Yesterday.was.nuts. Almonds… not peanuts 😉
I know I said I was looking forward to getting back into a normal routine after the holidays, but yesterday was not normal — either that or I lost some of my work-related fitness after taking a few weeks off for Christmas vacation. Should have been doing [number] crunches or something. Dang. But I digress.
I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve posted a recipe here on Spoons, and that’s probably because… well… it has been [what feels like] forever. The last one was the holiday cookie energy bites that I posted waaaaaay before Christmas, so I’m well overdue for another — especially since my goal this year is to share more recipes. So… here’s one for granola bars! (how’s that for an intro? 😉 )
And because that picture makes them look kind of puny and insignificant, here are some better ones…
Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about… It almost looks like those one of those fancy glamour shots they take of McDonalds’ Big Macs… Except that when you make these, they actually come out looking like they do in the picture, and not like that sorry excuse for meat, lettuce, and bread that they throw at you and try to pass off as a burger. But I digress.
I’m picky when it comes to my granola bars, and it pains me to say that none of the pre-packaged ones have been able to live up to my standards. Okay, that’s not even close to being true. The reality of the matter is that it pains me to say that I have no idea whether or not the pre-packaged bars would live up to my standards because I can’t eat 99.99% of them — let’s just say that “may contain traces of peanuts” is definitely up there on my list of phrases I hate to hear the most. But, again, I digress. The point is… what? (brain fart). AH! The point is, if I want a bar, I have to make a bar; and when I make a bar, it has to be juuuuuuuuust right.
This means: soft, chewy, dense, chocolatey, nutritious, and filling. In other words, these:
I’d love to know if you make this (or any!) recipe! Tag @runwithspoons on Instagram and Twitter, and be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to receive more healthy and delicious recipes straight to your inbox!
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Soft and Chewy Protein Granola Bars
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 12 bars 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cups (160 g) quick oats
- 1/2 cup (40 g) vanilla protein powder
- 2 Tbsp (14 g) ground flax
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup (64 g) almond butter (or any nut butter)
- 1/4 cup (80 g) honey, or brown rice syrup if vegan
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (60 g) mini chocolate chips (dairy-free if vegan)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and prepare an 8×8 (20x20cm) baking pan by spraying it with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, protein powder, flax, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine almond butter, honey, almond milk, and vanilla. Mix until fully combined. Pour wet mix into dry mix and stir until fully incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Pour into prepared baking pan. Using a spatula or your hands, spread the mixture evenly in the pan, pressing down firmly.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, until edges begin to turn golden brown.
- Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 20 minutes before cutting into bars.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
Click here for nutrition facts.
Bars are one of my favourite snacks because of how portable and filling they are. I’m sure there are a lot of great storebought bars out there, but for those of us who have allergies, or who are looking to save some money, homemade bars are the way to go — not only are they a breeze to whip up, but you can customize them to your heart’s content… Not feeling chocolate? Toss in some raisins, dates, or dried cranberries instead. Need a little extra oompf? Add some nuts, seeds, or coconut shreds. The possibilities are endless, and the results are delicious.
Enjoy your Tuesday, friends! And don’t forget to start Thinking Out Loud 😀
Hi Amanda! great site . Can’t wait to make the pumpkin muffins, the cookies, and granola bars. I’ll will share this on my fb page. Thanks!!!
These look absolutely amazing! Can I substitute the nut butters for regular butter? Boyfriend suffers with nut allergies and these look to yummy to miss out on!
I’ve never tried it so I don’t know for sure, but I expect that the texture and taste of the bars would be different. You’d also probably have to decrease the amount to something like 2 Tbsp. Has your boyfriend ever tried a soy nut or sunflower seed butter? Those are great alternatives for people with nut allergies!
These were really good. I made them exactly as the recipe stated the first time and the 2nd time I subbed almond extract in place of the vanilla and replaced the chocolate chips with dried cherries. Excellent recipe! Thank you!
My son and I loved these! Thanks for sharing. Question for you…have you ever tried freezing them?
Thanks again!
I haven’t — mine never last that long 😆 But I imagine they would be fine frozen!
Just made a batch of these — the flavor is terrific, but I had zero luck in cutting them — as soon as I tried, they just crumbled apart. Might try them again as drop cookies to avoid theknife.
Hi – thank you for this recipe! They are so delicious. I made a batch without the flax since I didn’t have any, and they still turned out great. I *do* calorie count and watch my carbs a little bit, so I altered the recipe – I used 1.5 cups of oats, natural PB, and 2 scoops (its easier for me to measure than to measure by cups since the nutrition info is by their arbitrary measurement of what a scoop is) of PB Marshmallow flavored whey protein (which amped up the PB flavor since I used natural PB in this batch instead of almond butter). I made them into 12 “cookies” since I had trouble previously cutting my granola bars to look as nice as yours! I had one fresh out of the oven because they smelled so good – yum! Mine come in at around 150 calories a pop. For anyone who cares, yours are about 200 calories a pop (the protein powder makes a slight difference!) – but since you use good ingredients, the calories should only matter for someone who is strictly counting like me. Also, love how easy the recipe is to make! Thanks again!
