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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I love these bars, I just made them with chocolate chips instead of dried blueberries so my six year old would eat them, and they are just as delicious! So much better for you than the processed bars at the store and easy to make!
I made these a few weeks ago and they were SO good! I didn’t have almond butter or dried blueberries on hand so used peanut butter and dried cherries. They were really delicious and had just the right amount of chew. And they didn’t crumble at all, which happened the last time I tried a recipe for homemade granola bars. I froze half of them (wrapped individually in foil) and they were an awesome snack with just a few minutes thaw time. Sadly they’re all gone, so it’s time to make another batch. I’ve since bought almond butter and it’ll be interesting to see how they compare, but I know they’ll be delish. Another winner, Jenn, thanks so much!
Can you make this with peanuts and peanut butter instead of almond? If so, would you keep the measurements the same?
Hi Deepa, Yes and yes. 🙂
What a good, solid granola bar recipe. They are a little bit chewy and crunchy. Great texture! And they really do hold up in my lunch bag without turning into a zip lock full of loose granola.
I used dried cranberries instead of blueberries because that’s what was in my pantry. I also don’t own a metal baking pan, so I used a Pyrex baking dish. Still used the aluminum foil. I did have to add an extra few minutes to baking time. 19 minutes in the oven.
Hi, Jen. Love your site and almost every recipe I’ve tried has become “the” recipe at my house. How do you do it? Anyway, I’m curious if you use salted almond butter or just simply roasted? I only buy roasted AND salted, but most jars on the shelf contain no salt—should I adjust the amount of salt down for this recipe?
Hi Kaime, so glad you like the recipes! 🙂 For the granola bars, I use unsalted almond butter. If you only have salted, just reduce the added salt to 1/2 tsp. Hope you enjoy!
Thanks, Jen. I’ve made these twice now, and the consistency could not be more perfect. All of your granola bar recipes are amazing—I don’t think I can choose a favorite.
Will the recipe turn out the same if I use a glass 9X13 pan versus an aluminum pan?
Thanks!
Yes, Chloe, I think that should work. Enjoy!
What a great recipe! Yummy; a satisfying “chewy-crisp” bite, and full of wonderful flavors. Truly worth making again and again.
These are absolutely delicious and came out perfectly. I have used dried cranberries in lieu of the blueberries and they were just as delicious!
Thanks for a yummy nutritious treat.
The best granola bars ever! I used Coconut Oil instead of butter.
My family loves these bars! I substituted peanut butter for the almond butter since that’s what I regularly have in the pantry. A great healthy snack that satisfies those cravings for a little something sweet. Since they are requested frequently, sometimes I change out the dried blueberries with cranberries, cherries or a mix. Have added pumpkin seeds too.