Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

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After lots of testing, I can attest that this is the perfect batch of chocolate chip granola bars. They’re the ideal portable snack that strikes a balance between sweet and salty. But most importantly – they nail that chewy texture we all know and love in a classic granola bar.

Granola bars sliced up.

It’s no secret that I love chocolate, especially in a granola bar. But as always, I look for ways to give a healthier, homemade spin to packaged versions. So today, it was about time I made my own chewy chocolate granola bar recipe!

Not to toot my own horn – but I really nailed the texture on this one. All thanks to several failed batches (the 4th time’s the charm right?). Unlike my trail mix granola bars that are hard and crunchy, these ones are soft and chewy. Both are great, just different – and variety is always welcome! So if you’re in need of more on-the-go healthy snacks, these granola bars will certainly fit the bill.

Ingredients for chocolate chip granola bars on a table

What’s In This Chewy Granola Bar?

Luckily, you might have many of these ingredients already in your pantry. Especially if you tend to bake a lot. If not, everything on this list is easy and accessible – no complicated ingredients here!

  • Quick Cooking Oats: After testing with both old fashioned rolled oats and quick cooking oats, I found that quick cooking oats resulted in a better texture. Where it wasn’t too oat-y, and created a smoother granola mixture for a softer, chewier bite.
  • Puffed Rice: Yes, there is a difference between puffed rice and rice crisps cereal. Puffed rice is a single ingredient that’s undergone a dilating process (i.e. how it gets “puffed”) and it remains fairly soft. On the other hand, rice crisps are usually crunchier and have added sugars and other ingredients (like your typical “rice krispies” cereal). Both can work in this recipe, this is just my reminder to always read labels.
  • Nuts: Use any of your favorite nuts! Personally, I love to use a mix of pecans and walnuts for granola bars.
  • Chocolate Chips: Depending on your chocolate preference, you can use dark to milk chocolate chips. Just make sure to grab mini chocolate chips so they blend well with the rest of the ingredients.
  • Flaxseeds: These powerhouse seeds add healthy nutrients to these homemade granola bars. Feel free to substitute with chia seeds.
  • Honey: This is the sticky “glue” that holds the granola bars together. I haven’t tested this recipe with maple syrup yet, so if you do, let us know in the comments below how it turns out!
  • Creamy Nut Butter: I’m using almond butter, but any nut or seed butter will work just fine!
  • Coconut Oil and Vanilla Extract: Two baking essentials to bind the dry ingredients together with a hint of vanilla.

Find the printable recipe with measurements below.

How To Make Homemade Granola Bars

A simple mix of wet ingredients into dry ingredients brings these granola bars together. Here’s how you make them!

Stir the dry ingredients. Preheat your oven to 325°F/165°C. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, with extra paper popping up the sides. Then in a large bowl, stir together the oats, puffed rice, chopped nuts, flaxseeds, chocolate chips, and salt.

Stir the wet ingredients. In a medium bowl, stir together the honey, almond butter, coconut oil, and vanilla, until smooth.

Mix together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, stir together, and scoop the mixture into the pan.

Pressing granola bar mixture into a pan with parchment paper

Press the mixture. Use a piece of parchment paper to press the mixture into a super flat and even layer. Then bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until there’s just a bit of golden color around the edges. For crunchier bars bake 25 to 30 minutes.

Chocolate chip granola bars on a table

Cool and firm up. Let the granola bars cool to room temperature in the pan. Then place the pan in the fridge for 1 hour to firm up. Gently lift the parchment paper out of the pan, and slice into 12 even granola bars!

Holding a chewy chocolate chip granola bar

Tips For The Best Granola Bar

  • Use a creamy nut / seed butter. Make sure to choose a creamy butter, and not the crunchy kind. If the butter is too dry, the ingredients won’t bind together very well after baking in the oven.
  • Chop up any large ingredients. For the best chewy texture (that won’t fall apart), it’s best to keep your ingredients on the smaller (or finer) side. So again, use quick cooking oats instead of rolled oats, and chop up your nuts to smaller pieces. Pro tip – you can use a mini food processor to quickly blitz the nuts!
  • Make sure the mixture is super compact. I cannot emphasize this enough when making the granola bars! Any empty spaces in between the mixture will result in bars that will fall right apart. So make sure to press down hard with the parchment paper, or roll it down with a mason jar.
  • Be patient with the chilling time. The longer you let your bars chill, the better the texture will be once they’ve reached room temperature. So don’t cut the 1 hour short!
Chewy chocolate granola bars stacked on a table

Storage Tips

This is what Sunday meal prep is all about! Make a batch of these granola bars, and you’ve got a snack to enjoy every day of the week (or for future weeks if you freeze them).

