Don’t get me wrong, I love peanut butter and chocolate in my homemade granola bars but I wanted a change.
Something bright and fresh which is when the idea for tropical granola bars hit me.
The granola bars take 5 minutes to make, 20 minutes to set up, and in under a half hour your snack is ready. No baking necessary and they’re made in the microwave.
Compared to store bought, the bars are far more cost effective and as a bonus you can pronounce all the ingredients.
For the tropical twist I added dried tropical fruit. I found a mix at Trader Joe’s called Tropical Trek that contains candied pineapple, mandarins, mangoes, and coconut.
You can usually find candied pineapple and mango in bulk bins or in the dried fruit aisle of most grocery stores. Use what you can find. Dried apricots would be an easy substitute.
I definitely don’t miss peanut butter or chocolate bars after this refreshing snack.
They’re soft, perfectly chewy, have great texture from the oats and Rice Krispies, and they remind me of Quaker chewy granola bars.
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No-Bake Tropical Granola Bars
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 cup quick-cook oats, do not use old-fashioned whole-rolled oats; too large and bars will not hold together
- 1 cup Rice Krispies cereal, or similar generic
- 1 cup tropical dried fruit medley, diced into small pieces (mine contained pineapple, mandarins, mangoes, and coconut)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Line an 8×8-inch pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- To a large microwave-safe bowl, add the butter, brown sugar, honey, and heat on high power for 60 to 90 seconds, or until butter has melted and ingredients can be whisked smooth.
- Return bowl to microwave and heat on high power for 1 minute. Stop and whisk.
- Return bowl to microwave and heat on high power for 1 minute. Mixture should be bubbling. If you’ve ever made caramel sauce, it looks like the beginning stages of caramel. You want the mixture to be bubbling to ensure that the bars hold together upon cooling. If yours isn’t bubbling, return bowl to microwave and heat for another 30 to 60 seconds, or until bubbling.
- Add the oats, Rice Krispies, dried fruit, salt, and stir to combine.
- Turn mixture out into prepared pan, hard-packing it with a spatula so form an even, smooth, flat layer. Make sure to really press it down firmly and compactly.
- Freeze for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until bars have set, and slice into bars. I wrap each bar in plasticwrap and store them in a gallon-sized ziptop bag in the fridge for up to 10 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. I have not tried storing the bars at room temp for longer than a few hours.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Yum I made these today 5x the batch to be exact. I made these in a two third size sheet pan fits my home oven perfectly. Made about 55 bars. I made mine on the stove top opposed to the microwave it was super fast and I added about a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the sugar mixture. And for the dried fruits I used a similar fruit mix and added dried apricots, dried cranberries and coconut chips. Worked out perfectly so I could use up my opened ingredients around the pantry! Thanks!!😀
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad that a 5x batch worked great and you were able to use your opened ingredients from your pantry!
Yum I made these today 5x the batch to be exact. I made these in a two third size sheet pan fits my home oven perfectly. Made about 55 bars. I made mine on the stove top opposed to the microwave it was super fast and I added about a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the sugar mixture. And for the dried fruits I used a similar fruit mix and added dried apricots, dried cranberries and coconut chips. Worked out perfectly so I could use up my opened ingredients around the pantry! Thanks!!😀
I was just wondering if i could add the honey after cooking to keep more of its nutritional benefits in tact.
I haven’t tried it that way so can’t speak to the results.
Just made and they are cooling as I type….wondering if I could have used coconut oil instead of the butter next time? I used dried pineapple, toasted coconut and dates for mine. Can’t wait to try them!!
Possibly could have used coconut oil – I haven’t tried so can’t say for sure – but it would have a great flavor if it binds properly.
Love this idea.. Never taste this recipe before… I’m sure my Kids will love it.. :)
Love that tropical twist!
Thanks for tweeting, too :)