Blueberry Granola Bars
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These blueberry granola bars are crispy, chewy, and hold together like a dream—perfect for lunchboxes, snacks, or grabbing on your way out the door.
Meet my favorite blueberry granola bars. They’re crispy, chewy, and just rich enough—packed with nuts, cereal, coconut, and dried blueberries, all held together with a sweet almond butter–date paste. Unlike most homemade bars, they hold together like store-bought (in a good way). Pack them in lunchboxes, stash them in your bag, or grab one off the counter—they won’t crumble.
The secret is puréeing the dates with the liquid ingredients to make a sticky paste that binds everything together, plus a quick stint in the oven to help them set. They come together quickly, but do need a few hours to firm up after baking—and they’re even better the next day.
If you’re looking for more granola bar ideas, check out my Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars and my Crispy Honey Nut Granola Bars. I also share a wonderful peanut butter granola recipe in my first cookbook.
“These were absolutely delightful. I made a double batch and just know they will disappear fast!”
What You’ll Need To Make Blueberry Granola Bars
- Pitted Medjool Dates: Add natural sweetness and help bind everything together.
- Unsalted Melted Butter: Adds richness and helps the bars hold their shape.
- Light Brown Sugar & Honey: Boost the sweetness and give the bars their chewy texture.
- Unsalted Creamy Almond Butter: Adds nutty flavor and acts as the glue that holds everything together.
- Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats & Crispy Rice Cereal: The base of the bars—oats add heartiness, while the rice cereal keeps them light and crisp.
- Unsweetened Flaked Coconut, Almonds & Dried Blueberries: The mix-ins that bring texture and flavor—chewy, crunchy, and just a little bit sweet in every bite.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-BY-Step Instructions
Step 1: Make the binding mixture. Place the dates, melted butter, brown sugar, honey, almond butter, and salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade (or a blender) and process until smooth and thick.
Pro Tip: Peanut butter is a fine substitute for the almond butter, but for best results, stick with a smooth and creamy commercial almond (or peanut) butter. (I don’t recommend all-natural or chunky nut butter.)
Step 2: Combine the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine the oats, rice cereal, coconut, almonds, and dried blueberries.
Step 3: Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Transfer the mixture to a large pot or microwave-safe bowl and bring to a boil. , then use a rubber spatula to gently fold everything together until the dry ingredients are evenly coated.
Pro tip: If you don’t have one of the dry ingredients on hand, you can replace it with an equal amount of one of the other dry ingredients—just keep the ratio of wet to dry ingredients the same.
Step 3: Press, bake, and cool. Transfer the mixture to a 9 x 13-inch pan lined with foil and press firmly into an even, compact layer using the bottom of a glass or measuring cup. Bake in a 350°F oven for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool completely on a rack before cutting—a few hours at least. (They’ll fall apart if you cut them while warm.)
Step 4: Cut and serve or store. Use the foil overhang to lift the uncut bars out of the pan and onto a cutting board, then cut into 16 bars with a large chef’s knife. Wrap the bars individually for easy on-the-go snacking, or place them in an airtight container. They will last nicely for up to a week at room temperature. Freeze for longer storage.
Pro tip: For the cleanest cuts, use one smooth downward press of the knife rather than a sawing motion, and wipe the blade clean between cuts.
More Portable Snacks You’LL Love
Blueberry Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 3 oz pitted Medjool dates (see note)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons honey
- ¾ cup unsalted creamy almond butter (see note)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 2½ cups crispy rice cereal, such as Rice Krispies
- ½ cup unsweetened flaked coconut
- ¾ cup coarsely chopped almonds
- Heaping ⅓ cup dried blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Line a 9 x 13-in (23 x 33-cm) pan with aluminum foil, so that it hangs over the edges, and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place the dates, melted butter, brown sugar, honey, almond butter and salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade, or use a blender. Process until mixture is smooth and thick. Transfer to a large pot (or microwave-safe bowl) large enough to hold all of the ingredients; don’t worry if the butter separates. Bring the mixture to a boil on the stovetop (or in the microwave), whisking to combine. Take off the heat.
- While the mixture is still hot, add the oats, rice cereal, coconut, almonds, and dried blueberries. Use a large rubber spatula to gently fold the mixture until the wet ingredients evenly coat the dry ingredients. The mixture will be thick. Be gentle so as not to crush the rice cereal.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and, using the bottom of a glass or dry measuring cup, press firmly into an even, compact layer. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown. Set the pan on a rack and let cool completely, a few hours. (Please do not attempt to cut the bars while still warm, as they will fall apart.)
- Use the foil overhang to lift the uncut bars out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Using a large chef’s knife, cut the block into 16 bars. Wrap the bars individually with foil or parchment paper for easy on-the-go snacking, or place them in an airtight container. The bars will keep for up to a week at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Great!
I will never buy another store bought granola bar again. These are not inexpensive to make, but the recipe makes 16 bars and the quality is so superior to anything you can buy. They are so worth it.
Yummy and chewy. Although not low cal, so be careful :/
These are really, really wonderful WOW. I like to bake and my husband wants to eat healthier so this was a terrific compromise.
Didn’t have the blueberries so I was gonna use raisins but was in a rush to get to a running race, and oops! No matter, they were delicious and so tasty, too bad they are gone now…. Also: I used Agave syrup (just because I bought it and need to use it on something), and hemp based granola in lieu of rice krispies, yum, yum, yum.
Holy cow Jenn, these bars are seriously awesome! Not dry, not too sweet, and chewy. I used cranraisens as I didn’t have blueberries, peanut butter as my husband doesn’t like almond butter. I omitted the salt and 2 tbsp. of the brown sugar. A word of caution, only process ingredients in blender or food processor until smooth. I turned my back for a moment and the mixture turned into a ball! These bars are going to become a new staple in our family. Thanks Jenn!
That’s what I must have done wrong! 😂 Thanks for posting.
My mixture turned into a ball too sitting amid the butter. I heated it as best I could and tried to whisk the liquid into the ball with some success. Dumped it into the dry ingredients and worked it in using my hands. Just pulled them out of the oven. Smell divine. This is my second batch. The first one I had no trouble with. Tasted great. They disappeared quite quickly. Another winner from Jenn
I forgot to add my star rating
As soon as I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it! Sent my RN daughter to the store for the missing ingredients and quickly whipped them up. These granola bars are seriously delicious. Great for a snack while working nights or anytime actually. This recipe will be a great springboard for creating a lot of different combinations. Thanks again!
Hi Jenn
Was wondering if you could include recipes with less flour and use perhaps almond flour/ coconut flour as ingredients to reduce the carbohydrate load in some of the recipes?
Made the banana bread and it was delicious especially right out of the oven with the crisp outer crust – love it when I get an email from you !
Priya
Hi Priya, I do try to develop most of my recipes to appeal to the widest group of readers and that’s why I generally use all-purpose flour versus less traditional flours. I am always happy to help you adapt a recipe if you want to try a different ingredient but definitely will keep your request in mind. (And glad you enjoyed the banana bread!)
Hi Jenn! Is there a nut you could swap out well for the almonds? I’m allergic to them but would love to make the bars. That nutty crunch is important for a granola bar, so I am wondering what other nut would work. Nancy
Hi Nancy, I think pecans with peanut butter would be wonderful with these. (If using peanut butter, reduce the brown sugar by 1 tablespoon and the salt by 1/4 teaspoon.)
Can I replace almond butter with peanut butter?
Hi Lu, Yes but I’d reduce the salt and sugar just a bit — unless you use all natural peanut butter.