These easy keto granola bars are sweet, salty, and delicious. Chockfull of healthy nuts and seeds, they’re one of my favorite keto snacks!
If you’re a snacker like me, you’re going to love these keto granola bars. They’re easy to make and they look and taste just like the real deal. A little bit sweet, a little bit salty, and a whole lot delicious.
These homemade grain-free granola bars are worthy of a little obsession. I knew they would be good but I was amazed at how much they resemble real granola bars.
And all without any grains or sugars!
Grain free granola bars
Back in the day, I used to think that granola bars were good for me, and they were one of my go-to snacks. My husband and I would pack them for hiking and camping, and we always kept some in the car for hunger emergencies.
Creating keto friendly granola bars has long been a goal of mine, but of course it presents any number of challenges. How do you make granola bars without granola?
If you follow me, you know that I have been making keto granola for a very long time with a combination of coarsely ground coconut and nuts. Turns out that this trick works well for granola bars too. You just have to grind them a little more finely so that the bars don’t crumble.
But making them without sugar or honey is trickier, since that’s what holds conventional granola bars together. I’ve made bars in the past that used egg whites as a binder and while they were tasty, they were too soft. They weren’t the crunchy keto granola bars of my dreams.
This time, I created a syrup out of butter and keto sweeteners, added some collagen, and pressed them really firmly into the bottom of the pan. Success!
How to make keto granola bars
These are quite simple to make and you won’t believe they are sugar free and grain free. Here are my best tips for getting them right:
- Choose your nuts and seeds. It hardly matters what combination of nuts and seeds you use, as long as you grind them up enough. I like the texture of flaked coconut but you can use sliced almonds instead.
- Use a food processor. You really need to chop the nuts and seeds finely and doing it by hand simply won’t cut it. They should resemble coarse crumbs, but a few larger pieces are okay.
- Add some collagen. Collagen swells and gets a bit sticky when mixed with liquid so it helps bind the bars together and make them less fragile.
- Create a keto syrup. The syrup is crucial to holding the bars together. It also REALLY matters which sweeteners you use. I made several versions and when I used any BochaSweet or allulose, they were so soft, they crumbled when I tried to pick them up. ONLY erythritol based sweeteners such as Swerve or Lakanto will work.
- Press them down firmly. Really, really firmly! This is key to making cohesive keto granola bars that stay together.
- Let them cool properly. The bars are very soft right out of the oven so let them cool completely before lifting out of the pan.
- Cut straight down. Use a large, sharp knife to cut them into squares or bars, and cut straight down rather than sawing back and forth.
- Save those crumbles! Use any crumbles bits or bars that fall apart as granola. They are delicious in yogurt or over ice cream, or simply used as breakfast cereal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please read the section on how to make keto granola bars, as I am very specific about what works and what doesn’t. If you choose to make these with anything other than an erythritol based sweetener, they will be very soft and crumbly.
Try using sliced almonds instead. They have the same texture as flaked coconut when ground up.
Sure! I think ghee or coconut oil will work well in place of the butter.
Nothing. Collagen has unique properties that really help hold these keto granola bars together. You can skip it but they will be more fragile.
Storage information
Because they don’t contain anything that will spoil, keto granola bars are fine on the counter for up to two weeks. I recommend keeping them in an airtight container.
I have never tried to freeze them but I am sure they would be fine there as well and would keep for several months.
More delicious keto snack ideas
- Keto Cheese Crackers
- Everything Bagel Cucumber Bites
- Easy Keto Granola Clusters
- Keto Apple Cider Donut Bites
- Keto Pretzel Bites
- Crispy Broccoli Cheese Rounds
Keto Granola Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup flaked coconut
- 1 cup raw almonds
- ½ cup raw pecan halves
- ½ cup shelled pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
- 2 tablespoon grassfed collagen
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter
- ⅓ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 2 tablespoon Swerve Brown
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup dark chocolate chips, sugar-free (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300F and line an 8×8 inch metal pan with parchment paper (with a little of the parchment overhanging the sides for easy removal).
- In a food processor, combine the coconut, almonds, pecans, and pumpkin seeds. Process on high until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs in texture.
- Add the collagen and salt, and pulse a few times to combine, then transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.
- In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter with the sweeteners, whisking until they dissolve. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Stir the butter mixture into the nut mixture until thoroughly combined, then stir in the chocolate chips, if using. Transfer to the prepared baking pan.
- Press evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Use a flat-bottomed glass or measuring cup to really press it down and compact it as much as possible.
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until the edges are turning golden brown. Let cool completely in the pan and then lift them out by the parchment. Use a very sharp knife and cut them into bars (cutting straight down works much better than sawing away at them).
Theresia Andrews-Maas says
I turned this recipe into a delicious granola. I reduced the butter to 1/4 cup and used coconut oil, I used walnuts that I had in my pantry and added 1/3 cup of hemp seed after it had cooled down. It all broke easily into smaller chunks. Great with a bowl of yoghurt!
Francine Hope says
Sorry, the granolas are getting firmer as they cool more. Delicious!
Carolyn says
That’s why I always say let it cool completely!
Francine Hope says
I followed this recipe and used erytritol based sweeterner with monkfruit. But my granola turned out soft and still with wetness. I put it on again at 350 and baked another 15 min. The top turned out nice and brown and now I am cooling it. The granola is still soft. The taste is great. I used the right amount of nuts, etc. and even had more because I added cranberries and some sunflower seeds. Help!
Fonda Carver says
I don’t have collagen, is it ok to use Knox gelatin? If so, how much would I use? I really want to try this recipe!
Carolyn says
Use 1 envelope.
Cat says
Finally these awesome granola using sliced almonds instead of the coconut, added a few peanut butter chips (Lily’s) in with the chocolate chips because I really wanted a Reese’s peanut butter cup kind of bar (love your peanut butter granola btw) and baked in my “granola bar” silicon pan for about 20 minutes. Yum! If you bake them in the 8×8 pan, try using a pizza cutter to cut them into bars. I did that before I got the bar pan (pre low carb/keto) and it worked pretty good, better than a knife imho, but then I’m dangerous with knives except for chopping onions, peppers, etc. Anyhoo, nice to have granola bars as a hiking snack again. I’ve missed that! And the flavor possibilities… 🤔
Cat says
Is there a good sub for the coconut? Can’t stand the texture and can’t find a keto granola bar recipe that doesn’t have it. Help!
Carolyn says
Please read the blog post! 🙂
Cat says
Yikes! How did I miss that? 🙄🤦🏼♀️ Blonde moment. Thanks!
Carolyn says
No worries! 🙂
MARCELLE says
I just made these and OMG! They are AMAZING!!! I added some unsweetened cranberries (sweetened with monkfruit blend) and cut the pieces smaller to keep the calories down a bit, but these are going to go FAST!