Growing up, Honey Nut Cheerios were a pantry and breakfast table staple.
I recently bought an economy-sized box that was on sale and needed to make something with them or else we were going to be eating them until Christmas.
These fast, easy, bars cost just a fraction of storebought bars to make, they’re healthier, and they’ve got fun, bright colors.
In the past I’ve used Golden Grahams, Special K, Chex, Rice Krispies and many others in recipes, but never the classic O’s until these.
I have many other microwave and no-bake granola bar recipes. See the Related Recipes below. These Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (no-bake, vegan, GF) are my favorites for something that has the texture of a Quaker Chewy Granola Bar and are a cinch to make, while still staying in the healthy realm.
I wanted these to be a snack bar or breakfast bar, on the healthier side, while branching out from recipes I’ve already made or tried.
Normally I use corn syrup in my microwave bars because it’s cheap, and it makes an excellent glue to bind ingredients. Very little can escape it’s tacky grip.
However, for these I used honey to play up the honey flavor from the cereal. I will be honest, honey does not make as good of a glue as corn syrup. If I were to remake them, I’d use corn syrup.
At room temperature, the bars do get soft and loose, and you’ll need to store them in the fridge.
I stirred in raisins for extra texture, flavor, fiber, chewiness, and oomph. I know some people don’t like raisins, so feel free to omit them or use dried cranberries, apricots, or another dried fruit.
The recipe is very flexible and you could also stir in honey-roasted peanuts, sliced almonds, or a handful of your favorite trail mix.
I topped them with chocolate-covered sunflower seeds. If you have a Trader Joe’s in your area, don’t buy them unless you have really good self-control. They’re crunchy, chocolaty, and one step away from eating chocolate candy-coated sprinkles. So good.
They give a fun, bright pop of color to otherwise boring brown bars, and since I knew I was putting these in my 6 year old’s lunch box, I wanted them to be cheery. If you can’t find them in your area, no biggie. Just use another small seed, nut, or omit.
Between the honey, cereal, raisins, and chocolate-covered seeds, the are were on the sweet side. A sprinkling of Kosher salt cuts that and plays up the salty-and-sweet aspect.
I wish the Cheerios I ate as a kid were this fun to look at.
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No-Bake Honey Nut Cheerios Snack Bars
Ingredients
- ¼ cup creamy unsalted butter, half of one stick
- ¼ cup honey, light-colored corn syrup may be substituted and will keep the bars firmer at room temp than using honey
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups Honey Nut Cheerios
- 1 cup raisins, optional (1 cup honey-roasted peanuts, 1 cup chopped almonds, or 1 cup trail mix may be substituted)
- about 1/2 cup chocolate-covered sunflower seeds, optional (I used Trader Joe’s)
- pinch sea salt or Kosher salt for sprinkling, optional
Instructions
- Line an 8-inch square pan with aluminum foil leaving overhang, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine butter, honey, brown sugar, and heat on high power for 1 minute to melt.
- Stop to stir. Mixture will be on the granular side, this is okay.
- Return bowl to microwave and heat for 1 more minute on high power. Stop to stir
- Return bowl to microwave and heat for 1 more minute on high power. Stop to stir. On this third and final burst, mixture will become quite bubbly and foamy; use caution when removing from micro because this is boiling hot caramel and can cause burns.
- Stir in the vanilla using caution because mixture could bubble up.
- Stir in the cereal.
- Stir in the optional raisins (or nuts).
- Turn mixture out into prepared pan, packing it down firmly with a spatula and smoothing the top.
- Optionally, sprinkle evenly with sunflower seeds and salt (the salt cuts some of the sweetness and I recommend it).
- Cover pan with a sheet of foil (to prevent fridge smells), and place pan in fridge to set up for at least 2 to 3 hours, or overnight, or until bars are completely set before lifting out with foil overhang, slicing, and serving.
- Bars will keep airtight in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 6 months. I recommend storing them in the fridge rather than room temp because they soften and get loose.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Are you a Cheerios or cereal fun?
These are so fun, so cute, so colorful! I could just gobble them up all day long!
You are seriously the master of homemade cereal bars!!! I love these, and am dying over how bright and cheery these are!! Great way to start any day!
