Granola bars in Pakistan: what to look for, and how to make your own from a jar

"Granola bars" is one of the most searched snack terms in Pakistan, and most of what comes up is a chocolate bar with some oats pressed into it. We make loose granola, not bars, so this is not a sales pitch. It is the label guide we wish existed, plus the recipe we use at home when we want bars.

Close-up of honey granola clusters with roasted almonds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds

Real clusters: oats, roasted almonds and seeds, baked with honey

What is actually in a granola bar

A bar has to hold together, and the cheapest glue is sugar syrup. That is why a typical packaged bar in Pakistan has 10 to 18 g of sugar in a 35 g bar, which is more sugar per gram than a biscuit. Add a chocolate coating and it is a candy bar with a health label. The ones worth buying list oats and nuts first, use dates or honey as the binder, and stay under about 8 g of sugar a bar.

How to read the label in ten seconds

  • First ingredient should be oats, not sugar, glucose, "cereal" or rice crisps.
  • Nuts should appear by name (almond, peanut), not as "nut pieces" at the bottom.
  • Protein of 5 g or more per bar means there are real nuts or whey in it.
  • If the bar snaps like glass, it is set with syrup; a good bar is chewy or crumbly.

Granola ingredients: rolled oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and honey

What goes in: rolled oats, almonds, seeds and raw honey

Make your own in 20 minutes, no oven

This is how we turn a jar of granola into a week of bars. Loose granola has the oats, nuts and seeds already toasted, so all you are adding is a binder.

No granola in the house? Bake a batch first with our easy homemade granola recipe (oven, air fryer or pan), then come back here.

You need: 200 g granola (half a 350 g jar of Nutty Honey Crunch or Whey Protein Granola), 150 g soft pitted dates, 3 tablespoons peanut butter, 1 tablespoon honey, a pinch of salt.

  1. Soak the dates in hot water for five minutes, drain, and blend to a paste with the peanut butter, honey and salt.
  2. Stir the paste into the granola until everything is coated and sticky. If it will not hold when pressed, add another tablespoon of peanut butter.
  3. Press hard into a small lined tray, about 2 cm thick. Pressing firmly is what stops the bars crumbling.
  4. Refrigerate for an hour, then cut into 8 bars. Keep in the fridge in a box; they last a week.

Each bar works out around 180 calories with roughly 5 g protein from the nuts (more with the whey granola), and the only sugar is the dates and a spoon of honey. For a chocolate version, drizzle melted dark chocolate over the top before chilling.

Granola Big Pair: two 350 g jars of Date Pop granola

The Granola Big Pair: the best value per bowl

Why loose granola beats bars anyway

A bar is fixed at one portion and one flavour. A jar lets you have four tablespoons on yogurt for breakfast, a small handful with chai, and bars on the weekend, from the same 350 g. Per gram it is also cheaper than any decent bar in Pakistan. Both our granolas are here, delivered with cash on delivery across the country.