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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Loved these granola bars, best and easiest ones I’ve tried, will definitely be making again. They were an absolute hit with everyone . Thanks for a great and simple recipe.
These granola bars look so delicious but, sigh….I’m allergic to all nuts and coconut, among other things. Is there any chance that substitutions could be made, or would you happen to have a nut-free granola bar recipie? Thank you!
Hi Joani, you can make substitutes in this recipe, but if you’d like one where fewer substitutes are needed, I’d suggest my chocolate chip granola bars. They contain a half cup of almonds, but you can use 1/2 cup of additional oats or rice cereal in place of the almonds. Hope you enjoy if you make them!
I made these today for the first time. I used coconut oil instead of butter, replaced the coconut flakes with pepita and sunflower seeds, and used cranberries because that’s what I had. I also added a tablespoon of chia seeds and flax seeds. The only issue I had was that once the almond butter mixture got close to boiling, it separated and became stiff. I went ahead and mixed everything in anyway even though I was afraid it wouldn’t turn out. I’m happy to report it came out delicious, but next time I will remove the almond butter mixture from the heat a lot sooner.
These turned out great, held together and super delicious. Didn’t last long though.
Jenn never disappoints and this is no exception. They are sooo good, however they seem to fall apart easy, did I not bake them long enough? I feel like I did. Yummy.
Glad you like them but sorry they fell apart for you! Did you let them cook completely? If you cut them while they’re still warm, they will fall apart.
These were delicious, thank you Jenn. Mine were a little crumbly, I suspect because I took them out of the oven too soon so will go a little longer next time. And there will definitely be a next time! I love all the variations suggested by other commenters as well. I kid myself that I’m making them for my grandkids but my husband and I are finding them quite irresistible.
These were absolutely delightful. I made a double batch and just know they will disappear fast! Never disappointed Jenn!
So I goofed and got sweetened coconut…would cutting some of the sugar out keep it from sticking together?
Hi Teresa, I think it would be fine and they’d still stick together if you cut the sugar by 1 tablespoon. Hope you enjoy!
Thank you!!Recipe looks simple. Will give a try. Instead of putting in the oven, will it work if we place granola is fridge to set,?
Hi Audrey, I’ve never tried putting it in the fridge so I can’t say for sure, but I think you’ll get the best results if you bake it.
Hi Jenn, could I do all oats instead of oats and rice crispies? I know it won’t be crispy, but do you think it will be too crumbly
Hi Jay, That should work fine. Enjoy!
I have made this recipe many times and love it! This time I changed it up adding chopped cashews and dried cranberries. It hasn’t finished cooking yet but I’ll bet it will be delicious!
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes. NOT one has been bad so far 🙂
Also, So happy you have a recipe box!
My first two batches were perfect, now the third crumbled.
Can I redo the dates, sugar, honey, etc and mix again with the crumbled granola , bake again to get them to set?
I love the recipe and have been giving as gifts this Christmas. Even the non granola kids are raving about them .
Please help me save this new batch.
Hi Elizabeth, I’m sorry you had a problem with it this time around! I wouldn’t recommend mixing more ingredients with the granola as it will be too sweet and too wet that way. Hoping that you have more success next time!
I make granola clusters with this recipe. So good! Jenn’s recipes never disappoint😊