Just 5 ingredients and about 5 minutes is all it takes to make these chewy, crunchy, oh so tasty granola bars and you can make them with peanut butter or almond butter. No baking required!
For another episode of: “My Granola Bar Addiction”, I bring you the easiest ones yet. And dare I venture to say the tastiest?! These no-bake granola bars are just too easy to make and boy do they taste greeeeeat!
I was craving homemade granola bars one morning and my craving wasn’t about to wait for me to bake a batch. So with limited ingredients on hand, I stirred together these 5-ingredient granola bars in about 5 minutes and they turned out awesome! Between breakfast that morning, snacktime that afternoon and some girlfriends coming over to watch The Bachelorette that night, they were gone by the end of the day. So what’s a mama to do when her boys wake up begging for another one the next morning?!…mix together another batch…
The first time I made them with peanut butter, the next time I used almond butter, the next time peanut butter and here I sit eating from yet another batch with almond butter. You choose: peanut butter or almond butter. Both versions taste great! The almond butter is less sweet than peanut butter and the texture is thinner so you have to use a 1/2 cup more of it. So if you’re using peanut butter, use 1 cup and if you’re using almond butter, use 1-1/2 cups. Get it? Got it? Go!
Besides peanut butter or almond butter, all you’ll need is honey, pre-made granola, old-fashioned oats and chocolate chips. I use Cascadian Farm’s dark chocolate almond granola, but feel free to use your favorite flavor of granola. The pre-made granola adds such great crunch and texture to the granola bars, but if you want to keep it super simple and you’re willing to forgo the crunch, you could use all oatmeal and they would still taste great!
My boys are just as in love with these granola bars as I am so they’ll definitely be on tap until we tire of them, which I have a feeling might never happen. In fact, the boys were patiently waiting for me to photograph a batch for the blog before we ate them for snack yesterday afternoon. Well, most of the boys! Bryce was anything but patient as he stood by trying to poke his hand or head in every shot in hopes that I would wrap it up so he could finally eat one. Little stinker. He sure knows how to rush a photoshoot. 😉 How could I resist this face as he was begging for just a little bite?!
Alright, that’s all there is to ’em! 5 ingredients and 5 minutes is all it takes to make these tasty granola bars. Enjoy!
xoxo,
- 1 cup natural peanut butter or 1-1/2 cups natural almond butter
- ¾ cup honey
- 4 cups pre-made dark chocolate almond granola (or your favorite pre-made granola flavor)
- 1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
- ¾ cup dark chocolate chips, divided
- Line a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with parchment paper or foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the peanut butter (or almond butter) and honey. Stir in the granola and oatmeal until well combined. Stir in ½ cup of the chocolate chips.
- Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips. Use a spatula or your hands with parchment paper under them to press down firmly all over the top of the mixture making sure the top is smooth and the mixture is as compact in the dish as possible.
- At this point, you can lift the bars out of the dish (using the edges of the foil or parchment paper) and immediately cut into bars with a sharp knife or you can cover the dish with plastic wrap and place the bars in the refrigerator to firm them up even more, about 30 minutes, before cutting them into bars. Store cut bars in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
These granola bars can be baked at 350 for 13-15 minutes, if desired.
Jessica DeMay says
July 10, 2015 at 12:34 pmThese look so good and I love how easy they are! What a sweet picture of Bryce 🙂 I will definitely be trying these soon!!
Maegan says
July 11, 2015 at 2:33 pmThanks Jessica! 🙂
Kathleen @ Yummy Crumble says
July 11, 2015 at 8:58 amThese look awesome! I know my son would love these. I’m excited to try them! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Maegan says
July 11, 2015 at 2:33 pmThanks Kathleen! Enjoy! 🙂
Julie says
April 12, 2016 at 1:18 pmI have never seen dark chocolate granola.
What brand are you using and where did you buy it?
Thanks for all of your work.
Maegan says
April 12, 2016 at 11:32 pmHi Julie! I use Cascadian Farm dark chocolate almond granola (it has chunks of dark chocolate in it). Nature’s Path and Nature Valley also make dark chocolate granolas, but you can use any flavor of your favorite granola in these.
Almond Butter is Your New Best Friend – What the Health Magazine says
May 2, 2016 at 10:28 pm[…] Almond Butter Granola Bars These homemade almond granola bars are great when you want a chewy, sweet snack, and since they are homemade, they have less preservatives, unnatural additives, and less sugar. Even better? These bars, made with only almond butter, honey, dark chocolate chips, old-fashioned oatmeal and granola, are no bake and can be made in just five minutes. That simply is too sweet! […]
Jennifer says
September 7, 2016 at 11:02 amWhen you say 1 cup oatmeal….do you mean you can use quick oats?
Maegan says
September 7, 2016 at 2:38 pmHi Jennifer! I actually state in the recipe that I use old-fashioned oatmeal (I just prefer it), but you could definitely use quick oats and they would still taste great! Enjoy!
Arlene says
September 7, 2016 at 12:40 pmThese look so good. Do you have a number of calories per bar? I must count calories, and I don’t see that here.
