it brown evenly.

Often touted for their whole grain goodness, most granola bars are sticky-sweet junk food in disguise. Don't let a few oats fool you — especially when you also see marshmallows and chocolate chips. Instead: If granola bars are a must-have, choose one with 6 grams of sugar or less per bar, and hopefully some fibre.

A heathy granola bar is a pretty decent breakfast, especially if you're on the go or you're not used to breakfast. I prefer them as part of a bigger on-the-go breakfast, since I still get hungry after one 😂. Just make sure the granola bar you choose is mostly whole grains and you're probably good to go.

The best binders for granola bars includes honey, brown rice syrup, chia seeds, flaxseed, and nut butter.

What is the best glue for granola bars? ›

While the oats and nuts bake, you can make the sticky glue that holds our bars together. You'll melt butter, honey, and brown sugar in a saucepan and simmer until the sugar dissolves. Mix this sticky mixture with the toasted oats and nuts.

Baking Soda – prevents the granola bars from becoming too dense as they bake. Salt – cuts the sweetness and enhances flavor.

These really are the perfect bar for a hearty snack because they keep you full for hours and don't provide a sugar overload. Plus, they pack in plenty of healthy fats from the almonds and peanut butter, and lots of fiber from the oats.

You can also make your own granola, which is a good way to avoid the excess fats and sugars you may find in store-bought brands.

The cost per serving of store-bought granola is also $1. But it's worth noting that you'll still have leftover ingredients after making your first batch of homemade granola. These remaining ingredients can be used to make another 15 servings at no additional cost, effectively reducing the cost per serving to $0.50.

Because granola contains carbohydrates, it can spike blood sugar levels in some people with diabetes. However, whether or not granola spikes your blood sugar levels, and how quickly it may cause a blood sugar spike, will vary depending on what type of granola you eat and what you pair it with.