Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
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.
You May Also Like
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
Powered by 
- 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.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
These are DELISH! Better than any store bought brand I’ve ever had! Wondering if you have an apple cinnamon bar recipe to share??
No yet, Jennifer, but I love that idea and will add it to my list.
Hi…..
I’ve been SO wanting to make my own granola bars because between my husband and son i’m constantly buying them.
I do want yo try this recipe BUT will it make much of a difference if i don’t add the flax seed and wheat germ?
Hi Melanie, No worries, just replace the flax meal with more of another ingredient (I’d use equal parts oats and rice krispies) and it won’t make any difference at all. I hope your family enjoys them!
Thank you SO much! My peanut allergy son has been begging me for granola bars, and we’ve had a hard time finding them locally in our little town. I finally decided it was time to start making my own, and this recipe was a HUGE hit!
We followed the recipe exactly since it was our first try, and the bars are absolutely DELICIOUS! We made 18 bars on Monday night, and now, on Thursday at noon, there are only 8 left. I think this may be a ‘once a week’ recipe around here!
We look forward to tweaking & trying fun variations! I think cinnamon-raisin may be up next!
I have been wanting to try a homemade snack bar for a while and after a lot of research, tried this one with a few adjustments: I didn’t have rice crispies, so I used 3 cups quick oats and added extra flax meal. I chopped up some roasted salted almonds and some dried cherries. Also used about 5 Tbsp. butter and 1 Tbsp. canola oil. I used about a cup of regular choc. chips. I also added about 1/4 c. unsweetened, shredded coconut. I lined my pan with parchment paper, threw in some of the chocolate chips, then pressed in the granola with the rest of the chocolate chips on top. I baked it for 20 min. at 350, let it cool, then put it in the fridge before cutting. Once at room temp, the bars were perfect! I didn’t think my kids would like them with nuts and cherries, but the were cut up so small they could hardly detect them! My 8 year old twins gobbled them up. I am thrilled to have found an economical, healthy alternative to the pricey store-bought variety!
These are so addicting! I have made about 4 pans since I found this recipe. I hated to buy packaged bars that aren’t even as filling as these. My kids love them and I don’t feel bad about them eating more than one! Thank you!
I discovered this recipe in late August and we have made a batch EVERY WEEK since then. My 12 year old daughter LOVES these granola bars and takes one in her lunch box every day. We grind the almonds in a food processor so they are disguised. (To save time I grind enough almonds for two batches and keep them in a baggie in the fridge along with the flax meal.) Thanks for the great recipe!
I have been making this for the last four months, and it is a huge hit at my house. From making so many batches, I realized that overcooking the butter/sugar mix can make the bars taste more like brittle than a granola bar.
This recipe gets a thumbs up from my 3 year old.
I always try new granola and granola bar recipes. I especially liked that this was no bake. Taste is really good. I think i’ll try adding some peanut butter to the gooey ingredients to make them salty & sweet. Also, be sure to really compact them into your pan – they will hold their form better.
I love this recipe! Thank you for sharing it. I made two batches. One with dried fruit & nuts; the other with mini marshmellows & choc chips. The bars held together beautifully!
After one bite I knew I would making these forever! They are soooo good!
I am wondering if those that say their bars fall apart at room temperature are not simmering the honey mixture long enough. I have made these 3 times in the past week and none have fallen apart.
Cant wait to make these!!! I make my own granola all the time.
Hi Jenn,
I want to put cocoa into the bars along with the chocolate chips. Would I need to do anything different other than adding maybe a 1/4 c of cocoa powder?
Hi Pearl, I’d also increase the honey by one tablespoon. Please come back and let me know how they come out. I’m very interested in different variations on this recipe – I recently tried adding some peanut butter and they came out great 🙂
Judy,
I think ground pecans will work in place of the flax. I am able to buy ground pecans in the produce section of the grocery store. I use them in all sorts of receipes including cookies and pancakes. If you are going to grind your own make sure to stop before you end up with nut butter.
Just made these and they are so tasty and so good!! Taste just like Cascadian Farms. Thanks so much!
