Copycat Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Feature image showing a stack of our easy homemade granola bars on a parchment lined boar.

5 from 3 votes

Easy granola bar recipe that tastes better than store-bought! With 8 simple ingredients and minimal hands-on time, your snacking just got more delicious.

Prep Time10

Resting Time1

Total Time1 10

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Servings: bars

Calories: 149kcal

Author: Meredith

Ingredients

2 Cups quick-cook oats
1 Cup puffed rice cereal (we use an organic brown rice variety)
¼ Cup salted butter
¼ Cup light brown sugar
¼ Cup honey
⅛ teaspoon salt (a "dash")
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons mini chocolate chips

Instructions

Prep. Lightly grease an 8x8 (or 9x9) square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray, then line with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oats and cereal and set aside.
2 Cups quick-cook oats, 1 Cup puffed rice cereal
Make the binder. Add the butter, brown sugar, honey, and salt to a small saucepan and bring to a low boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the mixture until the sugar dissolves (about 2 minutes).
¼ Cup salted butter, ¼ Cup light brown sugar, ¼ Cup honey, ⅛ teaspoon salt
Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Make the oat mixture. Pour the binder mixture over the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl and stir well to ensure everything is well coated.
Press into the pan. Transfer the coated oat mixture to the prepared pan and press it into an even layer, tightly compacting it. Sprinkle the top with the mini chocolate chips and gently press them into the oat mixture.
*Note: if you press the oat mixture in too gently it won't stick together well / the bars will fall apart when picked up. Don't be afraid to use a little muscle here.
3 Tablespoons mini chocolate chips
Cool. Allow the granola bars to cool in the pan at room temperature for at least 1 hour prior to slicing (2-3 hours if you can).

Video

Notes

*This recipe is already nut-free and gluten-free as written, however a few precautions should be taken if you're serving this to someone with celiac. Verify the puffed rice cereal, oats, and chocolate chips you're using are certified gluten free to be safe.

Storage: store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or slice and pack them into individual zip-top bags for easy grab-and-go. For longer storage, you can refrigerator these for up to 2 weeks or freeze them for up to 3 months.

Nutrition