Nutritious fruit, nuts, and seeds granola bars are packed with flavor to start your day right. A quick morning snack on the go or an afternoon treat; either way, you will love it.

Granola is a popular snack, very often loaded with refined sugars and sweetened to give the taste buds a sugary jolt to our mornings. I love these homemade granola bars flavored with coconut sugar; you can avoid sugar altogether by adding plenty of dried fruits for natural sweetness. A hint of coconut oil with added nuts & seeds make these bars a healthy and delicious crunchy treat.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (I used protein instant oats but using rolled oats are ideal)
  • 7 tbsp coconut sugar (brown sugar for milder flavor and less sweet – 1/3 cup)
  • 3 large egg whites
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • Pinch of ground nutmeg
  • 2 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1 tbsp flax seeds
  • 1/2 cup cranberries
  • 1/2 cup dried mangoes or apricots (any dried fruit of your choice)
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped fine
  • 1/4 cup raw almonds, sliced or whole
  • 1/4 cup cashews (optional)
  • 1/2 cup raw pepitas
  • 1/2 cup raw or roasted sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

Method:

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Use the middle portion of the rack.

Use a sheet of aluminum foil in a wide 9 x 13 inches wide pan or any wide – long pan. Make sure extra foil is hanging over the edges of the pan to remove the bars once they are baked. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan. Grease foil.

Grind 1/2 cup oats in food processor until finely ground.

Whisk coconut sugar, egg whites, oil, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Keep it aside.

Add ground oats, the remaining 1-1/2 cups oats, walnuts, almonds, cashews, pepitas, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, chia, cranberries, dried mangoes (any other dried fruits of your choice), and coconut flakes to the wet mixture.

Toss everything well until all fruits, nuts and seeds are thoroughly coated.

Transfer this mixture into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Use a greased metal spoon to firmly press the mixture until compact and even.

Bake granola bars until light golden brown and fragrant, about 40 mins rotating pan halfway through baking.

Remove bars from oven and let cool in pan for 15 mins (do not turn oven off).

Using foil overhang lift bars from pan and transfer to cutting board.

Cut into 16 bars. Space bars evenly on parchment paper-lined baking sheet and continue to bake until deep golden brown, 15-20 mins, rotating sheet halfway through baking.

Transfer bars to a wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour.

Serve. You can store them in an airtight container for few days as well.

My granola bars turned out heavenly. The girls couldn’t stop eating them. They were easy to make and so many. I stored them in an airtight container for later as a quick snack or a morning on-the-go breakfast.

I crushed them and added it to my yogurt with fresh fruits as an afternoon treat. Give it a try! 😋

Enjoy…! 😊 Try it out and let me know what you think!😊