These Chocolate Oat Granola Bars are quick and easy to make in around 10 minutes and no special equipment is required. These bars have a soft and chewy texture with flavours of chocolate, honey and peanut butter.
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They are no bake bars and set in the fridge so perfect for making in summer when you don't want to turn the oven on. This is the perfect take anywhere snack, perfect for lunchboxes, picnics, and at home snacks.
Check out my other no bake, no added sugar bars and bites for easy transportable snacks: Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars, Chocolate Coconut Date Balls, Chocolate Weetbix Bars, and these Double Chocolate Slice Bars.
Recipe Highlights
- Naturally sweetened with no added processed sugars
- There's milk chocolate and dark chocolate - both no added sugar
- Just 7 simple and common ingredients - no need to go to a health food shop
- They hold together perfectly and wont crumble or break apart
- They have just the right amount of sweetness, but its easy to adjust for more or less
- Easy to slice into clean cut bars using a sharp knife
- They keep in the fridge for a whole week and perfect for taking on the go
- Makes 9 generously sized bars
- Great alternative to store bought bars filled with added sugars just like these Homemade No Bake Protein Bars.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Peanut Butter: Try to buy Natural Peanut Butter, or No Added Sugar Peanut Butter. The peanut butter helps to bind the ingredients together and to balance out the sweetness.
- Honey: There are so many different types of honey in the supermarket and they often taste vastly different. I like to pay a little more for a better quality honey as it tends to have a better flavour profile. Look for ones that state on the label "Pure Honey", or "100% Honey".
- Brown sweetener: This adds additional sweetness and the amount you add can be varied depending on your tastes. I found ¼ of a cup to be right for me, but feel free to adjust accordingly. The brown sweeteners I've used are Lakanto Monkfruit Golden, Natvia Golden, or Whole Earth Brown Sugar Replacement (my favourite). All of which are natural sweeteners and available from Woolworths in Australia. Alternatively the white varieties of natural sweeteners (natvia, lakanto,stevia whole earth) can also be used. The important this is that it's a granulated sweetener that measures like sugar.
- Butter: Butter adds a richness and creaminess to the bars and helps to create a stickiness with the oats. Full fat or low fat, even dairy free butter works, however I find there is slightly more flavour in the bars with full fat butter.
- Quick Cooking Oats: These are the ones you can microwave in a minute or so and they are cooked. They are great for this recipe as they are smaller than traditional oats and tend to combine a little better with the rest of the ingredients. However if you only have the large style oats, these will also work.
- Sugar Free Chocolate Chips: I use a combination of milk and dark chocolate chips in these bars. Alternatively sugar free bars chopped into small pieces would work, or using the darkest chocolate chips you can find (skipping the regular milk chocolate chips) could also be an option
You might also like to check out these easy 7 ingredient 3 layer No Bake Healthy Chocolate Coconut Bars to help you manager after dinner cravings.
How To Make
- Get your pan ready: Line a 9inch x9inch pan with baking parchment paper and set it aside.
- Make the sweet binder: In a small saucepan, combine the brown sweetener, honey, butter, and peanut butter. Cook over medium-high speed until smooth, stirring constantly.
- Add oats to binder: Next, add in the oats and stir to combine.
- Transfer bars to pan: spread mixture out into a thin layer and press down slightly so bars are packed into the pan and to set
- Add Chocolate Chips: Scatter chocolate chips on top of the pressed out mixture and gently press them into the bars.
- Refrigerate: Place granola bars into the fridge and allow them to set for at least two hours.
- Slice: Slice into 9 pieces using a clean sharp knife. Store any leftover granola bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.
Recipe Tips
- More Sweetness: Add an extra teaspoon of either honey or brown sweetener at a time, mix in and taste, adding a little at a time until desired sweetness is achieved.
- Less Sweetness: Either completely omit the brown sweetener altogether, or reduce down to just two tablespoons. Do make sure to taste if reducing the sweetness so that it ends up being right before it goes into the fridge to set.
- Spice Add Ins: A little ground ginnamon or nutmeg (around ¼ to ½ a teaspoon) would add some additional flavour.
