Adapted from my chewy muesli bars, this is a recipe for crunchy muesli bars that stay crunchy for over 3 weeks! I munch on these as a sweet-treat fix, yet they’re healthy enough for breakfast because they’re sugar-free. Endlessly customisable!
In pursuit of crunchy muesli bars
Chewy muesli bars are so easy to make. They don’t even need to be baked!
Crunchy muesli bars, however, were irritatingly difficult to crack. At least, without using sugar. Wildly popular crunchy muesli bars from my school playground days (mysteriously difficult to find these days – if at all?) had a frightening amount of sugar in them for something marketed as “healthy”.
While I am not one to shy away from sugar in my baking, I just always feel that some things should be a little more wholesome. Muesli bars being one such thing!
Cracking the crunchy muesli bar code
In a nutshell – if you bake a basic muesli bar recipe, it will come out crunchy but doesn’t stay that way for very long. Sometimes a few hours, or the day at best. The next day they are chewy/sticky/sweaty.
For stay-crunchy muesli bars, I found I had to do a double-bake situation:
toast the oats and nuts
mix with glue (peanut butter and honey)
press in pan, chill to firm
cut, then bake.
Lots of iterations of the above were tried in pursuit of this final recipe! I hope you love and munch on these crunchy muesli bars for many years to come. 🙂
Ingredients in crunchy muesli bars
Excellent recipe to cater to nut allergies! Just use 2 3/4 cups of “anything you want” though I’d use at least 3/4 cup of oats (my recipe uses 1 1/2 cups) for muesli-bar density. Any less and you will start moving into nut-bar territory (chunkier) and the glue (peanut butter + honey) may be insufficient to hold the bar together.
Express pass: Just use 2 3/4 cups of your favourite muesli mix!
Natural peanut butter – This recipe calls for natural peanut butter which is just pure peanuts without sugar and salt added. It’s runnier than commercial peanut butter spread (Bega/Kraft, Skippy, Jif) so it’s easier to mix through. I fear if you try this with commercial peanut butter spread, you will be cursing me with a thick doughy mixture! (Also, pure peanut butter is healthier – no palm oil, no sugar etc).
I use smooth but crunchy is fine too.
Non-peanut alternatives – Hazelnut, almond and cashew butter work great! While tahini would be an option I think the sesame flavour would dominate a little too much.
Honey – The sweetener for the glue and also what makes the muesli bar crunchy once baked. Maple syrup also works but they are not quite as crunchy and don’t hold together quite as well. But a good alternative.
Rolled oats – Just plain rolled oats, like we use for recipes like oatmeal cookies and Anzac biscuits. Not quick oats, not a ready-made porridge mix, not steel cut oats.
Almonds – I like chunky bits of almonds in my muesli bars. It’s best to give them a rough chop else you end up with giant pieces of almonds throughout which can make it more difficult to get clean cuts.
Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) – These always make an appearance in my muesli bars for a nice splash of green colour.
Sultanas – My nostalgic dried fruit of choice, though you can absolutely substitute with anything you want.
Cinnamon – For flavour. Pumpkin spice mix is also lovely, as is a dab of vanilla extract (mix into the glue). Other spices I like to dabble with include: all spice, mixed spice and ginger.
Salt – Don’t skip this! Just a touch makes a difference. It does not make it salty.
Mini chocolate chips (optional) – The choc chips in store bought choc chip muesli bars are mini ones which are smaller than regular choc chips used in cookies. Mini ones are about 5mm / 0.2″ wide. I found them at my local Scoop Wholefoods (one of those places where you help yourself and pay by weight) but since deciding to publish this recipe, they have become strangely hard to find! So don’t fret if you can’t find them, just use regular ones.
Alternative – Chocolate drizzle across the top. Do this after baking! I just pop a small handful of chocolate chips or chocolate melts in a small ziplock bag. Microwave until melted, snip the corner off then drizzle across the muesli bars.
How to make crunchy muesli bars
The order of the steps matter for long-lasting crunchiness!!! And cutting the muesli bars before baking to lock in crunchiness is key. 🙂
Toast the oats and nuts in the oven for just 10 minutes. Drying out the oats a bit is a crunchiness insurance step, and toasting the nuts brings out the flavour.
Muesli glue – Warm the peanut butter and honey in the microwave (just 30 seconds) then give it a good mix to combine. The mixture is thinner when it’s warm which makes it easier to mix through.
Mix – Put the warm oats/nuts into a heatproof bowl and add everything else: dried fruit, cinnamon powder and salt. Pour over the warm glue then mix until thoroughly combined. It might seem like there’s not enough glue, but there is! Persist, use a cutting motion if needed. If it gets too hard to mix, microwave the bowl for 20 seconds which will loosen the mixture up and make it easier to mix.
Press – Put a sheet of paper over a 20 cm / 8″ square pan (no need to grease and create more washing up for yourself). Then press the mixture evenly into the pan. Hands is easiest, I find.
