Nutritious, quick and easy to make, these Healthy Breakfast Granola Bars are made of simple ingredients and have just the right amount of sweetness. Plus, they’re vegan and gluten free and can be made nut-free if you choose.
Ingredients in Healthy Breakfast Granola Bars
These breakfast granola bars are made with wholesome simple ingredients that can be easily customized.
• Mashed banana
The more ripe the bananas are, the more sweetness they will add to your granola bars.
• Pure vanilla extract
The vanilla adds a depth of flavour to your bars and a slight sweetness.
• Oats
You can use (old fashioned) rolled oats, which are large and thick in size. Or you can also choose to use quick oats, the smaller variety of oat.
• Vegan Rice Crispy Cereal
Kellog’s Rice Krispies are not vegan due to containing vitamin D3 which is always animal-derived. I used Nature’s Path Organic Crispy Rice Cereal. This line of organic cereals are great, and can be found in the health section of most large grocers. What I love most is that they clearly mark on the bag which of their cereals are vegan and which are vegetarian, so there’s no guessing!
If you can’t find this brand, any type of your favourite cereal mix will do!
• Slivered Almonds
You can substitute slivered almonds for any type of nut. If you’d like to make these bars nut-free, simply substitute with the same amount of seed such as sunflower, pumpkin etc, or dried fruit.
• Vegan Chocolate Chips
Camino Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips are a great vegan option, or PC Plant Based Mini Chocolate Chips in Semi-Sweet!
• Hemp Hearts
You can easily substitute these with more nuts, cereal or seeds.
• Cinnamon & salt
Tips for Making Healthy Breakfast Granola Bars
These Healthy Breakfast Granola Bars are not meant to be a super sweet treat. This recipe relies on the natural sweetness of ripe bananas for a touch of sweetness. The chocolate chips give an a little bit of naughtiness to them, without making them too sweet.
Since these bars are meant to be a healthy midday snack or a breakfast granola bar, the recipe is not filled with sugar. A tablespoon or two of maple syrup can be added if you want to make them sweeter. Agave syrup would also work nicely to give a bit more of a sweet taste to the bars if desired.
Substituting Ingredients
You can switch out chocolate chips, hemp hearts or nuts for the additions of your choosing. You cannot, however, replace the rolled oats or the banana in this recipe. Banana and rolled oats create the base of these healthy gluten-free and vegan granola bars.
If you want to swap out the chocolate chips, almonds or hemp hearts, just be sure to replace with an equal amount.
Some ideas for substitutions are:
• Raisins
• White Chocolate Chips
• Pumpkin seeds
• Dried cranberries
• Dried mangoes
• Dried coconut flakes
Storing Your Granola Bars
Once you’ve cooled and cut your granola bars, they should be stored in the refrigerator for up to once week in an air tight container.
You can also make a big batch for school or work meal prep, and store in the freezer for 4 to 6 weeks.
Healthy Breakfast Granola Bars
Ingredients
Healthy Breakfast Granola Bars
- 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 large)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups rolled oats or quick oats
- 1 cup vegan rice krispies (such as Nature's Path) or cereal of choice
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds
- 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup hemp hearts
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
Healthy Breakfast Granola Bars
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large rectangular baking dish (9" x 13") with parchment paper, overhanging the parchment on each side of the dish for easy removal of the bars after baking.
- In a large mixing bowl, mash the banana until big lumps are smoothed out.
- Add in the vanilla and stir.
- Puts oats into a food processor (or use a hand blender in a separate bowl) and pulse until the oats are coarsely chopped (but still have plenty of texture).
- Stir the pulsed oats into the banana mixture until fully incorporated.
- Stir the almonds, cereal of choice, chocolate chips, hemp hearts, cinnamon, and salt into the banana-oat mixture until fully combined.
- Add the mixture into the prepared dish. With slightly wet hands, smooth out until evenly flat. Press down on the mixture until compacted.
- Bake for 22 to 26 minutes, until it has become firm and lightly golden along the edges.
- Remove the granola slab (together with the parchment) from the dish and set to cool for 10 minutes.
- Once cool, slice the slab into 12 bars.
- Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for a week in an air tight container, or stored in the freezer for 4 to 6 weeks.
Looking for more healthy recipes? Try my 5 Ingredients Cocoa Cookies!
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