Honey-Sweetened Almond Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Chewy, no-bake, healthy granola bars made simply with oats, honey, almond or peanut butter and chocolate chips. A simple and delicious gluten-free recipe!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
I basically survived on granola bars in high school. Pre-packaged, too sweet, milk chocolate granola bars at lunch and before volleyball practice. Every day. Naturally, I’ve been pretty burnt out on granola bars for the past ten years.
Then my friend Sara (whom I met through the blog) texted me the ingredients list for a granola bar and requested that I recreate them. I trust Sara’s taste in granola bars and thought I’d better give these a shot, so I stopped at the local coffee shop to pick one up.
I made it to my car before peeling off the packaging. One bite and I was hooked. This granola bar was unlike any other granola bar I’d ever encountered. I tasted honey, sea salt, dark chocolate, oats and cinnamon all at once—each flavor teetered on the edge of overwhelming the others yet somehow the sum was perfectly balanced.
Plus, unlike those packaged, processed granola bars I’d grown up eating, these were legitimately healthy granola bars. I immediately added the ingredients on the back of the package to my grocery list and headed to the store.
It took me five tries to get these granola bars just right. I initially thought they were baked because the oats weren’t entirely intact, but my baked bars were all wrong. Then I tried no-bake bars with old-fashioned oats. While the flavor was pretty spot on, the texture of the oats was too distracting.
Finally, it occurred to me to use quick-cooking oats—oats that have been rolled out thinner and cook in about 60 seconds—to get the right texture. Quick-cooking oats did just the trick and I delivered a bag of pre-packaged bars to Sara as a belated birthday gift.
I think you guys will appreciate these, too. The bars hold together well, although each batch I’ve made has turned out slightly different. I suspect the differences boil down to slight measuring discrepancies between the batches. For the firmest bars, you might need to sprinkle a few more oats into the bowl—enough that you think it’ll be almost impossible to mix them all in. Once you put some arm muscle into it and get those oats mixed in, you’re in business.
You might also want to tinker with the amount of salt. I’ve been using unsalted Trader Joe’s almond butter, which is nice and spreadable, plus I can control the salt content. I like my bars a little salty (and therefore totally addictive), so I go with the full 3/4 teaspoon, but you might want to scale back to suit your preferences. Feel free to change up the mix-ins, too. Check the recipe notes for details!
More Granola Bars to Try
-
- Easy No-Bake Granola Bars: Find more variations of this recipe here.
- Almond Coconut Granola Bars
- Pecan Granola Bars
- Cranberry Orange Granola Bars
You might also appreciate my popular granola recipe or overnight oats. Check out my 23 Healthy Make-Ahead Breakfast Recipes for more grab-and-go breakfast options.
Please let me know how your bars turn out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Honey-Sweetened Almond Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Chewy, no-bake, gluten-free granola bars made simply with oats, almonds, almond butter or peanut butter and chocolate chips. This healthy granola bar recipe is so delicious and easy to make. Homemade granola bars are great to keep on hand for traveling or whenever hunger strikes! Recipe yields 14 to 16 bars.
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups quick-cooking oats (or old-fashioned oats, pulsed briefly in a food processor or blender to break them up)
- 1 ⅓ cup sliced almonds
- ⅔ cup mini dark chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon salt, to taste (decrease if your almond/peanut butter is salted)
- 1 cup creamy unsalted almond butter or peanut butter
- ½ cup honey
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line an 8 to 9-inch square baker with two strips of criss-crossed parchment paper, cut to size. In a mixing bowl, combine the oats, almonds, chocolate chips, cinnamon and salt. Whisk to combine.
- In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, measure out the nut butter. Top with ½ cup honey and the vanilla extract. Whisk until well blended. If you must, you can gently warm the liquid mixture on the stovetop or in the microwave, but make sure it’s cool before you pour it into the dry mixture (the chocolate chips will melt).
- Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a big spoon to mix them together until the two are evenly combined and no dry oats remain. The drier the mixture, the more firm the bars will be, so stir in extra oats if the mixture seems wet.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared square baker. Use your spoon to arrange the mixture fairly evenly in the baker, then use the bottom of a flat, round surface (like a short, sturdy drinking glass), covered in a small piece of parchment paper (see photo), to pack the mixture down as firmly and evenly as possible.
- Cover the baker and refrigerate for at least one hour, or overnight. Use a sharp knife to slice the bars. For portability, you can wrap individual bars in plastic wrap or parchment paper. Bars keep well for a couple of days at room temperature, but I recommend storing individually wrapped bars in a freezer-safe bag in the freezer for best flavor.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction and Smitten Kitchen.
Make it gluten free: Be sure to buy certified gluten-free oats.
Make it vegan: Substitute maple syrup for the honey and use dairy-free chocolate chips.
Make it dairy free: Use dairy-free chocolate chips.
Change it up: Feel free to substitute chopped, toasted nuts for the sliced almonds, and chopped, dried fruit for the chocolate.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I just made these and they are AMAZING. I didn’t have any almonds in my pantry, so I used raw Chinese pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds instead. I also used butterscotch chips instead of chocolate (because it’s what I had) and I am trying to control myself and not eat the whole pan. Great recipe!
Oh man, your granola bars sound fantastic! Thanks, Amanda!
Can I substitute oat bran for oats?
That’s a really good question. I bet you can! Please let me know if you give it a shot.
I just want to say this is now my go to recipe! I had been searching for a while for a healthy, easy, cheap, and tasty granola bar recipe and I just found it! Thanks so much :-D
Hooray! Happy to hear it, Mell.
These sounded so delicious, I tried them right away! They do taste divine, but mine crumbled badly. We are happily munching on granola bar crumbs, but I wondered if you had any idea why this would happen?
Hmm, Jessica, I’m sorry to hear that! Did you change the amounts of sweetener or oats at all? It sounds like you either didn’t have enough liquid or you didn’t press the granola together well enough. Using the bottom of a jar to press down on the mix really makes the difference.
This may be a stupid question, but I’m assuming the oats need to be cooked, no? Nowhere does it say that, and these never go in the oven so I’m not sure.
Hi Cynthia! I’m sorry for the confusion. No, the oats do not need to be cooked. The bars turn out fantastic as written!
Could you tell me how many calories is in the Granola Bars????
Hi Susan! I’m sorry, I don’t provide nutritional details for my recipes because home cooking can vary so much. Please feel free to run the recipe through myfitnesspal.com for an estimate.
These are AWESOME. I was looking for a recipe w/o added sugar… and these did the trick, tastes like dessert :D
So many store-bought ‘nola bars have milk in them & I can’t do lactose. I am very glad I found this yummy recipe.
I subbed the almonds for a mixed combo of almonds, walnuts & cashews. Can’t wait to experiment with other things (esp. dried fruits) next time!
When I posted to Instagram, all of my running friends asked for the recipe STAT. Thank you!!
That’s great to hear! Thanks, Jackie! I’ve been living off these granola bars this week. Can’t complain. :)
Made these and love them! Wondering about nutrition facts cause I’m tracking my calories
Hi Grace, glad to hear it! I’m sorry, I don’t offer nutrition facts because I offer so many recipe variations, but feel free to run the recipe through a calculator like myfitnesspal.com!
OMG these are amaaaazing! SOOO much better than store bought! I made the original recipe above and another with some changes and both are excellent! Not dry at all, very moist!
My change up recipe:
I ran out of almonds so used sunflower seeds
In place of almond butter, used organic peanut butter
Also added dried cranberries
this was very good. My son said maybe a little too nutty flavored but I loved it!
Too hard to eat right from the freezer but if I pack frozen bars in lunches, perfectly thawed by lunch!
Thx for recipe!
Thank you, Shelly! Happy to hear it!
Hi
I tried out the healthy almond chocolate chip granola bars and it was super yummy so I was hoping you can tell me the calorie content per bar?
Hi Vinitha! I’m sorry, I don’t provide nutrition details. Please feel free to run the recipe through a nutrition calculator like myfitnesspal.com!
