Crispy Honey Nut Granola Bars
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Crispy and not too sweet, these granola bars are loaded with oats, nuts, coconut, and dried fruit.
I’ve tried dozens of recipes for homemade granola bar recipes over the years. This crispy, crunchy version loaded with oats, nuts, coconut, and dried fruit is one of my favorites. Surprisingly, the secret ingredient is Rice Krispies, which lend the bars a light and airy crispiness. Imagine a delightful cross between a granola bar and a Rice Krispies Treat—that’s exactly what you get here.
Table of Contents
“Exactly what I was searching for- Crunchy and delicious, but not too sweet.”
What You’ll Need To Make Crispy Honey Nut Granola Bars
- Old Fashioned Rolled Oats: The base ingredient, adding bulk and texture.
- Chopped Walnuts: Add crunch and nutty flavor.
- Sliced Almonds: Introduce additional crunch and a delicate, slightly sweet taste.
- Shredded Unsweetened Coconut: Offers a hint of tropical flavor and nice texture contrast.
- Honey: Acts as a natural binder and adds subtle sweetness to the bars.
- Light Brown Sugar: Provides sweetness and helps with crispiness.
- Unsalted Butter: Contributes richness and aids in binding.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances flavor complexity.
- Crisp Rice Cereal: Adds crispiness and lightness to the bars.
- Dried Fruit: Offers bursts of natural sweetness and chewiness. Also provides a nice color contrast.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Ingredients
To begin, spread the oats, walnuts and almonds onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Place in the oven and toast for 7 minutes. Add the shredded coconut and toss well.
Place the pan back into the oven to cook for 4 to 5 minutes more. Keep an eye on it towards the end; you want the coconut to turn golden but not burn.
In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, vanilla extract and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Whisk and bring to a rapid boil, then turn off the heat and set aside.
Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce heat to 300°F. Combine the oat mixture, honey mixture, rice cereal, and dried fruit in a large bowl.
Toss well to combine.
Turn the granola bar mixture out into a foil-lined baking dish.
Using a rubber spatula, spread and pat the mixture into an even layer.
Bake until lightly golden, 20 to 23 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely, 1 to 1½ hours. Use the foil overhang to transfer bars to cutting board.
Use a large, sharp knife to cut into rectangles.
Store the bars in a single layer in an airtight container for up to a week (do not stack the bars or they will stick together and fall apart).
Frequently Asked Questions
Store the bars in a single layer in an airtight container, or wrap them individually in aluminum foil, for up to a week at room temperature.
Definitely! These granola bars freeze nicely for up to 3 months. Ensure they’ve cooled completely, then store them in an airtight container with parchment paper or aluminum foil between layers. When you’re ready to enjoy, take them out of the container and let them thaw at room temperature.
Sure — as long as you keep the proportions of dry to wet ingredients the same, these are super versatile. You can switch up the nuts or dried fruits depending on your preferences or what you have on hand. Sometimes I’ll sprinkle some chocolate chips over top for the kids (you can’t mix them in or they’ll melt). Experiment and have fun with it!
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Crispy Honey Nut Granola Bars
Crispy and not too sweet, these granola bars are loaded with oats, nuts, coconut, and dried fruit.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- ⅔ cup shredded unsweetened coconut (available at Whole Foods or natural food markets)
- ½ cup honey
- 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon plus ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup crisp rice cereal, such as Rice Krispies
- ¾ cup dried fruit, such as cranberries, diced apricots, blueberries, currants, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil.
- Spread the oats, walnuts and almonds onto the prepared baking sheet. Place in the oven and toast for 7 minutes. Add the coconut and toss well with a rubber spatula, then place back in the oven to cook for 4 to 5 minutes more. Keep an eye on it towards the end; you want the coconut to turn golden but not burn.
- In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, vanilla extract and salt in a small saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Whisk and bring to a rapid boil, then turn off the heat and set aside.
- Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300°F. Combine the oat mixture, honey mixture, rice cereal, and dried fruit in a large bowl and toss well. (Reserve the aluminum foil.)
- Use the reserved foil to line a 9x13-inch baking dish, then spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray. Turn the granola bar mixture out into the prepared baking dish and spread evenly, patting down with a spatula. Be sure the heat is reduced to 300°F, then bake until lightly golden, 20 to 23 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely, 1 to 1½ hours. Use the foil overhang to transfer the bars to a cutting board, then use a large, sharp knife to cut into rectangles. Store the bars in a single layer in an airtight container, or wrap the bars individually in aluminum foil, for up to a week at room temperature.
- Note: You can swap in your favorite nuts and seeds as long as you keep the proportions of dry to wet ingredients the same. On occasion, I’ll sprinkle some chocolate chips over top for the kids (you can't mix them in or they'll melt).
