Chewy Cinnamon Granola Bars

These homemade Chewy Cinnamon Granola Bars are a simple nostalgic make-ahead snack, complete with dried fruit, nuts, almond butter, and sweetened with maple syrup. Easy, soft-baked bars that were made for meal prep!

What are the ingredients in these Chewy Cinnamon Granola Bars?

Nothing fancy here, just some pantry staples and almond butter! If you keep snacks like nuts and dried fruit on hand, you might already have everything you need to make these! Here are the ingredients I used to make these granola bars, and a little info on each:

• rolled oats – This is the main star of the show! BUT, I bet you’ve never turned them into flour before! Using oats to make a flour-like powder helps bind everything together, while keeping that critical oat flavor intact.
• fine sea salt – All of the sweetness and nuts require a bit of salt to balance everything out! Salted nuts are always better, right? Same for granola bars!
• ground cinnamon – I’m a cinnamon lover, but you don’t have to be to enjoy this recipe. You can happily adjust/lower the cinnamon amount as you wish. I always use the max amount!!
• pecans – I think pecans are particularly good for this recipe because of how soft and oily they are. Chopping them up a bit helps create smaller pieces which are better at holding together with everything else.
• dried cranberries & raisins – I love the flavor of both together, but if you only have one of these dried fruits, I think that would be totally fine too. Roughly chopping makes more of the sticky insides exposed which helps everything hold together.
• almond butter – Both Costco and Trader Joe’s make an awesome drippy almond butter that work great for this recipe.
• coconut oil – Melted coconut oil helps the bars brown in the oven and keeps them held together, which is why keeping these bars in the fridge helps keep them firm (coconut oil firms up in the fridge!).
• pure maple syrup – Always go for pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup. It’s probably a bit more expensive, but the flavor and quality is worth it.

Equipment you’ll need to make Chewy Cinnamon Granola Bars:

Here are my recommendations on equipment and tools you’ll need to make this recipe:

• mixing bowls – In almost every one of my recipes, I use these one or more pieces of this 8-Piece Pyrex Sculptured Mixing Bowl Set. All of these bowls are long-lasting, reliable, and easy to clean.
• an 8×8 metal baking pan – You’ll need an 8×8 metal baking pan for this recipe. Any brand will work 🙂
• storage container – You’ll need a rectangular container with lid to easily store these bars. My preference is this 6-piece Pyrex Rectangular Container Set (affiliate link!)!

How to make Chewy Cinnamon Granola Bars:

These bars are so simple to make! A classic scenario of mixing dry ingredients, then wet ingredients, combining them together and baking. Here are my specific instructions for each step of the way:

Start by preheating the oven to 350F. Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with two pieces of baking parchment, one in each direction. Leave short flaps over each edge so you can easily lift the granola bars out for slicing. You can see this pictured below!

For the oat flour, measure out 1/2 cup of the oats from the total of the recipe. Use a bullet blender or food processor to blitz the oats into a fine flour. This functions as our flour for the recipe and helps everything stick together.

Next, it’s time to combine the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oats, oat flour, salt and cinnamon (use 1/2 teaspoon for a hint of cinnamon, and up to 1 teaspoon for a strong cinnamon flavor). Stir in the chopped pecans, cranberries and raisins.

I prefer to chop all of these ingredients to help expose more sticky interiors of the dried fruit and create smaller pieces that can more easily stick together. You can roughly chop all of these together on a cutting board before starting the recipe, if that’s easier for you!

In a smaller bowl, or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the almond butter, melted coconut oil and maple syrup until smooth. If your almond butter is a little stiff, melt the coconut oil in a small saucepan instead of the microwave, and then whisk in the almond butter. It will melt a little in the residual heat from the pan and combine smoothly with the other wet ingredients.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and stir well with a rubber spatula until the dry ingredients are completely coated with the wet mixture. If you’ve ever made granola before, this part will feel similar!

Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan. Using the back of a measuring cup or similar, pack it and press it down as much as you can, making sure to focus on the edges and the corners the most. Bake for 20-25 minutes until set and golden brown. 

Allow the entire pan to cool completely on the counter before transferring to the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to set further. This is one of those recipes where it doesn’t help to cut them early – they might fall apart if you do!

Once the pan is completely chilled, transfer to a cutting board and slice into 12 bars, or more smaller, snackable squares if you wish. I very much prefer the texture of them after being chilled!

Best tips for making homemade granola bars:

Here are my best tips for making this recipe successfully in your own kitchen:

• When we say press the mixture down, we mean PRESS the mixture down! To form bars that hold together, you need to really get in there and press the mixture until it’s as flat as could be.
• Don’t slice before they cool. You have to give the bars a chance to set further in the fridge. This gives the coconut oil and chance to firm up and keep the bars together!
• Don’t skip chopping the dried fruit and nuts. This step helps expose all the sticky parts of the dried fruit, which in turn helps the bars stick together better!

Ways to customize these granola bars:

A nutty dried fruit vibe is such a classic flavor combo for granola bars, but there are so many more possibilities. As a general rule, you’ll need about 1 1/2 cups add-ins, preferably chopped. Here are three different ways to customize these granola bars to fit your own tastes:

• Instead of raisins, add a full cup of dried cranberries, then top with a white chocolate drizzle.
• Swap the nuts or do a mix – just be sure to add no more than 1/2 cup nuts total.
• Remove the dried cranberries and add some chopped/dried apple slices. Cinnamon apple is one of my fave combos!

How to meal prep this recipe:

This is a make-ahead friendly snack, for sure! Once you finish making the recipe and the bars are chilled, gently transfer the cut granola bars to a rectangular food storage container with lid. Place a piece of parchment paper between layers to help keep bars from sticking to each other. Enjoy the granola bars within the next 7 days!

Are these granola bars freezer friendly?

I would not recommend freezing these granola bars, as they are likely to be a bit dry and crumbly after freezing and thawing.

How to store Chewy Cinnamon Granola Bars:

Store granola bars in a rectangular airtight container with lid, layers separated by a piece of parchment paper, as pictured above. For best quality, store in the fridge for up to 7 days.

Recipe developed by Rachel Phipps.