Highly moist recipe. Very convenient for breakfast on the run! If you cover them in cream cheese, they’ll be even tastier.
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 20 mins |
| Additional Time: | 45 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 15 mins |
| Servings: | 24 |
| Yield: | 24 bars |
Ingredients
- 2 cups quick-cooking oats
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- ½ cup hulled pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup slivered almonds
- 1 cup mixed nuts
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 13×9-inch pan with lightly-greased parchment paper; an inch or so of parchment paper should stick up on 2 sides to form lifting handles.
- Mix the quick-cooking oats, old-fashioned oats, pumpkin seeds, almonds, mixed nuts, cranberries, and sweetened condensed milk together in a bowl; spread into the prepared pan, evenly pressing into the corners and out to the sides.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the edges are golden brown, 20-25 minutes, using slightly less time for chewier bars and slightly more time for crunchier bars.
- Allow the the bars cool for 5 minutes in the pan before using the parchment paper to lift them from the pan. Use a sharp knife to cut into bars. Let the bars cool completely and store in an airtight container.
- It’s easy to press the oat mixture into the pan using wet hands or a wet spatula. The water keeps the oat mixture from sticking to you or your utensil.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 169 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 22 g |
| Cholesterol | 6 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 5 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Sodium | 60 mg |
| Sugars | 13 g |
| Fat | 8 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Followed this recipe exactly except only had old-fashioned oats on hand. Worried they would be too dry as some other reviews noted, so added 3 Tbs of oat milk for extra moisture. You could use any kind of milk. Baked for 19 minutes, and they turned out lightly browned, chewy, sticky, and perfectly delicious! Will be saving and using this recipe again.
I did not care for the recipe at all, and neither did my kids. I had such high hopes for this, especially with as simple as it was to put together – I really wanted to love it. I followed the recipe and the directions but we couldn’t get past the first couple of bites. The worst part was how raw the oats tasted after baking. If I made these again, I would toast the oats first and probably add in some more flavor, but it is not worth the effort to me to try and figure it out. This won’t be a recipe I’ll be making again.
Didn’t stick together enough to cut into bars so I put it back into a warm oven to dry out to use as an addition to cereal.
Awesome! Doubled the recipe to fit my pan. Made it with mixed nuts and added 1 cup chocolate chip mind’s and cranberries. It didn’t last two days for myself and my two kids! Going to improvise more on next batch.
very easy and tasty. love the idea of very few added sugars. can’t wait to tweak with different dried fruits
I made these Vegan by substituting 1 1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk blended with 1/2 cup refined coconut oil for the condensed milk. I added 1 T molasses, 2 T brown sugar and 1 tsp vanilla to the milk to sweeten. I used all old-fashioned oats. I subbed sunflower seeds for the almonds and mixed dried fruits, golden raisins and frozen blueberries for the cranberries. I also added 1/4 C applesauce. I dusted with Turbinado (raw sugar) on top before baking for a little sweet crunch. At first I thought they weren’t sweet enough but after they chilled they were mildly sweet and perfect for a healthy snack. And yes, totally addicting! A good solid recipe for using what you have on hand.
This recipe is fantastic. I followed the directions and did not change any ingredients. These bars will save me a significant amount of money, while providing a healthy snack. I love this recipe!
Love this recipe. It’s so easy to make and very tasty
A very versatile recipe, perfect for accommodating extra ingredients. I used it as a base and added 1 tsp cinnamon, 1tsp nutmeg, a generous tablespoon of natural peanut butter, flaked unsweetened coconut, sesame seeds, and chocolate chips. I also used entirely rolled (old fashioned) oats, no quick oats. They turned out delicious. Keep an eye on them in the oven though, if you have an apartment sized (and hot) oven like mine, the edges browned to perfection in 18 minutes. Once cooled they were firm yet chewy. If you want more of a crunchy bar, let them cook for longer. Would definitely make again!
Whatever I have in the cupboard works well in these granola bars; I have used pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds, added some flaxseed, choc chips, and whatever mix of nuts is available. Delicious every time!
I liked this recipe a lot and I will make it again.The only trouble that I had was in cutting them. I laid down to take a nap and when I got up, I cut them, but they fell a bit apart. Not sure why? Maybe more of the sweetened condensed milk is needed to keep them together? I added cut up dark chocolate to mine. Will definitely try again!
I followed the recipe featured in dec/Jan 2019 issue of allrecipes magazine. As suggested in a sidebar, I used coconut milk and honey in place of sweetened condensed milk. At no point did this mixture become a bar. I increased the cooking time which did not help and it ended up being soggy with softened nuts. It was an expensive failure.
There are no words to describe how freakin’ delicious these are!!! My entire family devoured them. The only change up was that I added chocolate chips on top prior to baking. I also baked them exactly 20 minutes as to not burn; they came out golden brown. Will definitely make again and again and again. Enjoy!
Hard to cut after 5 minutes. Cut into rows. Let cool. Then cut into squares, used 3 cups old fashioned oats following recipe in the magazine
Great recipe. I did make some changes, but only to suit the taste preferences of my family not because there was anything lacking with this recipe. I used 2 cups of peanuts instead of seeds. I also added 2 cups of chocolate chips instead of cranberries. (These bars are VERY chocolatey.) Cooking times and temp were perfect with this recipe. It’s a good, simple base to use and add what you and your family likes. Also, I used a pizza cutter to cut the slab of granola into bars. It worked better than using a knife. 🙂
So easy to make, these high protein bars are delicious and nutritious, without added preservatives, colors or flavors. I put some in the freezer, not just to preserve them in good condition, but to stop them being eaten too quickly. They are so popular!
As someone else did, I added cinnamon, brown sugar and honey. When your fitness crazed finicky teenager gives you a thumbs up, you know it’s good. Just bought a bunch of supplies to make more. First batch lasted a week. Definitely make again.
Add peanut butter and cinnamon!
Oh these are soooo great!
What an easy, fun recipe! It was also a great way to clean out some odds and ends in my pantry! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
I liked the taste of these, but they did not hold together very well for me. Maybe because I used low-fat sweetened condensed milk?