I’m excited to share this recipe for Healthy Chewy Apple Cinnamon Granola Bars with you all today! I know a lot of you might be using the New Year as a restart when it comes to resolving to eat healthier, and I’m sorry if I tend to lead you astray from time to time. Just know that when you need a treat, I’ll be here waiting for you with open arms. In the meantime, here’s something I think everyone will enjoy without any guilt!
This recipe is inspired by Beard and Bonnet’s Rise and Shine Energy Bars. My good friend, Annie, who has two adorable little boys, shared the recipe with me. She said she likes to give her boys healthy bars for breakfasts or snacks, and was so happy to find a homemade one that they loved. We eat a lot of granola bars at our house too, so I wanted to give them a try. I was really surprised at how good they turned out. So light and chewy, and very easy to make too! They have the same texture as our favorite store bought granola bars, without any weird ingredients. Technically this recipe is “no bake” but you do need to toast the oats, pecans, and flax seeds to enhance their flavor.
I added less sugar than the original recipe, and also subbed butter for coconut oil. I also added pecans and dried apples. You could really add any little bits of goodness you like, as long as you keep the wet and dry ingredient proportions as written.
So convenient to wrap up the bars individually so they are ready to grab for quick snacks on the go. Hope you get a chance to make these, and maybe change up some of the ingredients to fit your own taste! My next batch is going to be a chocolate chip version I know my boys will be really excited about.
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Healthy Chewy Apple Cinnamon Granola Bars
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 12 bars 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: American
Description
These granola bars have the same texture as our favorite store-bought bars, but without any weird ingredients or preservatives. Perfect on-the-go snack!
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup old fashioned oats
- 1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)
- 1/4 cup flax seeds
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups puffed rice cereal
- 1/2 cup dried apples, diced
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9 by 9 inch baking dish by spraying it with nonstick spray and lining it with parchment paper, leaving excess hanging over the sides for easy removal later.
- Spread oats, nuts, and flax seeds out in an even layer on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 5-8 minutes, watching closely for the oats to just start to brown and become fragrant.
- In a small sauce pan, bring honey, coconut oil, and brown sugar to a simmer over medium heat. Stir to dissolve sugar for 2-4 minutes. Remove from heat, add vanilla extract, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine puffed rice cereal, dried apples, cinnamon and salt. Stir in the oat mixture, and pour in the honey mixture. Stir until everything is well coated.
- Press into your prepared 9 by 9 inch square baking dish. Use another piece of parchment paper on top to pack it down and press it into the corners.
- Place them in the refrigerator to chill for an hour before removing from the baking dish to cut into bars. Serve at room temperature.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Bar
- Calories: 243
- Sugar: 18g
- Sodium: 125mg
- Fat: 13g
- Saturated Fat: 4.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7.8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 31g
- Fiber: 3.2g
- Protein: 3.1g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Melanie @ Garnish & Glaze says
These are the most perfectly cut homemade granola bars I have ever seen Julie! I’ll have to give these a try… with some chocolate chips thrown in of course. 🙂
Julie says
Thank you! sounds good :0)
Emily says
Julie — Can you tell me what the nutrition facts are? Or at least calories in each bar?
Julie says
Hi Emily, sorry- I don’t have nutritional information for my recipes.
Ryuko says
Nutrition Facts :
Amount per serving
*Calories 258
*Total Fat 13.8g
-Saturated Fat 5.0g
-Trans Fat 0.0g
*Cholesterol 0mg
*Sodium 99mg
*Potassium 154mg
*Total Carbohydrates 31.3g
-Dietary Fiber 3.7g
-Sugars 15.8g
*Protein 3.9g
aimee says
hello, my question I have for is that I don’t have a 9×9 pan i have 9×13,8×8 so what would you suggest,thank you aimee
Julie says
Hi Aimee, if you use an 8 by 8 inch pan they will be a little thicker but you can just cut them smaller to compensate if you need to. Enjoy!
Cyndi - My Kitchen Craze says
These look amazing! You cut them into perfect rectangles. I need to try this recipe asap. I made granola bars once, but they just didn’t harden the way I wanted them to. These looks perfect! Pinned!
Julie says
Yes, try these Cyndi! I think you’ll love the way they stay soft and chewy at room temp. It definitely helps to cut them when they are slightly chilled :0)
Lauren says
How do you store them?
Julie says
You can either store them in an airtight container, or wrap them individually in plastic wrap to grab on the go.
Michelle { A Latte Food } says
These look fantastic! Perfect for this resolution time of the year when I’m desperately trying to get started on my fitness goals. The struggle. So these fit right in! Pinned!
Julie says
I totally hear you Michelle. Hope you enjoy these bars, and thank you for pinning!
Jessica says
Love your site. Have recommended you to several friends and family members. I make the creamy chicken chili weekly. Is it possible the recipes that call for a coconut product could have a substitution as well. I am extremely allergic and would love to make the granola bars because I think they would be a perfect snack but don’t know what to substitute the coconut oil for.
Thanks for listening and making amazing dishes willing to share.
Julie says
Hi Jessica, thank you so much for your kind words, and for sharing LLK with your friends and family. For this recipe, you can substitute butter for the coconut oil. Enjoy!