Hi
Thanks for your reply. I wanted to feature the recipe on my health blog http://www.lunchboxlicense.wordpress.com with all credit to you and your website. I hope that is ok
Hi Vinitha, I don’t allow other websites to publish my recipes, but you’re welcome to link over to my post! Thank you.
Can you make these with splenda? I cannot have sugar or honey.
That’s a good question, Nadine. The honey helps the bars stick together, so I’m not sure. If you give it a try and the mixture isn’t sticking together, adding a little more almond butter might do the trick.
Hi Kate
My daughter ryen & I found your recipe while looking for healthy snack recipes to take to school. We cannot wait to try & bake these together & more so to eat them!!! Can you provide the nutritional value by any chance? Calories/fat/sugar
Hi Elizabeth! I’m sorry, I don’t provide nutrition information since the numbers depend so much on actual ingredients used.
I love this recipe. I didnt have quick oats, but dry toasting rolled oats worked just fine. Also, we are cutting back on sugar, so instead of the chocolate chips, I threw in about 1/3 cup of pretzel sticks (snyders has no added sugar)
These are fantastic!
Thanks, Maggie! Pretzels sound like a really tasty addition.
yum! just made these with….. chopped banana chips instead of the almonds. perfect combination! I also used a cookie scoop to drop potions into a cupcake tin with paper liners, then I pressed them firmly in with a small cup bottom. I can easily throw them in my kids lunches. one recipe made 24 kids sized granola-bar cupcakes.
thank-you!!!!
Well, your banana chip version sounds stellar! And great idea to scoop portions into a cupcake tin!
My 10 year old daughter (also a Kate) has been wanting to try her hand at homemade granola bars. This was our first recipe to try and we are hooked! Ours were a little bit crumbly but we will just add more oats next time. I have a feeling this batch won’t last long :) Thanks for sharing a great recipe!
Ayme, that’s so fun to hear! Thank you for letting me know!
Storing in the freezer sounds perfect, but how do you like to eat them after that? Do you take one out and let it come up to room temp? Do you eat them frozen? Or do you microwave/bake them briefly to take away the chill.
Developed an adult-onset peanut allergy and really missing my snacks, so I’m looking forward to trying this recipe!
Hi Megan! The bars are pretty rock-solid once frozen, so they need a little time to defrost. You can leave them at room temp or microwave very briefly (maybe 10 seconds at a time).
These are great snacks for my kids, thanks! My four year old wanted to make granola balls and cookies, so we rolled them and smooshed them instead of the bars. This was perfect for little hands. My toddler had a hard time with the sliced almonds so the next time I make these I will try to substitute rice crispies for the nuts. I’m assuming that will be an ok substitution? I love your recipes – thank you!
Hi Sally! I love that idea. I wonder if the rice crispies will retain their texture—might be worth a try!
One of my friends made this recipe just the other day. She and her husband ended up melting down some dark chocolate and dipping the bars in them. Holy cow were they delicious! So delicious in fact that I have a batch hardening in the fridge right now. Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Well, that sounds like a great idea to me! Thanks, Mackenzie! I can’t get enough of these, either.
I made these for the first time last week and loved them. I had trouble getting everything mixed together. Wondering if I didn’t have enough liquid. Thoughts? Also, where do you find mini dark chocolate chips? I can’t find any in our local stores. Thanks!
Hi Robin! These should be a little tough to mix, but you could add more almond butter or honey next time to make it work. I can’t remember where I found mini chocolate chips… I think at Target? Another option is to process regular chocolate chips in a food processor until they’re roughly halved in size. Too big, and they’ll make it hard to slice the bars evenly.
I don’t have trouble finding semi-sweet or milk chocolate mini chips, just not dark chocolate. Guess I’ll keep looking – or try your idea in a food processor. Thanks!
These look amazing. Have you ever used pumpkin butter? I am tempted to try as most schools are nut free.
Thanks
No, I haven’t! I think pumpkin butter in addition to honey would make very sweet bars. Check my recipe notes for nut-free suggestions!
