Homemade Granola Bar Recipe for Hikers

In this video I've tried to follow a recipe for a highly nutritious and calorie rich granola bar to bring on long hikes. My ultimate goal for the hike across the country is to carry the lightest, smallest food load, but consume the highest amount of calories possible from food with a good fat, to carb to protein ratio. This granola bar recipe definitely fits those criteria, and it is delicious!

I've reprinted the recipe below. I found it on a blog called joyfulabode.com. In the chart above you'll see I've calculated (roughly) the calorie values as well as the fat, carb and protein content for each 85g bar (keep in mind that most granola bars sold in stores are about half that weight). With the recipe below, you can make ten 85 gram bars.

As you can see in the chart above, each 85 gram bar is extremely calorie rich, contains plenty of carbs, a healthy amount of fat, and a high protein content to rebuild exhausted muscles. Awesome! And they only cost $1.35 each to make!

Here is the recipe:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Gather your ingredients:

• 2 cups oats
• 3/4 cup wheat germ
• 3/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup peanuts, crushed
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• approximately 8 oz. dried fruit

To crush your peanuts, put them in a plastic bag and smash them with a heavy mallet, measuring cup, or sauce pan.

Then, mix the peanuts, oats, wheat germ, and sunflower seeds in a baking dish with sides. Toast them in the oven for 10-12 minutes, stirring every few minutes so that they don’t get burned.

Meanwhile, prepare a glass baking dish (about 11 x 13 inches) for your granola by lining it with waxed paper lightly sprayed with a nonstick spray.
Put the brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, and salt into a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. (I forgot to take a picture of this step, but it looks so pretty!)
By now, your grains and nuts should be toasted, so mix everything together in a large bowl. The grains, the liquid “glue,” and the dried fruit. Oh, and turn off your oven, because you’re finished with it now.



Mix everything REALLY WELL because you want to make sure the “glue” gets all over everything. Now, dump your granola mixture into your prepared baking dish.

Spread out the mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula.

Now fold over the sides of the waxed paper or add a sheet on top, and PRESS HARD all over the granola. You want to compact it together so that your bars won’t fall apart when you cut them.

Wait 2-3 hours or until the granola has totally cooled.
Then, open the waxed paper …


And carefully turn the granola onto a large cutting board, peeling away the rest of the paper.


Now, firmly pressing down with a big knife (not sawing), cut your granola into whatever size bars you’d like.

Enjoy!