Yes….
I said chocolate.
And granola bars.
Two of my favorite foods, all wrapped up in one yummy little bar.
Chocolate Granola Bars
Here’s what you need:
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
- 1/3 cup local honey
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup oats (not quick oats)
- 2 tablespoons wheat germ
- 1/2 cup coconut
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (Mini work best, but it doesn’t really matter.)
What to do:
1. Melt the butter, peanut butter and honey in a pot over medium to low heat, stirring constantly. Turn off the burner when melted.
2. Pour in the cup of oats and the wheat germ. Stir til combined.
3. Wait til it cools and stir in the coconut and chocolate chips. Or, if you’re impatient with things like this, like I am, go ahead and dump it all right in. The result will be a more uniform chocolate taste.
4. Pour into foil-lined 8 X 8 pan and stick in the fridge.
5. Once cooled, flip out (the bars….not you) onto cutting board and cut to the size you like.
Happy snacking!
Those looks AAAAAAAAAAAAAAMAZING!! I’m going to have to go buy everything I need to make them
Thanks for the recipe cuz 
Num! I think I have all those ingredients. Snack time!!
….and I’ll try not to flip out! LOL!
These look really good!!! I can’t wait to make some!!
I can’t wait to try these and they look so yummy without all of the corn syrup! Thanks for sharing!
These do look great! My boys love granola bars so homemade ones would be so neat!
I hope your boys are feeling better! I have 5, and they all just got over colds but the 3 youngest seem to be getting runny noses again!
These were delicious! I used coconut oil instead of butter, cut down on the honey a bit and added in a handful of raisins. Absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Yum!!!
Be still my heart! Printing this for sure. *Slobber*
Do you have a recommendation on how long they can store or how to extend it? These sound amazing but I am not a mom. I would make them for myself but don’t know if I’d eat them fast enough. I know I could make a smaller batch but I’d hate to have to remake them all the time just for myself…and they sound like a great idea when I finish teaching daily! I eat lunch so early and need something between then and dinner…
They freeze well, so I think that would be the perfect solution for you. They don’t take too long to thaw, either…. Hope that helps.
I forgot to grab honey at the market… darn it all! Plus, it’s tricky to find “real” honey around here. Do you think I could add a little Karo syrup to what honey I have to make up the 1/3rd cup? Or should I trudge out in this wicked weather for honey?
Hmmm….I wouldn’t know about using Karo syrup…. I might try brown sugar or sucanat…. Let me know what works for ya!
I held off and went with honey. We found organic at Target, of all places. They’re great! I replaced the coconut with walnuts, though, because there are some picky people in this household.
These are fantastic! I found them via Pinterest this week and just finished making the second batch in 3 days. So good!
Ah! So glad you enjoyed them as much as we do!
is the wheat germ necessary? I’m wheat free and hoping I could make these without it… what does it do, other then add some different vitamins etc?
I’ve been using flax seed meal instead of wheat germ. They are so good!
Oh, I love flaxseed meal too!!! Yum!!
Is there anything I could sub for the wheat germ? Or could I just leave it out?
You’d be fine just leaving the wheat germ out….
Brandy, this looks AMAZING!! I just stumbled across your blog and am just loving reading. I love that you’re so focused on nutrition, even though you are so busy with 7 boys running around!!! I can’t wait to try making this. Do you think that eliminating the coconut would change the consistency and mess up the proportions? I hate to be a party pooper but I really just can’t stand to eat coconut.. ha.
Made these they are great! The only thing I kept out the wheat germ since I didn’t have any (but added flax seeds in). My husband can’t eat coconut so I added brown rice cereal in it’s place. My only other suggestion is to eye the amount of wet ingredients, I had to add a little bit more granola/cereal because it was a little bit too wet and wasn’t setting properly. But they were awesome. I also used half of the choc chips in the heated ingredients and then waited until it cooled a bit before adding the other half of chips so that way there are some actual chips in the granola bar (not that my daughter complained that the first batch didn’t have chips… I just like the look of the chips in there… the first batch the chips all melted). Definitely a keeper.
