This super easy recipe for 6 ingredient, one bowl no bake homemade muesli bars is going to be your kids new favourite snack! Perfect for lunchboxes, they only take 10 minutes to make!
When it comes to muesli bars I feel like there are 2 distinct camps. The people who make really healthy bars that involve dates and a food processor and the people who decide that it's too hard to make your own muesli bars and just buy them.
Well to start with, neither of these are bad options! There are some amazing recipes out there but I am just not a huge fan of dates in bars as I find they make them so much sweeter than sugar and Sadie doesn't particularly like them either. And if you do your research there are definitely some great options for buying bars too.
But as you know, we are all about homemade over here and if I can make it easy to make something yourself, that's the goal!
I like to call these homemade muesli bars the middle ground bar! They have a very simple list of ingredients - rolled oats, rice bubbles, coconut oil, honey, a small amount of brown sugar and salt.
They are made in one bowl and are so simple to throw together. Just melt the honey, coconut oil and brown sugar together, stir through the oats and rice bubbles and press really firmly into a tin lined with baking paper. This helps the bars hold together better when they have set.
Are they sugar free?
No, these bars are not sugar free. They have honey for sweetness as well as a small amount of brown sugar which helps hold the bars together. I have tested them with and without the sugar and I found that the 1 tablespoon of brown sugar made them much easier to press into the tin and after sitting out of the fridge for a while, helped them hold together slightly better than without it. But try both ways and choose which you prefer!
And although they do have sugar in them, they are almost certainly still better than the bars you buy from the supermarket, so I'm calling this a win!
Can I add extras?
Yes of course! You could add dessicated coconut, dried cranberries or chopped apricots or chocolate chips. I would only add about ⅓ cup of extras as otherwise they won't hold together quite so well.
I also sometimes add 2 teaspoons of chia seeds for extra nutritional value and I find they also help hold the bars together a little better too.
How do you store them?
I store these bars in the fridge as it keeps the coconut oil solid and helps the bars hold together better and keep for longer. I have kept them in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Do they hold together as well as bought bars?
No they don't. These bars are firm out of the fridge but after about 30 minutes (in summer) out of the fridge, they start to go quite soft. This isn't a problem, they still taste delicious! If you wanted them to hold together for longer, place the bars in the freezer and put a frozen bar in your kids lunchbox!
Other lunchbox ideas:
- Mini banana chocolate chip muffins
- Ham & cheese pizza rolls
- Easy slice & bake cookies (9 flavour ideas)
- Healthy banana oatmeal muffins
- No bake peanut butter chia bars
- Easy cheese scones
Your kids will love these bars - and you will feel good putting them in their lunchboxes!
SHOP THE RECIPE
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Here are some items I used to make this recipe:
Square slice tin| Measuring cups | Rubber spatula
Homemade Muesli Bars
Ingredients
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar (optional, see recipe note 1)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup rolled oats (see recipe note 2)
- 1 cup rice bubbles (see recipe note 2)
Instructions
- Line a 20cm x 20cm (8" x 8") square baking tin with baking paper.
- In a medium sized pot combine coconut oil, honey, brown sugar, vanilla and salt. Cook over a medium heat until the mixture is melted and starts to bubble, then allow to bubble for 1 or 2 minutes.
- Take the pot off the heat and stir through the rolled oats and rice bubbles along with any mix ins you are using (except chocolate chips - if adding these, allow the mixture to cool for 15 minutes before stirring through) Make sure the mixture is well combined.
- Tip into the prepared baking tin and using your hands or the back of a spoon press the mixture down very firmly - this will help the bars to stick together.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes before carefully removing from the tin and slicing into bars.
- Store in the fridge for one week.
Notes
- I have tested them with and without the sugar and I found that the 1 tablespoon of brown sugar made them much easier to press into the tin and after sitting out of the fridge for a while, helped them hold together slightly better than without it. But try both ways and choose which you prefer!
- I have tried these with a few different combinations of oats and rice bubbles - you can do all oats for extra chewy bars, 1 ½ cup oats and ½ cup rice bubbles for bars with a bit of crunch and 1 cup of each for a happy medium!
If you tried and loved this recipe, please leave a comment and a rating below!
Kati says
Great recipe, thank you! Super easy, I made with my 3yo. I added seeds and dessicated coconut for the extras, worked really well. Nice quick clean-up. Whole fam enjoyed!
Maureen says
My toddler grandson keeps stealing his mother’s muesli bars, so she asked if I’d find an alternative, since I’m on holiday this week.
I found this recipe, added some roughly chopped nuts and seeds and dropped some chocolate on top once coolish, he’s very happy. Next time I might try half honey & half maple syrup.
