Homemade Crunchy Granola Bars Recipe

This crunchy granola bars recipe is a great way to start the day or the perfect after school snack! These tasty and filling treats are the perfect combination of of sweet, salty and crunchy!

I’m always looking for a simple treat to have on hand for the kids. This is because no matter what, they’re always hungry. It doesn’t matter if they’ve just eaten dinner or not…they’re going to be shouting it from the roof that they need more food.

Luckily, this quick granola bar recipe always has my back. I can easily whip it up in a matter of moments and they really do love the taste and flavor.

And since I’m all about saving money and not wasting food, I find great comfort in a snack that I know they’ll like.

This is my go-to recipe during the summer months when the kids are at home because I can make it and have it out for them to grab during the day.

Other go-to summer recipes for kids include strawberry lemonade popsicles and vanilla orange popsicles. Yum!

When I first made this homemade granola recipe, I had no idea it was going to be such a hit! I just thought they’d like the taste and then forget about it, honestly.

But they proved me wrong and I’m okay with that. Not a big deal, honestly. I like making this recipe up for me to snack on, too!

About this Crunchy Granola Bars Recipe

Making granola at home isn’t hard and there are a few reasons that I choose to do it rather than buying it from the store.

Homemade granola has very few ingredients

If you’ve ever looked at the back of store-bought granola, there are probably words and ingredients on there that you can have no idea what they even are.

When I’m making it at home, I know everything that I’m putting into it.

Using quick oats is a MUST

There’s just no getting around it. Do not skimp on this step and don’t think that you can use regular oats either. Because if you do, the recipe is going to fail. (Make certain that you also check out this Brown Sugar Baked Oatmeal recipe, too!)

You can skip the raisins or swap out for another fruit

Raisins are optional but we love them because they add a fun pop of sweetness. You can also add in dried blueberries or even craisins instead.

Whatever fruit addition that the kids would eat and enjoy should be totally fine.

And last, but not least, make certain that you let it cool completely before trying to cut into it. If you’re ahead of the game, there’s a good chance that it’s going to crumble.

(But in all reality, if it does crumble, it’s fine. Just have the kids gobble it up with a spoon and remember to let it cool longer next time.)

What you need for making these crunchy granola bar recipe

Believe it or not, your list of cooking supplies needed for this recipe is quite short.

As long as you have a large mixing bowl and a baking pan, you’re going to be set up quite well.

If you’re worried about the granola bars sticking to the pan, you can also line it with parchment paper, too.

This will help the bars to come off easily and leave you less mess to have to worry about cleaning up.

Why is my granola not crunchy?

If you make this recipe up and realize that your granola isn’t crunchy, there are a few things to consider changing for your next batch.

First off, your heat in the oven just might have been too hot. If the temp is too hot when baking, it can cause some of the ingredients to “mush and melt” together, taking away that crunchy and crisp texture.

Another thing that could affect the crunchiness is if you’ve added in too much honey. You’ll know if this is the case if the bars are more sticky and tacky than crunchy.

Should you refrigerate homemade granola?

After making these homemade granola bars, you’re going to want to keep them as fresh as possible. The easiest way to keep them fresh is to keep them in a cool space, covered with a lid.

Bonus: keeping them in a sealed container also keeps this snack out of direct eyesight. Now you won’t be grabbing one every time you walk through the kitchen!

Can you freeze these crunchy granola bars for later?

You bet! I’m a huge fan of meal planning, and sometimes that means that I like to make bigger batches to put in the freezer to save time down the road.

Freezing these granola bars is also a great plan when you just have too many leftovers or other goodies to consume in a short period of time.

As long as you wrap them up well with Saran Wrap and store them in a freezer-proof container, they should stay fresh and delicious without worry.

Crunchy Granola Bars Recipe

Full measurements of all ingredients are included in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. 

Make sure you have everything on the ingredient list before you start your recipe!

Granola Bar Ingredients

• Quick rolled oats
• Mini M&Ms
• Raisins
• Light brown sugar
• Salt
• Butter
• Honey
• Vanilla extract

How to make this Crunchy Granola Bar Recipe

1. In a large mixing bowl, add all of the ingredients and mix until well-combined.

2. Line a 9 x 13 pan with parchment. Using a spatula, press the granola bar mixture firmly and evenly until spread to the corners of the pan.

3. Bake at 350° for 18 to 20 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

4. Cut bars into squares or rectangles after cooling for 5 minutes.

5. Cool in the pan for 30 minutes after cutting. 

How long will these homemade granola bars stay good for?

As long as you’re storing it properly in the fridge, these bars should be good to eat for 3-4 days.

If you’re worried that you aren’t going to be able to consume them in that amount of time, just freeze them as we talked about earlier.

Thawing the frozen granola bars at a later date is so simple. You literally just take them out of the freezer and place them in the fridge for a few hours.

You can take them out and store them outside of the refrigerator once they’re no longer frozen.

Scroll down and you’ll find an easy way to print this recipe and guide you while cooking. 

I love to hear your feedback, so if you loved this recipe as is or made changes, I want to know how you did it. Please come back and let me know in the comments.