Honey-Sweetened Almond Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Chewy, no-bake, healthy granola bars made simply with oats, honey, almond or peanut butter and chocolate chips. A simple and delicious gluten-free recipe!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
I basically survived on granola bars in high school. Pre-packaged, too sweet, milk chocolate granola bars at lunch and before volleyball practice. Every day. Naturally, Iโve been pretty burnt out on granola bars for the past ten years.
Then my friend Sara (whom I met through the blog) texted me the ingredients list for a granola bar and requested that I recreate them. I trust Saraโs taste in granola bars and thought Iโd better give these a shot, so I stopped at the local coffee shopย to pick one up.
I made it to my car before peeling off the packaging. One bite and I was hooked. This granola bar was unlike any other granola bar Iโd ever encountered. I tasted honey, sea salt, dark chocolate, oats and cinnamon all at onceโeach flavor teetered on the edge of overwhelming the others yet somehow the sum was perfectly balanced.
Plus, unlike those packaged, processed granola bars Iโd grown up eating, these were legitimately healthy granola bars. I immediately added the ingredients on the back of the package to my grocery list and headed to the store.
It took me five tries to get these granola bars just right. I initially thought they were baked because the oats werenโt entirely intact, but my baked bars were all wrong. Then I tried no-bake bars with old-fashioned oats. While the flavor was pretty spot on, the texture of the oats was too distracting.
Finally, it occurred to me to use quick-cooking oatsโoats that have been rolled out thinner and cook in about 60 secondsโto get the right texture. Quick-cooking oats did just the trick and I delivered a bag of pre-packaged bars to Sara as a belated birthday gift.
I think you guys will appreciate these, too. The bars hold together well, although each batch Iโve made has turned out slightly different. I suspect the differences boil down to slight measuring discrepancies between the batches. For the firmest bars, you might need to sprinkle a few more oats into the bowlโenough that you think itโll be almost impossible to mix them all in. Once you put some arm muscle into it and get those oats mixed in, youโre in business.
You might also want to tinker with the amount of salt. Iโve been using unsalted Trader Joeโs almond butter, which is nice and spreadable, plus I can control the salt content. I like my bars a little salty (and therefore totally addictive), so I go with the full 3/4 teaspoon, but you might want to scale back to suit your preferences. Feel free to change up the mix-ins, too. Check the recipe notes for details!
More Granola Bars to Try
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- Easy No-Bake Granola Bars: Find more variations of this recipe here.
- Almond Coconut Granola Bars
- Pecan Granola Bars
- Cranberry Orange Granola Bars
You might also appreciate my popular granola recipe or overnight oats. Check out myย 23 Healthy Make-Ahead Breakfast Recipes for more grab-and-go breakfast options.
Please let me know how your bars turn out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Honey-Sweetened Almond Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Chewy, no-bake, gluten-free granola bars made simply with oats, almonds, almond butter or peanut butter and chocolate chips. This healthy granola bar recipe is so delicious and easy to make. Homemade granola bars are great to keep on hand for traveling or whenever hunger strikes! Recipe yields 14 to 16 bars.
Ingredients
- 1 ยพ cups quick-cooking oats (or old-fashioned oats, pulsed briefly in a food processor or blender to break them up)
- 1 โ cup sliced almonds
- โ cup mini dark chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ยฝ to ยพ teaspoon salt, to taste (decrease if your almond/peanut butter is salted)
- 1 cup creamy unsalted almond butter or peanut butter
- ยฝ cup honey
- 1 ยฝ teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line an 8 to 9-inch square baker with two strips of criss-crossed parchment paper, cut to size. In a mixing bowl, combine the oats, almonds, chocolate chips, cinnamon and salt. Whisk to combine.
- In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, measure out the nut butter. Top with ยฝ cup honey and the vanilla extract. Whisk until well blended. If you must, you can gently warm the liquid mixture on the stovetop or in the microwave, but make sure itโs cool before you pour it into the dry mixture (the chocolate chips will melt).
- Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a big spoon to mix them together until the two are evenly combined and no dry oats remain. The drier the mixture, the more firm the bars will be, so stir in extra oats if the mixture seems wet.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared square baker. Use your spoon to arrange the mixture fairly evenly in the baker, then use the bottom of a flat, round surface (like a short, sturdy drinking glass), covered in a small piece of parchment paper (see photo), to pack the mixture down as firmly and evenly as possible.
- Cover the baker and refrigerate for at least one hour, or overnight. Use a sharp knife to slice the bars. For portability, you can wrap individual bars in plastic wrap or parchment paper. Bars keep well for a couple of days at room temperature, but I recommend storing individually wrapped bars in a freezer-safe bag in the freezer for best flavor.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Sallyโs Baking Addiction and Smitten Kitchen.
Make it gluten free: Be sure to buy certified gluten-free oats.
Make it vegan: Substitute maple syrup for the honey and use dairy-free chocolate chips.
Make it dairy free: Use dairy-free chocolate chips.
Change it up: Feel free to substitute chopped, toasted nuts for the sliced almonds, and chopped, dried fruit for the chocolate.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I made these with peanut butter and maple syrup, very yummy! I started to wrap them in parchment then remembered I had food grade cookie bags that I had bought for a Christmas cookie exchange. Big time saver and so cute! Another Cookie and Kate winner!
Hello- quick question- would these work baked in silicone molds and then allowed to cool, followed by refrigeration to set the shape? Many thanks!
Hi Marissa, I havenโt tested that, but it sounds like it would. Homemade granola bars are always a little more crumbly than store-bought, so you may run into that.
So delicious โ but a part of my soul left my body when I poured about $8 worth of honey into the dish! Maybe Iโll try agave next time to make it more affordable.
But thank you, I will try them again!