Keto Granola Bars
This No Bake Homemade Keto Granola Bars Recipe has just 6 ingredients and takes 10 minutes to make. My delicious and healthy granola bars are perfect to keep in your purse for emergencies or send in your child’s lunchbox to school.
I grew up taking lunch to school, and Quaker Chewy Granola Bars were always a staple. I liked all the flavors, but my favorite was the classic chocolate chip.
When I decided to make my own keto granola bars recipe, I knew that I wanted simple flavors, simple ingredients, and chocolate chips. This combination of classic flavors and textures reminds me of those traditional granola bars with oats and chocolate chips that I grew up on. But with wholesome ingredients.
This easy low carb granola bars recipe is also dairy-free, gluten-free, grain-free, sugar-free, and Trim Healthy Mama friendly.
Love granola? Try my Low Carb Granola or Keto Granola Recipe next!
Ingredients in Low Carb Keto Granola Bars
- Xylitol or Allulose – You NEED 1:1 sweeteners for this recipe. You cannot use a more concentrated sweetener. If you have pets, avoid xylitol.
- Erythritol or Allulose – Using a combination of two sweeteners minimizes an aftertaste.
- Coconut Cream – Heavy Cream can be used instead if you do not need these to be dairy free.
That’s right. There are only 3 necessary ingredients to make the sugar free syrup that binds these together. After that, you can choose what you put into your granola bars that suit a low carb keto diet.
Plus YOUR CHOICE of 3 cups of Mix-Ins:
- Nuts – Almonds, walnuts, pecans, peanuts, cashews, macadamia nuts, etc.
- Coconut flakes – Choose unsweetened toasted flakes for the best flavor.
- Seeds – Another way to add healthy fats. You can use sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax, etc.
- Nut butter – Peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter – don’t count these within the 3 cups, but you can add 2 tablespoons of your choice to the syrup
- Sugar Free Dried Cranberries
- Chocolate – Any variety of sugar-free chocolate chips – think white chocolate, mint chocolate, peanut butter chocolate, butterscotch – whatever you enjoy!
- Salt – even a pinch of coarse sea salt or kosher salt adds a great flavor.
- Flavoring – Try adding pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract, cinnamon, or ginger to change the taste.
- Protein powder – I have not tested adding protein powder to these, but I think adding a small amount would work.
See quantities in the recipe card.
How to Make Keto Granola Bars
1️⃣ Make the Syrup
Make the syrup by cooking the sweeteners and coconut cream. Making the syrup for this recipe is similar to making caramel, but you don’t need to cook it as long. You just want the syrup to start to thicken and turn a deep golden color.
2️⃣ Add the Mix-Ins
Once the syrup thickens, just mix in the dry ingredients.
3️⃣ Form the Bars
Spread the granola mixture in your baking pan.
👉 Tip – Make sure to line the pan with greased parchment paper or waxed paper, or you will have a hard time removing the bars when they firm up.
4️⃣ Add the Topping
Next, sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the still-hot nut and coconut mixture. The heat will make the chocolate chips melt just enough to stick to the tops of the bars. Alternatively, you can drizzle on some melted dark chocolate.
5️⃣ Chill & Cut
After that, you just have to briefly chill the granola bars in the fridge and then cut them. You want them a little cooler than room temperature before cutting. They cut easily with a large, sharp knife.
👉 Tip – If you are having trouble cutting the granola bars, please carefully sharpen your knife and try again.
Storage
These homemade granola bars have a chewy texture for a few days, but do get firmer and crunchier with longer storage or when stored in the refrigerator. I store these at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
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Keto Granola Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw almonds
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 7 tbsp xylitol or allulose ***
- 7 tbsp erythritol or allulose ***
- 1/4 cup coconut cream
- 1 cup sugar-free chocolate chips
Instructions
- Line a 9 x 9 square baking pan with parchment paper. Grease with coconut oil. Coarsely chop the almonds and coconut flakes by pulsing in a food processor.
- Combine the sweeteners and coconut cream over medium-high heat. Simmer rapidly, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens and turns golden.
- Stir the almonds and coconut flakes into the syrup. Pour into the prepared pan. Press flat with a spatula or wooden spoon. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on the hot nut mixture. It should be hot enough that they melt a little and stick.
- Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Lift the parchment paper out of the pan. Cut the granola bars using a sharp knife.
Notes
Nutrition
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Originally Published January 17, 2019. Revised and Republished March 13, 2026.
