Homemade cereal bars

Shop-bought cereal bars are often very sugary: here is the homemade version, healthy and far cheaper. Oats, dried fruit and nuts bound with peanut butter and honey, with little or no cooking. The perfect snack to slip into a gym bag or school bag.

Preparation: 15 min  |  Cooking: 0 min  |  Servings: 12  |  Difficulty: Very easy

Calculated per serving from Anses Ciqual 2025 values for each ingredient, based on the quantities in the list. Household measures (spoonfuls, pieces) use average weights. 170 kcal · 6 g protein · 20 g carbohydrate · 7 g fat

Ingredients

• 200 g rolled oats
• 4 tbsp peanut butter
• 4 tbsp honey
• 50 g raisins
• 50 g almonds
• 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds

Method

1. Warm the peanut butter and honey gently to make them runny.
2. Mix them with the oats, dried fruit, roughly chopped almonds and seeds.
3. Press the mixture firmly into a lined rectangular tin.
4. Chill for 2 hours in the fridge, then cut into bars.

Nutritional benefits

Made at home, these bars avoid the excess sugar, glucose syrups and poor-quality oils of the commercial versions. The oats provide fibre and complex carbohydrate for lasting energy, the peanut butter and almonds supply healthy fats and protein, and the dried fruit adds concentrated natural sugar. They make an ideal energy snack around exercise or for children’s snacks, and you have complete control over what goes in.

Variations and substitutions

• Chocolatey: add dark chocolate chips.
• Higher in protein: a scoop of protein powder or more nuts.
• Nut-free: sunflower and pumpkin seeds only.
• Baked: bake for 15 minutes at 170°C (150°C fan) for crunchier bars.

Storage and making ahead

These bars keep for a week in the fridge in an airtight tin and can be frozen. Wrap them individually so they are easy to take with you. The homemade snack that is always ready.

💡 Good to know

Press the mixture really firmly into the tin: this is what stops the bars crumbling. Chilling for long enough (at least 2 hours) is essential for them to hold together when cut.

See also

Discover more healthy & balanced recipes · children’s recipes · high-protein recipes.

Ingredients in this recipe: oats · peanut butter · honey · raisins · almonds.

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