Imagine yourself eating your favorite granola…
Now imagine eating your favorite granola… in the form of a granola bar! Nature Valley Granola Bars… Do you know the ones I’m talking about?
Those crunchy bars in the green wrappers? My friend Sarah calls them “horse food” because they’re made up of oats and sugar—things that horses like to eat. But the following granola bar recipe is much too good to share with horses. Sorry, horses.
Soccer Fuel
When I was in high school (it seems like a lifetime ago!), I played on the varsity soccer team, and our daily practices fell right after school. So I got in the habit of grabbing a bar—often a Nature Valley granola bar—to munch in the locker room while dressing out.
I’d completely forgotten about my past with Nature Valley until a few days ago, when I tasted an attempt at what was supposed to be a chewy granola bar.
“Woah, these taste exactly like Nature Valley oats-n-honey bars,” my roommate proclaimed after trying a bite. “Except, maybe these are even better!” (She quickly proceeded to eat two whole bars.)
Nature Valley Granola Bars Recipe
Category: Healthy & Gluten-Free Recipes
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup rice crispies (I used brown rice crispies)
- 3 tbsp oat flour (You can make your own by grinding oats in a food processor*.)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp coconut oil or veg oil
- 3 tbsp agave or other liquid sweetener
- 1 packet stevia (or 1 tbsp dry sweetener)
Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine dry ingredients, then mix in wet. Transfer to a 7×5 baking dish (lined with parchment paper), and press down. Squish HARD. Hard hard hard. Then cook for around 18 minutes. Wait at least 20 minutes before trying to cut into bars. *If making oat flour, measure the 3tbsp after grinding.
Other bars I’ve done:
I made these for the second time tonight. They have been far too dry for my liking each time. I think I will have to cut back the baking time from 18 min to about 12 or so. The flavor is there, but they are so dry! Any suggestions?
You may want to check out the troubleshoot comments in the Recipe FAQ section at the top of Katie’s blog. Here’s the link:
https://lett-trim.today/faq-page/recipe-questions-and-troubleshooting/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
I love the nature valley ones as well, but hate the extra crap (excuse me) they have in them. Mine are in the oven as we speak. However, instead of oat flour, I used some protein powder, in hopes it works about the same, and it already had a sweetener in it, so I omitted the last ingredient (1 packet of powdered sweetener). It tastes great off my hands, so I am excited to see how they turn out, will let you know. Thanks for the recipe!
Ok, so mine came out more chewy than crunchy- but I added a little extra squirt of honey (instead of agave), so that could be why. But, other than that they came out great, even my husband loved them-asked when I would be making them again! yay! Will be making again and again.
I just made these bars.. But they didn’t stay together? I kinda just made granola 🙁
I’m not sure what could’ve gone wrong in your case, but have you checked out CCK’s troubleshoot FAQ page on her blog? Here’s the link:
https://lett-trim.today/faq-page/recipe-questions-and-troubleshooting/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
I love this recipe! I’ve made it quite a few times. Last time I omitted the oil and added just over 1/4 cup peanut butter…SO GOOD!
Hi. It sounds amazing just wanted to know if this recipe is your own or legit from nature valley’s original? thanks alot 🙂
Could i just replace the rice crispies with oats too? Do you think that would work?
My boyfriend dies for Nature Valley bars! I’m definitely gonna have to try this recipe out 😉 Friday night baking for the win! Can’t wait hehe
my daughter has a sensitivity to oats. is there a good substitute for these bars?
You could always try quinoa flakes if you wanted to experiment and were ok with not guaranteed results. Be sure to report back if you do experiment!
Hi
\ alsgevolg ik goji neem elke ochtend zit ik mij veel beter in mijn lichaam
Hey there Katie! I am a huge fan of these granola bars, and would like to feature them with a direct link to this blog, on my blog. You can visit my blog (which is just starting up) at yogisophie7.wordpress.com
Thank you for your consideration!
Sophie
Just wanted to thank you for always posting recipes that aren’t too dense, too involved, or require too many ingredients. Thanks for keeping it simple without sacrificing flavor!