The tasty tortilla soup that a nearby Mexican restaurant serves is one item I’ve missed over the years of being a vegetarian. I’ve finally perfected a vegetarian dish that, if cheese is omitted from the final step, is readily vegan. It’s divine in my omnivore boyfriend’s eyes! For more protein, add black beans.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 35 mins |
| Total Time: | 50 mins |
| Servings: | 24 |
| Yield: | 24 granola bars |
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup wheat germ
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup raisins (Optional)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup honey
- 1 egg, beaten
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9×13 inch baking pan.
- In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 161 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 27 g |
| Cholesterol | 8 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 2 g |
| Saturated Fat | 1 g |
| Sodium | 79 mg |
| Sugars | 16 g |
| Fat | 6 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
These are really nice to have around for a homemade grab ‘n’ go breakfast. I think it’s worth mentioning that the recipe says to grease a 9×13 baking “pan” but it should say baking “dish” — I think that would resolve so many reviewers’ issues with bake time discrepancies and burning/overcooking issues. I used a metal pan and mine did get a little overdone on the bottom after only 28 minutes. If I make these again I will use the glass baking dish like the one they use in the video. Our 4 year old really liked it but that’s likely because kids love sugar 🙂
My boys love this recipe. We use mini chocolate chips in place of the raisins. Delicious. I usually bake at 325 for 25 mins for a softer bar.
I was skeptical at first (i have very picky eaters here) they turned out great but a bit crunchier than expected. I’ve changed the raisins for chocolate chips. I’ll definitly do this recipe again!
I’ve been making a variation of this recipe for years, and they’re always a hit! I’ve taken to replacing the flour and wheat germ with almond flour for a nutritional kick and reducing the brown sugar to half a cup. Also instead of honey I use maple syrup. When I have refined coconut oil in the house I’ll add that along with dark chocolate chips- too good!
These are delicious and easy to make. My 3 year old helped me prepare them and both she and her little brother liked them. I used wheat flour instead of wheat germ since I didn’t have that on hand, and substituted craisins for raisins. I’ll definitely be making these again!
We reduced Brown sugar to 1/2 cup. Increased Cinnamon to 1 teaspoon. Substituted dark choc. chips for raisins.
This is a perfect snack for my daycare kids.
Fantastic! I couldn’t find wheat germ at the store (had a crying baby) so bought ground flax instead and it worked great! Will definitely make again, either as is or with different add ins (I think craisins and mini white chocolate chips would be great instead of the raisins). Might try substituting some of the oil with applesauce too but all in all the original recipe is delicious!
I added a few dark chocolate chips and I recommend using less salt but overall these were toddler approved!! Delicious!
A great basic recipe! I halved the sweetener and doubled the egg (for a less crumbly texture). Also used whole wheat flour and flax seed instead of ap flour and wheat germ. You can add spices like nutmeg and cardamom, or use dried apricots or dates instead of raisins. So many possibilities!
These come out great made as is. I change it up a bit for the kids by adding dried cranberries , sliced almonds and/or mini chocolate chips at times. We are not fans of raisins so we have always omitted.
These are the best granola bars. I make them all the time. Somtimes i use raisins sometimes chocolate chips. everyone who tries them wants the recipe.
Awesome base recipe! I read through the comments and made adjustments accordingly such as reducing the brown sugar and watching for the edges of the bars to get brown by around 20 mins into the baking time. 30 mins would
Made them today, my husband, daughter and I loved them! My daughter has already asked me to make them again! Will be making these a lot.
My family and I loved it. It’s by so simple. I changed it up a little, added raspberries instead of raisins, and such. Having this step by step recipe helped and I love it.
I used half oil, half applesauce, half the sugar and half the flour and added apricots, almond slivers and coconut. Turned out perfect. They were still chewy a week later!
They turned out beautifully, so tasty. I substituted graham wafer crumbs for wheat germ as I had none. Added a cup of chocolate chips. I will be making these again!
My kids were looking forward to these granola bars, because it had so much sugar and honey. I do not serve foods with sugar, so it was being made as a treat. I followed the directions and amounts for all the ingredients. Unfortunately, these were not as good as you would think they would be. My family asked me to “just make cookies next time.” And, that is what I will do…
I wanted a granola bar I could customize to my family’s preferences, and this was perfect for that. I substituted peanut butter chips for the raisins, omitted the cinnamon, cut the oil to 1/4 cup, and added peanut butter. I may try dried apples instead of raisins next.
I make a double batch of these bars every couple of weeks and they’re gone within days. I send one batch home with the grandkids and keep one. We add different things to the bars like, slivered almonds, pumpkin seeds, shredded coconut etc. So tasty.
My son’s class held a healthy snack sale at school and these were a big hit. To make cutting easier, I fitted the pan with parchment paper, leaving extra on the sides. After baking, I let them cool for about ten minutes in the pan and then lifted the paper out and placed it on a large cutting board to cut. It worked perfectly!