Made these last night ! Yum, only mine didn’t stay together very well… any ideas why? I did everything in the recipe.
Hi Bella, Glad you liked the bars but sorry you had trouble with them staying together. Did you use instant oats and keep them in the fridge?
Hi, are these gluten free granola bars?
Hi Ireland, I think they could be, as long as you use gluten free Rice Krispies and oats.
If I can’t find flax meal or wheat germ what can I use instead. I like the idea of sunflower seeds instead of the nuts. It used to be a national past time cracking the shell with the teeth and getting the seed out. Regarding the chocolate on the top of the bars, wouldn’t it be tasty if the chocolate melted inside?
Hi Judy, You can use more nuts, crispy rice or oats in place of the flax/wheat germ. You could certainly mix in the chocolate chips but they would melt and swirl right into the mixture…might not be a bad thing!
I have made this recipe a few time for my granola bar junkie of a husband. He eats 3-4 granola bars a day. This definately saves money and he says they are 10x better than any store bought bar. I put the pan in the fridge to let them cool before cutting them, then I wrap each individual bar and keep them in the fridge. This way they are easy for him to pull out and throw in his lunch bag. Thanks for the recipe!
Just made these and they taste wonderful!!! My only problem is that they are quite crumbly if I don’t refrigerate them, how would you recommend I fix that? Thanks so much for sharing
Hi Ashley, It helps if you press them down firmly, but they are really best refrigerated.
I have searched for a good healthy granola bar recipe and this by far is the best!!! I just subbed the brown sugar with coconut sugar and more honey & it was great. They taste so good will be using this in the future a lot!
This is the first recipe I tried from your site. They were wonderful and my kids loved them. Looking forward to trying more!
I used to make granola for the children when they were at school so they started the day off healthily. My daughter didn’t like it except when I first took them out of the oven and stirred raisins in. They plumped up. The bars look lovely. But….half the things you get in America are not obtainable here and I have no health shops near me. Certain things with have to be dropped. What can I use instead of wheat germ or the flaxseed?
I’m in the UK too. Flax seed is linseed which you can get in any supermarket. You may find it as flax seed in bigger shops but it’s expensive. Linseed is the same and you’ll find it with the other nuts and baking ingredients
I can not wait to make theses!!! I will make them today!!
Excellent base recipe… Since I didn’t have everything with me, I substituted the brown sugar with date palm sugar, added a wee bit of refined soyabean oil, some sliced dalted peanuts, cinnamon and regular puffed rice instead of rice crispies to this very recipe.. That made it a little less sweet, and date palm made it a little more chewy..
My husband loves them – kept them to snack on before we hit the gym, but I suspect they wont last that long!
I have never commented on a recipe before but I couldn’t help myself with this one. These are WONDERFUL but I did make one major, but easy change. After I made them, and they had cooled, they tasted fabulous but they were SO soft. When we picked them up, they oozed away from our fingers and fell apart. So I threw them in the oven at 350 and baked them for about 20 minutes. They came out SO GOOD! Perfect! I made them as described but used sunflower seeds instead of almonds and used light butter and did not add flax or wheat germ, as I had none on hand. After baking them, they had a chewy top and a slightly harder, somewhat crispy bottom. They are so good! If you are having trouble with them being too soft, throw them in the oven! Cut them first though. they came out very nicely since they were already cut. I just ran my knife along the cuts again and the lifted right out.
Great recipe, thank you! I missed out the wheatgerm and almonds and added sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, ground flax seed and extra rice krispies. Delicious!!
I have made these so many times we love them! I have so much fun mixing it up and adding different things. Today I am going to try swapping peanut butter for the brown sugar. Thank you for the great recipe!
i love this recipe! tried it just now bt i guess i didnt compress it well or maybe the ratio was off because it didnt stick beautifully as yours. will dfntly try again! tq..
These turned out perfect! Thanks for the recipe. I swapped out 3/4 cup of steel cut oats for part of the oatmeal and they are great!
I wanted to be able to send the bars to school with my kids, so I had to keep them nut free. I substituted shredded coconut for the almonds, and replace half of the flax with chia seeds. I am hoping the kids get to try them – my husband can’t get enough! Next time I think I’ll substitute agave for the sugar as well. Thanks for this awesome recipe!
