Guest post from Brigette Shevy
You will love this Chewy Granola Bar Recipe
These are a perfect lunchbox treat!
They are so fast and simple to whip up, and they freeze perfectly. That’s assuming, of course, that they last long enough to make it to your freezer!
Our family of five can go through an entire pan of these in… um… such a short amount of time that I’m not quite ready to admit it in public.
Chewy Granola Bar ingredients
- 2 ½ cups Rice Krispies
- 1 ¾ cups quick oats
- ¼ cup wheat germ
- ½ cup additional mix-in ingredients, optional (i.e. shredded coconut, chopped nuts, raisins or other dried fruit, sesame or sunflower seeds, etc.)
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup brown sugar (or sucanat)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Granola Bars substitutions and additions
There are many ways you can tweak this recipe to fit whatever you have in the house, or whatever your family prefers — here are a few ideas.
- Substitute any type of puffed rice cereal for the Rice Krispies
- Use ground flax seed, wheat bran, or additional oats in place of wheat germ
- Add in a 1/2 cup of your favorite dried fruit, nuts, or seeds for a little extra crunch
- Experiment with various types of nut butter, sun butter, or similar products
- Try white chocolate chips instead of chocolate (especially tasty with dried cranberries)
How to make Granola Bars
1. In a large bowl, combine cereal, oats, wheat germ, and any additional “dry” mix-ins.
2. In a saucepan, mix the honey, brown sugar, and salt, string over medium heat until the mixture comes to a complete boil for 30-60 seconds.
3. Remove pan from heat and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth.
4. Pour liquid mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well.
5. Let cool for 5-10 minutes, then mix in the chocolate chips.
6. Press into a greased 9×13 pan and let cool before cutting into bars.
7. Enjoy bars within a few days or freeze for later.
How to store No Bake Granola Bars
We usually eat these pretty quickly right out of the pan! However, when I do manage to save a few of these away for my husband’s lunches, I cut them into bars and wrap them individually.
I store them in a ziptop bag in the freezer, and pop them in lunches straight from the freezer (they thaw quickly).
Homemade Granola Bars FAQs
Honey is the key here — it’s probably the best “binding agent” for granola bars. The trick is to boil it for just 30-60 seconds, which will help it firm up enough when cooled to hold the bars together. If you boil it longer, the cooled honey will become very brittle and your granola bars will be super crumbly and dry.
Yes! Gram for gram, these are significantly cheaper (and better for you!) than most packaged granola bars. And you could probably make these in less time than it would take you to drive to the store and buy a box of granola bars!
Granola Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- 2½ cup Rice Krispies
- 1¾ cup quick oats
- ¼ cup wheat germ
- ½ cup dried fruit
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅔ cup peanut butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine cereal, oats, wheat germ, and any additional “dry” mix-ins.
- In a saucepan, mix the honey, brown sugar, and salt, string over medium heat until the mixture comes to a complete boil for 30-60 seconds.
- Remove pan from heat and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth.
- Pour liquid mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Let cool for 5-10 minutes, then mix in the chocolate chips.
- Press into a greased 9×13 pan and let cool before cutting into bars.
- Enjoy bars within a few days or freeze for later.
Notes
- Substitute any type of puffed rice cereal for the Rice Krispies
- Use ground flax seed, wheat bran, or additional oats in place of wheat germ
- Add in a 1/2 cup of your favorite dried fruit, nuts, or seeds for a little extra crunch
- Experiment with various types of nut butter, sun butter, or similar products
- Try white chocolate chips instead of chocolate (especially tasty with dried cranberries)
Nutrition
No Bake Granola Bars
Makes 24 bars (9″x13″ pan)
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 ½ cups Rice Krispies (if you want to make these healthier, you can use plain puffed rice cereal)
- 1 ¾ cups quick oats (regular rolled oats work too)
- ¼ cup wheat germ (or ground flax seed, wheat bran, or additional oats)
- ½ cup additional mix-in ingredients, optional (i.e. shredded coconut, chopped nuts, raisins or other dried fruit, sesame or sunflower seeds, etc.)
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup brown sugar (or sucanat)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS:
- Combine first 4 dry ingredients in a bowl.
- In a saucepan, mix the honey, brown sugar and salt. Over medium-low heat, stir until the mixture comes to a complete boil for 30-60 seconds.
- Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth.
- Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Let cool for 5-10 minutes before mixing in the chocolate chips.
- Press into a greased 9×13 pan and let cool before cutting into bars.
These freeze well!!
