Muesli Slice (Muesli Bars)

This nut free muesli slice recipe is made with wholesome oats, honey, sultanas, seeds and coconut. With a slight chew in the centre, and crunchy edges, this slice is a delicious snack and a popular addition to school lunchboxes.

I often make muesli and granola for the family from scratch. Not only is it cheaper and healthier, but you know exactly what goes into it, there are no hidden preservatives or excessive amounts of sugar, and you can alter it to your families tastes.

This easy muesli slice recipe is the same; and has the added bonus of being suitable for school lunchboxes, which is why I have made it without nuts. However feel free to add some in!

Like my popular chocolate chip flapjacks, but using honey in place of most of the sugar, these bars are less sugary but still sweet from the honey. If you want completely sugar free oat bars then have a look at these baby pear flapjacks.

Jump to:

• Why we love this recipe
• Ingredients notes and substitutions
• How to make this muesli bar recipe
• FAQ
• My Recipe Tips
• Variations
• Storage
• Related
• Muesli Slice (Muesli Bars)

Why we love this recipe

• This is a nut free recipe for muesli bars, making it suitable for kids school lunchboxes.
• Making your own oat muesli slice means you can control exactly what goes into them, and make them to your tastes. If you don’t like fruit, or coconut, add extra seeds or nuts. Don’t like seeds but love dried fruit? Substitute the seeds for more fruit!
• Gluten free – as these granola bars are made without flour, they can be gluten free – just check your oats are gluten free.
• Homemade muesli bars are so much cheaper – and healthier – than store bought muesli bars.

Ingredients notes and substitutions

This muesli slice contains just 8 basic ingredients.

Please scroll down to the recipe card at the end of the post for ingredient quantities.

• Oats – whilst you can make these bars with porridge oats (quick oats), I do recommend you use traditional rolled oats, or you could use a mixture of the two. The rolled oats add a satisfying chew that quick oats don’t provide.
• Honey – runny honey. You can substitute with maple syrup, brown rice syrup or golden syrup instead if you prefer, but the taste will be different and the texture can change slightly depending on which liquid sweetener you use.
• Butter – unsalted butter or salted butter are both fine to use. If you use salted butter then omit the pinch of salt.
• White sugar – granulated sugar.
• Dried fruit – sultanas, raisins, dried cranberries, roughly chopped dried apricots.
• Coconut – unsweetened shredded coconut (sweetened coconut will make these muesli bars too sweet) or desiccated coconut.
• Salt – a small pinch of salt brings out the flavours.

How to make this muesli bar recipe

Please scroll down to the recipe card at the end of the post for the full recipe.

1. Melt the butter, sugar and honey in a small saucepan over a low-medium heat until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Turn the heat up and boil for 3 minutes, then remove from the heat
2. Mix the oats, sultanas, seeds and coconut into the warm butter-sugar mixture. NOTE: the sugar will be VERY hot and sticky so don’t touch it with your fingers.

3. Pour the mixture into a lined baking tin and place into the preheated oven to bake until golden brown.
4. Leave to cool in the tin, slicing after 20 minutes, whilst just warm, then leave in the tin to cool completely. TIP: If you slice the bars fresh from the oven they will crumble, but if you leave them to cool completely they can be difficult to cut and can break up.

FAQ

My Recipe Tips

• Line your tin with baking paper / parchment paper as the slice can stick to the tin otherwise.
• Press the slice into the tin well, using the back of a spoon (don’t touch the sugary oats as they will be hot!)
• Cutting the muesli slice – if you cut the slice whilst warm it will crumble. However if you cut it when it is cold it can become brittle. The best way to solve this problem is to leave it in the tin for 15-20 minutes and slice with a sharp knife. Leave it to cool completely in the tin.
• Portion sizes: in these images I have cut the muesli slice in to 10 bars, which are quite large and very filling! For my son I often cut the slice into 12-16 pieces.

Variations

• Choc chip muesli slice – add ¼ – ⅓ cup of chocolate chips but don’t stir the mixture too much once they are added as they will melt.
• Nuts – roughly chopped almonds, hazelnuts or cashews. Use unsalted, raw nuts.
• Dried fruit – dried cranberries, chopped dried apricots, dates or figs.
• Other flavourings – ½ a teaspoon of ground cinnamon or vanilla extract would be delicious in these bars.

Storage

• Store the muesli slice at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
• Freeze – cool completely then wrap the bars individually and take out of the freezer as needed, leaving them to defrost in the fridge overnight. This slice recipe will freeze for up to 1 month, after that time I find that it often takes on strong smells from the freezer.

Related

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