Almond-Apricot Granola Bars

By Mark Bittman

Updated December 6, 2022

  • Evan Sung for The New York Times
Media 1 of 2
Total Time
1½ hours
Rating
5(262)
Comments
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Many granola bars are assumed to be healthy, but aren’t. These are. A combination of granola, almonds, apricots and crisp brown rice, the recipe is wide open to interpretation as long as you keep the ratio of glue (the almond butter and honey mixture) to granola and mix-ins about the same. Mix everything together, press it into an oiled dish lined with plastic wrap, and throw it all in the fridge for an hour. These bars are more chewy than crunchy, and will fit well into a child’s lunch bag or a grown-up’s breakfast plate.

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Ingredients

Yield:about 16 to 20 granola bars

  • ½ cup almond butter or other nut butter

  • ½ cup honey

  • 1 cup crispy brown rice cereal

  • 1 cup granola

  • ½ cup almonds, chopped

  • ½ cup dried apricots, chopped

  • ¼ teaspoon salt

  • Vegetable oil for greasing

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

15 grams carbs; 14 milligrams cholesterol; 146 calories; 4 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 9 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 36 milligrams sodium; 2 grams protein; 11 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Put almond butter and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until they melt together; whisk to combine.

  2. Step 2

    Put the crispy cereal, granola, almonds, apricots and salt in a bowl and add the mixture of almond butter and honey; stir well to combine.

  3. Step 3

    Grease a 7- or 8-inch-square baking dish with a little oil and line it with plastic wrap. Spread the granola mixture evenly into the dish, pressing down gently, and cover with more plastic wrap; refrigerate until set, at least one hour. Once set, remove by lifting the edges of the plastic wrap out of the dish; peel off the plastic and cut the bars to any size you like.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
262 user ratings
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Comments

Chantelle

Why oil the pan and then put plastic wrap on top?

rhosa

Made these and put them into 20 silicone mini-muffin molds. Call them “Bittman balls.” Will add more fiber and protein next time. Bittman Balls are a keeper.

Lisa

add dried cranberries and sunflower seeds

swap out honey for maple syrup

Jake

How is nobody talking about how this recipe for granola bars calls for “granola”? Our guy Mark did mean oats, right? And if so, old-fashioned rolled?

lindsay

For those saying these fell apart…you have to keep them refrigerated. I also just noticed after making these at least 6 times that one of the ingredients is granola. I was using rolled oats toasted for 10 mins with whatever nuts I’m using. I’ll continue doing so as I like them this way. And probably healthier than using store bought granola

s.martiny

So versatile and fun to make! Any combination of your favorite granola ish ingredients will be good. Stir everything into the same pot you melted the wet ingredients in, dump onto baking paper and top with more paper, then have at it with a rolling pin. Trim the edges with a sharp knife to taste test your composition while it sets up. One pot, one spoon, one knife.

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