Also, hello fellow NZer.
Chase Danvers says
I tried the recipe but with all oats and no rice bubbles and when I cooked it, the stuff at the bottom burnt and I couldn't cook the oats all the way through. The mixture was super dry and I couldn't really see how it would become a bubbling mixture. Any tips on how to prevent that? Or should I be using the half and half split of rolled oats and rice bubbles? I'm not too good of a cook or a baker so I might be doing something wrong.
Side note:
I replaced the coconut oil with butter since I didn't have any and I also replaced around half the honey with peanut butter as I didn't want it to be too sweet.
Laura says
Hi Chase. Definitely a few things that have gone wrong for you here and it is down to the combination of adjustments you have made to the recipe. Firstly, there is no need to cook the oats - you melt the liquid ingredients and then take it off the heat and stir through the oats. Also the honey is pretty imperative to creating that bubbling mixture that will hold the muesli bars together. Subbing out some of the honey for peanut butter (and I'm going to guess that you also left out the brown sugar?) isn't going to give you that lovely bubbling mixture that will bind the oats together. This will also be the reason it burnt.
I understand that you would prefer it to be less sweet but my suggestion (particularly if you are a baker who is maybe not that confident) is always to make the recipe as directed first to see how it is supposed to turn out and then make adjustments to your taste from there!
Heidi says
First muesli bar recipe I have made that actually worked out to be delicious for everyone in the family! Easy peasy to make and minimal clean up... exactly what this busy Mum was after! I also added desiccated coconut and chopped apricots. Looking forward to making them over and over with different flavours added! Thanks for sharing!
Laura says
I'm so glad you loved them! Thanks Heidi!
Danielle says
Hi! How do I make them not so sweet? The kids found them quite sweet and a real honey taste how do I even it out abit 🙂
Thanks!
Laura says
Hi Danielle - there are a few options, it might just take some trial and error until you find what works for you! You could sub the honey for brown sugar, or sub some of the honey for peanut butter which would help them hold together but would then give a peanut butter taste to the bars, or you could use a tablespoon less honey and an extra tablespoon coconut oil. All worth a try!
Emily says
Love making these, they're a regular in the lunchbox now. I make a double batch and drizzle melted dark chocolate on top, so good 🤤
Anna says
Love making these so easy I add in some nuts and seeds hubby even likes them saves buying boxes of bars. Double the batch and freeze for convenience
Liz says
Hi Laura, Could I use vegetable oil instead of coconut oil (I don't have coconut oil)? Thanks 🙂
Laura says
Hi Lizzie, vegetable oil won't work as the coconut oil hardens when cool which helps them hold together, but you could use butter instead!
Jess says
Could these be made with brown rice syrup instead of honey?
Laura says
Hi Jess, I've never used brown rice syrup but it would be worth a try!
Kirsten says
Hi Laura,
What sort of coconut oil do you recommend.
Cold pressed - I think that’s the one that tastes like coconut or the one that’s unflavoured?
Thanks 🙂
Laura says
Hi Kirsten, I use Blue Coconut coconut oil, just the regular one from the supermarket, not the cold pressed one. I don't find this one has a flavour at all but any coconut oil you have will work fine!
Katherine says
These were really yum but unfortunately fell apart in the kids lunchboxes by morning tea time, even when they'd been in the freezer. Perfect for eating straight out of the fridge or freezer though.
Dana Gillard says
YUMMM!! Have made these a couple of times now and are a hit with the fam not to mention super easy to make and better than the bought stuff. So good! Thanks for sharing.
Vicky says
If adding Chia Seeds, do you soak the chia seeds first? Or just add them dry?
Laura says
Hi Vicky, I just add them dry 🙂
rebecca webb says
So easy and quick to make! Very tasty
Emily says
I made these last week to take to work, I didn't have rice bubbles but used my light and tasty and they came out great! Definitely will be making these again! So quick and easy to wip up!
Maria Jacobs says
How much vanilla? 🙂
Laura says
Whoops, in the method but not the ingredients list! It's an optional ingredient but I'd add 1 teaspoon!
Maria Jacobs says
Huge hit in our house. My daughter asked me this morning. Where is my muesli bar? So making again now 🙂
Hit; dont be impatient,follow directions let cool before adding choc chips
Trish says
Made these tonight using maple syrup instead of honey. Quite sweet but yum! Will definitely make them for the grandchildren! 😆
Steph says
Hi, will these freeze ok? Thanks
Laura says
Yes, absolutely!
Pia says
These were great for the kids and adults alike. We did one batch with 100’s and thousands and another topped with chocolate chips. They will be added to the rotation for sure!