Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
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These chewy, crispy no-bake chocolate chip granola bars are easy to make — and they put all those store-bought bars to shame.
Chocolate chip granola bars are a staple in my pantry, but between my husband, my kids, and my kids’ hungry friends, I can’t seem to keep enough of them in the house. So I figured it was time to try and make them from scratch, and maybe even sneak in some health food. After many trials, I finally cracked the code and came up with a version that puts all those store-bought bars to shame. What’s more, they’re no-bake and take only ten minutes to make.
Table of Contents
“My kids rated these infinity out of ten. And my husband, the man who once left a 3 Michelin star restaurant proclaiming he’s ‘had better’ said these were delicious!”
What You’ll Need To Make Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
- Butter: Adds richness and helps bind the ingredients together.
- Brown Sugar: Provides sweetness and contributes to the chewy texture.
- Honey: Acts as a natural binder and adds sweetness.
- Vanilla: Enhances the flavor profile with its aromatic essence.
- Quick-Cooking/Instant Oats: Serve as the base for texture and substance.
- Crispy Rice Cereal: Adds crispiness and lightness to the bars.
- Sliced Almonds: Introduce nuttiness and extra crunch.
- Flax Meal or Wheat Germ: Offers additional nutritional value and helps with binding.
- Mini Chocolate Chips: Provide little pockets of chocolatey goodness throughout the bars.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by combining the butter, brown sugar, and honey in a large pan.
Bring it to a boil, then let it bubble over low heat for a few minutes to thicken slightly.
Off the heat, stir in the salt and vanilla extract.
Then add the oats, crispy rice cereal, almonds, and flax meal (or wheat germ).
Fold the mixture with a rubber spatula until evenly combined.
Transfer the granola bar mixture to a 9 x 13-inch pan lined with aluminum foil.
Press the mixture lightly with a rubber spatula to flatten, then sprinkle the chocolate chips over top. Use the spatula to press the chips firmly into place and compact the mixture into the pan as much as possible. (The reason you don’t mix the chips in is that they’ll melt.)
Place the pan in the refrigerator for 1-1/2 -2 hours, until the bars are cool. Then use the foil overhang to lift the bars out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut into rectangles.
Keep the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator; if you have to stack them, be sure to use parchment paper or foil in between the layers, otherwise, they’ll crumble and stick. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s important to stick with quick-cooking oats which are rolled oats that have been coarsely chopped. Regular old-fashioned oats are too coarse and chewy for this recipe and cause the bars to fall apart. If you don’t have any quick-cooking oats in your pantry, you can make your own by pulsing regular oatmeal in the food processor a few times.
Sure! Store the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. If you have to stack the granola bars, be sure to use parchment paper or foil in between the layers; otherwise, they’ll stick together and fall apart. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Before serving, move them to the refrigerator to thaw.
Yes, these bars offer great versatility. If chocolate chips aren’t your thing, you can opt for raisins or cranberries. Similarly, if almonds aren’t to your taste or if you are dealing with a nut allergy, swap them out for unsalted sunflower seeds. While oats and rice cereal are essential, you have plenty of freedom to substitute other ingredients as long as you maintain the wet-to-dry ingredient ratio.
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Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
These chewy, crispy no-bake chocolate chip granola bars are easy to make — and they put all those store-bought bars to shame.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons honey
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- Heaping ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups quick-cooking/instant oats, such as Quaker Quick 1-Minute Oats (do not use regular old-fashioned oats)
- 1¾ cups crispy rice cereal, such as Rice Krispies
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- ¼ cup flax meal or wheat germ
- ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips (or to taste)
Instructions
- Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil. Spray the foil lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large pot, combine the butter, brown sugar and honey. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and simmer until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt.
- Add the oats, rice cereal, almonds and flax meal (or wheat germ) to the pan and fold with a rubber spatula until well combined.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and press down lightly with a rubber spatula to even out. Sprinkle the miniature chocolate chips over top, adding more or less to suit your taste, and press down firmly with the spatula so the chips stick.The mixture should be tightly compacted in the pan. Place the pan in the refrigerator for 1½ - 2 hours to cool.