- Nut Add Ins: Finely chopped pistachios, macadamias or hazelnuts would be good choices for adding a nutty element to these healthy granola bars.
- Slicing: make sure to use clean sharp knife when cutting the bars into 9 pieces. I like to clean the knife in between each cut, and also warm the knife by running under hot tap water. The hotness of the blade seems to create a crisper and clean cut.
- Storage: Keep these in the fridge in an air tight container for 1 week
Common Questions
You can use sugar free bars chopped up into small chunks instead of chocolate chips.
Yes definitely. There will be a little more texture to the bars as regular oats are bigger than quick cooking oats.
Yes, although this will change the flavour of the bars. Cashew nut butter or Almond Butter are great alternatives. Make sure to taste test for sweetness and adjust accordingly.
There are many varieties in the supermarket and any will do the job, but my favourite one that I find is very similar in taste and texture to actual brown sugar is Whole Earth Brown Sugar Replacement. (Available at Coles and Woolworths in Australia)
Yes you can. The only difference is that the brown sweetener adds a little extra richness. Do make sure that the white sweetener you use is granulated and measures like sugar.
These chocolate oat granola bars are a quick and easy no bake recipe for creating healthy snacks to enjoy on the go, with your morning coffee, on your way to work, or even after dinner.
These No Bake Chocolate Oat bars with coconut and almonds are also a great snack or grab and go breakfast option!
Chocolate Oat Granola Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup Creamy natural peanut butter
- ⅓ cup Pure honey or 100% honey
- ¼ cup Brown granulated sweetener that measures like sugar
- 4 tablespoons Butter (full fat or low fat)
- 2 cups Quick cooking oats
- ¼ cup Sugar free milk chocolate chips
- ¼ cup Sugar free dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Line a 9 inch x9 inch pan with parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a small saucepan, combine the brown sweetener, honey, butter, and peanut butter. Cook over medium-high speed until smooth, stirring constantly.
- Add in the oats and stir to combine.
- Transfer the granola bars to the prepared pan and spread them out into a thin layer. Press down slightly to pack the granola bars into the bottom of the pan
- Next, scatter the chocolate chips on top and press them into the bars.
- Transfer the granola bars to the fridge and allow them to set for at least two hours.
- Slice into 9 bars with a clean sharp knife (cleaning in between each slice! Store granola bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.
Notes
- Peanut Butter: Try to buy Natural Peanut Butter, or No Added Sugar Peanut Butter. The peanut butter helps to bind the ingredients together and to balance out the sweetness.
- Honey: There are so many different types of honey in the supermarket and they often taste vastly different. I like to pay a little more for a better quality honey as it tends to have a better flavour profile. Look for ones that state on the label "Pure Honey", or "100% Honey".
- Brown sweetener: This adds additional sweetness and the amount you add can be varied depending on your tastes. I found ¼ of a cup to be right for me, but feel free to adjust accordingly. The brown sweeteners I've used are Lakanto Monkfruit Golden, Natvia Golden, or Whole Earth Brown Sugar Replacement (my favourite). All of which are natural sweeteners and available from Woolworths in Australia. Alternatively the white varieties of natural sweeteners (natvia, lakanto,stevia whole earth) can also be used. The important this is that it's a granulated sweetener that measures like sugar.
- Butter: Butter adds a richness and creaminess to the bars and helps to create a stickiness with the oats. Full fat or low fat, even dairy free butter works, however I find there is slightly more flavour in the bars with full fat butter.
- Quick Cooking Oats: These are the ones you can microwave in a minute or so and they are cooked. They are great for this recipe as they are smaller than traditional oats and tend to combine a little better with the rest of the ingredients. However if you only have the large style oats, these will also work.
- Sugar Free Chocolate Chips: I use a combination of milk and dark chocolate chips in these bars. Alternatively sugar free bars chopped into small pieces would work, or using the darkest chocolate chips you can find (skipping the regular milk chocolate chips) could also be an option. You can also use just one type of chocolate either dark or milk.
Nutrition
Note: Sugars contained in this recipe are from naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables or other natural sweeteners. Calories have been calculated for your convenience using My Fitness Pal and are based on the ingredients listed in the recipe card.
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