Quaker Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars Recipe
Today, we are making the Quaker Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars Recipe! These chewy granola bars are a homemade, healthier and vegan remake of the popular Quaker brand of chewy chocolate chip granola bars! You may have seen this box of granola bars on grocery store shelves (oatmeal bars are still ever so popular), but because they aren’t vegan, I haven’t had these in a long time. The best way to get my fill of these chewy bars was to just … make my own! The original recipe also contains a lot more additives and artificial flavour than we would need making oat bars at home, so this is a great way to make healthier snacks, at home save on packaging and make it budget-friendly by making a large batch.
So, I loved Quaker oats products growing up – Quaker oatmeal squares, packs of flavored oats and more. But I’m always looking for new ways to make oatmeal recipes and use up the giant bag of rolled oats in my cupboard. So today’s delicious recipe for homemade granola bars uses a great base of Rice Krispies and rolled oats as the dry ingredients, almond butter and coconut oil as the healthy fats and maple syrup with light brown sugar for the sugary taste and to help it come together. Vanilla extract and a pinch of salt bring out the flavor, and stirring in the chocolate chips really makes it look exactly like the Quaker oatmeal bars. So let’s get onto these oat bars!
Why You’ll Love This Quaker Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars Recipe
Nostalgic Chewy Bars: Growing up, I would always have one of these in my lunchbox! Some variation or other of a Quaker chewy bar would make its way into my backpack. Either this chewy chocolate chip version, or the chocolate dipped ones, the salted caramel with chocolate, the rainbow chocolate chip with chocolate drizzle – you get the idea. Once I went vegan, I stopped buying these because they contained milk in all the varieties that I used to eat when I was younger. I don’t know about you, but being able to make these bars is a nostalgic feeling and super satisfying. You can bring these along as breakfast bars during a busy morning, eat them as a snack in the afternoon or pack them as a little after-lunch dessert!
Healthier & Kid-Approved: Buying store-bought granola bars isn’t as budget-friendly as making them at home, nor is the store-bought version of these bars vegan. You’re also getting less sugar and additives when making them at home as compared to buying. If your kids love the original Quaker chewy chocolate chip granola bars, these delicious bars are sure to be kid-approved!
These bars are also peanut butter free, and can be made nut-free as well. So if your child is bringing them to school you don’t have to worry about any peanut allergies.
Substitutions
Coconut Oil: Make sure to choose refined coconut oil, not virgin or extra-virgin. It should not smell like coconut! You can also try using vegan butter – not a margarine spread though. Melt Organics make delicious salted vegan butter sticks.
Vanilla: Choose a high-quality vanilla extract, without additional caramel color or dyes. You can also use pure vanilla flavor, which is non-alcoholic so can’t have the “extract” label.
Almond Butter: Use pure tahini (sesame seed paste) for a nut-free recipe instead of almond butter. For a peanut butter flavored bar, you can sub the almond butter with peanut butter, or even cashew butter.
Rolled Oats: This recipe uses rolled oats (old fashioned oats). You can try to substitute with quick oats or instant oats. Note that the texture will not be the same as the large-flaked rolled oats. For those with a gluten sensitivity, use certified gluten free oats. Do not use oat flour as a substitute.
Chocolate Chips: Use mini, vegan semisweet chocolate chips for best results. You can use dark chocolate chips if you would like a recipe that isn’t as high in sugar. However, it won’t taste as good due to the chocolate being more bitter. Additionally, when choosing chocolate, check the label to make sure there are no dairy products added (like milk powder) so it is vegan.
Brown Sugar: You may try to use coconut sugar instead. However, the taste and texture will vary.
Maple Syrup: Choose real maple syrup, with only one ingredient on the label. You can also substitute another liquid sweetener, like agave nectar.
Chocolate Chip Granola Bars Recipe Notes
- For an extra-chocolately bar, you can drizzle melted chocolate over top of the bars, after pressing them down and before refrigerating.
More Homemade Snacks You’ll Love
If you make this Quaker Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars Recipe, then leave a comment and star rating! Don’t forget to tag your photos @peanut_palate on Instagram. Enjoy!
Quaker Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars Recipe
Equipment
- Medium Size Baking Tray
- Stovetop Pan
- Whisk
- Rubber Spatula
Ingredients
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup refined coconut oil
- 3 tbsp almond butter
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- pinch pink salt
- 1½ + ½ of a ⅓ cup cup rice krispies
- ½ + ½ of a ⅓ cup cup rolled oats
- ¼ cup vegan mini semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a small pan over medium high heat, whisk together the maple syrup, almond butter, brown sugar, coconut oil, and salt until it comes to a boil.
- Turn off the heat. Add in the vanilla, rice krispies and oats to the wet ingredients. Stir to combine.
- Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Let it cool down for 30 minutes.
- Once cooled, stir in the chocolate chips. Make sure not to add the chocolate in too soon – it will melt!
- Line a small baking tray with parchment paper.
- Using a rubber spatula, very tightly press down the granola bar mixture evenly into the pan, in a medium-thick layer. You can use another piece of parchment paper on top with a few heavy books on top to really press the oat mixture down.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Remove the oat bars from the refrigerator and use a pizza cutter or a very sharp knife to cut into 8 bars. Enjoy!
Notes
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Storage
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
