Perfect No Bake Granola Bars Recipes

EASY NO-BAKE GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Line a 9-inch square baker with two strips of criss-crossed parchment paper, cut to fit neatly against the base and up the sides. The parchment paper will make it easy for you to slice the bars later.
• Place the oats in a large mixing bowl**. Add the cinnamon and salt, and stir to combine. Set aside.
• Now we'll blitz the mix-ins briefly in the food processor or blender (or, you can chop them by hand). Add any large nuts (like almonds or pecans) first and blitz for a few seconds. Then add the rest and run the machine for a few more seconds, until the ingredients are all broken up into pieces smaller than your pinky nail. Pour the mix-ins into the bowl of oats.
• In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, measure out the nut butter. Top with ½ cup honey and the vanilla extract. Stir until well blended. If you must, you can gently warm the liquid mixture on the stovetop or in the microwave, but make sure it's close to room temperature before you pour it into the dry mixture (this is especially important if using chocolate, since it will melt).
• Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a big spoon to mix them together until the two are evenly combined and no dry oats remain. This takes some arm muscles, but you can do it! If the mixture was easy to mix together, that's a sign that you need to add some more oats-sprinkle in more oats until you can't incorporate any more.
• Transfer the mixture to the prepared square baker. Use your spoon to arrange the mixture fairly evenly in the baker, then use the bottom of a flat, round surface (like a short, sturdy drinking glass) to pack the mixture down as firmly and evenly as possible.
• Cover the baker and refrigerate for at least one hour, or preferably overnight. (The oats need time to soak up some of the moisture so they aren't sticky.) When you're ready to slice, lift the bars out of the baker by grabbing both pieces of parchment paper on opposite corners. Use a sharp knife to slice the bars into 4 even columns and 4 even rows.
• Wrap individual bars in plastic wrap or parchment paper (if you store them all together, they will stick to one another). Bars keep well for several days at room temperature, a couple of weeks in the fridge, or several months in a freezer-safe bag in the freezer for best flavor.

NO BAKE GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Stir oats, peanut butter, flaxseed, honey, cranberries, chocolate chips, and almonds together in a bowl; press into a 9x11-inch baking dish, using the back of a spatula to press into a flat layer.
• Refrigerate mixture at least 1 hour.
• Cut into 12 bars and wrap each individually in plastic wrap for storage.

NO BAKE GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with parchment paper or wax paper so that two sides overhang like handles.
• In a small saucepan, heat the peanut butter and honey, whisking until smooth. Remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla. Let cool for several minutes (especially if you are using chocolate chips, which will melt if the mixture is too warm).
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk the oats, flaxseed, wheat germ, cinnamon, and salt. Roughly chop any mix-ins that are larger than a chickpea (you can also roughly chop them in a food processor), then stir into the oat mixture.
• Pour the peanut butter mixture over the dry ingredients. With a wooden spoon or very sturdy spatula, stir to combine. The mixture will be very thick and a little tough to stir, but keep working patiently and you will get there. Once combined, the mixture should feel somewhat sticky, but not liquidy and should easily hold together when pressed. If it seems too sticky (this can vary based on your nut butter), add more oats. If it's dry, drizzle in a bit more honey.
• Press the mixture into the pan very firmly so that the bars stick together (to help, use the back of a large measuring cup or just got at it with your fingers). Refrigerate the no bake granola bars for 1 hour, to allow the bars to set.
• Using the paper "handles," lift the bars out of the pan onto a cutting board (if they are sticking to the pan at the edges, use a knife to loosen). Slice into bars of desired size (I do 1 row of 4 and 1 row of 3 for 12 bars total).

PERFECT NO-BAKE GRANOLA BARS

Steps:

• Cover a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• Pulse oats in a food processor just until slightly ground. Transfer to a large bowl. Repeat with flax seeds, then almonds, and finally pumpkin seeds, pulsing just one ingredient at a time.
• Add puffed rice, milk powder, cranberries, protein powder, sesame seeds, chia seeds, and shredded coconut to the bowl; mix to combine.
• Mix almond butter, peanut butter, honey, coconut milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla together in a quart-sized bowl until well combined. Pour wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir until well blended. Spread thinly onto the prepared cookie sheet.
• Place in the freezer until solid, about 1 hour.
• Remove from the freezer, dust with oat bran, and cut into 24 bars. Store in a zip-top bag in the refrigerator.