This post is sponsored by ChocZero. All opinions are my own and I only share products I personally love. Thanks for supporting the brands that make this site possible! Some people may turn to granola bars for “healthier” breakfast or snacks. The truth is, many store bought granola bars are really just candy bars parading around as something they’re not. Today I want to show you how to make low carb keto granola bars at home. Using nuts, seeds, and a few keto pantry basics, you can make sweet, grain-free, sugar free granola bars in just 30 minutes! But how do you make keto granola bars, when the primary ingredient in granola bars is oats?! It sounds like a challenge, but is quite simple. We do the same as we do for keto granola cereal – use nuts and seeds instead! (If you’re looking for a more traditional crunchy cereal, try my keto cereal recipe instead.) I originally made these low carb keto breakfast bars as a Kind bar copycat recipe, but the binder I used is no longer available, and I actually prefer this new chewy, crunchy version anyway. And, you can’t skimp on one delicious essential for this recipe: chocolate chips! ChocZero Sugar-Free Dark Chocolate Chips make the best chocolate swap for these healthy granola bars because they have no sugar alcohols, gluten, soy, or GMOs — and they taste just like regular dark chocolate. This is my go-to sugar free chocolate for everything.
Low Carb Granola Bars Ingredients
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for keto friendly granola bars, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
ChocZero Sugar-Free Dark Chocolate Chips – These little chips make keto homemade granola bars taste like they came from the store… all with no sugar!Nuts – I used a blend of almonds and pecans, but you can use any kind of keto nuts. Roasted nuts have the best flavor.Seeds – I used pumpkin seeds and hemp seeds. You can also use sunflower seeds instead of pumpkin, but I recommend leaving the hemp seeds in because they help with texture and binding. Make sure they are shelled.Shredded Coconut – Opt for medium-sized flakes and make sure it’s unsweetened.Powdered Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – Tastes just like sugar and mixes seamlessly with the “base” that binds all the nuts and seeds together, so bars won’t taste gritty.Sea Salt – Balances the sweet flavor.Almond Butter – Use the natural, runny kind with no added sugar. Any natural nut butter you prefer will work.Egg – Egg helps to hold the bar mixture together, so don’t skip it. I haven’t tested it myself, but a flax egg should also work here.Vanilla Extract – For more flavor!
How To Make Keto Granola Bars
This section shows how to make the best keto granola bar recipe with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
Prep oven. Preheat to 350 degrees F and line a baking dish with parchment paper.Chop nuts. Add almonds to a food processor, pulsing only a few times, then add pecans and pulse again until nuts are about 1/4 inch in size.Add dry ingredients. Transfer nuts to a bowl and add pumpkin seeds, shredded coconut, hemp seeds, Besti, and salt.
Mix wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine almond butter, egg, and vanilla.Combine. Add nut butter mixture to dry ingredients. Fold in most of the chocolate chips, reserving a few tablespoons for later.
Press. Push the mixture firmly into the prepared baking dish and press remaining chocolate chips into the top.Bake. Keep in the oven until edges turn golden brown.
Cool and cut. Cool the sugar free granola bar recipe completely in the pan before removing. Lift the parchment paper out and slice into bars.
Tips For The Best Sugar Free Granola Bars
To help you make granola bars for keto that also taste great, here are a few simple tips…
Use roasted nuts and seeds. Dry roasted almonds, pecans, and pumpkin seeds give maximum flavor. If yours are raw, you can roast them yourself in the oven for 6-10 minutes at 400 degrees F prior to starting the recipe. If the ones you have are both roasted and salted, omit the salt in the recipe.Pulse intermittently in the food processor, for coarse nuts. Pulsing on and off, instead of leaving the processor running, does a better job of chopping the nuts without making them too fine. Leaving them whole will make the bars fall apart, while chopping them too finely will make the texture too smooth.Pulse hard nuts first. We add the almonds before the pecans because they take more time to chop. If you’re swapping in other nuts, hard nuts (like hazelnuts) would go first and softer nuts (like walnuts or macadamias) get added after.Pack the mixture tightly into the pan. The tighter you pack the pan at the end, the better your low carb granola bars will stay together.Cool completely. Be patient! If you try to remove or cut the bars before they fully cool, they will fall apart.Cut straight down. Do not use a see-saw motion when cutting the bars, because they will definitely crumble that way. Instead, use a large chef’s knife with a straight down movement.
Keto Friendly Granola Bar Recipe Variations
The easy keto granola bars shown here are the perfect base recipe… but there are so many ways to change up the flavors and textures!
White chocolate cranberry – Substitute sugar free white chocolate chips and add sugar free dried cranberries to the mix. Add orange zest too, if you’d like!Peanut butter chocolate chip – Use peanut butter instead of almond butter. For extra PB flavor, include sugar free peanut butter chips.Mint chocolate – Add a teaspoon of peppermint extract to wet ingredients.White chocolate macadamia nut – Swap almonds with macadamia nuts and substitute keto white chocolate chips.
Can you have granola bars on keto?
Almost all store-bought granola bars are not keto, as they contain added sugar, high-carb ingredients like oats, and even candy. However, if you make your granola bars at home, you can easily control what goes in to make them keto friendly!
What granola bars are keto friendly?
The best granola bars for keto should contain primarily nuts and seeds (no oats!), and safe sweeteners instead of corn syrup or white sugar. It can be hard to find bars like this in stores, but it’s so easy to make them at home instead!
Can I use different nuts or seeds?
You can use your favorite low carb nuts or seeds, but keep in mind it may change the carb count in your keto granola bar recipe. If you substitute nuts, make sure they get chopped to a similar size (roughly 1/4 inch).
Can I use a different sweetener?
I use this sweetener because it blends easily and tastes just like sugar, but you can swap it with a different powdered keto sweetener.
Storage Instructions
Sugar-free granola bars store very well. You can keep them in the pantry for about a week or two, or in the fridge for a few weeks. Make sure to line parchment or wax paper between them, so that they don’t stick together.
Can you freeze granola bars?
Yes! Healthy low carb granola bars freeze well. Place them in a single layer onto a parchment lined baking sheet until they are rock solid. After that, you can transfer them to a freezer bag and store for up to 3 months.
More Sugar Free Sweet Breakfast Recipes
If you like light and easy breakfast foods you can grab and go, you’ll love these make-ahead dishes too:
Sugar Free GranolaKeto Overnight OatsChocolate Chip MuffinsKeto Croissants
If you prefer low carb breakfast bars with a smoother texture, try my keto protein bars instead. Share your recipe picture by tagging @wholesomeyum and hashtag it #wholesomeyum on Instagram, or in our Facebook support group, too – I’d love to see it! For a larger serving size, you can cut into 8 bars instead of 12, and multiply all nutrition info by 1.5X.
