These soft and chewy, peanut butter chocolate chip bars are deliciously healthy, vegan and gluten-free. Making your own granola bars has never been easier with this no-bake recipe that’s also customizable.

We’ve all been there when it’s too late for breakfast, but a little too early to have lunch. Our stomachs are growling, and suddenly nothing sounds better than a quick salty, sweet bite…

Whether you grew up eating Quaker Oat bars or your workplace is well-stocked with Cliff bars, I’m sure a granola bar has saved your life on one or more occasions. And if you’re anything like me, the peanut butter chocolate chip bars are always the ones you reach for first.

If it’s never crossed your mind to make your own granola bars, think again! This recipe finally gives you an easy, vegan dupe that is no-bake and gluten free. 

These peanut butter chocolate chip bars are much healthier than the ones you can get at the store because it only takes a handful ingredients which you can easily customize to your own preference. 

Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

2 cups oats

1 cup mixed nuts and seeds of choice

½ cup semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips 

1 cup smooth peanut butter or almond butter

¼ – ½ cup maple syrup or liquid sweetener

1 tsp cinnamon optional 

Pinch of salt

First, prepare a small baking dish by cross lining with two pieces of parchment paper. The smaller the dish, the thicker the granola bars will come out 

Next, combine 1 cup total of mixed nuts and seeds into a food processor or blender, then pulse a few times until the nuts are roughly chopped. Add 2 cups of oats and process or blend lightly until the dry mixture is a coarse flour. (This step is optional if you prefer a chunkier granola bar!  You can keep the mixture as fine or chunky as you want – or skip this step entirely if you want to keep the nuts and oats whole). 

Then, add the oats, nuts, and seeds to a large mixing bowl, then stir in ½ cup of vegan chocolate chips, a teaspoon of cinnamon, and a pinch of salt.

Add 1 cup of smooth peanut butter and ¼ – ½ cup of maple syrup or liquid sweetener to the bowl, then mix well. This mixture will be on the drier side, but the wet ingredients should be able to thoroughly combine with the dry.

Pour the mixture into the lined baking dish, then use your hands or a silicone spatula to press it firmly and evenly into the pan. Cover the dish, then leave it in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight to set. The longer you let it set in the fridge, the better it will hold when you cut it. 

After it’s done setting, remove the granola bar mixture from the pan by lifting up the parchment paper, then cut the granola bars into small rectangles or squares to enjoy. 

Store these granola bars in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Nuts and seeds. The nuts and seeds used in this recipe are just what I always have in my pantry – cashews, hemp seeds and chia seeds – but you can get away with using any that you like. Walnuts, pecans, almonds, pumpkin seeds, etc. would all be incredible options. 

Sweetener. Although maple syrup is listed, for this recipe I tried out Allulose, which is a zero-calorie, liquid sweetener. ¼ cup is plenty for this recipe and will keep it a little healthier, but ½ cup will satisfy a sweet tooth. 

Chunky or chewy. You can make this recipe even easier by keeping all the dry ingredients whole without needing to break out the blender or food processor. This will make your bars chunkier and piecey, but briefly blitzing the dry ingredients will make a chewier granola bar.

Make these next: 

• No-Bake Brownie Bites
• Easy Hot Fudge Vegan Sundae

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