These Berry Vanilla Granola Bars are refined sugar-free, gluten-free, and made with coconut oil. Homemade granola bars are so simple to make, and they make a perfect breakfast bar or snack!
In college, I lived on granola bars.
More specifically, one semester in college where my Wednesdays were spent with classes all day long, followed by a 20-minute break before a 3 hour night class, granola bars saved my life.
During my break, I’d stop off at the coffee shop, grab a caffeinated pick-me-up and granola bar, and head over to my class. Luckily, I had a few friends in that class (and a professor who liked to tell us some celebrity was teaching the class only to show us a video of himself lecturing), otherwise it would be difficult to concentrate after a long day running on fumes.
While those packaged granola bars were a life saver, I have to say, I’m a pretty big fan of homemade granola bars.
And these Berry Vanilla Granola Bars are no slouch. Naturally sweetened, gluten-free, and oh-so-tasty with the addition of dried berries, coconut, and Bob’s Red Mill Vanilla Protein Powder.
These homemade granola bars are made with Bob’s Red Mill Nutritional Boosters. More specifically, these Berry Vanilla Granola Bars have Bob’s Red Mill Vanilla Nutritional Booster baked into them.
Not only does Bob’s Red Mill Vanilla Nutritional Booster add extra plant-based protein (20 grams per serving) and fiber to these bars, it also adds additional sweetness to the bars, as the Vanilla Protein Powder is sweetened with Monk fruit.
Apart from Bob’s Red Mill Vanilla Nutritional Booster, these bars have a few other key ingredients:
-Oats
-Honey
-Maple Syrup
-Coconut Oil
-Shredded Coconut
-Dried berries (I used a mixed berry blend, which had blueberries, cranberries, and strawberries)
Cinnamon, salt, slivered almonds, and vanilla extract complete the ingredient list.
Between the Bob’s Red Mill Vanilla Nutritional Booster, maple syrup, honey, coconut, and berries, these bars are plenty sweet without any refined-sugar. You won’t even miss the sugar! Promise.
The other amazing thing about these homemade granola bars is the fact that they are 100% customizable!
Any number of things would be great in these bars–mini chocolate chips, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, etc.
In fact, you could also use Bob’s Red Mill Chai Nutritional Booster or Bob’s Red Mill Chocolate Nutritional Booster! Add in some chocolate chips and you’ve got yourself a sweeter snack!
You can use this Bob’s Red Mill coupon when purchasing these ingredients. 🙂
Homemade happiness!
- 4 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups rolled oats, gluten-free
- 1 cup shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 2 Tbsp Bob's Red Mill Vanilla Nutritional Booster
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup dried berries (I used a mixed berry blend of blueberries, strawberries, and cranberries)
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Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper, and toast oats for about 9-10 minutes. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes or so. (This brings out the flavor of the oats, but you can omit this step if you would prefer.)
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In a large bowl, mix oats, almonds, coconut, Bob's Red Mill Vanilla Nutritional Booster, cinnamon, and salt together. Set aside.
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In a medium saucepan, bring coconut oil, honey, maple syrup, and vanilla extract to a boil over medium heat. Cook for about a minute, stirring constantly, then reduce the heat to low and cook for another minute.
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Take the mixture off the heat, and pour it over the oat mixture. Add in berries, and stir until combined.
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Line a square pan (8x8 or 9x9) with foil. Press the bars into the pan well (you want to press fairly hard, otherwise the bars will fall apart when sliced).
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Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the oats are golden brown on top.
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Allow to cool for 3-4 hours before slicing into squares.
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Enjoy at room temperature or cold!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
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