These five ingredient no-cook granola bars are super easy to make and taste better than store bought granola bars!
Total Time: 25 minutes Servings: 36
$5.25 Recipe / $0.15 Serving
Five Ingredient Granola Bars
One of the best parts about this recipe is that you only need five ingredients to make it! Almond butter, pure maple syrup, ground flaxseeds, quick oats and puffed rice cereal.
Almond Butter
You can find almond butter at most grocery stores in the peanut butter aisle. It’s like peanut butter, but made out of almonds instead of peanuts. Some of my kids hate peanut butter (weird, I know). In their honor, I created this peanut butter-free granola bar recipe. If you don’t have almond butter on hand, you can definitely use peanut butter in its place.
Pure Maple Syrup
Pure maple syrup comes from maple trees. This is different that the maple-flavored syrups you often see in stores and restaurants. Maple-flavored syrups are made out of a sugar base that is flavored to taste like maple syrup. In my opinion, pure maple syrup tastes way better than the maple-flavored syrups. It also provides a good amount of manganese which is an important mineral for bone health.
Pure maple syrup can be kind of expensive though. If its out of your price range, you can substitute it it with maple-flavored syrup or honey.
Ground Flaxseeds
Flaxseeds are little brown or golden seeds that can be ground into a meal. They contain omega-3 fatty acids and fiber. In order for our bodies to absorb the omega-3 fatty acids, however, they need to be in their ground up meal form. You can buy flaxseeds whole and grind them yourself, or you can buy them pre-ground.
I added ground flaxseeds to this recipe to provide an added boost of these omega-3 fatty acid and fiber. The best part is that you can’t even taste it!
Quick Oats
Quick oats are oats that have been cut into smaller pieces so they cook faster. I use them in this five ingredient granola bar recipe instead of regular rolled oats because they blend in more evenly.
Puffed Rice Cereal
Puffed rice cereal is more commonly referred to by the name brand of Rice Krispy Cereal. You can use the name brand or any of the generic brands for this recipe (I used a generic because its cheaper).
They add the perfect little touch of crunch to these granola bars! The crunch tends to fade a little when they are stored, but they still taste amazing!
Nutrition
These five ingredient granola bars offer:
- carbohydrates for energy
- protein for muscle building and satiety
- healthy fats for brain, eye and skin health
- vitamin E to help protect your cells from damage
- manganese to build and strengthen bones and tissues
Other Easy Snack Recipes
If you like these five ingredient granola bars check out my other easy snack recipes. I strive to only create recipes that are easy, nutritious and delicious!
Five Ingredient No-Cook Granola Bars
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- In a large bowl, add the almond butter and pure maple syrup. Stir until they are well combined.
- Add the ground flax seeds, oats and dash of salt to the mixture. Stir everything together until they are thoroughly combined.
- Add the puffed rice cereal to the mixture and stir it in until it is evenly distributed. Try not to crunch them up too much when mixing.
- Line a 9 x 12 pan with parchment paper and spread the mixture evenly onto it. Using clean hands, firmly press the mixture down into the pan so that everything forms together.
- Stick the pan in the fridge for a few minutes to allow the ingredients to harden. You can skip this step if desired, but it makes them slightly easier to cut.
- Cut the granola bars into 3 rows and 12 columns (or larger if you prefer). Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for a week or in a freezer safe container for 2 months.
My kids will love these. I love that they are healthier too.