Baked Chewy Granola Bars

I always have homemade granola bars on hand in the freezer.  They are easy to make and taste great.  The only problem is that they don't hold up well unless they are refrigerated.  So they are good at home...but not so good for packing in a diaper bag, putting in a lunch, etc.

I decided to experiment a bit yesterday and make a new version of chewy granola bars.  They are baked, they have less nut butter (or you can leave it out all together) and have eggs to help hold them together.

These granola bars turned out quite well.  They are still chewy, but not as gooey as the no-bake bars.  They would hold up well sitting out all day.  I still have to experiment a little to get the ingredient ratios just right (I'll update the post if I make modifications), but overall these are great!  I wish I had made these before our vacation.

I have seen recipes for other baked granola bars that don't use eggs, so if you can't have eggs you could definitely try these without.  Just increase the honey and/or oil.


I used some rolled oats and some ground oats.  My daughter struggles with the texture of oats, so I like to use ground oats sometimes.  You can use all rolled or all ground or a combination.  Or you could even use another flour combined with oats (wheat, rice, etc.)

The other nice thing about these bars is that I was able to use chocolate chips in them...without the chips melting!  A very versatile granola bar that holds up well and can be adapted to many special diets.  I love it.

Baked Chewy Granola Bars

4 cups rolled oats, ground oats, wheat flour, rice flour, buckwheat (any combination you like)
1/2 cup honey (or maple syrup or a combination)
1/2 cup coconut oil or butter (or a combination), melted
1/4 cup nut butter (optional)
2 eggs (optional...add more honey/oil if omitting)
1 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
1 cup mix-ins: dried coconut, raisins, dried fruit, chopped nuts, chocolate chips, seeds

Melt coconut oil and/or butter.  Let cool slightly.  Mix oats/flour, honey, oil, nut butter, eggs and cinnamon.  The mixture should be quite moist.  If it is not add more honey/oil.  This is what binds the granola bars, so be sure all of the oats/flour are wet.  Stir in mix-ins.  Pour mixture into a greased 9x13 pan.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, until the edges just start to become golden.  Let cool for about 20 minutes.  Cut into bars (they will still be quite soft at this point) in the pan (do not remove).  Allow to cool/solidify completely in the pan for 1-2 hours.

Remove bars from pan and wrap individually.  Store in the refrigerator or freezer.