Healthy No Bake Granola Bars That Taste Store-Bought

Healthy Granola Bars That Taste Junky

Do your kids crave the store-bought junk food as much as mine do? It’s a constant battle to keep their taste buds satisfied without putting junk in their bodies. But with these healthy no bake granola bars that taste store-bought, there are zero compromises.

I experimented with a few different healthy granola bar recipe variations before I found the one that made my extremely picky 8-year-old’s face light up as she said, “These taste store-bought!”

That just about put me into shock right then and there. Although every recipe on this website is kid-approved, it’s pretty rare that I can successfully create a recipe that my junk-food-loving daughter loves just as much as the less healthy, processed version from the store.

In fact, this has only happened two other times. The first was when I made my chocolate-filled donut recipe and they tied in a taste test with a donut from the donut shop. The second was when I created my viral animal cracker recipe that my kids instantly fell in love with and literally could not get enough of.

So I guess you could say these healthy no bake granola bars that taste store-bought are extra kid-approved 🙂

And why wouldn’t they be? This super easy granola bar recipe produces soft and chewy granola bars that any kid would crave for texture as much as flavor. With pockets of rich honey-sweetened chocolate and a combination of chewiness from oats and crunchiness from puffed rice, you just can’t go wrong serving these to a hungry child.

And if you’re thinking it’s easier to just buy chewy granola bars at the store … well, you’re right. But this healthy granola bar recipe is also very easy and does not take more than 15 minutes to throw together.

Plus, let’s not forget the ingredient superiority of making healthy no bake granola bars that taste store-bought at home. This recipe uses only 5 ingredients besides the chocolate chunks. By contrast, Quaker Chewy Granola Bars have such a long and and confusing list of ingredients, I could not even count them properly!

But what I can tell you about Quaker’s granola bar ingredient list is that it contains corn syrup, wheat, sugar, soybean oil, soy lecithin, glycerin and baking soda. You won’t find any of those things in the ingredient list for this healthy homemade granola bar recipe.

When to Make Chewy Granola Bars

Since these healthy no bake granola bars that taste like store-bought are so easy to make, they are the ideal treat to whip up when you are short on both time and snacks to offer your kids.

I do recommend making your chocolate a day ahead or at least a few hours ahead of time so that it has plenty of time to fully harden in the freezer before you need to chop it up. If you’re in a pinch, you can freeze it for about 30 minutes before chopping, but the more frozen it is, the easier it will be chop without it melting.

Or you can buy refined-sugar-free chocolate chips instead. But the homemade chocolate is also incredibly easy to make. I make it all the time because it’s so quick and easy to make and it’s much cheaper than buying refined-sugar-free chocolate chips.

I would also recommend making these healthy granola bars several hours before you plan to serve them so that they have enough time to set up in the fridge or freezer. A great time to make these is in the evening if you can manage it. That way, they can set up overnight and be ready for whenever your kids crave them the next day.

As for when to serve these soft and chewy granola bars, they really are quite versatile. These bars are nutritious enough to offer as a breakfast or snack option but delicious enough to also be a dessert.

I tend to use them as breakfast and snack options for my kids because they’re an easy yes for everyone during hangry mornings or afternoon energy slumps. While these homemade granola bars are not protein bars, they do have some protein and a bit of fiber. They also have fat that helps satiate and keep bellies full.

Besides, when I think about giving my kids one of those Quaker granola bars as a breakfast or snack item, I feel a million times better about handing them one of these homemade healthy granola bars instead.

Ingredients

• Butter: Butter adds flavor to the granola bars and also acts as a binder when chilled. I like to use Irish grass-fed or organic butter.

• Maple Syrup: Maple syrup is the one and only sweetener in this recipe. While a lot of granola bar recipes incorporate brown sugar as well, I like to keep things more natural. Make sure to buy 100% pure maple syrup and not a synthetic syrup with added ingredients.

• Vanilla Extract: Vanilla adds a bit of unique flavor to these healthy granola bars.

• Oats: Oats are the main source of nutrition in this healthy granola bar recipe. They are the source of chewiness as well as protein. I buy organic sprouted oats from Costco.

• Puffed Rice: Puffed rice adds that crunchy texture kids love to bite into. This is not the crispy rice cereal you get at Wal-Mart. The puffed rice I’m talking about has ONE ingredient: Brown rice. That’s it. Sometimes it may also have salt, but nothing else. You can find large, cheap bags of it at Indian grocery stores. Or you can pay an arm and a leg to get it off of Amazon.

• Chocolate Chunks: I like to make my own honey-sweetened chocolate because it’s easy and way cheaper than buying refined-sugar-free chocolate chips. But you can also buy Hu chocolate chips that are sweetened with unrefined coconut sugar.

Instructions

Step 1

In a large, heat-safe bowl, measure out puffed rice and oats. Give it a quick mix and set aside.

Step 2

In a medium-size pot, measure out butter, maple syrup and vanilla extract.

Step 3

Heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter is fully melted and the maple syrup comes to a steady boil. Continue cooking for 3–4 minutes, until the mixture looks glossy, thickens slightly, and the bubbles become larger and more consistent. Let it boil for 1 additional minute, then remove from the heat.

Step 4

Pour maple syrup mixture over the puffed rice and oats and mix thoroughly until everything is evenly coated. Set aside to cool slightly while you prepare your pan and chocolate.

Step 5

Line a 9×13 casserole dish with parchment paper or spray with oil.

Step 6

Chop your homemade chocolate or measure out your Hu chocolate chips. Add the chocolate to your granola and mix in until evenly distributed.

*See note on recipe card.

Step 7

Pour granola into the casserole dish, spreading evenly to reach all edges, and press down to pack it together with a spatula.

Step 8

Cover with plastic wrap and place granola bars in the freezer for 2 hours or the fridge for 4 hours before cutting into bars.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Substitutions & Tips

• If you want to make these chocolate-free, you can sub in your preferred dried fruit or even chopped nuts instead.

• If your granola mixture is still very warm when you mix in the chocolate chunks, the chocolate will melt and spread throughout the granola bars instead of rehardening as chunks when the bars are chilled. If you want them to remain mostly solid, add them on top after pressing the granola into the casserole dish.

• When storing these granola bars, it is helpful to place parchment paper between layers to prevent them from sticking together.

• I recommend keeping these granola bars in the fridge until you are ready to serve them. They hold together the best when they are chilled.