  • To store: Place the sliced bars in a bag or container and store in the fridge for up to one week. And to prevent them from sticking to each other, add a slice of parchment paper in between each bar.
  • To freeze: Yes, these are freezer-friendly! Add them to a freezer-safe bag or container (with parchment paper in between), and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let them thaw at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before eating.

Granola Bars Recipe Video

This granola bar recipe is pretty straightforward, but a step-by-step video always helps – right? Follow along with me in the video below!

More Healthy Snack Ideas

It’s always a good idea to prep some healthy snacks to enjoy for a midday bite. And whether you’re looking for something sweet or salty – you’ve got a few options below.

Goodbye packaged chocolate chip granola bars! This healthy snack is one that makes total sense to make at home. Give it a try and let me know how you like them in a comment below!

Chocolate chip granola bars laid out on a table

Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

4.98 from 71 votes
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Chill Time: 1 hour
Total: 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Author: Lisa Bryan

Description

These healthy granola bars are the ideal portable snack that's both sweet and salty. Trust me, these homemade chewy chocolate chip granola bars that are much better than store-bought! Watch how I make them in the video above!

Video

Ingredients 
 

Instructions 

  • Preheat and prep. Preheat oven to 325°F/165°C. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, with the paper coming up the sides.
    Pan with parchment paper for granola bars
  • Stir the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, stir together the oats, puffed rice, chopped nuts, chocolate chips, flaxseed, and salt.
    A glass bowl of granola bar ingredients
  • Stir the wet ingredients. In a medium bowl, stir together the honey, almond butter, coconut oil, and vanilla, until smooth.
    A glass bowl of wet ingredients for granola bars
  • Mix together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir together until well combined.
    Wet granola bar ingredients poured into dry ingredients.
  • Press the mixture. Scoop the mixture into the pan and press it into an even layer, using another piece of parchment paper to firmly press the mixture flat. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until barely starting to get a little bit of golden color around the edges for chewy granola bars. For crunchier bars bake 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
    A pan with parchment paper and granola bar mixture
  • Firm up. Let the granola bars cool to room temperature in the pan. Then place the pan in the fridge for 1 hour to firm up the granola bars completely. Gently lift the parchment paper out of the pan, and slice into granola bars.
    Chocolate chip granola bars sliced and laid out on a table

Lisa’s Tips

  • Puffed rice: If you’re unsure about what kind of puffed rice to buy – you can purchase this bag of puffed rice straight from Amazon! This is the one I’m using in this recipe.
  • Mini chocolate chips: if you have a hard time finding the mini chocolate chips, you can also use your favorite chocolate bar and finely chop it up! 
  • If you find that your bars are still not sticking together very well, try adding a little bit more honey and baking them a little bit longer. 

Nutrition

Calories: 289kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 56mg | Potassium: 184mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 18IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 2mg
Course: Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: granola bar recipe, granola bars
Did you make this recipe?Mention @downshiftology or tag #downshiftology!

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About the author

Lisa Bryan

Lisa is a bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, and YouTuber (with over 2.5 million subscribers) living in sunny Southern California. She started Downshiftology in 2014, and is passionate about making healthy food with fresh, simple and seasonal ingredients.

4.98 from 71 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




207 Comments

  1. Hi Lisa,
    We tried this granola bar recipe. The flavour was great, but they did fall apart. I would love to have a granola bar that stays together.i had to use quinoa puffs because I couldn’t find rice puffs. Would this be why they were crumbly?
    Love your recipes!

    1. Hi Jill – It could be the quinoa puffs or if you didn’t press down hard enough to make sure everything was intact. Hopefully it turns out better the next time around!

  2. These were easy to make and delicious. I added just a touch more honey as she suggests and the bars satisfy the sweet cravings. Great for making a batch and using as meal prep snacks, or wrap them individually in wax paper for a road trip snack.
    Once again, her recipes hit it out of the park!5 stars

  3. This is a great recipe and easily adjustable. I have been make them weekly for my middle schooler who is now too cool to bring a lunch to school. For anyone wanting to bump up the protein content, I always add 1/2 cup of unflavored protein powder (any type works: rice, whey, etc) which I mix in to the wet ingredients.5 stars

  4. My son is allergic to nuts. Could I omit the chopped nuts completely or should I substitute them with something else? I can use sunflower seed butter for the nut butter so no problems there. Thank you!

