Homemade Granola Bars
Serves 8
These homemade granola bars are a quick and delicious, and naturally gluten-free! If you want to change the mix-ins, see the post above for my tips on how to do it. These are on the sweet side, if you're looking for a less-sweet treat, try these Energy Balls.
Equipment
- 8x8 Baking Pan (I always use this pan from Ateco)
Ingredients
- 1 cup very smooth creamy natural peanut butter , or cashew butter
- ⅔ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Heaping ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2½ cups whole rolled oats
- ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips*
- 3 tablespoons pepitas, or crushed peanuts or cashews
Instructions
- Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, stir together the peanut butter, honey, vanilla, and salt, until smooth.
- Add the oats, chocolate chips and the pepitas (or nuts). The mixture might seem dry at first, but keep stirring and it'll come together. Stir to combine and press firmly into the pan. Use a second piece of parchment paper and the back of a measuring cup to help flatten the mixture. Chill for at least 1 hour, then slice into bars.
- Store bars in the fridge.
Notes
*Note: regular sized chocolate chips make these bars less cohesive - if you can't find mini chocolate chips, chop chocolate so that it's mini-sized.
To make these vegan, use brown rice syrup instead of honey. Maple syrup is not sticky enough to make these bars cohesive, but it will work if you roll the mixture into energy balls instead of making bars. To make these gluten free, just make sure your oats are certified gluten free.
Try our homemade peanut butter in this recipe!