In this recipe
- Why this recipe is great
- Why are these Homemade Granola Bars Healthy?
- Easy Recipe, Hacks, Tips and Substitutes
- Homemade Healthy Granola Bars Low in Sugar
- More Low-Sugar Recipes
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Why this recipe is great
You only need 5 ingredients, and all ingredients are natural. This is a perfect breakfast bar or snack on the go!
Why are these Homemade Granola Bars Healthy?
These homemade healthy granola bars are perfect for healthy meal-prepping. We greatly advocate making healthy oat bars at home because you can control what you add.
So why are homemade granola bars healthy?
- You need five natural ingredients: dates, nuts, oatmeal, coconut oil, and chocolate. All ingredients are natural. There are no taste enhancers, artificial sugars, or preservatives.
- You make granola bars low in sugar. We don’t add any refined sugar to the recipe. We sweeten bars with dates. The chocolate has a little sugar, but we only need around 5 g of chocolate per serving. This will add a lot of flavor, but the amount of sugar is low! If you use dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate, you can greatly reduce the sugar.
- You can check the nutritional value. Check the amount of protein, carbohydrates, fats, and sugar under the recipe at the bottom of this page.
- The bars are very filling. You feel satisfied for hours after eating them. However, if you want a smaller snack, separate the oats-date dough into more servings.
- You can prepare a big batch and store homemade healthy granola bars in the freezer. Without adding any preservatives. It’s perfect—healthy ingredients and long storage duration.
Easy Recipe, Hacks, Tips and Substitutes
Homemade healthy granola bars are easy to make. You can prep them for meals on the weekend for the whole month. And then take them to work or snack on the go!
Preparing the bars is pretty straightforward! The ingredients are simple. So, what do we need to make them? Nothing you won’t get at the nearest grocery store. Dates, walnuts, coconut oil, oatmeal, chocolate, and a pinch of salt. We recommend dark chocolate because it is lower in sugar than milk chocolate.
Let’s start prepping. Prepare the date paste first. Soak the dates in boiling water for 30 minutes so they have enough time to soften. You can soak them longer if you want. If it’s easier for you, soak them overnight. And make the bars the next day. Drain the water and add soaked dates to a blender. Add cooled boiled water and blend into a paste. We are adding cooled boiled water because some blenders are not designed for hot liquids. The blender can break; we need it for thousands of other recipes, right?
Melt coconut oil in a frying pan. We insist you use coconut oil, not the other type! It adds so much richness to the bars. You will love it! If you don’t like the taste of coconut oil or have an allergy, substitute it with odorless vegetable oil. Or even butter will work.
Add rolled oats, chopped walnuts, and a pinch of salt to a pan. We want to fry these ingredients in coconut oil to combine the flavors! If you don’t have walnuts, substitute them with other nuts. And use rolled oats, not quick-cooking oats. First, they are healthier. Second, they don’t get wet and mushy, adding a nice firmness to the bars. After frying for around 10 minutes, cool down the mixture slightly. Combine with date paste. The homemade healthy oat bar dough is ready!
Prepare the baking form. One small hack we recommend is using a baking form that fits well in your freezer. Nothing is worse than having the bars ready only to find out the baking form is too big and doesn’t fit into the freezer. Everything already happened. We won’t say to whom :-).
Put parchment paper into the baking form and press the dough inside. The parchment paper is perfect because you can easily remove it later. If you press the dough directly into the baking form, it will be difficult to remove the bars later. To press the dough inside, we cover it with more parchment paper and press with something heavy. This way, the dough doesn’t stick to our hands. Precut into servings and put in the freezer.
Melt chocolate. Take the bars out of the freezer and sprinkle with melted chocolate. Keep in the freezer for up to one month.
Homemade Healthy Granola Bars Low in Sugar
Are you looking for healthy snacks or breakfast alternatives low in sugar? Then homemade granola bars are perfect for you. You don’t need any refined sugar in this recipe. Let’s sweeten the bars with dates—date paste, to be exact. We prepare it before combining all the ingredients. You need dates and water. Soak dates and blend them into a paste. The date paste is ready. And you have the perfect natural sugar substitute!
We love using date paste because you can easily combine it with rolled oats. It gives the bars a chewy texture—so delicious!
If you want to keep sugar in these bars as low as possible, use dark chocolate. The higher the cocoa percentage, the less sugar chocolate contains. So, go for really dark chocolate!
More Low-Sugar Recipes
Love breakfast bars low in sugar? Try our sugar-free protein bars. You don’t need protein powder to make them; use protein-rich natural ingredients instead. They’re crunchy, chewy, and covered in melted chocolate. So delicious!
Or dairy-free chocolate mousse. It’s airy, sweet, and low in sugar—we use maple syrup to sweeten it. Just a little bit of maple syrup.
Recommended Recipes
Homemade Healthy Granola Bars | Low sugar & Easy
Ingredients
- 250 g rolled oats
- 400 g dates
- 60 g boiled water
- 30 g coconut oil
- 120 g walnuts
- A pinch of salt
- 50 g chocolate 85%
Instructions
- Soak 400 g dates in boiling water for 30 minutes.
- Drain the water and place the soaked dates in a blender. Add 60 g of cooled boiled water and blend into a paste.
- Melt 30 g of coconut oil in a frying pan. Add 250 g rolled oats, 120 g chopped walnuts, and a pinch of salt. Fry on 7 out of 9 modes until crispy, about 10 minutes. Cool until warm.
- Combine the date paste with the mixture of oats and nuts.
- Cover the baking form with parchment paper. Add oats and dates to the baking form and press firmly. Pre-cut serving portions within the baking form, but do not separate them. Later, we will divide these into bars. Put in the freezer for 2 hours.
- Divide into 10 servings. Melt 50 g chocolate and decorate bars with melted chocolate.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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