My girl has a life threatening peanut allergy. Could you recommend a non-nut substitute?
Linda,
My son has LT peanut and tree nut allergies as well. I substitute Sunbutter (from sunflower seeds) and he loves it. You can buy it at Trader Joes (their store brand but watch for cross contamination) or online through Sunbutter’s website (their plant is nut free). You can also buy it at most Whole Foods or natural foods markets depending on where you live. My husband and I agree it tastes much better than peanut butter. Good luck!
These sound awesome! Do you know how many calories in each bar?
I’m going to guess that the calorie count is not particularly low since it has the chocolate chips, honey, and peanut butter. I do think, however, that some of the calories and fats are worth it. Honey is good for your immune system, the peanut butter gives you a lot of protein, coconut has a lot of “good fats”, and the oats are like little nutrition bombs. If you wanted to get a close approximation, try using the recipe calculator on sparkpeople.com (http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp) This way you can enter in exactly what you used so that you can get a good estimate.
Thanks I will do that. I plan on making them anyway, just want to count my calories while trying to lose some weight:)
I used the My Fitness Pal recipe calculator and if you cut them into 12 bars, the calories for each would be 226. I hope this helps.
You say to use chocolate chips. Do you mean semi-sweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips? I’m sure you might be able to use either but which do use you for this recipe? Thank you so much!!!
I use semi-sweet chocolate chips.
I noticed that you indicated not to use quick oats. This may sound dumb, but is there a reason for this? I don’t eat oatmeal but my kids and DH do and all we usually have in the house is quick oats or instant.
Quick oats will still work….go for it!
These are similar to ones I make. But I use coconut oil instead of butter (I will try them with butter next time). And no wheat germ. I like dried cranberries in mine but kids prefer choc chips. I also don’t use coconut. I add sesame seeds if I have them too sometimes. The problem I have is that they “melt” pretty quickly out of the fridge/freezer so I can’t pack them in lunches.
Thank you for the idea, sound great!
I have too much cereal in my stockpile and thinking- is there any way to use it to make granola bars or at least cookies? Any suggestions will be appreciated!
Some moms have been grinding up Cheerios for granola energy balls. They’re using it in place of the coconut, I believe…..see here: http://themarathonmom.com/granola-energy-balls.htm
Sounds delicious,I’m gonna try these!
will honey from the grocery store not work? What’s the difference?
I’m sure any honey would work just fine. I get my local, raw, unfiltered honey from my Kroger or Sprouts.
Do you think I could substitute coco powder somehow and eliminate the chocolate chips? I am trying to stay away from refined white sugar and flour and I think the chips are the only no no. I’m going to NEED chocolate soon and don’t want to blow it.
Love your posts and ideas!
I made this today without the chocolate chips. I put 1 tablespoon of cocoa in the melted ingredients and they are delicious! This time I used almonds instead of coconut since I am out of unsweetened coconut. Looking forward to trying it with it next time.
These are exactly like the granola bars from Heavenly Homemakers blog. They are very good. I have made them lots of times.
I made these today and they’re delicious! One thing though…they’re quite sticky and fall apart easily even though I followed the recipe to a T. Any thoughts?
I have made these and they are DELICIOUS, but I was just wondering if it’s right that something so good is actually good for me! haha…do you have any idea what the nutritional information is?
You might try here for nutritional information: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp
I’m wheat free, too. I think I might sub flax seed meal for the wheat germ… why not?
Can’t wait to make these!! 
I found these on pinterest. I made these the other night and smack dab while making them I realized that my little munchkins had eaten all of our chocolate chips. The only chocolate that I had was nutella. Works well, I’m sure the fat and calories were much higher.
