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Save money by making copycat Nature Valley granola bars at home (and save time by not having to run to the store to buy them)! This homemade version is super simple to make and tastes just like the real thing. Using my food scientist background, I worked backward to duplicate the flavor and texture of this classic snack at home.
save this recipe!Granola bars are a great way to get nutrients on the go. Living in the mountains, I’ve eaten my my fair share, none more well-known than Nature Valley granola bars.
But if you’ve even stepped foot in a grocery store in the last year, you’re well aware that the cost of goods has drastically increased. So, in an effort to save some money, I have perfected how to make these tasty and crunchy oats ‘n honey granola bars at home.
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- Easy to make with just pantry staple ingredients (like oats and honey!)
- Quick to whip up. Most of the time to make these granola bars is spent waiting for them to bake.
- Customize them by adding mini chocolate chips, dried fruit, or a chocolate drizzle.
Here’s what you’ll need
You probably already have these ingredients in your pantry!
- Rolled Oats: Otherwise known as “old-fashioned oats”. Avoid using Instant or steel cut oats here, which don’t have the same texture.
- Sweeteners: To achieve the perfect sweetness, these bars use both honey and brown sugar.
- Oil: Vegetable oil helps to bind everything together. You could also use coconut oil here (or even olive oil if you don’t mind the hint of olive flavor but want the health benefits).
- Vanilla Extract: Just a splash adds major flavor.
- Baking Soda: This is important for developing crunch in the bars.
- Salt: Salt helps to elevate the flavor of the bars, taking them from good to great.
DIY Oat Flour
Blending some of the oats creates oat flour, which acts as the binder for these bars. It’s a cheap and effective way to create texture yet still have a gluten-free bar that holds together. If you love learning how to make granola bars and plan to make more, you can also buy oat flour.
How to make Nature Valley Granola Bars
Very similar to other homemade granola bars, these involve just a few simple steps and minimal active work.
- Blend some of the oats into oat flour.
- Stir together the oat flour with the wet ingredients in a large bowl.
- Mix in the remaining dry ingredients and press the mixture into a lined baking dish.
- Bake until golden brown and firm.
More on-the-go snacks
If you’re taking these copycat granola bars on the road, here are a few more grab-and-go options.
- Quinoa Granola: Packed with nuts and dried fruit, this granola can be enjoyed with a handful of it. It’s so tasty!
- Homemade Larabars: This copycat recipe is easy to make and includes 4 different variations, so there’s a flavor for everyone.
Copycat Nature Valley Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups rolled oats, divided, 200 g
- ¼ cup vegetable oil, or any neutral oil, 60 mL
- ¼ cup honey, 60 mL
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup brown sugar, 50 g
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
- Blitz: Add ½ cup of the oats to a blender or food processor and blitz into a flour.
- Wets: Stir oat flour together with ¼ cup vegetable oil, ¼ cup honey, and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
- Dries: Stir in remaining rolled oats, ¼ cup brown sugar, ¼ tsp baking soda, and ¼ tsp salt.
- Press: Line a baking dish (7×9 inch or similar) with parchment paper, then transfer oat mixture into it. Press the mixture firmly down into the pan (use the bottom of a glass to flatten it).
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and firm. Immediately after taking it out of the oven, use the bottom of a glass to press the bars, flattening the top firmly. Let cool fully before cutting into bars.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
I want to make this recipe into just granola, not bars. Can I just spread recipe this out and bake for less time? Should I make any adjustments to the ingredients? Thank you.
You should be able to make it about the same way! After cooking, break it into chunks (and you could pop it back in the oven to really dry it out). I’d love to hear how it goes if you try it out!
What changes should I make for the peanut butter version of these bars?
Hi Bill! I haven’t tested this one with peanut butter so I can’t say for sure, but I’d love to hear how it goes if you try it out!
I finished my first version of Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars – Peanut Butter flavor. They turned out pretty good. The ingredients are listed below. Here’s what I swapped: I replaced half of the oil (1/8 cup) and all of the brown sugar (1/4 cup) with peanut butter. Also, since I was out of honey, I also replaced the 1/4 cup of honey with 1/8 cup maple syrup and 1/8 cup unsulphared molasses. I also wanted to make them crunchier so I baked them for 30 minutes instead of 20-25 minutes. I may try even longer next time. The original recipe was good but it was a bit sweeter than I needed it, and I wanted to replace as much of the refined sugars with natural sugars as I could. That’s why the first thing I replaced with peanut butter was the brown sugar. It ended up doing a good job reducing the sweetness and refined sugar in addition to making this the peanut butter flavored version. Next time I’ll probably use Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter to get rid of all of the refined sugar since Skippy has some added sugar. Although swapping in maple syrup and molasses for the honey was due to necessity, the use of molasses for half of the swap also reduced the sweetness as well as being a more nutrient-dense natural sweetener. Since our favorite NV-Crunchy bar flavor is peanut butter, these will be Staples in our house. I may also try to swap out some of the oats for a different nutritional mix and I’m thinking of using roasted buckwheat groats.
2 1/2 cup rolled oats
1/8 cup (8 tbsp) oil (I used avocado oil)
1/8 c (8 tbsp) unsulphured molasses
1/8 c(8 tbsp) maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/8 cup peanut butter (I used Skippy)
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
Bake for 30 minutes.
The nutrition values seem off.
Thank you for sharing this recipe, it was better than the original! My whole family loves it and even better than how delicious it is, is how easy the recipe is! Thank you!!
Thrilled you loved it Pauline, thanks for the review!
Hi! What does the baking soda provide exactly in the recipe? I’d like
To bake it without if possible.
It gives them a little lift while cooking, which helps them to get crunchier!
Would coconut oil work ?
Followed the recipe to a T, adding only crushed pecans. It smelled incredible while it was baking. At the 20 min mark, my granola was still “wet” and VERY dark. I will try this again at a much lower temp.
I followed the recipe to the ‘T’. The bars are tasty however I did not get the same crunch that the original store bought bars give you and that’s what I love about Nature Valley Granola bars. Any suggestions to make them crunchier?
I do think the flavor is excellent. Good job creating the copy cat version!
Hi Irene! These don’t have quite the same dry crunch as the originals. They are slightly more chewy, but to make them more crunchy, you can let them cool in the oven with the oven off and the door propped open!
This sounds great and will definitely try it. Curious to know if you’ve made a chocolate version, maybe mixing in cocoa powder?
I haven’t tried a chocolate version but I bet it would be tasty with some cocoa powder mixed in!
Just made these and they came out tasting just like the NV bars. I did make one substitution. I used coconut sugar instead of brown sugar. Baked for 20 min and the edges did start to carmelize a little more than the middle but I think they still taste great. Will definitely be trying out some ad ins next time.
So glad they turned out well Gen!
If I have homemade oat flour on hand already, would that be 1/2 of oat flour or would it be less?
A little bit less! Probably 1/3 cup 🙂