Salty, crunchy and lightly sweetened, these strawberry white chocolate granola bars are easy to make and are the perfect snack for on-the-go kids or adults alike. Bake up a batch this afternoon!

I love granola.

The crispy crunch of the oats. The saltiness of the seeds and nuts. And a touch of sweet dried fruit.

The only downside to granola is that almost all of the bars or bags of granola that you can purchase at a grocery store are packed full of sugar. Even the organic granola recipes are made with several cups worth of brown sugar, maple syrup, cane sugar or honey. Not all of those sweeteners are bad but on our homestead we try to use little to no sugar or low glycemic sugars in our baking recipes.

One day while flipping through a magazine, I stumbled up an inspiring dessert recipe using strawberries and chocolate. Considering these two foods are quite pleasing to my husband’s palate, I thought I’d toss them into a granola recipe for his afternoon snack. To my delight, the strawberry granola bars received rave reviews. Even my niece and nephews gave it a big thumbs up.

Granola Recipe With Dried Fruit

In this homemade granola bar recipe, I used organic old-fashioned rolled oats, almonds and sunflower seeds. The combination gives the granola bars a slightly chewy, partly crunchy texture with a dash of salt. The oats and almonds are placed into a food processor to break them up into smaller bite size pieces. The egg whites are added in to help bind the granola bars together. I used the dried strawberries I dehydrated from last years strawberry crop but you if you don’t have any dried strawberries on hand, you can swap them out for some freeze dried strawberries or purchase them at your local grocer. To sweeten the bars, a half cup of white chocolate chips where added along with some sucanat. I prefer to use sucanat over brown sugar since it is less refined and a bit more natural. Lastly, since I am all about gut health, I threw in a couple of tablespoons of flaxseed. Flaxseed is packed full of nutrients and are very high in fiber.

Other dried fruits that pair well with white chocolate are dried blueberries, cranberries and raspberries. If you decide to swap these dried fruits for the strawberries, try to buy them without added sugar.

What is Sucanat?

Sucanat is a great sweetener for those seeking to reduce the amount of sugar in their diet. It is not on the low glycemic index but it is minimally processed compared to granulated cane sugar and brown sugar. Because it is processed less, it retains more vitamins and minerals. Sucanat has a deep molasses flavor and tends have coarse granules. It can be baked with as is but I prefer to grind it up in my blender or spice grinder to ensure it blends smoothly into my baked goods. If you’d prefer to substitute sucanat for another type of sweetener, you can swap 1/2 cup granulated or brown sugar or 3/4 cup coconut sugar.

How to Store Granola Bars

As with most things, granola stays freshest when kept in an air tight container. I often store our homemade granola bars into a Tupperware container on our kitchen counter. Another option could be placing the bars upright in a sealed mason jar or inside a reusable silicone bag.

How Long Does Granola Last?

The bars should be eaten within a week to 10 days. They will not be inedible by then but the longer they sit, the softer and less crunchy they will be.

Homemade Granola Bar Recipe With Low Sugar

Makes: 16 bars

Low Sugar Granola Ingredients

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, divided
1/2 almonds
1/2 cup sucanat
3 egg whites
1/3 oil
1 Tbs vanilla
1/4 salt
2 Tbs ground flaxseed
1/2 cup dried strawberries or freeze dried strawberries, roughly chopped
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Homemade Granola Instructions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 baking pan with an aluminum foil sling. Lightly spray the foil with baking spray or vegetable oil.

In a food processor, process 1/2 cup of rolled oats until finely ground. Pour oats into a large mixing bowl. Add the almonds into the empty food processor and pulse about 8-10 times to roughly chop the almonds. Add almonds to the same bowl as the ground oats. Now add the white chocolate chips to the food processor. Pulse 8-10 times to chop the chips into smaller pieces. Place the chocolate in with the oats and almonds.

In the large mixing bowl with the ground oats, almonds and chocolate, add the remaining 1/2 cups whole oats, ground flaxseed, dried strawberries and sunflower seeds. Stir to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the sucanat, oil, egg whites, salt and vanilla. Pour mixture over the oats and stir until well combined. Transfer granola to baking pan and spread into a flat,  even layer. 

Bake bars for 40 minutes or until light brown. Remove pan from oven and allow bars to cool for 15 minutes. Do not turn the oven off.

Pull the foil sling out of the pan and cut granola to form 16 bars. Line a baking sheet with a fresh piece of foil, lightly greased with cooking spray.  Evenly space bars on the sheet and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes or until deep brown.

Remove granola bars from oven and allow to cool for 1 hour before eating. Serve and enjoy! Store remaining bars in an airtight container.

Looking for other healthy snack ideas? Try these berry gummies, beef jerky and strawberry applesauce.

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