Quick Grain-Free Granola Bars (Blender Recipe) (2024)

FAQs

How do you keep homemade granola bars from falling apart? ›

While there are several different sticky ingredients that you can use, we've found that the binding agent that works the best is honey! When added to your homemade granola bars, honey acts as glue that sticks all the pieces together.

When dampened, chia seeds gel and swell to several times their original size, plus they get very sticky. Since they're already used as egg alternatives in baking, it's not surprising that chia seeds act as the ideal granola binder, but it is strange that they do it better than eggs.

Honey – Along with the nut butter, it helps all these ingredients stick together! I love its warm amber flavor in this recipe. Vanilla extract – It amps up the bars' warm flavor.

They save well (wrap and freeze them for up to two months), are more affordable than store-bought bars, and don't contain the long list of unpronounceable ingredients. Plus, your kitchen will smell like a bakery while these granola bars bake. Ahhhh.

Ground Flaxseed. Adds protein and, when combined with the wet ingredients, becomes a glue-like binding agent that helps hold the bars together. Wheat Germ. A superfood boost that adds folate, fiber, vitamin E, and other key nutrients to these no bake granola bars (as well as this Healthy Granola).

Add an egg white.

The whites act as a kind of glue that binds the ingredients together. To ensure that the egg whites coat all the ingredients, I beat them with a whisk until foamy and increased in volume, which makes it much easier to fold into the granola.

If your granola bars are falling apart or seem too crumbly, here are a few tips. Make sure you use honey or another sticky sweetener such as maple syrup in the liquid part of the recipe; this recipe calls for honey. This will help bind together the ingredients and keep that signature bar shape.

Fill the bowl up with water to completely cover the mixture – enough that you can stir to combine. This soaking process will help the oats and seeds digest better. After the oat/seed mixture has soaked 8-12 hours, add the rest of the ingredients and combine.

Peanut, almond, cashew, sunflower seed, and pumpkin seed are all great options. Another great addition is dried fruit, which sweetens up your bar with naturally occurring sugars while providing fiber and vitamins—plus chewiness and binding. “I personally love adding chopped dates or apricots,” Ansari says.

Baking time: Increase the baking time for your granola. The longer you bake it, the drier and crunchier it will become. Keep a close eye on it to avoid burning, and stir it occasionally during baking to ensure even toasting.

Why is my homemade granola dry? ›

Keep in mind that the granola won't be dry right out of the oven — it will dry as it cools. So take it out of the oven when it looks lightly toasted and smells like cooked honey. We're going for a toasty smell here. Add dried fruit after baking.

They can be more cost-effective: Homemade granola bars can be less expensive than store-bought options, especially if you buy ingredients in bulk or on sale. They can be fresher: Homemade granola bars can be fresher than store-bought ones, which may have been sitting on the shelf for a while.

In general, most homemade granola bar recipes will last up to a week when stored in an airtight container.

In December, the Quaker Oates Company recalled certain granola bars and cereals over possible salmonella contamination. Then in January, the company expanded the recall, adding about two dozen more products to the list.

If you're willing to re-bake it a bit, a drizzle of honey or agave syrup will make clumps. Just bake for about 20 minutes, and start with hot syrup. You want to make sure to get some water evaporating and sugars changing. It will solidify as it cools.

Quick oats (also known as instant oats): These oats have been cut into smaller pieces, which makes them cook faster than rolled oats. They can be used in granola, but they will not provide the same texture as rolled oats and may cause the granola to be too crumbly.