Crispy Honey Nut Granola Bars
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Don’t let their wholesome look fool you—these granola bars are seriously good. Golden, nutty, and packed with oats and dried fruit, they come together quickly with just a handful of pantry staples.
I’ve tried more homemade granola bar recipes than I can count, but this crispy, crunchy version packed with oats, nuts, coconut, and dried fruit is the one I keep coming back to. It’s the kind of snack I love having on hand for busy mornings, road trips, or something to grab with coffee in the afternoon.
The secret ingredient? Rice Krispies. They give the bars a light, crisp texture that lands somewhere between a crunchy granola bar and a chewy Rice Krispie Treat. Feel free to mix and match ingredients based on what you have in the pantry—this recipe is super flexible and always turns out great.
“Exactly what I was searching for—crunchy and delicious, but not too sweet. The perfect healthy snack.”
What You’ll Need To Make Crispy Honey Nut Granola Bars
- Old-fashioned oats & crisp rice cereal: The crunchy, crispy base of the bars—oats add chew and heartiness, while the cereal lightens things up and brings a little crispiness.
- Walnuts, almonds, dried fruit & shredded coconut: This combo brings crunch, chew, sweetness, and a hint of tropical flavor. Use whatever mix you like—just aim for a balance of textures.
Pro Tip: If your dried fruit is very firm (especially dried apricots or cherries), soak it in warm water for 5 minutes, then drain and pat dry. It’ll keep the texture tender and pleasant. - Honey, brown sugar, butter & vanilla: These bind the bars and add flavor, making them sweet and buttery with just the right amount of richness.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Ingredients
Step 1: Toast the dry ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the oats, walnuts, and almonds on a foil-lined baking sheet and toast for 7 minutes. Add the shredded coconut, toss well, and return to the oven for another 4 to 5 minutes, keeping a close eye so the coconut turns golden but doesn’t burn.
Step 2: Make the honey mixture. While the oats and nuts are toasting, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk and bring to a rapid boil, then turn off the heat and set aside.
Pro Tip: Warm your honey jar in a bowl of hot water before measuring—it pours more easily and won’t cling to the measuring cup as much.
Step 3: Mix everything together. Once the oat mixture is out of the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 300°F. In a large bowl, combine the toasted oat mixture, honey mixture, rice cereal, and dried fruit. Stir until evenly coated.
Step 4: Press and bake. Transfer the mixture to a foil-lined baking dish, and use a rubber spatula to spread and press it into an even layer. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, until lightly golden. Let cool completely in the pan, 1 to 1½ hours.
Step 5: Slice. Use the foil overhang to lift the bars out, then slice into rectangles with a large, sharp knife. Keep the bars in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. For longer storage, freeze up to 3 months.
Make Them Your OWn
These granola bars are easy to customize—just keep the ratio of wet to dry ingredients the same, and you can mix and match to your heart’s content. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Nuts: Swap in pecans, cashews, peanuts, or pistachios
- Seeds: Use pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, or flax seeds in place of some of the nuts
- Dried fruit: Mix it up each time you make these—cranberries, chopped apricots, cherries, blueberries, currants, or raisins
- Add-ins for kids (or you): Sprinkle mini chocolate chips on top once the bars are pressed into the pan (mixing them in will melt them)
- Flavor twists: A pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg, or orange zest will add a different layer of flavor to the mix
Homemade Granola Bars Video Tutorial
More Nutritious oat Recipes you May like
Crispy Honey Nut Granola Bars
These homemade granola bars are everything the store-bought kind wishes they were—perfect for busy mornings, afternoon pick-me-ups, or stashing in your bag for a snack on the go.
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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Hi Jenn! I’m making these and 65 grams of unsweetened coconut I have is over 1 cup. I have organic coconut flakes. It seems very dry so maybe that’s the difference? I’m going with 50g. but would love to know what you suggest. Thanks, as always!
Hi Tori, I’d stick with the 2/3 cup measure instead of the weight. Hope they came out well for you!
I first made these for my daughter after my first granddaughter was born. She was breastfeeding and HUNGRY. This recipe was so perfect! It had the crunch, the right amount of sweet and provided some much needed energy. And when her sister had her first baby of course she wanted the same. This started over twelve years ago.
I have purchased your cookbooks and have never been disappointed in any of your recipes. I appreciate that you share your knowledge and provide such delicious and detailed recipes!
These are very tasty!!! – but so crumbly! They broke when I tried to cut them so I have bars of all different sizes and pieces. They must be eaten over a bowl or there are just crumbs everywhere. I made the recipe as is and only swapped out the some of dried fruit for other nuts. I’m not sure if they are supposed to be like this? I probably would not make again just due to the crumb factor. Also, I made these instead of your chewy chocolate chip granola bars (which I have made before and are delicious!) because of less butter and sugar in the recipe.
Hi Amy, I’m sorry you had a problem with these! They really shouldn’t be crumbling like what you described – did you make any adjustments to the recipe or the ingredients?
I did make the recipe as written and baked for 23 minutes at 300F . Only swap was 1/2 the dried fruit for some more nuts so the ratios were the same. They are very tasty though!
The only thing I can think of is that perhaps they were slightly overbaked. If you try these again, I’d remove them from the oven closer to the 20 minute mark.
LOVE these! I cut a little smaller and got 18 bars. Good flavor and held together very well. I probably could have cooked them a little longer to get more crunch, but I liked the crunch factor I got. Cut easily without crumbling. No walnuts, used a mixture of peanuts, cashews, and almonds along with dried apricots and raisins. I put them in individual snack sized bags, kept in fridge and froze half for later. Will definitely make again and again.
Hi I made these with all nuts, substituting 3/4 c. pistachios for the dried fruit, and they were great. I am wondering if you or anyone knows of a substitute cereal for this that is gluten-free or if you can tell me what to substitute for that so I can make these for a few of my friends with celiac and also gluten sensitivity? Thank you!
Hi Jane, Oats are naturally gluten-free (just make sure the container indicates they are gluten-free, as some oats may have cross-contamination from being processed in a plant that also processes products with gluten). And they may be a bit challenging to find in stores, but there are brands of gluten-free crispy rice cereal (I just saw a few on Amazon). Hope that helps!
I am so sorry. I wasn’t clear with what I was asking. I knew about the oats, but was looking for a substitute for the Rice Krispies. If they can’t be found easily (which I think may ne the case), what else can I do to make the recipe with the Rice Krispies? Again, sorry that I wasn’t totally clear. Thanks!
Oh, got it! I think your best alternative is to use more oats. Just keep in mind that they won’t have the same texture.
Thanks, as always!
These are so tasty, and not too sweet. Also approved by picky eater that doesn’t eat any bars whatsoever.