- Note: Be sure your oven is fully preheated before toasting nuts; the initial blast of heat to preheat the oven can burn them.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The granola bars can be frozen for up to 3 months. Let them cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove them from the container and let them come to room temperature.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (16 servings)
- Serving size: 1 bar
- Calories: 140
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated fat: 3g
- Carbohydrates: 19g
- Sugar: 12g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 2g
- Sodium: 60mg
- Cholesterol: 4mg
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.
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I think I may left a previous comment, but I just had to say it again, this is the best crispy granola. I always have it on hand. I just made a batch and had to comment. Love this granola! Thank you!
I followed this recipe exactly as written and then broke it into large clusters. It was perfect. I’ve experimented with different granola recipes. This is my favorite. Thank you for another great recipe Jenn 😊
These are amazing! Love them- making the second batch now. I used pecans, pepitas chopped apricots and dried cherries. I was short on honey by a bit and topped it off with 100% maple syrup. They came out great!
Do I have to include the rice cereal or can I leave it out? What can I substitute instead?
Hi Jazmine, It’s fine for you to swap out the rice cereal for any of the other dried ingredients. Hope you enjoy!
I just made these Crispy Honey Nut Granola Bars as written (almost….subbed pecans for walnuts and used multi-grain cheerios b/c I didn’t have crisped rice) Very pleased. One mistake I made was that I baked the mixture on the baking sheet. But when it was finished baking, I just transferred the loose mixture to a 9×13 dish to cool and it worked beautifully! Used a knife to begin cutting and they are a bit crumbly, meaning you can’t get perfectly cut bars (maybe when less cooled) but that doesn’t matter to me. I just broke them into single serving pieces all randomly shaped. They taste amazing! The ‘crumbs’ will be delish on my yogurt! Love this recipe! Will try using pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and add some spice like cinnamon or cardamom. Thank you!
Thanks for the recipe, my son enjoys them every morning. I ran of store bought ones and decided to whip him up a batch, never going back! Peace and blessings.
These were wonderful and will be making them again but trying to lessen the amount of sweetness. We are no longer accustomed to making things with sugar but I like to try the recipe exactly as stated in the first go. These were exactly what was promised. Wonderful flavor and crunch and they held together beautifully. A bit soft in the middle and crunchy on the edges can’t be beat. Now I will start to play around with sweetness and sub ingredients to make new flavors. Cannot thank you enough for this recipe as this is the first “granola bar” recipe that has ever resulted in that store bought texture that holds together (at least for me). Thank you!!!!
Sorry Jenn, I realised no eggs in this recipe. I’ve just come across aquafaba and slightly obsessed with it – hence looking for ways in which I can replace eggs (even if with recipes that don’t have them! :))
These granola bars are so moreish! I used eggs, but am wondering if I could make them with aquafaba on my next batch?
Thanks Jenn.
Hi Jenn,
Thank you for this delicious granola recipe. I have a question. Can I omit the dried fruits and just make a mixed nut granola bar? Will it be too dry?
If not, do I just add an extra 3/4 cup of nuts?
Thanks for your recipes. They are so good.
Hi Lucy, it will work as long as you keep the ratios of wet to dry ingredients the same, so yes, you would need to include an additional 3/4 cup of nuts or any of the other dried ingredients. Please LMK how they turn out!
Hi Jenn,
It worked out great! Thank you. I omitted the dried fruits and just added more nuts and I love it. You have the best granola recipe yet. Thanks.
So glad — thanks for reporting back! 🙂
These turned out really well! I went ahead and played with the dry ingredients a bit with no issues. I also subbed in chopped apricots for some of the craisins, super yummy!
Best granola ever, they don’t crumble and fall apart.
I added cachews ,almonds and raisins
Thank you for sharing
Nathalie B
Question for Chef Jenn Segal,
How sturdy are these bars, do they crumble, fall apart or hold together tightly?
Are they sticky at room temperature?
Are they hard crunchy or chewy?
Thank you for answering all questions.
Hi Ms. V, These are crunchy rather than chewy, they’re not sticky at room temperature and hold together nicely. Hope you enjoy if you make them!
This has the be the best Granola bars, roasting the oat flakes, sure brings out the nutty taste.
Just perfect treat.
Thanks
I loved the taste of these bars (used dried apricots), but they were definitely not crispy. What did I do wrong? I’m anxious to make them again with dried cherries for tartness.
Hi Leslie, Did you make any changes to the recipe? If not, they may just need another minute or two in the oven.
I am not a breakfast food fan but these bars have changed my breakfast menu completely. Instead of muffins or scones, this is my breakfast on the go. I wish I had this recipe when my kiddos were young, but grateful to have it for my grandchildren.
