Healthy Homemade Granola Bars With White Chocolate And Pecans

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When it comes to healthy snacking, you can’t go wrong with a no bake homemade healthy granola bar! Stuff it with some sneaky white chocolate and pecans and it’ll taste like a delicious treat. Make them in just 15 minutes with as few as 6 wholesome ingredients and you’ll have healthy sweet snacks all week.

A stack of no bake granola bars on baking paper

Why you’ll love them

  • Perfect for life on the go! Healthy enough to pass for breakfast. But just as good as an afternoon or night time snack, or for a pick-me-up after the gym.
  • No-bake and super easy to make in under 15 minutes for snacks all week. Made with just a few simple and healthy ingredients.
  • Very easy to customize according to what you have in the pantry. And what you love! Change up to your heart’s desire!
  • Super healthy, but also taste like a delicious chewy treat!
  • Great snacks ‘to go’, and delicious straight from the freezer.
  • Great for special diets as they’re gluten free, vegan, and dairy free if you skip the chocolate or replace with 70% cocoa dark chocolate.
No bake granola bars sliced on baking paper

About the ingredients

Pitted dates: Medjool dates are big and taste like caramel. Mmm. But any pitted dates work.

Rolled oats: Don’t use quick oats. Old fashioned are OK!

Pecan nuts: Chopped. Replace with a different nut or skip the nuts altogether if you prefer.

Honey or maple syrup: Or a mixture of both. Both work. You just need something to help stick the granola bars together (along with the nut butter!).

Peanut or almond butter: I prefer natural nut butter. Any kind of nut butter works.

White chocolate chips or chunks: Add dried fruit (I like apricots), raw cacao powder (or cocoa), or seeds too if you like.

A bulk buy store (with scoops and bins) is great for sourcing high quality ingredients for extra tasty no bake granola bars!

Collage of 2 images showing ingredients for no bake granola bars

How to make them

With just 6 main ingredients, these are the easiest homemade healthy granola bars you can imagine.

Here’s how you make them in just a few very easy steps (ready in under 15 minutes!):

Step 1: Make a paste out of the dates in a powerful food processor like this Breville Sous Chef Peel And Dice.

Step 2: By hand, mix in all the other dry ingredients except the chocolate (oats, nuts, dried fruit).

Step 3: Warm up the nut butter with the honey or maple syrup. Stir, then pour all over the mixture. Stir, push and smash everything together.

Pro tip: You’ll have to use a bit of elbow grease and the mixture will seem quite dry, but don’t worry, the bars end up having just the right consistency.

Step 4: Let the mixture cool a little if it still feels warm at all. Pop it into the fridge for a few minutes if you like. Then stir the white chocolate chunks in until well distributed in the mixture.

Step 5: Empty into a lined 8×8 baking pan. Push into the corners and smooth the top.

Step 6: Put into the fridge or freezer to set for at least half an hour, then cut into 10 bars.

Collage of 2 images showing the mixture for no bake granola bars in a bowl and then pressed into a pan.
No bake granola bars just sliced on baking paper.

Variations

Did I mention how customizable these homemade cereal bars are? Whoops, I did, several times already. But it’s worth mentioning again. That’s the beauty of them. Use whatever you have and like, as long as you have oats, peanut butter and maple syrup or honey.

Customize to your heart’s content, but here are some ideas to get the creative granola bar juices flowing!

  • Melt a little (a couple of tablespoons) raw cacao powder or cocoa powder into the peanut butter and honey mixture before pouring it over the oats. If you do this, add half a tablespoon more of peanut butter and maple syrup/honey so the mixture doesn’t become too dry.
  • Add orange zest
  • For a naughty twist, dip half of the bars into some 70% cocoa dark chocolate. Mmm!
  • Make them even healthier by adding more seeds such as hemp, pepitas, chia or flax.
  • Add peanut butter or caramel chips instead of white chocolate.
  • Roll the mixture into balls instead of making bars for the perfect bite-sized snack!
  • Use tahini instead of peanut butter.

More things to know (recipe FAQ)

What’s the best way to store homemade chewy granola bars?

Once you’ve chilled and cut your granola bars, I recommend keeping them in the fridge in an airtight container. They’ll keep well for about a week.

If you don’t think you’ll eat them within a week, wrap each one individually in baking paper (you can seal with tape!). Then store in a container or freezer bag until you want to eat one. They actually taste great straight from the freezer (not frozen, just extra chewy!).

You can freeze no-bake granola bars for up to 2 months.

Are no-bake granola bars vegan?

If you stick with maple syrup rather than honey and dark chocolate rather than white, they are totally vegan! You can also use rice bran syrup instead if you prefer.

Why are my granola bars falling apart?

If your bars are too crumbly, next time try adding a tablespoon at a time of water to the mixture until it sticks together well. Also make sure you do chill the bars for at least half an hour before attempting to cut them.

If on the other hand the mixture is too wet, simply add more oats, seeds, dried fruit or chocolate (what a great excuse!).

I truly hope you give these a try. It takes more time to go to the shops and buy store bought granola bars than it does to whip up a batch of these!

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More healthy bar recipes

Also check out this list of 51+ healthy sweet snacks that don’t taste boring.

