Almond, Blueberry & Date Homemade Granola Bars
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These homemade granola bars are a mishmash of almonds, dried blueberries, oats, cereal and coconut — all held together with a sweet almond butter-date paste.
Meet my new favorite homemade granola bars. They’re crispy, chewy, and rich: a mishmash of nuts, cereal, coconut, and dried blueberries held together with a sweet almond butter-date paste. Unlike most homemade granola bars, they hold together as well as store-bought bars. You can pack them in the kids’ lunches or stuff them in your purse for on-the-go snacking — and they won’t crumble into a million pieces when you’re noshing on the sofa either.
The trick is to purée the dates with the liquid ingredients to make a sticky concoction that binds the ingredients together. A quick flash in the oven helps the bars set too. Keep in mind: these are quick to throw together but they do take a few hours to set up after baking. They also keep well; actually, they seem to get better and better so stash them in a zip-lock bag and leave them on the counter all week long to grab-and-go as you please.
For more granola bar recipe inspiration, check out my Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars and my Crispy Honey Nut Granola Bars. I also have a wonderful peanut butter granola recipe in my cookbook.
Table of Contents
“These granola bars are delicious–so much better than anything store-bought! They’ve been a hit with anyone who has tried them.”
What You’ll Need To Make Homemade Granola Bars
- Pitted Medjool Dates: Provide natural sweetness and bind the ingredients together.
- Unsalted Melted Butter: Adds richness and helps with binding.
- Light Brown Sugar: Enhances sweetness and contributes to the chewiness.
- Honey: Adds additional sweetness and acts as a binder.
- Unsalted Creamy Almond Butter: Contributes to the nutty flavor and acts as a glue for the ingredients.
- Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats: Offer texture and substance to the bars.
- Crispy Rice Cereal: Adds crunchiness and lightness to the bars.
- Unsweetened Flaked Coconut: Provides texture and a hint of coconut flavor.
- Chopped Almonds: Add crunch and nuttiness to the bars.
- Dried Blueberries: Offer bursts of sweetness and chewiness to the bars.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-BY-Step Instructions
To begin, place the dates, melted butter, brown sugar, honey, almond butter, and salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade (or use a blender).
Process until mixture is smooth and thick.
Transfer to a large pot or microwave-safe bowl large enough to hold all of the ingredients, and bring the mixture to a boil. Whisk to combine, and then add the oats, rice cereal, coconut, almonds, and dried blueberries.
Use a large rubber spatula to gently fold the mixture until the wet ingredients evenly coat the dry ingredients. Be gentle so as not to crush the rice cereal.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and, using the bottom of a glass or dry measuring cup, press firmly into an even, compact layer. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown. Set the pan on a rack and let cool completely, a few hours. (Please do not attempt to cut the bars while still warm, as they will fall apart.)
Use the foil overhang to lift the uncut bars out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Using a large chef’s knife, cut the block into 16 bars.
Wrap the bars individually with foil or parchment paper for easy on-the-go snacking, or place them in an airtight container.
Frequently Asked Questions
You’ll need about 5 Medjool dates for this recipe but it’s best to weigh them if possible, as sizes vary.
Definitely! You can freeze them for up to 3 months. Allow them to cool completely, then place them in an airtight container with layers separated by parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, take them out of the container and let them come to room temperature.
You can wrap the bars individually with foil or parchment for easy on-the-go snacking, or put them in an airtight container. They will keep nicely for up to a week at room temperature.
Peanut butter is a fine substitute but for best results, stick with a smooth and creamy commercial almond (or peanut) butter. (I don’t recommend all-natural or chunky nut butter.)
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Almond, Blueberry & Date Granola Bars
These homemade granola bars are a mishmash of almonds, dried blueberries, oats, cereal and coconut — all held together with a sweet almond butter-date paste.
Ingredients
- 3 oz pitted Medjool dates (see note)
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp honey
- ¾ cup unsalted creamy almond butter (see note)
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 2½ cups crispy rice cereal, such as Rice Krispies
- ½ cup unsweetened flaked coconut
- ¾ cup coarsely chopped almonds
- Heaping ⅓ cup dried blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Line a 9-by-13-in pan with aluminum foil, so that it hangs over the edges, and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place the dates, melted butter, brown sugar, honey, almond butter and salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade, or use a blender. Process until mixture is smooth and thick. Transfer to a large pot (or microwave-safe bowl) large enough to hold all of the ingredients; don’t worry if the butter separates. Bring the mixture to a boil on the stovetop (or in the microwave), whisking to combine. Take off the heat.