Optional choc chips
Cool then press – If you are topping your muesli bars with choc chips, let the mixture cool a bit first else the choc chips will melt! Then sprinkle across the surface and press in by covering with another sheet of paper (to prevent melting on contact with your hands).
Choc chips – post press!
Fridge – Put the pan in the fridge for 1 hour or until it is firm enough to lift the whole slab out without it sagging. At this stage, these are chewy muesli bars so you can eat them as is. But if you are in pursuit of crunchy, plough on!
Cut into 10 bars.
Bake for 25 minutes in a moderate oven (160°C/325°F (140°C fan-forced) until they are quite golden. You need to be brave here because pale = not as crunchy as they could be, but burnt = bitter! Check at 22 minutes to be cautious.
Cool for crunch! You will be able to feel that the muesli bars are crunchy but touching them. But don’t try to move or pick them up until they are fully cool so they will set and harden.
Storing crunchy muesli bars
Once fully cool, store them in an airtight container to preserve crunch. In “normal” weather, they will stay crunchy for up to 5 days just keeping them in the pantry. This also means you can pop them in a lunchbox and they’ll stay crunchy!
But to prolong the crunchy-life of these muesli bars and most especially in hot, humid weather (ie Sydney right now!), store the muesli bars in the fridge. This keeps them crunchy for well over a fortnight. I’m up to three weeks and they are still fine!
And actually, in warm weather, munching on cool muesli bars straight out of the fridge is actually very appealing.
Hope you enjoy! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Crunchy muesli bars (granola bars)
Ingredients
The glue:
- 1/4 cup honey (Note 1)
- 1/4 cup natural peanut butter, smooth (or crunchy!) (Note 2)
Muesli bars (Note 3):
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats* (not steel cut)
- 1/2 cup almonds* , roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup pepitas* (pumpkin seeds)
- 1/2 cup sultanas*
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon powder (or other, like pumpkin spice)
- 1/4 tsp cooking / kosher salt
- 2 tbsp small chocolate chips or 3 tbsp regular dark choc chips, optional (Note 4)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F (140°C fan-forced). Place a sheet of baking paper over a 20 cm / 8" square tin with overhang so it's easy to lift out later (no greasing needed).
- Toast: Spread the oats, chopped almonds and pepitas on a tray. Bake for 10 minutes. Tip into a heatproof bowl. (Note 5) Add the sultanas, cinnamon and salt.
- Muesli mixture: Microwave the honey and peanut butter in a heatproof jug for 30 seconds on high. Mix to combine. (Note 6) Pour over the oat mixture and mix through. It might seem like it won't mix in, but persist, it will! Use a cutting motion if needed. Last resort – Note 7
- Press: Tip the muesli mixture into the pan then press firmly into the pan. Once cooled, scatter the choc chips across surface (if using). Cover with a sheet of paper then press down firmly with your hands to push the choc chips in.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm enough to lift out without bending.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F (140°C fan-forced).
- Cut: Use the paper overhang to lift the muesli slab onto a cutting board. Cut in half, then each into 5 (10 bars). Transfer onto a tray using the paper, then space the muesli bars out.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until quite golden on the surface and golden brown on the edges but not burnt.
- Cool & crunchy: Remove from the oven and cool on the tray – it will become crunchy! Store in an airtight container once cooled, in the fridge if it's warm where you are. It will still be crunchy 3 weeks later!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Early morning at his second favourite place on earth – Bayview dog beach. (I like to think his first favourite is wherever I am!)
So yummy!! Definitely the best muesli bars I’ve ever had. There really were super crunchy (and remained crunchy), and the perfect level of sweetness. I love that they are made with such nutritious ingredients as well. It reminds me of snacking on granola but in the form of one, compact bar instead!
Fantastic recipe and you don’t even need to cook it cause I missed that part lol. Still crunchy and delicious. 🙂
I’m trying it cooked next!
I made these delightful muesli bars in two stages yesterday. I did the mix with peanut butter and honey bit and had it in the fridge while at work. Baked when I got home. Absolutely perfect 🥰
This formula of PB + honey + oats + mix-ins is genius. Nagi. your brain is so big. I used pecans, currants, and coconut flakes bc that’s what I had in my pantry and they turned out so delish.
Tip: in this super humid weather I could have left them in the fridge longer or even given them a short stint in the freezer. I also wouldn’t mess with them at all when they come out of the oven, they will firm up and get crispy as they cool – have patience!
I just love crunchy things. I made your muesli bars and I was not disappointed. They are super crunchy and lovely taste. They went in two days as hubby loved them 🙁
Hello Nagi – thank you for another fabulous recipe! If you were measuring the ingredients by metric weight rather than cups, would it be 290 g of “stuff”? Hope Dozer is doing well 🙂
There is a cups / metric toggle on the receipe that lets you view both sizes 🙂
I can hardly believe that I now have a recipe that makes actual proper crunchy granola bars ! I used sunflower and pumpkin seeds and added some maple syrup instead of all honey. They held together perfectly and are delicious !! Thank you for your wonderful research !