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Close up of a small stack of no bake granola bars on a wooden board
5 from 1 vote

Healthy Homemade Granola Bars With White Chocolate And Pecans

Easy-peasy no-bake healthy homemade granola bars made from pulsed dates, oats, peanut butter and honey or maple syrup. I also add pecan nuts, maple syrup, white chocolate and dried apricots, but you can add your favourite fruits, nuts, chocolates and seeds. These are perfect for a healthy mid-morning or afternoon snack!
Prep: 12 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 42 minutes
Servings: 10 large bars

Ingredients 
 

  • 1 cup pitted dates
  • 1 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup chopped pecan nuts (or other mixed unsalted nuts of your choice)
  • 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup (I used a mixture of both)
  • 1/4 cup peanut or almond butter
  • 1/2 cup dried apricots (optional), chopped white chocolate, other dried fruit, banana chips, a tablespoon of raw cacao powder/sesame seeds/sunflower or pumpkin seeds etc. (I added dried apricots, white chocolate, sesame seeds & a few other seeds that I happened to have.)

Instructions 

  • Put the dates in a food processor and process until they form a gooey ball (I didn’t have a food processor when I made mine so I mashed them up with a fork – that worked fine!)
  • Put the dates in a large bowl and add the oats, nuts and any other dry ingredients you want to add (apart from the chocolate if using). Smash everything into the dates with a wooden spoon.
  • Put the honey/maple syrup and peanut butter in a separate bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals until you can stir them together easily. (Alternatively, heat gently in a small saucepan.)
  • Pour the peanut butter and honey/syrup mixture over the dry oat and date mixture and squash everything together again really well. Let cool, then add the chocolate.
  • Tip the mixture into an 8×8 baking tin lined with baking parchment. Spread out, push down and level off evenly with the back of a big metal spoon.
  • Put the bars into the fridge or freezer for at least half an hour to ‘set’, then cut into 10 equal bars.
  • Keep in an airtight container for up to a week, or wrap them separately and store in the freezer until needed.

Notes

Customizing: Adapt this recipe freely from the basic dates-oats-peanut butter-honey/syrup recipe by adding dried fruits, nuts, seeds, chocolates etc. of your choice. Enjoy!
Storing: Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.
Freezing: Wrap individually (secure with tape) and freeze in a freezer bag for up to 2 months. 

Nutrition

Calories: 235kcal, Carbohydrates: 32g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 31mg, Potassium: 302mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 20g, Vitamin A: 240IU, Vitamin C: 0.1mg, Calcium: 25mg, Iron: 1.2mg
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

About Helen Schofield

Don't expect to find anything fussy or complicated here. Just QUICK, EASY & (mostly!) HEALTHY recipes from the Mediterranean and beyond. ENJOY!

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36 Comments

  1. Hi Helen! These granola bars look amazing! I love that you added in the dried apricots – so yummy! These are the perfect balance of hearty and sweet – just exactly what I need to get myself through my afternoon snack cravings! 🙂 Thanks for sharing this great recipe — and I’m really looking forward to some amazing Greek food!

    1. Aw, thanks Gretchen! Making these for the first time was a bit of an ‘A-ha!’ moment, actually. I can’t believe they are so easy and will definitely be making some more to take to work for healthy snacks. I think next time I’ll add raw cacao and orange peel!

    1. Thanks, Aimee! I really want to make some more of these – but add some cocoa. Perfect for taking to work!

  2. That’s one of the challenges of air travel. Tomorrow we have to get up really early for a flight and I’m hoping that we’ll get served food before I get too crazy! I sometimes bring oat cakes along to help but these would also be great.

    1. Hope your flight went well, Lorraine, and that you’re enjoying yourself somewhere lovely!

  3. My husband and I studied abroad in Athens and I miss it so much. I really want to go back! Can’t wait to see some of your Greek recipes!! These granola bars look delicious! I love bringing my own snacks on planes!

    1. Really?! I bet we were here together then, Cate, because I’ve been living in Athens for years and years!! I love most things about it … especially the food of course … but I have to admit it’s also a challenging place to live! Definitely planning to post a few Greek recipes while I’m here … watch this space!

  4. Love these pictures! Have a wonderful time in Greece and much fun under the sun:-)

    1. Thank you so much! Actually, I wasn’t super happy with the lighting in these photos, but I’m glad that you appreciated them!

  5. These granola bars look like the perfect snack. I love a good homemade granola bar and have stopped buying the packaged ones altogether – blech! I would love to visit Greece one day.

    1. Thanks for stopping by, Amanda! I can’t believe I’ve only just discovered homemade granola bars – and that they are so easy! I wanted to make some more today to take to work when I go back tomorrow (bleurgh!!) but ran out of time. As for Greece – you just have to visit some day. Spring and Autumn are amazing seasons (and in fact it was warm and sunny today, even though it’s winter) and you must visit the islands (especially Santorini!)

  6. I hear ya…traveling these days is so hectic and these bars will be great to have on the plane ride. I hope you guys have a smooth 90 days in Greece. Hope we get to see some of those inspirations here on the blog!!

    1. Thank you so much for the good wishes, Zainab! We arrived safely in Greece where the beautiful warm sunny weather is helping to smooth out yet another change of country. I know it probably sounds exciting but it’s also a bit unsettling for the first few days in a new place. Definitely aiming to publish some Greek inspired recipes here! The food here really is incredible!