- While the mixture is still hot, add the oats, rice cereal, coconut, almonds, and dried blueberries. Use a large rubber spatula to gently fold the mixture until the wet ingredients evenly coat the dry ingredients. The mixture will be thick. Be gentle so as not to crush the rice cereal.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and, using the bottom of a glass or dry measuring cup, press firmly into an even, compact layer. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown. Set the pan on a rack and let cool completely, a few hours. (Please do not attempt to cut the bars while still warm, as they will fall apart.)
- Use the foil overhang to lift the uncut bars out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Using a large chef’s knife, cut the block into 16 bars. Wrap the bars individually with foil or parchment paper for easy on-the-go snacking, or place them in an airtight container. The bars will keep for up to a week at room temperature.
- Note: You'll need about 5 Medjool dates for this recipe but it's best to weigh them if possible, as sizes vary.
- Note: For best results, use a smooth and creamy commercial almond butter. (I do not recommend all-natural or chunky almond butter.)
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The granola bars can be frozen for up to 3 months. Let them cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove them from the container and let them come to room temperature.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 bar
- Calories: 264
- Fat: 16 g
- Saturated fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 29 g
- Sugar: 18 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Sodium: 113 mg
- Cholesterol: 11 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Turned out great in terms of consistency and appearance. For my taste they were too sweet and the blueberry flavor did not come through. Would love to find a more healthful granola bar recipe.
How long should you boil the date /sugar /butter mixture?
They taste very good but mine still crumble very easily even when completely cool!
Hi Jen, you really aren’t cooking the mixture, just heating it enough so that it gets well combined. (So after it comes to a boil, it doesn’t need to be cooked any longer.) If these were crumbly, it could be that you didn’t keep them in the oven quite long enough. Also, did you press the mixture into a compact layer on the baking sheet before baking?
A great snack and my kids love them too! They’ve become a favourite in our house!
These bars have a nice, less sweet meld of flavors than Jennifer’s no-bake, chewy chocolate chip granola bars. In our house, they appealed more to the grown-ups than the kids. Because the clean-up from all that peanut butter was a lot stickier, we won’t make these bars nearly as often as the others.
Love this recipe and can’t wait for more. Question, first batch fell apart- was delicious but was missing the chewy everyone else raves about. The second batch held together (baked a bit longer per other review/response) but still didn’t have the chew. What do you recommend?
Hi Elaine, the date mixture should definitely give the bars a chewy consistency. Is there any chance you could’ve measured something incorrectly?
Jenn, is there a good substitute for dates? I’m having a difficult time finding them in the regular grocery store. I love granola bars but we are limited with store bought due to nut allergies in our house. Almonds are safe for us and I can’t wait to try these!
Hi Sarah, You could try dried apricots.
I made these just before leaving on a vacation to MT, as I thought they would be good for snacks in the car. I wrapped individually and put in a plastic bag and they stayed fresh all week. My husband and friends loved them – the chewy texture had them fooled into thinking there was marshmallow in the bars! Will make these again and try with peanut butter and mini chocolate chips.
I have never reviewed a recipe before however these granola bars were nothing short of spectacular, I had to say something! I had to make them two weekends in a row because they absolutely disappeared after 2-3 days. I cut the second batch into 24 pieces just so they would last longer. There is the perfect balance of chewiness and crunch, the end result looks exactly as pictured. Thank you so much for such a wonderful recipe, I cannot wait for the cookbook to come out!
Thanks for the feedback, Janice…I’m so happy you enjoyed them! There’s a peanut butter granola bar similar to these in the cookbook 🙂
Is there any substitute for Rice Krispies ……
leaning toward less processed grain, paleo or gluten-free substitute? Thanks
Hi Debby, The rice cereal gives these bars a really nice crispy texture. That said, you could always replace the cereal with more oats.
Not to butt in, but I use puffed rice. It’s not as crisp as Rice Krispies but gives nice body to the bar. Plus, it’s just rice—no other ingredients involved!
These were fantastic, well worth the effort! I made them to take to an adult ed. class where everyone raved about them. I had one small problem; even though I pressed the mixture very firmly into the pan, many bars crumbled. Any ideas why? I used coconut oil and omitted the shredded coconut, but that shouldn’t have made a difference.
Hi Marlene, Glad everyone enjoyed the bars. It sounds like they may not have cooked long enough – next time try keeping them in the oven a little longer — they definitely shouldn’t crumble. Hope that helps!