I love how colorful these are! Wish there was a Trader Joe’s here. These are so perfect for snacks and lunch boxes! :)
These are so darn cute, cheery, and bright! I love those chocolate covered sunflower seeds. I haven’t bought them in awhile because I usually end up eating the entire container within an hour. Yeah – zero self control. Honey nut cheerios are the perfect match for them. And raisins! I love raisins. What a fun little snacky treat. I know exactly why Skylar loved these! The taste, the colors, and the fact that her mommy cut them so perfectly of course. Seriously, they look awesome.
I used to love honey nut cheerios, too. To me they were the “real” kind. Who would want the dry stuff? Now I prefer “adult” cheerios, but honey nut are awesome for snacks like these. I love how colourful these bars are, so cute!
I like the ‘adult’ kind now too and honestly in these bars, there is enough other sweet stuff going on, you could probably get away with just the plain Cheerios!
I would have happily eaten these bars anyway, but the chocolate covered pumpkin seeds are like catnip to me. These are irresistible!
I eye those chocolate-covered sunflower seeds every time I walk into TJ’s (aka at least 3 times a week), but I never buy them because I have zero self-control with any of their chocolate treats. Dark chocolate bars, chocolate-covered pretzels, chocolate-covered raisins, chocolate chip brownie & oat bars (my personal favorite!)… But they add the prettiest, perfect pop of color to your bars!
Their entire store of snacky stuff that you just mentioned…I have to go there not hungry and with a mission. Or all of it ends up coming home or I have these mental power struggles where I put into and out of my cart, like 4 times. Lol
I’m so glad I’m not the only one! I try to plan ahead and stick to my list, but on bad baking days where the cookies fail to spread or the brownie edges burn… Well, it’s harder to stay strong and keep those things out of my cart!
Amen girl. I was just in there today. Twice. Forgot something and had to go back. It was like torture, twice, b/c I was having a want-to-snack-all-day kind of day!
Ahhh that’s the worst!! What do you normally snack on when days like today hit? And I hate forgetting stuff at the grocery store. I’ve had to go back 3 times in a day, and I want that to stay my max!
Juice!! https://instagram.com/p/es6ne1xsTR/ Or I wouldn’t be able to fit thru the doorway! :)
You’re so smart! I never think to DRINK when I’m feeling snacky or hungry. I’m definitely keeping that in mind for future snack-attack days! And no way would you balloon up wider than a doorway. Even with all of your decadent cookies, you have way more self-control with sweets than me!
These look so fun and colorful :)
What a fun treat! Great recipe Averie, they look fantastic :)
I loved HOney Nut CHeerios growing up! They were my favorite of the “healthy” cereals, anyway. When I got to college, I alternated between those and Frosted Mini Wheats for morning cereal, and the sugary PB Cap’n Crunch/Lucky Charms for my lunch and dinner cereal. There were many days I’d eat cereal for every meal. Many.
These look delicious and the colors!?! PERFECT.
We are twins, right down to our college eating habits. I used to do tons and tons of cold cereal. For breakfast, lunch, dinner, and post-bar. Along with Triscuits with PB on top. I lived on that for like…10 years? H.S., college, early 20s :)
There were many days I’d eat cereal for every meal. Many. <--- I also think that's growing up where we did with Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, and Gen Mills HQ's being right there. Cereal is just so...rampant! Maybe that's why I make so many cereal bars. lol
These happy bars just brightened up my Thursday! The coloured sunflower seeds are like healthy funfetti. :)
healthy funfetti = LOVE THAT! Yes!!:)
I’m dying over these. love the colours is so beautiful to eat.
These are so colourful. I love it
I love your no bake bars, Averie, and these look so fun and delicious! Pinning.
thanks for pinning, Marcie!
The colors from those sunflower seeds are just amazing on these bars!!
I thought there were fun, too. Thanks Angie!
Averie, these are so gorgeous! I’m trying to read but the images are bomb barding my eyeballs with all of this awesomeness!
I love your tip on how you use the corn syrup when you go the microwave route. Already pinned!
Thanks for pinning and yes about the corn syrup. When I use it, I get the occasional ‘ it’s so unhealthy’ or ‘can I use honey instead’ to which I’d reply, “don’t care” and ” use at your own risk” LOL