It’s a challenge sometimes to provide snacks for my kids that are healthier than the average, overly processed, dye filled snacks. A lot of healthier alternatives are very expensive, even if they are more accessible in stores these days. In an effort to keep it real, I make these No Bake Chocolate Chip Granola Bars.
I’ve added chia seed to this recipe for extra protein.
One of my kids usually makes these. They are simple and quick. They are also no bake, making them a great dessert for children to put together and not have to worry about a hot oven.
The Chia seeds, of course, add extra nutrients and are packed with vegetable protein. These, combined with rolled or steel cut oats and peanut butter make these a healthier snack, or even a breakfast.
Options:
Ingredients can be varied to suit your needs and taste.
These are sweetened with chocolate chips and/or honey, but you can alter the amount of each to suit your needs.
The chocolate chips can be substituted with raisins or dried cranberries (sugar has been added to the dried cranberries when they were processed, so be aware of their sugar content).
Honey helps to keep the mixture together, so though you can lower the amount of honey, do not eliminate the honey altogether unless you want to make a crumble topping instead of bars.
How to Keep:
Keep these no bake chocolate chip granola bars in a covered dish (pre-cut so the kids don’t maul them while trying to get them out).
You can also cut and wrap them individually in parchment paper so that they’re ready to take on the go. Since they only take a few minutes to prepare, they really are a great option for an on the go snack.
No Bake Chocolate Chip Granola Bars with Chia Seeds
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled or cut oats
- 1 cup real peanut butter no added sugar
- ⅓ cup honey
- ¼ cup coconut oil melted
- 1-1/2 tablespoons chia seeds
Optional – One or Two of the Following:
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
Instructions
- Combine ingredients. If your house is very cool you may want to consider placing honey and peanut butter in a saucepan to slightly melt, but this is not required.2 cups rolled or cut oats, 1 cup real peanut butter, 1/3 cup honey, 1/4 cup coconut oil, 1-1/2 tablespoons chia seeds, 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- Make sure your ingredients are wet enough, but not too wet. You want it to be wet enough to stick together, but not fall apart. Too crumbly from the start will result in very crumbly bars. Too wet will result in goopy bars. Adjust with extra peanut butter or oats as needed.
- Press hard with your fingers or the back of a spoon into a 8in x 8in dish that has been greased with coconut oil.
Other great recipes for kids to make:
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