THank you for this recipe! I am SICK of spending $3.00 a box for Cascadian Farm chocolate chip granola bars! These look exactly like those! I love how I can sneak in some flax or other flavors, too. I can’t wait to try these!
You called it, Julie. Those are exactly the ones that I buy. Only problem is, once you try these, it’s hard to go back to the boxed stuff!
Excellent base recipe … my kids really enjoy these bars. Just a couple of tweaks that went over well with my girls. First, I added two tablespoons of peanut butter to the pan along with the honey, brown sugar, and butter. Gave it a subtle peanut butter flavor and a little extra protein. Second, I substituted mini-M&M’s for the chocolate chips. Adds some fun colors and they also don’t melt quite as quickly on little fingers. Lastly, I used wheat germ as recommended in the recipe, but also added a couple tablespoons of ground flax seed besides. Always looking for ways to add healthy ingredients to everyday meals/snacks, and I found that the kids don’t notice it. I also tried using waxed paper in place of the tin foil. It was easy to remove the bars from the pan for cutting, but the waxed paper is non-stick without having to spritz with cooking spray.
Great suggestions. Thank you!
Question do the bars have to stay cold because I made them for my 9 year old daughter and she loved them but once they came to room temp the bars fell apart .
Hi Stefan, The bars don’t need to stay cold. Did you use quick 1-minute oats? If you use regular rolled oats, the bars will fall apart. Also, be sure to press down on the mixture very firmly with a spatula when you put it in the pan.
I have wanted a homemade granola bar recipe for ages – thanks for this! Is there a way to make them slightly less sweet? I tried using a little more butter and a little less honey, but now they fall apart unless I keep them in the frige. I’m using agave instead of the brown sugar, which may be part of the problem. If you have suggestions for how to keep the wet/dry ratio while reducing some of the sweetness, I’d appreciate it!
Hi Talia, You know, I tried reducing the sweetness as well and had the same issues. I think, keeping all other ingredients the same, you could probably reduce the brown sugar or honey by a few tablespoons, but any more than that the bars will completely fall apart. Unfortunately, it’s the sweet ingredients that make the sticky “goo” that holds them together. Wish I could be more helpful!
You could probably use a nut butter or nut-free butter (peanut, almond, soy, etc.); I have seen that used in other recipes. Unsweetened nut/nut-free butter might also help hold the bars together even when not trying to reduce the sweetness (like if you go a little crazy with the dry ingredients, just melt some PB in the microwave and add it to the mix as needed).
These are amazing! For anyone who is on Weight Watchers I did the calculations and 1 bar is 4 points.
Made these yesterday and so far everyone likes them. I shared a few with friends too. I used milled fax seed with blueberries (finely ground) I found at Trader Joes. I will try adding dried fruit in the next batch and no chocolate chips.
Yummy stuff as my kids would say. Made these for my adult son and his fellow travelers who are making a roadtrip from Bismarck ND to Louisville KY later this week. A couple changes I made included toasting the oatmeal and almonds til lightly brown (about 12 minutes) and replacing the 2 tblsp of honey with molasses as my brown sugar was the light brown variety – lovely flavors! Also, I didn’t have the wheat germ or flax and the result was still satisfactory. I look forward to finding some dried fruit and nut combinations in the bulk section of the grocery store for other flavor combinations – today there were golden raisins and Craisins in the pantry. We also want to try them with coconut. Thanks for adding something new to my recipe box!!
I was able to make these gluten free by purchasing the Crisp Cereal at Whole Foods. My kids have been begging for more all day. A new staple in our house!
Making these made my day, and eating them will get me through what’s destined to be a long week. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe! I look forward to mixing it up with some different mix-ins and sharing your recipe with friends and family (those who aren’t already getting your email, but soon will after this recipe finds them). Delicious!
Thanks, Katie. So glad you enjoyed!
These granola bars were GREAT !!!