These are incredible. And actually crunchy. Thanks so much, Nagi!
They looked pretty firm going into the oven, but when I took them out, some parts of some bars had crumbled during the baking. Was wondering if you had heard of this. Thought everything was well mixed, but maybe that’s where I went wrong. Perhaps some pockets were still lacking honey peanut butter glue.
Hi Jim
I made the same mistake – tried moving one around as soon as I’d taken them out of the oven, but then remembered the instructions that they would solidify when they cooled. So I left them and it worked.
Let them cool! They will solidify 🙂 N x
Instead of honey for the glue I use Brown Rice Syrup which is not as sweet as honey.
Could it be possible to replace the pepitas (or pumpkin seeds as they’re called here in the UK – I had to look up the word up as I’ve never heard of pepitas!) with pistachio nuts. Thanks.
PS am envying your hot weather… Here in the UK it’s cold, with snow forecasted!
The green pepitas are sold as Pumpkin seeds but are the seeds of the pepita squash and frown in the America’s. Seeds of the pumpkins we know are inedible and don’t be conned into “just roasting “ them unless you are a parrot who can break that husk
I always roast my Qld Blue and Butternut pumpkin seeds. My family devour them
Thanks . I will try again with butternut seeds.
Hi Marie! Thanks for the reminder, I updated to mention pumpkin seeds 🙂 Absolutely use pistachios, YUM!
As always Nagi you are pure magic – I so thank you.
I adore Dozer & all that you include. I do firmly believe that he is the most fortunate 4 legged ever to have you. And yep, a superstar also in his own right. I look forward to your emails & outstandingly friendly recipes!!!. I genuinely thank you & Dozer. Regards & accolades Di
Hi Nagi and Team
Is there a alway to make these nut free for school lunches?
You can buy but free butters from Woolworths and sub almonds for sunflower seeds or similar
Have been waiting for this Tx Nagi……..MMMM mmm Im drooling at the photos I have been buying CARMENS crunchy muesli bars for years and they are yummy BUT getting SMALLER and DEARER Sooo hoping this cut it Will try this weekend. …….. Is natural crunchy PB ok or would you suggest smooth????
Crunchy or chewy muesli bars. Ill eat either. 🤓. Ive made ypur chewy version.
Thanks for crunchy option. !!
Of course being by your side is Dozer’s fave place 🐾🧡
Hugs for Dozer. Wish I could swim w you 🥽Enjoy the rest of your summer
Anyone know how to make chewy bars without too much sugar? Hubby just diagnosed with type two diabetes
Hi Jane,
If you want to buy ‘honey’ for diabetics use the keto products. I sub them in every recipe that uses sugar, honey, maple etc.
Thanks everyone for your replies. Appreciate your help
Does that mean he can’t have natural sugar in dried fruit, honey etc? If so, you could use only oats and nuts, no dried fruit. Will that cut the sugar down enough for him?
Thank for the reply Nagi, hubby can’t have too much dried fruit, honey or coconut sugar is an option if used in moderation.but I haven’t a recipe for a chewy muesli bar as most contain lots of sugar
Jane you need help from his doctor or a dietician who has seen his blood results and knows what medication he takes. Advice from anyone else is useless and possibly harmful
Hi Jane, I make these all the time and they’re delicious! I use natural peanut butter. They really do have to be stored in the fridge though because that’s what keeps them solid, yet chewy.
https://www.loveandlemons.com/peanut-butter-crispy-treats/
I am going to try Nagi’s recipe for the crunchy ones, too!
Jane, try substituting sugar with erythritol, monkfruit or xylitol. I frequently successfully swap these for the sugar in some recipes.
Hi Lizzy thank for getting back to me with suggestions.. I find the natural artificial sweeteners have a strange taste. Also they are expensive for cooking(we’re pensioners🥴)
Jane (and everyone else), please be aware that xylitol, aka birch sugar, is highly poisonous for dogs. If you have dogs, keep it out of the house!
Thanks Dorothy, I had heard that but it had certainly slipped my mind. I really don’t like these natural yet unnatural sweetners
Hi Nagi, love your work. Can I incorporate Whey(after making yogurt) into this? or any other recipe? Thanks
Bread. It makes wonderful bread.
Oh good idea!! I like it! I wonder if that would work?
Oops sorry! This was supposed to be a reply to someone. I guess I did something wrong! Oh well. Nevertheless, I’m definitely going to try this recipe!
Hey Nagi – (LOVE YOU and all that you do…) my son has peanut allergies and few other nuts – can I substitute almond butter for peanut butter – or maybe Sunbuttter or Pepita butter? Thanks!
Personally I’m a ‘softer’ muesli bar fan but will try these for a change. Watch out teeth 🦷💗