These were delicious! I didn’t have mini chocolate chips, so I used 1/4 cup semi sweet and 1/4 cup reeses peanut butter chips. I however wasn’t patient and they melted but still good! Also, did one tbl wheat germ, 1 tbl ground flaxseed. I think next time I’ll try dark chocolate chips and be patient about adding them till mixture is cooled (or try at least haha) and maybe some dried cranberries, maybe almonds too. Also tasted great before I even added the chips and coconut. Great base recipe for granola bars, thanks!
Hi! I saw these through the Money Saving Mom blog and had to try them. They have a great flavor but mine turned out a little crumbly, any suggestions?
Did you store them in fridge? I keep ours cold which keeps them a bit firmer.
I put them into the fridge to cool and they were crumbly when I took them out to cut them. Maybe they weren’t in the fridge long enough…
Hmmmm….I haven’t had that happen. I’m curious now.
I used Trader Joe’s peanut butter that was in the fridge for a while. I did set it out on the counter to let it soften up. ButI did think to myself as I was putting in the peanut butter, this doesn’t seem as “wet” as the other natural peanut butters I’ve used in the past. I have some of the smuckers for the next batch, hopefully that turns a better result.
Ah!!! I think you’re on to something!
Due to peanut allergies I’m going to sub in almond butter and because of pickiness I’m going to sub brown rice for the coconut. Thank you! I’m really excited to try these.
Sounds great!
Can I substitute steel cut oats for the rolled oats?
I’m not sure since I have never done that. It would definitely change the texture….hmmmm.
This is my favorite recipe. I like them frozen
My sister likes them melted (from the microwave) They are a great snack to keep in the freezer. thanks for sharing
Thanks so much for this recipe! I’ve made it three times so far; just like the recipe the first time with the chips melted in like your picture, the second time I subbed almond butter for peanut (really good!) and waited before adding the choc chips, and the third time I used half almond butter and half tahini and that was great too.
I just made these and I can’t wait for them to come out of the fridge. They look delicious! Thanks
I found your recipe on pinterest and thought it looked so yummy! I made a batch and was wondering how long it took to firm up in the fridge? Mine have been in there for about an hour and a half and it is still vey soft (starting to form, but was just curious how long your took). Thanks
.
Hmmm….I’m not sure how long since we’re pretty impatient around here about those….and tend to eat them anyway.
BUT, overnight, I know they get good and set…. 
)
Ok, thanks
. I’m pretty impatient too and have already had a little taste, even though they are still very soft … and wow, they are delicious! My kids (I also have all boys 
) are going to LOVE them!!!
Are the oats supposed to be cooked before adding to the recipe? There is no mention of cooking them first. Sounds like a silly question but????
No… No need to cook them.
Hi, Brandy, I just wanted to let you know I’ve profiled your chocolate granola bars recipe over on my blog, . They look great. Can’t wait to try them!
these look so good. Are they crunchy or chewy?
Definitely chewy!
Brandy,
I can’t bring myself to eat coconut, and all your recipes have it! Can I substitute coconut shavings for extra oats to make the same consistency??
I think that would work, Gabby. Or you could try brown rice cereal…. Just a thought.
Found you on Pinterest. I’m going to try these out for a treat for my three kiddos……but, aren’t these just a glorified no-bake cookie??? Hehe.
do you have a recipe for crunchy granola bars?
Yes! Coming soon!!
Just made these today and they are very delicious. Only sub. was flax for the wheat germ. Thanks for the recipe.
Is it bad that I’ve made these three times already this week ?! My boys and I LOVE this recipe ! I used coconut oil instead of butter, and replaced half of the chocolate chips with dried cherries. SO good ! Thanks for inspiring me to make these yummy bars.
These are just awesome! I wanted to make something a little more healthy but with chocolate in order to stay away from my daughter’s Easter candy
I used coconut oil and ground flaxseed in mine. Wonderful recipe and I can’t wait to try out more recipes on your blog. thanks!
I LOVE your granola bar recipe. This is now our family favorite and both my husband and 6 year old daughter have them for quick breakfasts!