This was my first visit to your site and I just had to make these as soon as I saw them. Looking forward to more recipes 🙂
Jenny, after Sally Fallon’s education on how cereal is made to “stay crisp” with a “shellac finish” I cannot even buy these cereals. Can I simply substitute the Rice Krispys with more oatmeal or my homemade granola?
Hi Beverly, You could definitely substitute either more oats or homemade granola, but your bars will be denser. The rice cereal keeps them light and a little crispy.
I found brown rice crisps cereal in the health food store and a great substitute to Rice Krispies. The rice crispies does make this recipe have a lighter texture.
These were perfect to make yesterday afternoon for my after school bunch. So easy to prepare as shown, and I had all the ingredients on hand (used wheat germ instead of the flax). I had to stop my husband from eating more than one before dinner! Love the chewy texture that is lightened by the rice krispies and the honey flavor really shines through to make this one of the best snacks yet! Thank you, Jenn.
These are delicious! Just made them this afternoon and I love them! Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
I always have a pantry stocked full of granola bars, too. They are so nice to on-the-go snacks. I’ve never made them at home but I think I should try these out!
Thank you! My son always asks for granola bars, but I won’t buy the store bought one due to all the junk in them. These look fabulous! I’m headed to the store now to buy the ingredients 🙂
Do you happen to have the detailed nutritional information for these bars? They look AWESOME!!!
Hi Melanie, Unfortunately, I do not offer nutritional info for my recipes, but it is something I’m working on. Stay tuned 🙂
the calorie count is about 171 calories per bar
Jen- This look delish and I’m always looking for unprocessed snacks for the kids. Do you think subbing vegetable oil or coconut oil will ruin the consistency? Luke is allergic to dairy (butter) . . . . Thanks!
Hi Bridget, Could you use margarine? If not, I think either of those oils would probably work fine.
Jenn, just wanted to report back that using coconut oil (which is hard at room temp) instead of butter worked great! I also replaced the nuts with 1/4 cup steel cut oats for different texture and 1/4 cup more Rice Krispies and omitted the choco chips so my nut and daily allergy kids could all enjoy them! They declared them delicious! Thanks for the terrific recipe!
So good to know! That’s the great thing about these bars — you can switch up all the ingredients and they’re still delicious.
Hi Bridget,
My brother uses Vegan “Buttery Sticks” in place of butter for his dairy allergy. They work just like butter and have saved my family!
Hi – Is there anything I could sub for the brown sugar? We are really trying to omit processed sugar from our diets. Would it be ok to not include this ingredient? Thanks! They look delish!
Hey Laura, you could add more honey or agave instead of the sugar.
I’m about to try date paste- I’ll let you know! ;D
Okay- I made the original recipe last night- the only change was I didn’t add almonds and did add about 1/4 raisins. (And my chocolate chips were regular sized so I put them in my Blendtec and just sprinkled chocolate powder over the top!) They did fall apart a bit, especially if they weren’t JUST out of the fridge. But they were tasty!!
Then this morning I made them with 6 Tbsp coconut oil and 1 cup of date paste in place of the butter and sugar. (No almonds, powdered chips, and raisins again.) They are just as sweet, and hold their form at room temp.
Raw and vegan if you leave off the chips! My kids loved both- the date paste version was not as messy- ha. Thanks, Jenn!
I’ve subbed Coconut sugar or Coconut crystals for the brown sugar, and you can’t tell a difference. They both have a lower glycemic impact than brown sugar. I bought it at Whole Foods.
great tip, lisa. thank you!
Just wondering if you can freeze these and/or how long they will stay fresh at room temp.
Hi Jill, I do think they’d freeze well, and they’d keep at room temp for about a week (though mine have never lasted that long!).
I was eating this wonderful granola bar in the cafeteria today at breakfast. I would like to know whats the ingredients that you guys use to make this amazing chocolate bar taste like heaven on earth ?
Hello,
This is a great recipe-I can’t wait to try it 🙂 thank you!
Is there something healthy I can sub for the almonds as I am allergic to nuts?
Thanks!
Cristina
Hi Christina, Sure, it’s fine to replace the nuts with something else. You can add dried fruits, seeds or equal parts oats and crispy rice cereal.