Hey! I have made these four times! They are so good! I have to tell you what happened the last time I made them! I think I cooked the syrup to long and when I mixed them and put in the fridge they were to hard to cut! REALLY hard! I was having a busy day so I put them in a zip-loc bag and threw them in the freezer. Over the weekend I took a mallet (a clean mallet!) and I made them into tiny bite sized pieces! I turned them over so I didn’t hit the chocolate chips! (I kept them in the zip-loc bag when I broke them up!) The bite sized pieces were good but then I thought…hey put some in a bowl and pour some almond milk over them! The best freaking cereal I ever ate! 😀 I love having cereal that has chocolate chips in it! Hehehe….. I haven’t had cereal in a very long time and I’m going to do this again and again and again…..I may have to make another combination but maybe you could create a cereal recipe! Just saying! 🙂
These sound wonderful!! I love coconut, but my kids not as much. Do these have a coconut flavor or do you mostly just taste the nuts and chocolate? What do you think about adding oats or toasted oats as part of the 3 cups of dry ingredients? Thinking crossover and less coconut taste for the kids. Thanks so much for all the wonderful recipes.
Yes, oats would work if you don’t mind them being a crossover. You can taste the coconut.
You could use sliced almonds and chop/grind them in the food processor – they mimic oats quite well.
What is coconut cream?
The solid part of coconut milk. It comes in little cans or you can chill regular coconut milk and just use the solid.
These look delicious. I want to make them for my 10 year old but I am trying to get her to put on some weight. Could I just use sugar to add a few more calories? I realize sugar promotes inflammation and other things but at this point I need to get some calories in her without her having to eat a lot. Thanks!
I think sugar would work. These are fairly calorie dense without it though since they are mostly nuts.
What kind of coconut cream do you use ? Did you just scrap the cream off the top of canned coconut milk ?
I buy the little cans of coconut cream most of the time. But you can chill a regular can of coconut milk and just use the solid part.
Where would I find coconut cream in the grocery store? I am new to this.
By the canned coconut milk. If you can’t find it just chill a can of regular coconut milk and use the solid part.
I made these today. They taste great, but they do not hold together. I boiled the syrup until it was dark golden. I cooled them for 1/2 hour on counter and 45 minutes in fridge. then I cut them and ate a small one. It fell apart in my hand. Do they need more fridge time, more boiling…I am not sure what I did wrong.
You may have reduced the syrup too much. It should be golden, like in my photo, but not dark. If you make a little more syrup it would help them hold together. Just boil until the sweetener melts and pour it over the bars.
Can I use Gentle Sweet in place of other sweeteners?
No, sorry. This is explained in the recipe notes. They are too sweet of you use gentle sweet.
Super easy to make! My husband is going to love his new snack to take in his lunch! I made a double batch so I could have some too! I’m going to make them again with some other mix-ins! These are so yummy! I love the flavor! I can’t wait to figure out what combination of mix-ins to use next! Thanks!
I can’t wait to try this. I love your recipes, and have missed granola bars! Is there anything that can be subbed for coconut cream?
Regular cream should work
These sound amazing but we don’t use xylitol in our home because of our pups. I’ve been looking at monk fruit sweetener that is supposed to be a 1:1 sub for sugar. Do you think that would work?
I think so. But I haven’t tried it yet. Please lmk how they turn out.
I had the same thought. Monk fruit is such a healthier option.
Most monk fruit is mixed with erythritol. I do say that all erythritol should work. Pure monk fruit powder (that is very concentrated like pure stevia) would not work.
Are you storing these at room temp, or in the fridge? It sounds like they don’t need to be refrigerated, but just confirming.
Room temp for up to a week. For longer than a week I’d store in the fridge.
I don’t have xylitol, could I perhaps use inulin powder?
I’m just not sure if it would dissolve like the other ‘sugars’?
I’m sorry I don’t know if inulin would dissolve either. All erythritol would work though.
Hello. I can’t wait to try these. How much erythritol if I don’t use xylitol?
Lisa
1 cup
If a person was allergic to coconut, can you suggest a good replacement?
Just use all nuts. I mention in the post that you just need 3 cups of mix-ins. Nuts, seeds, unsweetened dried cranberries, etc.
Is the amount of coconut cream correct? A quarter cup seems like a small amount to wet 1cup of sweetener.
Yes it is. You can melt the sweetener without adding any liquid. 1/4 cup is fine.
Are these keto?
They have 5 net carbs each. So it depends on what macros you are going for. But yes they can be keto.