• Best Ever Homemade Granola Bars

    I have been making and sharing this granola bar recipe for MANY years and it never gets old! You can make them so many different ways, just by switching up the nuts, seeds and dried fruit. These really are the best homemade granola bars you will ever make!

    This week's episode of In My Plant-Based Kitchen is in 2 parts. In the first part I answer a great question that came in about the nutrition of cooked and cooled starches. We talk about how cooling starchy foods like potatoes, pasta and rice can be beneficial, why resistant starch is helpful for health, and more.

    In the second part of the episode we make The Best Ever Granola Bars (originally inspired by a recipe in Christie Morgan's cookbook, Blissful Bites).

    In the episode I explain the parts of the recipe you can adjust and switch, but here is the version I made in the video:

    The Best Ever Granola Bars

    Ingredients:

    • 2 c unsweetened brown rice crispy cereal
    • 2 c rolled oats
    • 1/2 c dried cranberries
    • 1/2 c unsweetened coconut shreds
    • 1/3 c slivered almonds
    • 1/2 c walnuts, chopped
    • 1/2 c pumpkin seeds
    • 1 1/2 c brown rice syrup
    • 1 c almond butter
    • 1 tsp vanilla
    • 1/2 cup chocolate chips

    Directions:

    1. Mix up the dry ingredients up to the pumpkin seeds in one bowl.
    2. Add the wet ingredients (brown rice syrup, almond butter and vanilla) to a saucepan and warm slowly until thoroughly mixed.
    3. Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix well.  Fold in the chocolate chips.
    4. Put everything in a baking casserole lined with parchment paper. Press the mixture into the casserole until evenly spread and smooth on top (It’s helpful to put a layer of parchment on top and press down with your hands, or the bottom of a glass to get an even top).
    5. After the bars have cooled and set for several hours cut and go!

    Tips:

    • Super easy, and this makes a HUGE batch - you could easily half them, but these bars also freeze really well
    • Feel free to switch up the nuts/seeds/dried fruit too – it’s great with pecans, coconut, sunflower seeds...you get the picture!
    • CAUTION: The rice syrup provides texture and allows these bars to set. Maple syrup does not work as well – the bars are much gooier, so be careful about swapping the sweetener.

    If you make these, let me know how YOU customize them to your own tastes (and of course, how you like them) :-)



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