Easy Healthy Granola Bars
A healthy, homemade granola bar perfect for lunchboxes. This easy granola bar recipe uses a secret ingredient to sweeten and bind while adding 30g protein.
Servings: 18
Ingredients
- 3 cups large-flake oats
- ½ tsp coarse salt
- 1 10 oz can sweetened condensed milk 300 mL
- ¼ cup butter or coconut oil 2 0z, 1/2 stick
- ½ cup roasted unsalted sunflower seeds
- ½ cup roasted unsalted pumpkin seeds
- 1 cup dried cherries cranberries or raisins
- ¾ cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spread oats in a 9x13" metal baking dish and toast for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
- While oats are toasting, melt butter in the microwave for 30 seconds on high power. Let cool to room temperature.
- When oats are deeply golden brown and nutty smelling, spread them out over a cold baking sheet to cool them quickly. Run the hot baking dish under cold water to cool it down, too, then line it with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine cooled oats salt to combine, then stir in condensed milk, cooled butter, seeds, dried fruit and chocolate chips. Dump the mixture into the parchment-lined baking dish then press it down into an even layer (lightly moisten your hands to make it easier). Bake for 15 minutes until edges are a shade darker. They will firm up as they cool. If overbaked, they become crunchier granola bars, which are still tasty.
- Lift the whole slab out of the pan by the overhanging parchment paper and cool on a wire rack, then slice into 18 bars.