Yum! Granola bars are so tasty, especially when they are homemade. They are easy to take on the go and they store well for hikes, camping trips, and other outdoor adventures. These bars have a great chewy texture, a sweet and delicious taste, and are super easy to make. There’s no excuse not to make them! 😉
These particular bars slightly remind me of banana bread, since they have a sweet banana flavor and are loaded with walnuts. If you would like, you can substitute the walnuts for other nuts like slivered almonds, pecans, or peanuts, and the bananas with 2/3 c apple sauce.
Raw option: If you don’t have time to bake these, or would just like to have raw bars, use only 1.5 c oats and skip the baking step. For raw bars, place the pan into the freezer overnight and cut the bars the next morning. I store them in the freezer until ready to eat.
Pour granola mixture into pan and flatten with a spatula:
Once granola has baked and cooled, cut into desired bars:
2 ripe Bananas
-In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients (except for chocolate chips) and mashed banana.
In a separate bowl mix almond butter, peanut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. *You may heat the mixture to a liquid. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir well. Add chocolate chips and stir.
-Line an 8×8 baking pan with wax or parchment paper. Pour granola mixture into pan and press it firmly into the pan. Bake for 25 minutes.
-Once the granola has cooled down, lift the parchment paper onto a cutting board and cut granola bars.
-Store in an airtight container in refrigerator.
Just subscribed. Excited to try more of your recipes.
Yay! I think you will really like these. They are so easy to make and are a great travel food. =)
OH I can’t wait to try them
Thanks, Kathy. Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
These look incredible! I am guessing the pure maple syrup is essential for the stickiness of holding the bars together. Any idea of what could be substituted to lessen the sugar content of these? Could I increase the nut butters?
Thanks! The maple syrup does help with the stickiness, but it’s mostly used to sweeten these bars. I think you could get away with not using it at all, and the bars would still come out great. Just be sure that your bananas are very ripe so that their sweet flavor comes through. Let me know what you end up doing, and how your bars turn out. Thanks for visiting!