- Use the foil overhang to transfer the uncut bars to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut into rectangles. Store the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If you have to stack them, be sure to use parchment paper or foil in between the layers, otherwise they'll stick together and fall apart.
- Note: If you are substituting dried fruit for the chocolate chips, mix it in along with the other ingredients as opposed to sprinkling over top.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The granola bars can be frozen for up to 3 months. Let them cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, move them to the refrigerator and store there.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 bar
- Calories: 187
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated fat: 3g
- Carbohydrates: 26g
- Sugar: 12g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 4g
- Sodium: 21mg
- Cholesterol: 11mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Hi! Would I be able to replace the brown sugar with coconut sugar and get similar results?
Hi Melissa, I don’t have any experience with coconut sugar, so I can’t say confidently either way — sorry I can’t be more helpful!
This was a huge hit in my house! Can’t keep them in the fridge longer than a few days between my family and my kids’ friends inhaling them. We have to keep them nut-free so they are school safe … if I wanted to add a protein powder (I read the other comments about a 1/2 cup substitution of other dry ingredients), would this go into the pot with the butter/sugar/honey or with the rest of the dry ingredients – trying to mask it as much as possible? Thanks for sharing this with us!
I’d add it to the dry ingredients — and so glad they’re a hit in your house!
Just wanted to follow-up … the protein powder wasn’t successful. However, I added 1/4 cup of hemp hearts and the kids couldn’t tell the difference! Another way to get some protein into this delicious snack. Thanks again.
Sorry to hear the protein powder didn’t work out, but glad you found a way to incorporate the hemp hearts — thanks for reporting back!
Love this recipe! Easy to make and I had most of the ingredients already. Mine heald together pretty well but we ate them straight out of the refrigerator. Delicious and better than store bought since they aren’t super sweet, plus they have a better consistency than regular granola bars. Will be making these again for sure. Thanks, Jenn!
These were a huge hit in my house! How would I modify the recipe if I wanted to include or swap something out for peanut butter? And at what point would I add it? Thanks Jenn!!
Hi Amy, glad you all enjoyed these! You could replace 2 tablespoons of the honey with peanut butter.
Not a hit. Made exactly as written. Easy to make. They set up, cut, and held together fine. Just no one liked them which is too bad because had to buy a lot of the ingredients that I don’t usually use.
Typically have great luck with recipes on this site though.
I modified your recipe a little for my peanut butter loving family! They were delicious! I used all the same ratios but used peanuts instead of almonds and used 3T peanut butter with 3T butter instead of all butter in the mixture. They turned out so good! I can’t wait for my daughter to get off the bus to try one!
I have to tell you that my kids love this recipe so much my daughter asked me to make them for her birthday to bring to school. I found this recipe back in 2014 and still use it today. I happen to be on the web looking for a recipe for ground chicken and found your meatball recipe. It took me a second, but then I was like wait. . . I think this is the granola bar lady. : ) btw, the meatballs got a thumbs up. Thank you!
Can protein powder be used to add more protein? Possibly substituting the flax?
Hi Jeni, Yes that should work well. Enjoy!
Loved except….. these are so good. I’ve made them twice now. First time I made the recipe exactly and it was way way way too sweet for me (but my family loved them) this time I reduced it to 1/4 cup of brown sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla and they came out perfect for me 😍 quick and easy and something I’ll make all the time now.
Made these granola bars the other day and the whole family loved them!! They were gone in a day! Great recipe. Love the crispy crunch of the rice cereal and the fact that there is no peanut butter in them. My son doesn’t care for it. We loved them straight from the fridge.5 stars!! Thank you for the recipe!
This recipe is so easy to make. Made them for the office and they loved them. Now that I made the original, I will add more to it, like coconut flakes and dried fruit. The 9×13 makes them pretty thin bars. I think next time I’ll double the recipe. Thanks so much for another tasty recipe!