The taste of these is wonderful, but as every other granola bar it falls apart! I would like to know the secret for making granola bars firm enough to not fall apart but not be hard.
I’m sorry to hear that, Pat! Did you really press the ingredients into the base of the pan as directed? I’ve found that to be key, as well as giving the bars some time to rest and absorb some moisture before using a sharp knife to slice.
Hey the look delicious!! I’m not living in the US and I’d love to make them, but I never saw almond butter before and the peanut butter tastes awful… Do you have any idea how I could substitute this ingredient?
** I mean here the peanut butter tastes awful :) In general I love it!
Yay, so glad to have found this recipe…I’ve become obsessed with the Kaldi granola bars but they’re tough on the wallet! Will try baking up a batch of these for cheaper weekday breakfasts :)
These are FANTASTIC. My daugher has a lot of food intolerances, which has ruled out almost all store bought granola bars. These are the best granola bars we have ever had–extremely addictive. We subbed chopped peanuts and toasted/chopped pumpkin seeds for the almonds. My daughter says they taste like a dessert, and I agree. Thank you so much for posting this recipe. We also love your granola recipe!
I just made these with PB2 instead of peanut butter and they came out amazing! Much less fattening with the same great taste and texture. Thanks for the recipe!
Made these several times, taste great!
I looked for a long time to find a recipe without butter and sugar and I was really excited when I found these! I used to love granola bars but the storebought ones can be so unhealthy, so I’m excited to eat these! I subbed in 1/3 cup sunflower seeds for 1/3 cup of almonds, 2/3 cup pecan pieces for the chocolate chips, used natural peanut butter, and left the salt out for a slightly healthier option. The batter tastes awesome! Thanks!
I made these with Trader Joe’s peanut butter and they’re so good!! They taste like peanut butter cups :) I also used slivered almonds instead of sliced, and I liked that texture.
I don’t know if I did something wrong, but I feel like I added almost double the amount of oats and they still seemed pretty wet and crumbled when eating. Still delicious though! Thanks Kate! You’re my favorite food blogger! :)
I have made the almond chocolate chip granola bars several times and have turned my co-workers on to them.They are so easy to make and they taste so very good.They are filling and a perfect snack when you need something between meals.
I LOVE these granola bars! I don’t like almonds so I substitute chopped peanuts and it tastes great. Much more complex and filling than something you would buy at the store. I learned fast to hide a few for myself in the freezer or they would magically disappear in a day. :)
I haven’t tried this yet but I’m planning to. I have been cooking and baking since I was just 9 years old. Following the recipe or tweaking it for my own personal taste. I love to make things from scratch because I believe that they are more healthy for you. Thanks for the recipe will let you know what I think.
I am amazed at how cheap and easy these were. They are also delicious! My boyfriend really likes unhealthy junk food snacks so I was a bit worried these would be too healthy for his taste. He gobbled them up!! We both agree that they’re far more delicious than the bars bought in store. I found I needed a lot more oats than listed here before my mixture was no longer “wet”. I also added dried cranberries (yum). Shared your page with all of my friends!
I find them sticky what can I do to make them more solid
They usually become less sticky after you let them chill for a while. If they’re still sticky, you might need to add a few more oats next time.
These are AMAZING! !!!
These sound yummy and now my son has finished kindie for summer I’ll make a batch for him. (Maybe without the salt) During term time I sub nut butter for Tahini to make them suitable for the schools no-nut policy. Can’t wait to try your recipe :)
Just made this recipe and tried a bar. I am in heaven!
I have recently changed by diet but I have had the worst sweet tooth lately! These bars satisfied my sweet tooth and left me content without binging on a candy bar or junk food.
I also added chia seeds to get in my omega 3s!
Wonderful recipe thank you!