    1. My daughter is allergic to nuts and we have made these bars a few times and just omitted the nuts and the recipe still works great! I will try adding a bit of pumpkin seed and sunflower seed on the next round! My daughter loves these bars!5 stars

  5. This is one of my favorite recipes, I make it often but I have altered the dry ingredients to include more nuts, and use chia seeds instead of flax (since that is what I normally have on hand). I have also experimented with maple syrup instead of honey, which makes them slightly crunchier. I do recommend pressing down good and hard on these and cooling well in the fridge or they do not hold together as well if you skimp on these steps, as Lisa recommends above.4 stars

  6. I made this recipe and these bars only lasted 2 days in our house. My husband absolutely loves these.

  7. So so good! I make them and keep them in the freezer and they’re just the best snack.5 stars

  8. I made these granola bars twice. I didn’t know that they have 17gms of sugar. Is that from the honey or the chocolate chips. I don’t use chocolate chips. I need to stay away from sugar. What can I change to reduce the sugar.
    Love them5 stars

  9. My family and I love these bars! been making them for a while now and it’s definitely something that is tasty and healthy. Thank you Lisa!5 stars

    1. Hi Melissa – I’m so glad you and your family have been loving these homemade granola bars!

  10. I’ve been making Lisa’s recipes for a few years. Lisa’s recipes are always perfect and I’m more than confident it will please my family yet alone a crowd. Honestly I have to say when I make something it’s always delicious. I’ve been making these granola bars now more than I can count and I love that the ingredients are clean and I’m not having to buy anything with tons of sugar and artificial sweeteners and preservatives.5 stars

    1. Hi Mia – I’m glad you’re loving this granola bars compared to store-bought versions!

  11. I made a batch of these granola bars this weekend and they were the best I’d ever eaten! You certainly don’t need all those fillers and preservatives for them to taste fabulous. Thanks for the great recipe, Lisa! Just a side note: there was one ingredient I had trouble tracking down, and that was the puffed rice, BUT I found some rice cakes made with whole grain brown rice and just pulsed up two in my processor! Worked great!5 stars

    1. Hi Rennie – I’m so glad you found a winning chocolate chip granola bar recipe! Oh, and rice cakes are a great substitution.

  12. Hi Lisa,

    The link does not work for the puffed rice. Can you suggest alternatives to use for the puffed rice. Thanks

  13. Oh my gosh! Granola bars that actually hold their shape! It’s a miracle! Thank you for this receipt for my kids! We love it! They freeze well too.5 stars

  14. Can I give it 6 stars! I made these today because I don’t like any bought granola bars. These are amazing. I used chia in place of flax because that’s what I had. My half cup nuts were a mixture of cashews, almonds, walnuts and pecans. I chopped up a 70% Lindt chocolate bar for the chocolate chips. I cooked them in my convection /toaster oven for 20 minutes. I’m going to cut them up and put them away. I may not be able to stop eating them!5 stars

  15. HI LISA!!
    I AM FROM ISRAEL AND LOVING ALLL YOUERS RECIPE AND VIDEOS SPECIALLY THE VITMAMIX ONES. CAN I GOUND AND MIX ALL IN MY VITAMIX?
    THANKS:LIRAZ5 stars

      1. Hi Gavi – The puff rice is essential for that chewy texture! I’ve linked ones you can buy in the recipe card :)

  16. I’ve just put these in the oven and can’t wait to take my first bite. I’m wondering, though, how to best preserve them. Do they need to be kept in air-tight container, and if so, how long will they last? Thank you!

  17. My 2 year old daughter and I had fun putting this together, we are waiting that it cools down to put it in the fridge and try it, it looks and smells great.

    Thanks!5 stars

  18. made this for the second time. I used rolled oat, but I toasted them in a thin layer at 280F for 10min, turned out still good. I like cruchy bar, so I baked 20min at 325F, then 10mins at 350F, perfect result!
    Thanks for this amazing recipe!!5 stars

  19. Hi lisa, I just made these granola bars as I’m trying new recipes for my son who is dairy free. They turned out so good! I did omit honey for sugar free maple syrup and almond butter for peanut butter as that’s what i had in the pantry. Also whittakers dark chocolate instead of choc chips. They were a hit and my son loved them! Thank you for the great recipe. Kind regards from New Zealand 😊5 stars

  20. I just made these and added dried cherries and a touch more honey than they called for and they came out delicious!!5 stars

  21. ABSOLUTELY PERFECT SNACK! a good mix of sweet and salty! love them! cant wait to try some different variations with the nuts and nut butters. maybe add some coconut in next time too!5 stars

  22. The kids (and hubby) loved it!
    I used old fashioned oats (because that’s what I had) but blitzed them for 5 secs in the processor first. I used used quinoa flakes instead of the chopped nuts and pumpkin seed butter instead of a nut butter to make it nut free for school. I used dairy free choc chips for my dairy free Miss6. I pressed it VERY firmly and if seems to be holding well together. It’s very popular!5 stars

  23. My family loves this recipe! It freezes very well (we always double or triple the recipe). We sprinkle this over our yogurt, so I skip the pressing down step. We prefer this over any granola recipe we’ve tried. Thanks so much!5 stars

  24. Lisa, thank you for the great recipes and the cookbook. We love it! I would like to make these granola bars for my husband but they have a bit too much sugar in them for his diet. What adjustments could I make to the ingredients to cut the sugar down in half but not ruin the recipe. I am not an expert at baking so I’m not sure what changes would affect how the bars work out in the end.

