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…
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.
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? 🙂
I love me some good chewy homemade bars…YUM! They are great for a snack and sometimes even better as a treat!
I often joke about wanting to be taller (I’m 5’3 … and 3/4 haha). But I kinda actually like being short. Except for the fact that I have a short torso … I wish that would stretch out a little so that my tummy will look flatter!! 😉
This looks great- my first thought was to use Kashi Go Lean cereal in place of the rice krispies. I’m not a vegan and have no idea if Go Lean is…but it would raise the protein and fiber content slightly. 🙂 As usual you rock Katie. As far as height goes…I’m 5’1 (on a good day) and don’t mind being short except for the extra $$ spent on getting pants altered.
I think it’s vegan!
Katie I heard a terrible thing today, i need you to please discredit this for me. Someone said Agave is similar to the unhealthy-ness that is high fructose corn syrup because what we buy in stores is so overly processed it loses health value. Do you know anything about this??
I have heard that too. I know a lot of people think agave is better than sugar, but I never believed that anyways… I always looked at it as just another form of sugar, no worse or better.
But I also did hear that raw agave is supposedly better. There are certain brands? Honestly, I don’t eat much of it so I don’t really pay attention to the hype either way ;).
http://www.kimberlysnyder.net/blog/2012/02/23/7-foods-you-should-never-ever-eat/
she talks a lot about why agave isn’t good for you (it’s number 1 on the list), so i try to steer clear of it (although it’s in SO MANY “health” foods). i’m sure, like sugar, a little of it wouldn’t hurt, but then again i’m pretty sure my metabolism hates me. 🙂 so it kind of forces me into super-health.
i do wonder if the raw is any different though? i don’t think she ever specifies…at least not that i’ve seen. hope that helps!
I NEED to make these. I’m allergic to raw fruits and veggies so it can make snacking on the run difficult. I usually end up grabbing some cookies.
Wow, those bars look great! I’ll have to give them a shot. c:
I actually don’t really wish I were taller, per say.. although I wouldn’t mind an extra inch or two on my 5’3 self, haha. 😉 I just wish I were more /proportionate/. You see, I have a very short, practically nonexistent, torso/midsection/whatever. Not only does it make me look stumpy, it also makes it a bit of a challenge to find nice fitting and flattering shirts – most shirts I buy could be a dress on me sadly!
Yum! I would probably add in some protein powder to these as well!
Hey Katie! I just came across your blog and I love it. I’m 16 and I’ve been vegan for awhile now, I also started a blog that has vegan recipes but focuses more on mental & physical health (greenleanteen.com). I hope my blog can one day be full-time as well! I love your chocolate filled recipes.. keep it up 🙂
Wow! Way to go Mikayla! I just checked out your site and it is fantastic. You are a fantastic writer, I can’t believe you are 16 years old. Keep up the great work!
Hey Katie! These look great…I can’t wait to try them out later tonight 🙂 I have a quick question for you, since I know you like to run. I’m also a runner, and I was wondering if you found you had a lot more energy after adopting a vegan diet. I already eat a very healthy and natural diet, but I’ve been considering a vegan diet for a while now since I’ve been feeling kind of “blah” on my workouts and races, and I’ve heard a lot of positive reviews about it. Plus all my favorite stuff happens to be vegan anyway, so it’d be a pretty easy adjustment. Just wondering if you noticed a difference specifically in your running?
By the way, I LOVE your blog. I check it out at least once a day. If I had my own blog, I feel like it would be extremely similar (which is why I love it so much) Thanks for updating it so often 🙂
I’ve actually been vegan since I was 14, so I don’t know. But I do have tons of energy now :).
Thanks for the reply! and by the way, I’m eating one of these amazing granola bars right now. It’s dangerous that I live by myself….they’re all just staring at me, waiting to be eaten. 😉
I used to eat those chewy bars religiously in lunches as a kid! Ahhhh the memories of the smores flavor 😉