Maegan says
September 7, 2016 at 2:36 pmHi Arlene! I don’t provide nutritional information for the recipes on my blog because information varies so much based on the brand/exact ingredient you use. You can easily plug the ingredients you use into a free online nutrition calculator to calculate them yourself. Hope this helps! Enjoy!
Mary says
September 10, 2016 at 6:28 pmHi Maegan . Just made your 5 ingredient granola bars . Very good . Do I have to cut them and store them . Or can I leave them in the dish
Maegan says
September 10, 2016 at 10:37 pmHi Mary! You can definitely leave them in the dish. Just cover the top tightly with a lid or plastic wrap. Enjoy!
Pat says
September 11, 2016 at 5:29 pmDo you mean oatmeal, as in cooked oatmeal; or do you mean uncooked rolled oats?
Maegan says
September 11, 2016 at 11:05 pmHi Pat! I mean uncooked, rolled oats. Enjoy!
Debra Dooley says
September 12, 2016 at 12:32 pmThese look delicious Maegan! Can’t wait to try!
Lindsey Lehr says
December 8, 2016 at 10:33 amI’m super excited to make these! I’m tired of making baked granola bars that crumble and fall apart….these look awesome! I would like to make with my own “granola” mixture for a bit lower sugar bar (we don’t have kids so these are for my husband and myself). I was thinking a mixture of oats, milled flax seed, slivered almonds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds….would you recommend I bake my granola mixture on it’s own or would it be fine just added as is? Thanks for the great idea and wonderful presentation! 🙂
Maegan says
December 11, 2016 at 10:09 pmHi Lindsey! I think they’d taste great both ways. If you bake the granola, the bars will have more crunch and toasted flavor, but the ingredients you mentioned combined with the other ingredients in this recipe would turn out just as great not baked. Enjoy!
Gregory Jones says
March 19, 2017 at 5:50 pmWhere can I find the Nutritional Information for these bars?
Maegan says
March 19, 2017 at 11:33 pmHi Gregory! I don’t provide nutrition information on my site, but you can easily plug the exact ingredients you use into a free online recipe nutrition calculator to get the information. Here’s one I’d recommend: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator. Hope this helps. Enjoy!
Laurel Lynn says
February 18, 2018 at 9:23 amI found this recipe on the YUMMLY recipe app, and it gives a complete nutritional breakdown of the bars.
Mom22boys says
April 1, 2017 at 6:07 pmMine won’t hold together! I added some PB when they first crumbled, remixed, repressed, rechilled. Still crumbly. Thoughts?
Maegan says
October 24, 2017 at 10:42 pmHi! What kind of peanut butter are you using? Maybe it’s too dry? The mixture should definitely be chewy not crumbly.
Nannette Hollingshead says
April 3, 2017 at 5:22 amHi Maegan, I will definitely try these bars out, but I don’t care for chocolate in my granola bars can I just omit them in the recipe or do I need to replace them for something else?
Sara says
March 9, 2019 at 2:28 pmI used butterscotch chips, because chocolate gives me migraines. Tastes great!
Sue says
April 12, 2017 at 4:53 amI made these and they fell apart. What did I do wrong?
Maegan says
April 12, 2017 at 2:09 pmHi Sue! Did you stir your peanut butter or almond butter really well before measuring it? Sometimes if the peanut butter or almond butter are dried out, it won’t incorporate like it should to make the bars.
Susan says
April 28, 2017 at 4:11 pmNo bake dark chocolate granola bars!! Heavenly! Why haven’t I found this before today? Must make them NOW! Thank you!
Ana Molina says
June 9, 2017 at 10:57 amHi Sue, I was trying to make lactation bars can I just add the brewers yeast?
Maegan says
June 10, 2017 at 9:11 amHi Ana! That’s a great idea! Yes, I would just mix it right in. OR you could try my No-Bake Lactation Bites which are amazing: https://thebakermama.com/recipes/no-bake-lactation-bites/ Enjoy!
Brenda says
September 19, 2017 at 1:29 pmCould I use a regular mixer instead of the one with the paddle attachment?
Maegan says
September 19, 2017 at 11:17 pmHi Brenda! You could certainly try, but it is a thicker mixture so it might be tough for a hand mixer to handle. You might be better off just mixing it by hand with a wooden or sturdy mixing spoon. Hope this helps. Enjoy!
Linda Miley says
October 23, 2017 at 9:23 pmHi Maegan, what do you mean by chocolate granola, is 5his a cereal type I should be looking for. I live in a small town in halfway, Oregon. They do not carry any such type of granola, should I look for this product at a health food store, can I buy this at Safeway or Albertsons store, they are the only one around. Please help!. Thanks Linda
Maegan says
October 24, 2017 at 10:38 pmHi Linda! I usually use Cascadian Farm Dark Chocolate Almond Granola (https://www.cascadianfarm.com/products/cereals/granola/dark-chocolate-almond-granola), but honestly you can use any pre-made granola. Whatever your store carries that you enjoy eating. Hope this helps!
Linda says
October 25, 2017 at 7:46 pmThanks so much for your time, also found them at amazon, Linda
Maegan says
October 26, 2017 at 12:22 amYay! Enjoy!
Maegan says
October 24, 2017 at 10:39 pmHi Nannette! Yes, you can definitely omit the chocolate chips. I always encourage people to just make them your own. Enjoy!