    1. This is literally the best “after having a baby snack” of all time! I made 4 batches and froze them for my kids for when I had the baby…I ended up eating them all 🫣

      Thank you for this perfect recipe, I did end up just using my homemade granola recipe which worked out very well. All kinds of great possibilities with this recipe.5 stars

      1. Happy to hear these chocolate chip granola bars were the perfect snack for you after having your new baby, Moriah! Also, congrats on your newborn!

      2. Walden Farms makes a zero carb maple walnut syrup that you could use instead of the honey. There are also sugar free chocolate chips.

      3. I did look to see if anyone already asked this question but didn’t see it. Can I use butter instead of coconut oil? I made that substitution in a recipe yesterday & it didn’t work so well. So I’m being cautious! I do love your recipes!!

      4. Hi Dale – I haven’t tried it yet in this recipe, but I do think it should work.

  25. I’ve made these for the third time in about 6 weeks! My family loves them, as do I. I’ve been eliminating ”junk” sweets for years in my house but this is the first time I’ve tried making granola bars. Lucky for me, I found the perfect recipe immediately. I make them exactly as written and they turn out perfectly. Thank you for sharing the recipe!5 stars

  26. These granola bars tasted great, but in no way were they bars when I made them. Not sure what I did wrong, but it was more like eating granola than eating a bar. Any advice?4 stars

    1. I have a few tips written in the post about how to keep the bars intact such as making sure you’re pressing down the mixture enough or being patient with the chilling time.

  27. Hot tip for y’all… use two matching loaf pans instead of one big pan. Once you have the mix loosely spread in each pan, fold the parchment over the top and press the bottom of one pan into the other to pack in and even out the mix. It makes them very compact, and as an added bonus, the width of a loaf pan is basically a perfect length for a granola bar, so slicing them up goes even faster.

  28. So delicious. I used old fashioned oats and I used brown rice crisps as its what I have on hand. Still so good and I made them chewy! Love them.5 stars

  29. Instead of honey, because I don’t have in the house, I used silan (date honey). Came out amazing and then makes these vegan friendly as well :)5 stars

    1. Unfortunately, another oil won’t work as it won’t solidify. You could try it with butter or ghee if you’re not dairy-free.

  30. Ooh, thank you for the nice and easy recipe! Quick question, though — how long will these last for? I’m planning to make these to give for a friend and want to ensure that they’ll last.

  31. Due to tree nut allergies at my house, I used sun butter. It was great! In addition, I’ve made it with maple syrup instead of honey. This is my go to afternoon “treat” now! I can eat it and satisfy my sweet tooth knowing that I’m not eating junk!5 stars

  32. Delicious and easy! I make these at least once a month. I only have old fashioned oats, so I give them a quick chop, and that helps with the texture. I don’t care for the taste of coconut oil, so I omitted and didn’t notice a difference in quality. Trust Lisa when she says to press down as firmly as possible – she knows what she’s talking about! My whole family is impressed with how well they stick together for homemade granola bars. Thanks for such a great recipe!5 stars

    1. Yes! Pressing down on these is key to getting the bars as compact as possible. Glad you and the whole family enjoy these granola bars :)

  33. Hi Lisa. I made the chocolate chip granola bar, and my family and I like it so much! Thank you, I can’t wait to make it again today.

  34. I can’t have oats, and it’s not easy to find gf oats in my area , what’s the best replacement for oats? Thanks for reply ~❤️

    1. I have an intolerance to oats and use barley flakes or rye flakes as a substitute in all oat recipes , tastes great and works every time

  35. I made this nut-free to send to school by substituting tahini for the almond butter, and pumpkin seeds for the nuts. It worked great!

    I stored them in the freezer, but wondering how long they can be at room temperature?

    Thanks so much for the fantastic recipe5 stars

  36. I cooked these today and they are amazing. I will definitely do them again.
    Thanks Lisa for publishing something so gorgeous and easy to make. X5 stars

  37. Any thoughts on making these nut-free? My kiddo is allergic to tree nuts. I could try peanut butter, I guess. She has a lot of anxiety about food.

    1. I just posted my own comment above, but I made these nut-free by substituting tahini for the almond butter, and pumpkin seeds for the nuts – it worked great! Good luck, hope you find a solution that works for your kiddo5 stars

    2. These granola bars are delicious! We also have a tree nut allergy. We used peanut butter, but sunflower butter is also an option. We also used sunflower seeds and pepitas for the crunch. We order GERBS unsalted roasted pepitas (allergy friendly) from Amazon. Thank you, Lisa, for your recipes!