Put down those supermarket bars packed with cheap fillers and preservatives and whip up these super easy, super nutritious and super delicious Granola Crunch Bars instead. These gluten and dairy free granola bars are packed with a scrumptious combination of quinoa, coconut and nuts for a nutrient dense bar that is high protein, high fibre and paleo. To make them vegan simply swap the honey for maple syrup.
The perfect granola bar must not only have the perfect taste but it must also have the perfect texture. When I was a kid I always opted for crunchy bars over chewy ones so when developing this recipe achieving the right amount of crunchiness was critical. The secret? Simmer your honey and oil mixture until foamy to create a perfect glue that hardens upon cooling and binds the bars together beautifully. If you don’t simmer the honey long enough the bars will not be crunchy so don’t skip this critical step.
- 1 cup quinoa flakes
- 1 cup coconut chips
- 1 cup chopped nuts of your choice
- 1½ tsp cinnamon
- Pinch of sea salt flakes
- ½ cup honey
- 2 tbs coconut oil
- 50g melted chocolate of your choice to drizzle (optional)
- Preheat oven to 180C. Line a baking tin with baking paper so you can easily lift your slab out once cooked.
- Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Melt honey and coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. This step is very important as the hot syrup will form the glue for the bars. Tip dry ingredients into saucepan and combine.
- Press mixture firmly into baking tin. Bake for 15 min or until golden brown.
- Cool in tray for 10 min then lift slab out of tin from the baking paper. Cut into 12 bars while warm before slab hardens. Cool.
- Drizzle optional melted chocolate on top.
- Preheat oven to 180C. Line a baking tin with baking paper so you can easily lift your slab out once cooked.
- Add nuts to bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 4. Add dry ingredients and mix 3 sec/speed 4/reverse mode.
- Melt honey and coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. This step is very important as the hot syrup will form the glue for the bars. Add syrup to Thermomix and combine 5 sec/speed 4/reverse mode.
- Press mixture firmly into baking tin. Bake for 15 min or until golden brown.
- Cool in tray for 10 min then lift slab out of tin from the baking paper. Cut into 12 bars while warm before slab hardens. Cool.
- Drizzle optional melted chocolate on top.
The melted chocolate looks gorgeous – takes these muesli bars to the next level! Would happily much on these at uni – might have to give them a go sometime. Gorgeous photos too!
Thanks Claudia. Good luck surviving those uni lectures, I would always snack my way through. Feels like 100 years ago!
I just made these, and they are all crumbly and turned out more like granola than a bar. I’m not sure what I did wrong. They look so good in the pictures, though.
Hi Caroline
Thanks for your email.
It sounds like you didn’t simmer your honey mixture for long enough. If you don’t simmer it properly it doesn’t form a proper glue.
I would try simmering for an additional couple of minutes and pressing very firmly into the tin to ensure mixture is very compact prior to baking.
I just made these and like Caroline, they turned out more like granola than a bar. I read your response before making them and made sure I simmered it for more time. I used maple syrup though instead of honey. Could that be where I went wrong? It tasted great though and my son loved it but I’d prefer a bar for snacks and school vs granola. What else can you suggest to help bind it?
Kat I would try it again with honey.
Honey is thicker so it does tend to form a stronger glue. Remember to simmer for a few minutes, that is how I made my bars. I know it can be frustrating when the glue does not form this has happened to me on occasions when I have rushed trust me!
Perfect and delicious!
Hi Helen. Your bars look absolutely scrumptious. I too am about to attempt these since I’ve been after a recipe that gives me crunchy bars without having to use rice crispies. If possible can you give us the temperature of the syrup maybe so we know how far to take it at the simmer. Thankyou so much.
Henna it looks like you figured it out based on your Instagram post about 160C should do it.