Sonya says
I used apple sauce in place of the coconut oil 😊
Julie says
Good to know Sonya!
Min says
Julie, you make the most incredible looking foods, EVER! I’m definitely going to be making this grab and go bars perfect for bfast/snacks! And if you don’t mind, I’d love to share it on my site this Monday as I’m doing a post all about bfast!
Julie says
Aw thanks Min. Sure thing! Thanks for sharing.
Liz G says
These look great! Looking forward to trying them…but I’m allergic to flax. What would be a good substitution for that?
Julie says
Thanks Liz! You can just leave out the flax, or substitute something like sunflower or chia seeds.
Stephanie says
These look wonderful! I am always looking for healthy snack options for my boys and I think these will be absolutely perfect! Your photography is beautiful, by the way. I am working on mine! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Caroline says
These look amazing definitly making those this week end but i’d love to know what can i use instead of nuts cause my daughter can’t bring any kind of nut at school 🙁
Julie says
No problem if you just leave out the nuts. Hope you enjoy!
Jeane' Ridges says
Can I ommit cereal?
Julie says
I believe you could omit the cereal, but you want to keep the wet to dry ingredient ratio the same, so maybe add in some more nuts and oats? The puffed rice cereal does keep the bar from having a really dense texture, so keep this in mind.
Sheila says
Hi – these look terrific and I’d like to make a few batches for my daughter’s lacrosse tournament. I have two questions:
1. By puffed rice cereal, do you mean something similar in texture to Rice Crispies? Or soft puffed rice cereal?
2. What kind of dried apples did you use – the chewy kind or the crunchy, dehydrated kind?
Thanks so much!
Julie says
Thanks for your questions Sheila. Yes, I used a Rice Krispie type cereal, and the chewy kind of dried apple.
Ryan says
when do you add vanilla and also how many calories are in a bar
Julie says
Hi Ryan, add the vanilla extract after the sugar has dissolved and you have removed the pan from the heat. I fixed the recipe, so thanks for catching that! I don’t list nutritional information on LLK, but you can search for “nutrition calculator” on Google, and then plug in the recipe.
Katie says
I really want to make these, but I don’t have dried apples, do you think it would work out with fresh diced apples?
Julie says
The only thing I’m worried about is the extra moisture that fresh apples would bring to the mix… you could leave them out, or try any dried fruit you may have on hand. Raisins would work too.
Linden says
These look so good! How long they last stored in an air tight container or individual wrapping? Have you tried any other flavour combinations since? Coconut woth drizzled dark chocolate sounds good for a treat, but I have no idea what nut to add in. Hmm.
Thanks for the recipe!
Julie says
We have kept them up to a week. Coconut with dark chocolate would be amazing and I would do almonds!
Kristin Corcoran says
I am hoping to make these tomorrow to bring and share with family this weekend, I know this may not get answered before I make them but I am curious if I double the recipe do you think I can use a 9×13 pan or would just two 9 inch pans be best? I am looking forward to making and sharing these! Thanks for the recipe!
Julie says
Kristin, I think that should be fine. They may come out a little thicker, but you can just cut them a little smaller to compensate. Hope you all enjoy!
Kristin Corcoran says
Thank you so much! I am looking forward to these as its starting to snow this weekend!
Julie says
This AZ girl is jealous! Enjoy your weekend!
Ivy says
I just made these for me and my little girls. It was a hit with all of us! I plugged the ingredients into my fitness pal app and it’s about 223 calories per bar. Perfect for a quick, healthy snack. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Julie says
Nice, thanks for doing that!
Abigail says
My whole family loves these, but I did not like the strength of the honey taste. What could I do to lessen the honey taste?
Julie says
Hi Abigail. Although I have not tried these, I think you could substitute, real maple syrup or agave nectar. Also, most granola bar recipes probably call for corn syrup, but I was trying to use honey as a healthier substitution.
laura says
These look amazing! I am just drying apples for this recipe and planning to make the bars tomorrow! Only thing I am worried about is my previous experiences with chewy granola bars usually turned out sticky. I am planning to wrap the bars individually in plastic bags for a gift and is wondering if this one will be free from sticking and making a mess! I just want it to be presentable, I have no doubt it will taste good! If you could give me any comment on that it will be nice! Also did you use light or dark brown sugar? Thank you!
Julie says
Hi! I don’t think they are overly sticky, but they do have to be somewhat sticky to stay together. I did wrap them individually and mine were fine. Hope this helps and good luck!
Bella Hardy @ Healthnerdy says
I love healthy food like chewy apple cinnamon granola bars. It would be perfect breakfast! Definitely my husband (he is crossfitter) would love it! I found your post from Pinterest! Thanks for sharing!
Helen says
I love this recipe. It’s my son’s favourite flavours, so I’ve made it several times. I just thought I’d pass this info along- flax seeds have to be ground into meal for the body to use their nutrients. Whole flax seeds will leave your body intact. I just use ground flax in the recipe for that reason. You could use other seeds like hemp if you don’t want to grind them.
Helen says
you could add seeds, like sunflower or pumpkin seeds instead of nuts
Julie says
Thank you, Helen!