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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Made these exactly as listed for the first time and they were FABULOUS! A huge hit in our house. Tried them the second time with 3 TB peanut butter and 3 TB margarine (instead of the 6 TB butter) and they fell apart even after being refrigerated overnight. But the taste was amazing! Anyone have tips on how get them to hold together using peanut butter?
You could try the powder peanut butter for the flavor
Thank you for this recipe! Both my somewhat picky husband and my very picky 6 yr old gave these a thumbs up today! Always looking for ways to cut out artificial ingredients in our foods and hide more nutrition; this is perfect!
You are a genius, these are amazing. I took the advice of others and subbed 4 T peanut butter for some of the butter, added some coconut, and reduced sugar to 1/4 cup. Wow, they turned out wonderful. I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes. Thanks for this one!
My search for a homemade granola bar is over! Crazy good, easy, and cheap. What more could you ask?
I made it as is except slivered instead of sliced almonds and the crowd is going wild.
If I use peanut butter – is that a 1 to 1 substitution for butter?
Kudos to you for cracking this Jenn.
Thanks,
Michelle
Hi Michelle, So glad your crew enjoyed the granola bars! I’ve got a peanut butter variation on my list of recipes to work on so hopefully that will be out soon…but yes, I’d replace most or all of the butter with PB and replace the almonds with peanuts. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out!
DELISHTASTIC!!! I ADDED A HAND FULL OF SWEETENED COCONUT, A HAND FULL OF MINI MARSHMELLOWS AND FOOD PROCESSED MY CHOCOLATE CHIPS SO THEY were almost a sliver so when I put them on the granola mixture, it melted. When it cooled, it was a gooey chocolate coconut heaven. The second batch I did the exact same but used only 2 tbsn of unsalted butter and 5 tbsp of peanut butter. They were AMAZING. I will never buy store bought again. ☆☆☆☆☆
These are amazing – I make them w/ingredients safe for my families allergies and they are a staple in the kids lunches. The favorite version is the above chocolate chip recipe, minus the nuts but with the addition of some crumbled pretzels and a big scoop of sunflower seed butter! They hold together great and after cutting them I store them in the freezer to give them a little extra chill for lunch box packing.
YUM! I’ve tried several granola bar recipes in search of one I’m happy with, and this one’s the best by far. My search is over! I did substitute golden raisins and dried cranberries for the chocolate chips (didn’t have any mini ones on hand), and I accidentally used regular old-fashioned oats without processing them first…and they still came out fine! They set up nicely in the fridge and cut into clean rectangles without any crumbling. So, no worries for those of you who may not have the quick-cooking oats on hand. Do try these—they blow store-bought granola bars out of the water!
This recipe worked out so well! I did it as a tester for my homemade (aka cheap) Christmas gifts, and the results are dangerously good. I anticipate many variations with homemade caramel and other tasty combinations! And the other reviews and suggestions were great too.
My only suggestions to others would be to make sure you reduce the butter/sugar/honey mixture further than specified, so the bars hold together better. Mine were almost too gooey, which for me just means more finger-linkin’ fun!
Liked how easy these were to make but they are too sweet tasting for my son. (and me). Any ideas for making them less sweet but where they still hold together?
Hi Ann, You could reduce some of the honey and/or brown sugar replace with peanut or almond butter. Hope that helps!
Made these for my outdoorsy, granola loving, geologist husband and they turned out GREAT! I only buy old fashioned oats and was nervous about grinding them to get the quick oats texture, but it worked and will definitely make and share this recipe again!