I’m already starting to think about how I will fuel myself (quickly) after the little bambino arrives this fall. I’m not one who functions well with long periods between meals, so planning in advance is going to be my best ally. The healthier and more balanced, the better I‘m sure I’ll feel. Bring on the healthy, hippie foods, I say! In addition to freezer friendly meals – like veggie burgers and balls, chili, soup, falafel, enchiladas, pasta + pesto sauces, burritos, etc. – I hope to prepare snacks in advance that I can individually wrap and store in the freezer. Things that I can toss into my purse or quickly unwrap when I need a boost will be so handy. Amidst uncertainty, it always feels good to have a back up plan (even if my reality will be take out food more than not).
These lightly-sweet granola bars are a great option because they are only sweetened with bananas and sweetened dried fruit. No sugar crashes here! You could even remove the dried fruit if you really wanted to, but I love how the dried cherries provide a pop of sweetness throughout. But it’s not what the bars don’t have – it’s what they do have. How about hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, rolled oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, banana, and more. These wholesome bars are crunchy, hearty, and chewy in the best way possible. And super filling thanks to the balance of protein, fibre, carbs, and healthy fats. One bar clocks in at 6.6 grams of protein and almost 5 grams of fibre (you can see the complete nutritional info in the recipe below). If you wanted to boost the protein even more, you can increase the hemp seeds (and maybe reduce the sunflower seeds a bit).
For even more staying power, try spreading on some nut or seed butter (with chia seed jam to make it a party!) or even a bit of coconut oil. That’s never a bad idea. Is it snack time yet?
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Feel Good Hearty Granola Bars
Yield
14-16 large bars
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Hearty, soft-baked, and chewy, these no-sugar-added granola bars will fill up the tank and keep your energy stable. Feel free to play around with the mix-ins, as the recipe is quite adaptable. Also, if you’re feeding a nut-free crowd, you can easily swap out the walnuts and almonds for more seeds (or chocolate chips, if you’re feeling wild!). This recipe is adapted from Anjali's Oat Snack Bars recipe, which was originally adapted from Faith's 4-Ingredient Banana Oat Bars.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (360 g) mashed ripe banana (about 3 large)
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (200 g) gluten-free rolled oats
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup (60 to 90 g) dried cherries, cranberries, or blueberries, to taste*
- 1/2 cup (50 g) walnuts, chopped
- 1/2 cup (75 g) sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup (80 g) pepita seeds
- 1/2 cup (60 g) sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup (35 g) hemp hearts
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a large rectangular baking dish (approximately 9" x 13") and line with a piece of parchment paper (with overhang) so the bars are easier to remove.
- In a large bowl, mash the banana until smooth. Make sure you have 1 1/2 cups (if you have extra mashed banana, you can freeze it for a smoothie).
- Stir in the vanilla.
- Place the oats into a food processor (or blender set on the lowest speed) and pulse until the oats are coarsely chopped (but still have lots of texture). Stir the chopped oats into the banana mixture until fully incorporated.
- Stir the dried fruit, walnuts, sunflower and pepita seeds, almonds, hemp hearts, cinnamon, and salt into the banana-oat mixture until thoroughly combined. The dough will be very heavy and a bit wet.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared dish. With lightly wet hands, smooth out until even and uniform. Press down on the dough until compacted.
- Bake for 22 to 26 minutes, until firm and lightly golden along the edges.
- Place the dish on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then carefully slide a knife to loosen the ends and gently lift out. Place the slab on a cooling rack until completely cool.
- Once cool, slice into bars. I like to use a pizza slicer as it easily cuts through the dried fruit and nuts. Leftovers can be wrapped up and stored in the fridge for a week, or stored in the freezer for 4 to 6 weeks.
Tip:
* You can omit the dried fruit and sub in chocolate chips (or add a mix of both).
These bars aren't super sweet, so if you prefer something sweeter you may want to add a touch of sweetener.
To store these in the freezer, wrap the bars individually in parchment paper using 6-inch by 12-inch pieces of parchment, then tie with string or tape to secure. Finally, place all of the bars into a freezer-safe zip bag, press out all the air, and seal it shut. Or, you can simply wrap each bar with plastic wrap or tinfoil.
Make it Nut free: Swap the almonds and walnuts for more sunflower, pepita, and hemp seeds.
