No-Bake Granola Bars

Name: No-Bake Granola Bars
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 3/4 cup honey; 1/2 cup packed brown sugar; 1/4 cup neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn; 3 cups any good, not-too-sweet granola

By Mark Bittman

Total Time: 15 minutes
Rating: 4(218)
Comments: Read comments

Here is a good alternative to a commercially made granola bar. It’s a flexible recipe, allowing for any number of additions: dried cherries, pistachios, peanuts, dates, orange zest. You could substitute a dried fruit purée (directions are in the notes) for the honey and brown sugar, providing a complex twist on the binding agents. You could add chocolate. Coconut. The possibilities are endless.

Featured in: Homemade Granola Bars

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

¾cup honey
½cup packed brown sugar
¼cup neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn
3cups any good, not-too-sweet granola

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Put the honey, brown sugar, and oil in a small pot and bring to a boil. Put the granola in a large bowl and pour the sugar mixture over the top while mixing; stir until the granola is well coated.
Step 2
Press into an 8- or 9-inch square pan and let cool in the fridge. Cut into squares or rectangles and serve. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Tips

Dried Fruit Bars: Use just about any dried fruit here; dates or dried figs are great, as are dried apricots, raisins, plums, pears, and more: Substitute 1½ cups dried fruit for the honey and brown sugar. Put the dried fruit and oil in a food processor and purée until smooth, stopping the machine to scrape down the sides if necessary. (Add small amounts of water if the fruit is dried out and not processing.) Proceed with the recipe.
Orange-Spice Granola Bars: Add 1 tablespoon chopped orange zest, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon each ground cardamom and ginger, and ½ teaspoon ground cloves.
Nutty Granola Bars: Substitute 1 cup mixed or single toasted roughly chopped nuts and whole seeds for 1 cup of the granola.
Peanut (or Any Nut) Butter Granola Bars: Practically a power bar: Substitute peanut or any nut butter for the brown sugar.

Private Notes

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Ratings

4 out of 5

218 user ratings

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Comments

Amy7 years ago

I substituted the fruit puree but found that the bar fell apart when cut. The flavor is good there needs to be an additional binder. I think the Peanut Butter option would have a better chance of a successful binder.

Katie7 years ago

Using Peanut Butter instead of sugar & letting it sit for an hour before cutting worked well for me!

JFox7 years ago

Way too sweet. Next time will reduce the sugar. Also, hard to get out of pan. Oil or butter it next time.

Beth4 months ago

Waaay too sweet (and sticky). I'll try again with some other non-sticky binder/sweentener. Thanks.

Leah2 years ago

1 cup dried fruit (dates) 1/2 cup nut butter

carrie2 years ago

I used peanut butter (Justin’s with honey) instead of sugar. Used neutral flavor coconut oil. I lined a shallow 9x13 pan with parchment and mixed the ingredients on the parchment - rolling it around to mix. I then added shaved salted dark chocolate (lily’s) on top. After sprinkling the chocolate I put it in the oven on broil setting for appx 1min to melt the chocolate and the PB again. Cooled then put in fridge for a few hours. Divine! The broiler created a bottom peanut butter layer. Yum!

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