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Chewy Granola Bars – A healthy no bake breakfast or snack the whole family will love. So much better than the store bought ones!
You’re going to love this super easy recipe for granola bars. They taste very similar to a chewy kind you can buy at the store. These have just a few ingredients and come together in under 10 minutes.
So much healthier and cheaper than the grocery store alternative. Plus you could mix in whatever you want!
ARE CHEWY GRANOLA BARS HEALTHY?
I like to think of these chewy granola bars to be a healthier option than some other traditional breakfast or snacks I tend to grab when I’m in a rush.
They may not be the epitome of a healthy snack, but they are healthier than grabbing a candy bar at the gas station or chowing down on a huge plate of syrup-covered pancakes for breakfast.
Read some of my possible variations farther down in the post for some ideas to make them even healthier.
INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED
- Butter– Helps to soften the oats and adds a little saltiness.
- Honey– This helps hold the granola bars together.
- Brown Sugar– Adds a little bit of sweetness.
- Quick cooking oats– Don’t use rolled oats. They need to be cooked and these are no cook granola bars.
- Crispy Rice Cereal– Adds a crispy crunch to the recipe.
- Vanilla– Helps enhance the other flavors in the recipe.
- Mini Chocolate Chips– The mini variety helps get the perfect amount of chocolate in every bite.
HOW TO MAKE CHEWY GRANOLA BARS
- Stir oats and rice together. Make sure they are incorporated well to get a crispy bite throughout the whole pan of granola bars.
- Melt butter, honey, and brown sugar together. In a small saucepan, combine these ingredients over medium heat, stirring slowly to incorporate all of the ingredients.
- Bring it to a boil. Once the butter, honey, and brown sugar begins to bubble, reduce the heat and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add vanilla. After the cooking is complete, add vanilla.
- Pour the syrup over the oats. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats and syrup and until the oats are completely coated.
- Add the mixture to a sheet pan. Press the mixture into the pan. Make sure you press them in hard and tight so that they do not crumble and break when you cut into them to store. Mine were about 1/2 an inch thick, but yours may vary depending on what size baking sheet you use.
- Sprinkle chocolate chips. Grab your mini chocolate chips and sprinkle them evenly over the top of the pan of pressed oats and syrup. Gently press the chocolate chips into the tops of the granola bars.
- Let the chewy granola bars cool. You will want to let them cool for at least two hours. This will allow the syrup to soak into the oats and make the granola bars more solid and easier to cut into. The heat of your hands pressing the chocolate chips into the oats can make them slightly melty. This will allow the chocolate to set again as well.
- Cut into bars. Slice the baking sheet of granola mixture into bars. Make them as big or as small as you would like. This recipe made about 12 bars for me, but it is all about how thin or thick you like them.
HOW TO STORE THESE CHEWY GRANOLA BARS
One of the greatest things about these chewy bars is how long they last. You can store them on your countertop for 5-7 days for the best results. Do not refrigerate these. This can make the honey extremely hard and difficult to eat.
I prefer to wrap the bars individually in parchment paper so they do not stick together and then store them in a large air tight container or bag.
If you want to make a double batch to freeze more for later, these freeze extremely well. To do this, wrap the individual bars in parchment paper and place them in a freezer safe container. They will last up to two months in the freezer. To defrost, place the frozen bars in a separate container on your countertop for 24 hours and enjoy.
POSSIBLE VARIATIONS
This Chewy Granola Bar recipe is great because of how customizable it can be. If you don’t like one of the ingredients I included, just leave it out! Is there a flavor combination you absolutely love? Feel free to toss in some extra ingredients, too.
As long as the ingredients are precooked (because this is a no bake recipe) you’ll have the perfect breakfast or on-the-go snack.
Here are some other flavor combinations I’ve tried and have turned out great:
- Raisins– The tartness of pairs so well with the sweetness of the bars.
- Peanut Butter- Add a little more protein to your bars
- Marshmallows– Adds fun and flavor to this already great granola bar recipe.
- Cranberries – You can’t go wrong adding a little fruit.
- Nuts– packed with fiber and protein.
- Coconut– A great source of healthy fat.
More Homemade Snack Recipes To Try
- Homemade Granola with Pumpkin Seeds, Honey & Cranberries
- Ranch Oyster Crackers
- Chewy Coconut Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
- Peanut Butter Protein Balls
- Cinnamon Toast Crunch Granola Bars
- Party Mix
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars
- Biscoff Granola Bars
- Homemade Crackers
If you love these Chewy Granola Bars as much as we do, make sure you share the recipe with your friends so they can try them too!
No Bake Chewy Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 cups quick cooking oats
- 1 cup crispy rice cereal
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Stir oats and rice cereal together. Set aside.
- Over medium heat, melt butter, honey and brown sugar together. Once it starts to bubble, reduce heat, and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in vanilla.
- Pour syrup over the oat mixture. Stir until well coated.
- Press into a greased sheet pan. Mine were about 1/2 in thick. Thoroughly press them together, or they will crumble when you cut into them.
- Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly across the bars. Lightly press in the chips.
- Allow to cool for at least 2 hours. Cut into bars, store in air tight container at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I would love one of these for breakfast!! Such an amazing treat!
I LOVE these chewy granola bars! They are the perfect snack!
These are really perfect snack for my kids! They loved it!
My kids love these! They’re perfecf for lunchboxes.
Great taste and flavor-as good or better than store bought. I did have trouble with them falling apart; even after I pushed them in to the pan. Next time I will add more sugars/butter mixture to offset. Also my chocolate chips didn’t press in very good do you really do have to push hard or even mix them in before putting in the pan!
Sounds like you may have boiled the mixture just a little bit too long and it is not quite as gooey and sticky as you might want it. You can try cooking it for a little less next time. I do lose some chocolate chips as the bars get moved around, but it is not hard to press them in. You can also try stirring them in with the oats, that would work well too.
With Quaker still not producing their granola bars, I went looking for something easy that I could make. I’d love to try your recipe. May I ask what size pan you used? Thanks!
The sheet pan is quarter sheet pan, approximately 13×9. But you can use any size, and just press to your desired thickness.