Copycat Crunchy Oats and Honey Granola Bars

You know them. You love them. They’ve been gracing grocery store shelves, lunch boxes, and office desks alike for decades now. Yes, I’m referring to these Copycat Nature Valley Oats and Honey granola bars. I think I went for a multi-year-long stretch where I enjoyed one almost every day.

If I had a dollar for every one of those shiny green-packaged bars that I wolfed down in high school and college (and during pregnancy, for that matter) I could practically afford to launch my own granola line. But these unbelievably good Homemade Crunchy Oats and Honey Granola Bars are a next-level sort of thing …

The BEST Homemade Copycat Oats and Honey Granola Bars Recipe

Today’s recipe is a dead-ringer dupe for the classic Nature Valley oats and honey granola bars, complete with the requisite shattering crunch and flaky, whole grain goodness. I’ve been hooked on making them myself for the past couple of years. Loaded with oats, honey, vanilla, and a pinch of cinnamon, these homemade oats and honey granola bars are like fresher, more flavorful versions of the store-bought kind and with zero refined sugar (if you opt for coconut sugar). That’s a pretty lovable list of attributes, me thinks.

They take no more than 10 minutes to whip up and send into the oven and couldn’t be simpler. Make these babies once and I suspect that, like me, you’ll begin bypassing the boxed store shelf variety and opt in favor of the homemade version. Those lunch boxes and office desks (and everything in between) will thank you for it.

Tips for Granola Bar Domination

Cornmeal for the win.

To create that addictive crunch that we’re looking for here, as opposed to a more chewy granola bar, we’ll add a pinch of cornmeal to the mix – which might cause you raise your eyebrows in surprised-face mode for a sec.

Cornmeal you say? What the heck, Lauren?

But yes. The cornmeal bulks up the mix here, and assists in creating the final crunchy, toasty texture that we’re trying to achieve as well as that fetching golden-hued glow. I, for one, love the addition of a surprise pinch-hitting ingredient, especially when it’s something that you should already have in your basic essentials pantry. That, my friends, is a win in my book. Or, on my blog, I suppose.

Make a Parchment “Sling”

In so many of the bars recipes I’ve shared over the years, I direct you to create a “sling” made from parchment paper. All this really means is that you’re lining your baking pan with an excess/overhanging piece of parchment paper so you have convenient handles to grab for easy removal.

To do this, simply use a larger piece of parchment paper, allowing the piece to extend past the sides of your baking pan. You just need enough so you can grab it when you need to. This is actually easier than having to like, measure and draw or guesstimate where to cut a perfectly fitting piece of parchment paper as one would with say, a cake pan. No, this is granola, y’all. And it’s real laid back like …

Find the Sweet Spot

When it comes to cutting these bad boys, it’s not hard, it just takes getting the timing right. You want the bars to cool some, so they can firm up a bit. But you don’t want them to cool all the way down to room temperature before you cut them, because cutting hard-as-can-be bars is no bueno. We don’t want that.

There is, in fact, a sweet spot in the middle, when the bars have cooled enough for safe and easy handling (after about 8 to 10 minutes) and before they’re hard and set. This is when you want to grab your big knife and hack them into beautiful bars.

Enjoy these homemade Copycat Nature’s Valley granola bars, y’all.

What you’ll need:

3 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1 cup cornmeal

½ tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

½ cup honey, plus extra for drizzling

½ cup coconut oil

2 TBSP coconut sugar or brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

How to make these Copycat Homemade Oats and Honey Granola Bars

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9” x 13” baking dish with parchment paper or foil and spray liberally with a non-stick spray. Be sure to leave some of the parchment/foil hanging over the edges of the pan for easy grabbing when you want to remove the bars (this is our “sling.”)
2. In a large bowl, combine the oats, cornmeal, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon; stir to mix very well. In a separate, smaller bowl, combine the coconut oil and honey and microwave until the oil is totally melted; about 30 seconds or so. Add the sugar and vanilla and stir to combine everything.
3. Pour the honey mixture into the oats mixture and stir until everything is coated and well mixed. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Spray the bottom of your measuring cup with more non-stick spray and use it to press down on the surface of the granola bar mixture – this will help pack it all in and create the crunchy bars we’re looking for (you can also use a glass for this – whatever works).
4. Bake for 15 minutes and then remove from the oven. Drizzle the granola bar mixture with more honey, evenly over the whole surface area (about 1 TBSP) and then bake for about 6 to 8 more minutes, or just until you get a nice golden brown color.
5. Cool for 10 minutes and then cut into bars (I do this right in the pan). If you wait much longer than that, the bars will harden to the point where cutting will become pretty difficult. Let them cool completely after cutting, before you store them/eat them.

If you like the looks of these Homemade Copycat Oats and Honey Granola Bars, you might also enjoy:

Healthy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bars

Homemade Berry Nutri Grain Bars

Here is a ready-made pin for these Copycat Nature Valley Oats and Honey Granola Bar dupes! Simply save it to your “breakfast” or “healthy snacks” boards and you’ll be all set when the craving strikes!

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