Healthy Homemade Granola Bars {Meal Prep Friendly Recipe} (2025)

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.

Store them in the fridge or freezer.

They'll keep for up to a week in the fridge, but you can also freeze them for up to 2 months. I like to eat these granola bars straight out of the fridge, but if they're frozen, let them thaw at room temperature for 20 minutes before you eat.

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.

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.

"If it's not high in sugar, one daily serving of granola paired with milk or yogurt can be a great way to start the day," says Abbie Gellman, M.S., RD, a culinary and nutrition expert. Less than 7 grams of sugar per serving is a good goal. Saturated fat. A little coconut oil never hurt anyone.

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.

To keep your granola bars fresh, you must allow the least amount of air possible to reach the bars. Because air (and warmth) can easily cause spoilage, sealing your granola bars in an airtight container or wrapping them in wax paper is a great way to keep them fresh for longer.

Cut strips of wax paper large enough to wrap your bars like a Christmas gift. I like to have my seam going along the length with the folds going on the small ends. In my tests, this method allowed the least amount of air to reach the bars, which kept them fresh longer.

Yogurt and granola are excellent sources of fiber. It contains a high fiber content that provides numerous benefits to the digestive system. Therefore, it is the ideal way to maintain fast digestion to avoid fat formation in the body.

Which One Is Better for Breakfast? Both oatmeal and granola make for a healthy, nutritious breakfast, but the winner for us is granola—the added nuts, seeds, and dried fruits give you a source of fiber and healthy fats that oatmeal can't quite compete with.

Is homemade granola healthier? ›

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.

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.

While there are several different sticky ingredients that you can use, we've found that the binding agent that works the best is honey! When added to your homemade granola bars, honey acts as glue that sticks all the pieces together.

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.