No-Bake 5-Ingredient Granola Bars
These no-bake granola bars contain only five ingredients, no added sugar, and are infinitely customizable… A reliable lunchbox snack!
Since Joseph was diagnosed with his food allergies (soy, egg and peanuts), it’s definitely been difficult to find packaged snacks to keep in the pantry and in the diaper bag for him. We’ve been defaulting to Crispy Fruit – he loves the apples! – so that there’s something straightforward to grab if we’ll be out during snack time. However, we wanted to add some variety to his snack options, and went on a quest to find healthier granola bars.
While we love the previous granola bars we've made, they include quite a bit of sugar, oil, peanut butter, etc… not exactly what we had in mind. After searching the Internets for something simpler and healthier, we found a minimal recipe with only a few ingredients that we could easily adapt for Joseph’s needs. Hurray!
The binder for these granola bars is pureed dates, and the bars include oats, honey, sunflower seed butter, and dried cranberries.
We have been using Sunbutter pretty much exclusively since Joseph’s peanut allergy, which is what we used in these granola bars, but you could obviously use any type of nut butter that you like! In lieu of chopped nuts, we chose to include dried cranberries, since Joseph likes to snack on a few when we put them in our salad. You could use any combination of add-ins in their place.
It took a few tries with our now-picky toddler (a lot of staring at them and shaking his head vehemently), but once he actually took a bite (we feel like this is the biggest hurdle!), he loved them! We keep a batch in the freezer for A straightforward snack that’s a nice change of pace.
One year ago: Salted Chocolate Caramel Tart
Four years ago: Peach Strudel
Five years ago: Honey Fig Scones
Six years ago: Lemon Bars
Seven years ago: Potato-Bacon Torte
No-Bake 5-Ingredient Granola Bars
Yield: 10 granola bars These no-bake granola bars contain only five ingredients, no added sugar, and are infinitely customizable!- 1 cup (147 g) dates, pitted
- 1½ cups (121.5 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup (121.21 g) dried cranberries (or other dried fruit or chopped nuts of your choice)
- ¼ cup (84.75 g) honey
- ¼ cup (62.5 g) sunflower seed butter (or nut butter of your choice)
- Line an 8x8 square baking pan with parchment paper.
- Process the dates in a food processor until it forms a ball, is a dough-like consistency, and only small bits remain, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Place the pureed dates, oats and dried cranberries in a large bowl.
- Place the honey and peanut butter in a small bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir briefly, then pour over the date and oat mixture. Using a wooden spoon, stir to combine, breaking up the pureed dates to ensure that they are evenly incorporated throughout the mixture.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and press into an even, compact layer. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up. Remove from the pan, transfer to a cutting board, and slice into bars. The granola bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or wrapped individually in plastic wrapped, placed in a freezer bag, and stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Notes
Nutritional values are based on one serving
- Yield: 10 granola bars
- Prep: 15 minutes
- Total: 45 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup ( 147 g ) dates, pitted
- 1½ cups ( 121.5 g ) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup ( 121.21 g ) dried cranberries (or other dried fruit or chopped nuts of your choice)
- ¼ cup ( 84.75 g ) honey
- ¼ cup ( 62.5 g ) sunflower seed butter (or nut butter of your choice)
Method
- Line an 8x8 square baking pan with parchment paper.
- Process the dates in a food processor until it forms a ball, is a dough-like consistency, and only small bits remain, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Place the pureed dates, oats and dried cranberries in a large bowl.
- Place the honey and peanut butter in a small bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir briefly, then pour over the date and oat mixture. Using a wooden spoon, stir to combine, breaking up the pureed dates to ensure that they are evenly incorporated throughout the mixture.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and press into an even, compact layer. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up. Remove from the pan, transfer to a cutting board, and slice into bars. The granola bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or wrapped individually in plastic wrapped, placed in a freezer bag, and stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.