I glazed over the ingredients and totally missed the instructions! They STILL turned out great! I was lazy and used 2 cups of slow oats, I only had less than half a pound Jar of pb, so I just plopped it in. I didn’t have nuts, but used some trail mix, said “whatever” and dumped the while package in. Lol! I didn’t have enough honey but figured some organic pancake syrup would do the trick so I squirted that in, too. My daughter had a blast squishing it all up! A hand full of Choco chips later, and they became granola balls as they were sickly and I forgot to chill them. They barely made it into the freezer bag!!! :)
So SO much better than my attempt at making energy bars! I passed this “recipe” to a friend who’s gluten and dairy free and only eats things with 3 ingredients.
Great recipe! I ground the almonds and whole grain oats in the food processor then mixed all the ingredients together. I formed the dough into balls and froze them! Our HyVee store makes something similar, but they are very expensive! I am thrilled to be able to make my own at home! Thank you!
I LOVE this recipe. So simple and quick to make. I can’t eat honey or almonds or chocolate so I make a peanut butter, maple syrup version with dried figs and macadamia nuts.
Thank you so much for this no-bake recipe! It was so easy to follow the recipe, and the bars are very yummy. I replaced the almonds with walnuts as a personal preference, and added some flax seed as well. My bars came out a little wet, so I could have added more oats, but I’m hoping they sitting overnight in the fridge will help them become firmer. Thank you again for the recipe!
These were awesome! I finally made the commitment to eat healthy back in January, and this recipe was a great addition to my breakfast/snack repertoire. I used almond butter, raisins and sunflower seeds since that’s what I had on hand, but the variation ideas are already popping up in my head. So much better (and better for you!) than store-bought! <3
I made these this weekend for back-to-school lunches and they are AMAZING! So delicious and satisfying – an instant classic in our house. My very picker eaters agree!
Thank you so much for your recipes – we have tried many and every one has been excellent. Your book can’t come soon enough!
I made these granola bars for my fussy eater of a son (4 1/2 years old). More importantly I got him to help me make them. I have to say we both love them and I like to think it is a much healthier snack than what he was used to and he would often ask for these now instead of sweets. I normally freeze half of them which is really handy to have in the freezer. They really are easy to make and so worth the effort. Thanks for a great recipe. Stephanie
Stephanie, that’s so nice to hear. Thank you for taking the time to let me know! Glad you’re both enjoying them.
I love this recipe! I’ve made it three times already – first two as written, and most recently I used different nuts. They’re a great snack to bring to work!
Do you happen to know if they freeze well?
They do! They’ll just need a few minutes to come to room temp.
Oh yum! Just made these with homemade honey roasted peanut butter (nutrabullet blender is great for making homemade PB!) and toasted old fashioned rolled oats (I didn’t have any quick cooking oats except steel cut). I did have to use about 2 cups (maybe a bit more than 2) of oats to get them stiff enough. Other than that, I followed the recipe as written. Soooo good! Much, MUCH better than any store bought granola bar. Loved the flavors and love that this recipe can be adapted to what you have on hand. I have a gazillion packets of the dried fruit a certain coffee house gives you with your oatmeal. I’m thinking a few of those tossed in will be tasty too. My granddaughters are going to love these. Thanks Kate!
Thank you for your comment, Cat! I’m so glad you love these bars. They’re my favorite!
It’s funny that you are posting this recipe today. I have a copy (the original I guess) that I just put in the oven. I keep thinking the oats should be soaked and dried first, but I just don’t feel like going to all that trouble. It looks like you don’t bother with that either. I wish I could get sprouted oats so I didn’t have to worry about it.
That would be a lot of effort. I haven’t seen sprouted oats for sale yet, but I’ll keep an eye out for them.
Hi Kate, I just wanted to let you know that I made these Granola bars yesterday. I love them! They’re delicious and tasty! Thank you for the recipe!
What is the nutritional information on this? Sounds great but looking to use it for my calorie tracker.
Unfortunately, I don’t have nutritional info available for my recipes just yet. I’m looking for a solution, and will update about it once I find one. Thanks!
so delicious – Thanks for another great recipe! I used tahini and cashew butter since that’s what I had -and only 2 tablespoons honey and it turned out great.
Your version sounds delicious, Rachel. Thanks!