These Protein-Packed Homemade Granola Bars Will Satisfy Your Sweet and Salty Cravings

The granola bar you choose to snack on when that 3 p.m. hunger strikes can make or break your afternoon. Opt to munch on a bar that's devoid of any nutrients, overly sweet, and so crispy it could break a tooth, and you're almost guaranteed to feel mentally unsatisfied and hangry 30 minutes later. But if you decide to instead grab one of these crispy homemade granola bars, you'll score all the energizing nutrients and actually satisfying flavors you need to power through that mid-day slump.

Featuring a hearty blend of hemp seeds, almond butter, pistachios, and pumpkin seeds, these homemade granola bars provide 7 grams of protein — a macronutrient that keeps you feeling full and helps stabilize blood sugar — per serving. Each bar also contains fiber-rich oats, which help lower low-density lipoprotein (aka LDL or "bad") cholesterol levels and, in turn, reduce the risk of heart disease, according to the Mayo Clinic. Still, the true stars of these homemade granola bars are the blueberries, dark chocolate chips, and sprinkling of sea salt, so the snack is the perfect balance of salty and sweet.

Despite the complexity of flavors, this homemade granola bar recipe is incredibly easy to make: All you need is a mixing bowl, a saucepan, and 10 minutes of active prep time. Plus, you can customize the snack to your preferences. Swap in peanut butter if you're fresh out of the almond version, use chia seeds if your grocery store is out of hemp seeds, or mix in dried cranberries for an alternative to blueberries. There are no wrong answers.

To ensure you have a fueling munchie when you need it most, fix a batch of this homemade granola bars recipe while you're meal prepping for the week ahead. Fair warning: They're so tasty, you'll definitely want to keep these bars on hand at all times. (Related: The Best Protein Bars to Quell Hunger, According to Dietitians and Shape Editors)

Makes 12 bars

Prep time: 10 minutes; chill time: 20 minutes

• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup shelled pistachios
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/3 cup hemp seeds
• 1/2 cup dried blueberries
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt, plus more for topping
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

1. Line a 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan with parchment paper.
2. In saucepan, whisk together almond butter and honey. Warm on low heat until creamy and well-combined, stirring often. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Set aside to cool.
3. While the almond butter-honey mixture is cooling, roughly chop pistachios. Place in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
4. To mixing bowl, add oats, hemp seeds, dried blueberries, pumpkin seeds, and sea salt. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine.
5. Pour almond butter-honey mixture into mixing bowl, and stir well to combine.
6. Add dark chocolate chips to mixing bowl and fold in other ingredients. Avoid overmixing so chocolate chips don't melt completely.
7. Pour granola bar mixture in baking dish, and sprinkle coarse sea salt on top to your liking.
8. Cover mixture with a piece of parchment paper, then firmly press into the pan, making sure to push mixture to pan edges and to flatten until its evenly distributed.
9. Chill bars in the fridge for two hours or the freezer for 20 minutes.
10. Once chilled, remove granola from the baking dish by gently lifting up parchment paper. Place on cutting board and slice into 12 equal-sized homemade granola bars.

The homemade granola bars can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to three months.

Nutrition facts per bar: 243 calories, 13g fat, 3g saturated fat, 25g carbs, 4g fiber, 18g sugar, 7g protein