These are spectacular! My family has made these 3 times with almond butter and peanut butter. Both were great but we definitely preferred with almond butter. Also we added dark chocolate chips, coconut, pecans, and 3 times the protein. These make for the perfect meal bar, especially when on the go (without all the chemicals from store bought bars).
These were delicious! I just pulled a batch from the oven, hubby loved them too. I melted the wet ingredients so that they would spread more easily. The chocolate chips melted (but that’s never a bad thing in my book:) Will make again — thank you for sharing your recipe.
Perfect and delicious! Family LOVED these, will become a staple for school snacks but will use sunflower seed butter and goat milk to keep them nut-free. Thanks for the recipe — it’s a keeper!
Oh, did I mention EASY — that’s a bonus 🙂
Followed the recipe and they crumbled 🙁
I’m sorry to hear that! It might have just been a difference in consistency of your honey or nut butter. You can always try to add an extra spoonful of each, and make sure you pack it down really tight in the pan — that helps them stay together.
Doubled the recipe and Instead of chocolate chips I added coconut, raisins and almonds. Turned out so good. Thanks for the recipes. To buy these are so expensive and not as good. Or as healthy.
One more question I forgot! Rolled oats, are these the large flaked oats or quick cooking oats?
Hi Rachel! You can use either large flakes or quick cooking 🙂
I’ve made granola bars many times and they fall apart. Do yours tend to stick together when slicing?
They do! I’ve never had any problems with them crumbling or falling apart.
These look amazing! If I make a large batch, how long will they keep for? How to prevent them from going bad so soon?
They should keep fine for at least a week, and you can always wrap them individually and freeze them if you need them to stick around for longer than that. They defrost just fine!
Can you provide the nutritional information, please?
Sorry Joanne, I don’t calculate the nutritional info for my recipes — I just try to focus on healthy, whole ingredients!
These look great but I don’t eat honey (or maple syrup ). Do you have a suggestion for a replacement? Not sure if I need something sticky or just sweet., or both.
Thanks.
I’ve never tried making them without a sticky sweetener, so I can’t vouch for the results, but you could -try- using something like a dark brown sugar in place of the honey. You would probably have to increase the amount to 1/3 – 1/2 cup though.
Thanks. I was hoping to keep the bar low glycemic. I am going to try a combo of black strap molasses and erythritol . Not sure how much of either but will just wing it.
These are in the oven right now! i modified them a bit since I’m making them for the fiancee, and he needs a LOT of calories in small condensed meals – added coconut oil, chia seeds, more protein powder, 1/2 cup peanut butter, chopped dates, walnuts, almonds, raisins and golden raisins 🙂
My question! Please let me know how to store these! Do you wrap them up separately and just store in a tupperware on the counter? or do you keep them in the fridge? i want to individually wrap them so he can take them to work 🙂 THANKS !!
I usually just store them in a tupperware container on the counter, and transfer one to a small snack bag when I need to; unless they’ll be sitting for longer than a week, then I store them in the fridge.
I can almost taste these granola bars. It actually deserves some extra praises for including chocolate chips (yum!). I like the idea of adding dried fruit but it will be in addition to the chocolate chips.
I’ve just found your blog and I knew it was going to be amazing as soon as I read that your 3 favorite foods are oats, almond butter and bananas because they’re mine too!! So I just tried this recipe to have as a pre-workout snack and they turned out amazing, thank you Amanda! x
Hi! This is the absolute best foundation recipe for a carb/protein bar! It combines my carb cravings with my protein hanckerings! I increased the protein powder and added chopped almonds, sunflower seeds, shredded coconut, and dried blueberries. The next batch I make will be with chopped dark chocolate, cayenne pepper, and sprinkled with sea salt. It is an absolute fantastic base recipe and I am very appreciative of your efforts to post the pics and recipes.!
I made granola bars for my 4 kids loosely based on this recipe. I didn’t have all of the right ingredients, so I improvised. Powdered milk for whey protein, skipped the flax seed meal that looked like moths took up residence, condensed milk instead of almond butter and honey and vanilla yoghurt instead of milk and vanilla. It looked a little bit lacking, so I mixed in some cocoa powder, poured it into the pan and then sprinkled the top with a few chocolate chips and patted them down.
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Instead of using nut butter, would coconut oil work just as well or no?
Eeee I don’t think so sine nut butters are gummier and stickier than oils. It still -might- work, but you would need to use a lot less… maybe only 2 Tbsp?
Hi there, these look delicious! Any idea on the nutritional value info? I am going to tag it anyway and see if I can figure out how to calculate it myself…would be great to use as a breakfast substitute if the #s line up! 🙂
thanks, jill
Hi Jill! Sorry but I don’t calculate the nutritional info for my recipes — I just try to focus on whole foods. They’re full of healthy ingredients and low in fat and sugar, so I’m sure they’d be fine for breakfast 🙂