I’m baking mine off right now, but before putting it into the oven, I took a taste off of my mixing spoon, and WOW does it taste good! Counting down the minutes ‘til they come out of the oven! Thanks Jenn for this recipe!
I am a 63 year old grandad recently retired, never really cooked before but now have more time on my hands so have been cooking for my 3 grandchildren, I have been searching for a long time for a relatively healthy breakfast bar to wean them off sugary processed cereals, something that will give them a good start to the day and set them up for school. I have tried several recipes but none have really hit the right mark with the Kids. Until now – wow the Kids love them and now my problem is trying to keep up with the demand. I have slightly reduced the sugar and honey content ( well by half actually ) but use raisins as the dried fruit which adds back the sweetness. Thank you so much for this recipe, it is fantastic.
How nice that you’re doing this for your grandkids — glad they’re enjoying them!
Hi Jenn, it’s been a long time since I made these, but did again 2 days ago and remembered just how good these are. I used agave in place of honey, coconut palm sugar for brown sugar and brown rice krispies. Added in chopped dried cherry and they came out so delicious. (also added choc. chips on top of 1/2 of them but really just ended up being messy and loved them more without them) (and I’m a huge chocolate fan) Thank-you!!
I have heard that heating honey makes it poisoness. Can I use maple instead of honey ?
Sure, Sheetal. Enjoy!
Tried this and was NOT a fan. Where it says to bake everything again is a total mistake it made it like a friggin rock. I tried another recipe that had a similar process but you let poured the oats and honey mixture together, let cool for 5 minutes and then let it
Chill for 1 1/2 – 2 hours and then you could cut them into bars. This one made a mess when trying to cut.
Love this recipe! It’s on regular rotation in our home. Thanks Jenn for another perfect recipe:)
Hi
Can you use the quick 1 minute rolled oats instead of the regular oats?
Sure, Bonnie – the texture will just be a bit different.
I made it yesterday with using corn syrup instead of brown sugar and reduced butter. It is very crunchy and yummy. I have tried many recipes before but the results left a lot to be desired. Your recipe is really fantastic! It stirs me up to make granola again. Many thanks!
I just found your website and am super excited about all the fantastic recipes. I have been making these bars over the last few weeks for my husband and son to take to work (they are builders). But my husband has asked if I can make them so they are not as hard. Can you suggest a way to do this? I figured maybe reduce the baking time or even the amount of sugar….
Thanks again.
Glad you happened upon the blog and that your “boys” are enjoying the granola bars! Yes, if you’re finding them to be a bit hard, next time cut back on the baking time just a little. Also, be careful not to cook the honey mixture for too long as that can contribute to a harder texture as well.
I made these bars yesterday. There are so good and very easy. No more commercial bars for me. I’m glad I found you. Looking forward to trying more recipes !
These are the best granola bars ever! Easy enough for toddlers to hold/eat and flavorful enough for kids & grown ups to enjoy. I feel great serving these to my family knowing that they are preservative-free and wholesome.
I make a few adjustments for our family’s dietary preferences. I omit the coconut, use puffed brown rice, and reduce the amount of brown sugar. I have not yet, but plan to experiment with adding flax seeds for an additional nutrition boost, and powdered peanut butter for a fun flavor twist.
Exactly what I was searching for- Crunchy, not too sweet and delicious.
Question: Why do you use foil instead of parchment paper? Thanks!
The foil overhang that is around the edge of the pan makes it very easy to transfer the bars in one piece to a cutting board. Hope you enjoy!
Makes sense. Thanks!
Fantastic, just like your other recipes I’ve tried, Jenn!
Perfect amount of sweetness!
Thanks so much for sharing your talent with all of us! 🙂
Hi, can coconut oil be substituted for the butter?
Hi Marni, I’ve never made these with coconut oil, but another reader commented that they did and were happy with the results. Hope you enjoy!
Hi am curious on what I could swap out the butter for as well besides coconut oil. Any suggestions?
Hi Jo, you could try replacing the butter with nut butter, but I’m not 100% sure how that will affect the texture of the bars.
Hi jenn,
These are delicious! I did want to ask you if the heating time of the honey mixture might be a variable? My bars didnt hold together as well as I would like, could boiling the honey help? I’ve seen a few other recipes that use a candy thermometer…….
Glad you like them! The hotter you get the honey mixture, the better the bars will hold together. Just be careful not to cook for mixture for too long or the granola bars will be too hard.
Ok, confession time….if you just let them cool COMPLETELY, instead of scarfing them up too soon, they hold together perfectly. Just the right amount of chewy and crunchy!
I guess patience really is a virtue :).
Is it ok to leave out the coconut if you don’t like it or will the quantities of the other ingredients have to be altered too?
