Granola bars are my afternoon snack go-to most days. I get a little carb from the grain (usually oats), a little protein and fat from the nut butter and a little sweetness from dried fruit or chocolate.
It’s often just what I need to carry me through until dinner. While I definitely have my favorite store-bought brands (Luna, Clif and Odwalla are some of my favorites), I’ve been making my own lately. I’ll throw together a batch on Sunday to have for the week and I love that I don’t have to think about it again until the next Sunday.
It’s also nice knowing exactly what I put in there and being able to control the different flavors and tastes to my liking. I especially love these because they’re ‘no-bake’ – which means after a quick combination of ingredients, I just pop them in a pan lined with parchment paper and let them do their thing.
A time AND a money saver – it really doesn’t get much easier than that!
{no-bake double chocolate peanut butter granola bars}
makes: 8-10 bars depending on how big you cut them
ingredients:
- 2 cup oats (I used quick-cooking but old fashioned would work well too)
- 2/3 cup honey
- 1 cup natural dark chocolate peanut butter (I used smooth but crunchy would be great as well!)
- 1/2 cup cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or dark chocolate or white chocolate – whatever you like!)
- 1/2 cup roasted peanuts
directions:
- add all ingredients into a bowl, mix together well
- line a loaf pan with parchment paper (or a brownie or a cake pan if you want thinner bars) and press dough evenly into pan then place in the fridge for about an hour or two.
- after storing in the fridge, slice into squares.
- store in the fridge and take with you as needed for a perfect on-the-go snack!
I’m a HUGE bar fan. I make a batch pretty much every week as well. They make a great breakfast or snack. These look delicious
Can’t beat ’em – makes it so simple when you always have a healthy choice on hand! 🙂
These look so good! What kind of chocolate peanut butter do you use?
I used some that I bought at Earth Fare (which is a natural food store in the area) – they make it fresh from ground peanuts and dark cocoa… but you could always use nutella or even make your own!
Yum! I just pinned these so I remember to make them, thanks for sharing.
Yay! Let me know what you think if you try them!
😮 no bake?! and pb + chocolate in a granola bar?! i think i’m already in love. i haven’t made anything like this… maybe ever. but definitely in way too long. thanks for sharing!
Of course! I hope you give them a whirl – they’re delicious and SO easy! 🙂
These look great!
I’ve become a huge fan of making my own granola/energy bars. They’re so much cheaper, and like you said, you can control exactly what goes into them.
Exactly!! You really can’t beat it – especially when they’re so easy!
Oooh these look amazing. I’ve been on the hunt for quick snacks we can pack for the park/pool this summer. These would be perfect!
Definitely make these! Though they do melt (not super quickly or anything, but just after a while) so make sure they’re refrigerated (or maybe even frozen?) beforehand depending on how long they’ll sit in a bag in the sun 🙂
i bet dark chocolate almond butter or nuttzo would be good too! I really love no bake when it’s 100F here already. sheesh!
Oh I love that idea!! That might need to be my next variation! And totally – nothing like summer in Austin to get you on the ‘no-bake’ bandwagon!
You had me at “no bake”! These are definitely going to be made here this summer! They sound and look perfect!
Yay! I hope the boys enjoy them! 🙂
Wow those are SO easy to make and sound amazing!!! I love stuff like this!! Thanks for the recipe…seriously trying that out!!
Yay! Let me know what you think if you do! 🙂
I started to make these this summer when it was too hot to bake. Now I have to make a single or double batch every 7-10 days. I scoop them with my small cookie scoop. Have made them with regular peanut butter, raisins, dried cherries, chopped toasted almonds, ground flax seed. Sometimes I add cocoa to them if I don’t have the chocolate peanut butter. They have all been great.
I’m so glad to hear it! I’m hard pressed to go a week without making a batch of them – they’re just the perfect snack! I definitely need to get more creative with my add-ins…some of yours sound so good!
Any nutritional. Info for these bars? Also what size dish do you use?
I used a small loaf pan (10″ x 5″) lined with parchment paper (as shown in the pictures) but you could use an 8″ x 8″ pan and make them thinner. Really all you need is something to mold them so whatever you have on hand would work, it would just mean it adjusts the calories.
I purposely made them thicker and cut them on the bigger side because I required a larger afternoon snack at the time since I wasn’t getting back from school until well into the evening. The way I have them here serves up about 380 calories per bar but I would recommend cutting these in half or laying them out slightly thinner than shown here for a regular everyday afternoon snack.
hope that helps!