Approximate nutritional info: (per bar, based on 14 large bars using 1/2 cup dried sweetened cherries): 186 calories, 8.7 grams fat, 22 grams carbs, 4.7 grams fibre, 6 grams sugar, 6.6 grams protein. Without dried cherries, bars have approx. 3.6 grams of sugar and 166 calories.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
PS- The winner of the Vitamix contest has been announced at the bottom of this post! A big thank you to everyone who took part in the #osgcookbook Vitamix giveaway and to Vitamix for donating the machine. I had a blast seeing all your pictures come in over the past 2 weeks.
Excited to make this! Purchased all of the ingredients but accidentally picked up quick rolled oats. Will that do?
I make these bars every sunday for the week!! Delish!
When I want to be naughty I switch the dried fruits for dark chocolate chips (not too many..just enough).
Best bars ever :)
Hey Angela! I wanted to take these to school with me and wanted the extra boost of protein as well to last me through the day. Is there a way I could incorporate the peanut butter INTO the granola bar? If so how much would I put in? It would like kinda funny for me to be putting peanut butter on my granola bar in the classroom lol! Thanks for the help!
I loved this recipe. They were a little different than the average granola bar, but it tastes equally as yummy. I also put in 1/3 cup of chocolate chips. (the kids loved that). One of my favourite things about this recipe is that it doesnt use any syrup or honey. Will be making more very soon :)
Thanks for the recipe Angela!
It’s not easy to find a granola bar that doesn’t have some sort of sweetener in it. Thank you so much for just using banana. I’m going to make these tonight.
Awesome recipe. I added pineapple instead of banana since it is in season, 1 tbsp of honey, and added a handful of dates. Yummmmy
I just made these, and I followed everything according to the recipe, but mine are kind of dry, in an off-putting way. Any suggestions? Could I add anything at this point to make them a little more moist? Thanks.
Have had these pinned forever and finally tried them today. OMG! Soooo Good. And the smell when they are cooking is amazing :)
I know this post is a little old but I have a question about the dried cherries. did you buy them pre-dried or did you dry them yourself? And what is that process like? Secondly, what if i preferred raspberries or blueberries? My mom is a huge fan of cherries but i never got into them. I definitely love your chia seed jam recipe! I made that a while back and make one like every other week.
Hello! Your healthy granola bars look so good, but I have many food restrictions right now and currently I can’t eat bananas. Do you have any ideas for omitting bananas and what would work well to replace them?
To all the other banana-allergy people — I made this recipe by substituting a mixture of soaked and pureed dates and sunflower butter instead of the mashed banana and it turned out AWESOME. The dates add the perfect amount of sweetness and the nut butter adds some binding qualities
Hi! These bars look great! I recently discovered that I have many intolerances to food from my doctor. Do you have any ideas for omitting bananas and dates? What would you substitute?
Can you suggest something to replace banana. I just can’t have anything with banana… makes it difficult for me to find recipes.
My husband has really been loving these bars, and I love that they’re completely healthy for him. Thanks for sharing such an awesome recipe!
Looks delicious and yummy..Love how it is neatly packed and presented.. It looks as if it is ready to shipped to me.. simply amazing
I just made these tonight and I loved them! They have awesome wholesome ingredients, and awesome flavor! I had to use a little applesauce to supplement the bananas because I didn’t have quite enough mashed bananas. Also, I added in two tablespoons of brown sugar, because my bananas weren’t very brown so I didn’t think they’d be sweet enough on their own. I actually found myself eating some of the batter off the spoon before I pressed it in the pan to cook them, and it was even pretty dang good just as a batter :) This was the first recipe I ever tried from your website and I’m impressed. I’ll have to try out more of your recipes!
THESE ARE FANTASTIC. I love how there is not added fat or sugar. They have a phenomenal texture too :) These are going to be a repeat recipe for sure.
This recipe looks great for my active toddler. How do you store them if you aren’t freezing them, in the fridge or counter? And how long are they good for both in and out of the freezer. I looked and didn’t see your update on it. Thanks so much!
hi, i am going to try these tonight as i need a better alternative healthy snack!
thank you, cant wait!
i am considering becoming a vegan or at least trying for a month…. any suggestions?
thank you
Hi there, I am writing from Overseas. Love your blog! And recipes! Ordering your book ASAP :-) As for these bars – not sure I can find hemp seeds here. What would be the alternative? Thanks!