The Best Chocolate Chip Granola Bar Recipe
on Jul 06, 2017, Updated Sep 24, 2024
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The best and easiest Chocolate Chip Granola Bar recipe ever! And the best part? It includes peanut butter, too!
We love these whole grain sweet treats for easy snacks to take to the pool, on trips to the park, and to share with friends while all of the neighborhood kids are jumping on the trampoline.
You just can’t beat that classic chocolate and peanut butter combination. Everyone loves them!
While you’re at it, you can also prep some Date Energy Bites and a few Healthy Make-Ahead Snacks. Or try these Crunchy Oat and Honey Granola Bars or White Chocolate and Craisin Granola Bars next time.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They are fast, easy, healthy, and kid-friendly.
- Made from a few simple pantry staples.
- Travel and store well.
- Easy to make gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan.
Recipe Ingredients
- Dry old-fashioned rolled oats: Quick-cooking (also called 1-minute) oats would also work.
- Honey
- Butter: Unsalted is best in this recipe or use salted and skip adding salt.
- Brown sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- Peanut butter: Creamy works the best here.
- Peanuts: Get peanuts that are roasted and salted.
- Mini chocolate chips
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Popular Substitutions and Variations
- Gluten-free: Use gluten-free rolled oats and check all your other ingredients.
- Dairy-free: Substitute coconut oil for the butter and use dairy-free chocolate chips.
- Vegan: Follow the dairy-free substitutions and use maple syrup or agave nectar instead of honey – just cook it an extra minute or so.
- Nut-free: Skip the peanuts or add some sunflower seeds and use sunbutter instead of peanut butter although this will change the flavor a bit.
How to Make The Best Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
- Step #1. Place uncooked rolled oats on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until they are lightly toasted.
- Step #2. Put the honey, butter, and brown sugar in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until it bubbles lightly and cook for 1 minute stirring constantly.
- Step #3. Remove the butter mixture from the heat and add the vanilla, salt, and peanut butter.
- Step #4. Put the toasted oats into a large bowl and pour in the butter mixture, stirring to combine.
- Step #5. Place the oat mixture in a 9×9-inch pan that’s been lined with parchment paper.
- Step #6. Press the stick mixture in firmly with a rubber spatula or the bottom of a greased measuring cup.
- Step #7. Allow the granola bar mixture to cool for 10 minutes before adding the chocolate chips and pressing them into the bars with the bottom of a measuring cup.
- Step #8. Let the granola bars chill for at least 2 hours then lift them from the pan by pulling on the edges of the parchment paper and cut them with a sharp knife.
Recipe FAQs
The secret to getting granola bars to stick together is to make a sticky sauce. Once you combine the sauce with the toasted oats, press it into a pan, and let it chill for a couple hours, they will be nice and stuck together.
Yes! I’m sure that coconut oil and dairy-free chocolate chips would work for this recipe if you are dairy free. Gluten-free oats will also work great. Be sure to check that your other ingredients are also free of allergens.
They keep well for up to 2 weeks in the fridge. You can also store them in the freezer even longer. You may want to wrap them in a bit of parchment paper before putting them in a container or plastic bag in the fridge so that they don’t stick together.
Expert Tips
- I don’t recommend using instant oatmeal in these granola bars because they are too fine and aren’t whole grains. You can use old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats.
- Greasing the bottom of a flat measuring cup is a great way to press the granola bars into the pan.
- You can easily double this recipe and put it in a 9×13 inch dish if you need lots of granola bars in your life.
More Healthy Snack Recipes to Consider
Breakfast Recipes
Protein Shakes
Snacks
Breakfast Bars
Breakfast Recipes
Chia Seed Pudding
From Scratch Recipes
Celery Juice
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
The Best Chocolate Chip Granola Bar Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, dry
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch square baking dish with parchment or foil and lightly spray with cooking spray.
- Place the oats on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly toasted.
- While the oats are toasting, add the honey, butter, and brown sugar to a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. Let the mixture come to a light bubble for 1 minute while stirring. When butter mixture is ready, remove it from the heat and stir in the vanilla, salt, and peanut butter.
- Add the toasted oats and the peanuts to a large bowl. Pour the honey mixture over the oat and nut mixture and stir to combine. Stir to combine. Make sure none of the oats are dry.
- Place all of the oat mixture in the prepared pan. Use a rubber spatula or the bottom of a greased measuring cup to press the mixture into the pan.
- Let this cool for about 10 minutes before sprinkling the mini chocolate chips over the top. Press the chocolate chips into the granola bars with the bottom of a measuring cup.
- Chill the granola bars for at least 2 hours. Lift the bars from the pan using the edges of the foil or parchment and place them on a cutting board. Cut into desired shape and size and serve.
Video
Notes
- If you only have salted butter on-hand, you can use it and omit the salt in the recipe.
- If you want to use maple syrup or agave nectar instead of honey, you may need to cook the mixture an extra minute.
- It’s a good idea to wrap the individual bars in a bit of parchment paper before putting them in a container or plastic bag in the fridge so that they don’t stick together.
- Store these granola bars in the fridge for up to two weeks or in the freezer for much longer.
So good! We make these all the time!
So good! We make these all the time!
Anything you’d like, other chopped nuts or coconut or just leave it out all together
I made these yesterday and only problem I had was not eating them all at one time. It was quick and easy to make. I am not a honey fan, so I used maple syrup. I had almonds so used instead of peanuts but both are great. I will be making them again. One great thing about this recipe you can change it to fit your taste. You can add dried cranberries or any dried fruit that you have on hand. Thanks so much for sharing this great recipe.
So glad that you could use maple syrup! I’ve been meaning to try that, thank you for sharing.
Loved this recipe!! I added shredded coconut and raisins too! delish Thank You
How many calories do you think each bar is?
Is there a substitute for the Peanut Butter? Thanks.
Any nut butter would work great.
What a fun idea! These totally remind me of the granola bars that my Mom used to pack in my lunch as a kid…but I bet homemade is WAY better. My son is just getting to the age where he enjoys granola bars, so I might just need to surprise him with a batch of these soon!
Oh, boy, these sound amazing! Peanut butter, chocolate and oats? I could eat my weight in these!
P.S. If you’re ever in Indianapolis, please let me know! I’d love to meet you.