Hi Hannah, You can replace any of the add-ins, as long as you keep the proportions the same. You can just use more oats or rice cereal or add in something different like chia seeds. Hope you enjoy!
Just delicious. I stopped buying commercial bars years ago when I realised how much sugar and junk were in them. With these, a few tablespoons of brown sugar and a half cup of honey to 1-1/2 cups of oats plus added ingredients is really not too bad, in my opinion. I can’t wait to experiment with different fruit and nuts – a pistachio cranberry version will be a hit at Christmas, and when my son starts school in a few years I will make a nut-free version with sunflower seeds and dried fruit. Your recipes are no-fail, Jenn! I haven’t made one that I didn’t love.
We live on an island where it’s difficult to find good cereal bars. I therefore wanted to try making my own cereal bars. Best granola recipe I found.
I substitute the oat and rice crisps for more nuts and dried fruits. I also only use honey and a bit of vanilla extract and they are absolutely delicious.
Hey Jen,
what a great recipe and what a great site. I converted your recipe into baked apricot coconut wheat pop bars and they were a huge hit with all my friends and fellow students! Easy student food that takes the wheat pops up one level (or 10) 🙂
Greetings from the student kitchen,
Johanna
These look delicious, but my daughter has a tree nut allergy and doesn’t like coconut. Can you suggest any replacements that would work, i.e. sunflower seeds? Would chia seeds work?? Thanks so much for all of your recipes. I’m a big fan of your website!
Hi Katherine, You can replace any of the add-ins, as long as you keep the proportions the same. I think a combination of sunflower seeds and chia seeds would work (or even more oats and rice cereal). Hope you all enjoy them, and please let me know how they turn out! 🙂
I would really like to make these but I am in Europe – do you know metric quantities I should use?
Hi Cathy, I’ve just updated the recipe with metric quantities. Just look for the little toggle switch under the recipe name. Sorry for the delay and hope you enjoy them!
These taste delicious, but turned out very hard cooked at the exact temp & time noted in the recipe. I could not cut them with the knife after cooling. I finally decided to break the mixture up & use as granola!
Sorry to hear they were so hard, but sounds like you got some tasty granola out of it! Next time, try cooking them for a slightly shorter period of time (maybe your oven runs a bit hot).
You also may have overcooked the syrup before coating the nut and oat mix and baking….
Very nice! They hold together BUT they are not too hard. I have some puffed grain cereal I may try in a future batch. I added pepitas and a bit more coconut without adjusting the liquid amount and they turned out fine. Quite tasty, probably don’t have to worry about them going stale…
OK – these are SO good. Making double batches now and it lasts mere days!
Is it ok to use salted butter and omit the 1/4 tsp salt? Also, dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar?
Connie, I’ve never made the granola bars that way, but I think it should be perfectly fine. Feel free to taste the mixture before you put it into the oven to make sure it’s to your liking. Good luck!
Made these for my daughter’s water polo team as part of an after practice breakfast. The girls raved about them throughout the day and asked if we could have a team bonding event where we make dozens of bars. I have already been asked to make an additional batch for the next morning practice. Thank you for this delicious and very easy to follow recipe.
*I made one small substitution only (pecans for walnuts)
Could you please publish the nutritional information?
Thank you.
Done! It is under the recipe 🙂
How many calories in each bar
Hi Leona, I added the nutritional data beneath the recipe. Hope that helps!
Delicious~
Hi there, these look amazing and from all the reviews I am definitely going to make. I have a pantry full of nuts, oats and dried fruit and wondered if the recipe MUST use rice krispies?
Hi Sarah Ann, You can leave them out and replace with more oats, but the bars won’t have the same wonderful texture.
Hey, Sarah Ann,
I make my bars with wheat pops, since they’re more common to find in Europe. However, you might want to use the unsugared ones because the regular ones are covered in honey and that kind of drives the sweetness over the top. Also, crushing them just a little in a plastic bag before adding them together with the dry ingredients makes the bars stick together way better I found. I hope that this might be helpful in some way as well 🙂
perfect!! made this, blogged and linked you!! thanks…
Is there a substitute for coconut?
Hi Tori, You can increase any other ingredient in the recipe by the same amount.
I have been experimenting with granola bar recipes due to their high cost and to get the ingredients back to basic. I mainly alter them by cutting sugars/honey (I have slightly elevated cholesterol and my MD recommended cutting sugar) and substituting some ingredients for what I have on hand. For this recipe I cut the brown sugar in half, used all whole almonds at 1 and 1/2 cup, substituted a flake and cluster cereal for the rice puff cereal, and left out the salt. I added 1/2 cup dried low sugar cranberries.
Hi, can I replace the honey with maple syrup? Thanks.
Hi KK, Unfortunately, I don’t think the bars will hold together as well with maple syrup.