Are you looking for a good granola bar recipe?
This recipe won’t disappoint.
These delightfully chewy granola bars include all the goodness of everyone’s favorite Quaker granola bars, but without the corn syrup, refined sugar, and long list of artificial ingredients. So if you’re looking for a good granola bar recipe…
It’s staring you in the face. 🙂
Unless you are extremely tall or your computer is low to the ground.
Then it’s staring you in the belly button.
It even looks like a face. See the eyes and the nose? Those would be made out of chocolate chips. Yes, a chocolate chip face.
Are you jealous?
I am!
Oh, to live life with a chocolate chip face…
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Quaker Style Chewy Granola Bars
(Can be gluten-free)
- 1 cup rolled oats (for all substitution notes, see nutrition link below)
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup rice crispies (brown, white, or gluten-free)
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp oat flour (see recipe instructions below for an easy substitution) 55g
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp coconut oil or veg oil (See nutrition link below for notes on a fat-free version.)
- 1/4 cup agave (Honey will also work, but not for strict vegans.)
- 1-2 packs stevia (up to 1/16 tsp uncut) or 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar or extra liquid sweetener
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp applesauce (banana would probably work as well, or pumpkin!)
- Ideas for the add-ins: mini chocolate chips, chopped raisins or other dried fruit, shredded coconut, chopped walnuts, etc.
Unless you’re doing the no-bake option, preheat oven to 350 F. Combine all dry ingredients and mix very well. (If you don’t have oat flour: simply grind rolled oats in a food processor to make oat flour. Be sure to measure the correct amount of flour for the recipe after grinding, not before.) In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients. Stir wet into dry and use another sheet of parchment (or wax) paper to squish evenly-coated mixture into a parchment-lined 7×5 pan (or double the recipe for a bigger pan). Squish very, very hard, with a can or something heavy. Either fridge until firm (the no-bake option is firmer if you use coconut oil), or cook 18 minutes, then squish very hard again. Cool in the fridge for at least ten minutes before cutting into bars.
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These bars can be stored at room temp, but if you use coconut oil they’re best kept in the fridge. Or they can even be frozen. The bars thaw very well. Other homemade granola bar recipes:
 
 
 
(Click on the photos to see the recipes.)
Do you wish you were taller?
Or shorter? Or are you happy exactly the way you are? I’m 5’5, and I always wanted to be taller when I was growing up. But now I actually like my average height. My grandpa used to say that you’re tall enough as long as your feet touch the ground. How are grandparents so wise? 🙂
Katie – these look delightful! When can we expect that delicious puppy chow recipe? I’ve been waiting o’so impatiently! 🙂
I’m not sure. There are so many recipes I want to post… I have a book filled with already-developed recipes that still need to be posted :-?.
Yum!!! Katie those look SO freaking good!!!
Woo Woo I’m so glad you did a chewy granola bar, can’t wait to try it!
Grandparents are wise. All the men in my family are tall and the women are short. My grandpa used to say that the shorter you were, the taller you were mentally.. hahah probably tried making me feel better cause I’m only 5″2.
Since going gluten-free, I have longed for a chewy granola bar! I know, so random — but sometimes its the little things you miss! I can’t wait to try out this AMAZING looking recipe! It sounds delish! Thanks for the recipe! Love your blog!
I made these last night and they came out terrific! I love them! But I melted all my wet ingredients in the microwave before I poured them into my dry ingredients and it melted the chocolate chips! Now I have chocolate granola bars! They are still delicious but would you reccomend next time that I let the wet ingredients cool in the fridge before I pour them onto the dry? Or when it would be best to add the chocolate chips?
Sorry, I’ve never tried melting the wet ingredients.
I just stirred mine in after combining the wet and dry ingredients (right before baking) and that works well!
Perfect- some of the ingredients in shop bought just go on and on.On the wanting to be taller front – yip I’m 5″5 too and always wanted to be taller,my lil bro is 6″2 but the tall gene gave me a skip-getting over it now tho-ha!
thanks for the delicious recipe! i haven’t been able to eat quaker granola bars in years, and now that i know all that’s in them, i wouldn’t want to! i made them last night and omitted the rice crispies because i didn’t have them. the taste is amazing – but they didn’t hold together well. i tried the no-bake option, so maybe that’s it – i’ll try to bake them instead next time. you didn’t seem to think the rice crispies were crucial, right?
thanks for all the great healthy recipes, CCK! 🙂
Nope, not crucial. But did you use the coconut oil version or veg oil?
i used coconut oil! i figured that would make it okay to do the no-bake version. i’ll probably polish off the whole batch in a day or two, so i can try to bake them if you think that makes a difference.
Hmmm… that’s weird then! Did you press down REALLY hard? It’s seriously the most important part. REALLY hard lol.
lol maybe not hard enough! next time i will try using a can – when i made them yesterday, i just covered them and pressed down with my hands. but… i can be a little wimpy. 🙂 i’ll try harder next time! thanks for the advice!
These look great! I make different bars each week for my kids’ lunches and these will definitely be on my rotation 🙂
Thanks Katie, I just made these! I put some chocolate chips in, and thought about it…Then I drizzled, *coughs* covered the entire bar with, your PMS chocolate recipe…It was so rich, but so good!