No Bake Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (Vegan, Gluten Free)
No Bake Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (V+GF): the perfect protein-rich, on-the-go snack that’s super easy to make, full of simple ingredients and delicious. Vegan and Gluten Free.
So the thing about these no bake chewy chocolate chip granola bars is that I can’t stop eating them. Every single bite just does it for me—a mouthful of texture, and a flavorful party of nutty, sweet, rich and all of the things deliciousness.
When I was a little kid—okay, I admit it, just a few short years ago—I was a granola bar-buying fanatic (oh man, what a tongue-twister). It was kind of like my lip-balm buying craze phase. I would go on all kinds of missions to buy lip balm in various colors, flavors, and packaging. I mean, these lip balms were like toys. But for adults. Oh my! ?
Well, after I stopped that lip-smacking wallet-burning hobby, (side note: did you ever try pink lemonade Lip Smackers? Those were the best!), I found something new to take its place. Yes, I know I need to get a life. But, hey, I have you guys! Riiiight? Um…
What was I saying? Okay, so after I kicked those glossy moisturizing lip aids to the curb, I found granola bars. Anyone else sensing a theme here? Everything is about the mouth and, let’s face it, all surrounding acreage for eating. Woah, epiphany here, folks.
Anyway, granola bars were like the new toy, but I could eat it. Which reminds me, have you guys seen that episode of Friends where Monica reveals her favorite game when she was a kid? It was that toy, you know… the one where you could put in money and food would come out? 😉
Um, it was my favorite “game” too. And believe you me, I’ve got no shame in admitting it.
Let’s call a spade a spade here folks. It was a vending machine.
Well, the hunt for the perfect granola bar always ended in lotsa good old-fashioned eating. My favorite hobby of all. There were so many flavors! Iced lemon bar, oatmeal cookie, dark chocolate lovers, pecan pie… the choices were endless.
But eventually, the good times stopped rolling. And all of those flavors started becoming kind of indistinguishable. Worse, I was growing up and actually looking at these labels. Fun: spoiled. Maturity: improved. Bright side, m’kay?
I was already baking so much and cooking up a storm… why not throw granola bar recipe testing into the mix?
So as some of you know, I created my No Bake Oatmeal Raisin Granola Bars. And yup, they taste just like oatmeal raisin cookies. I loved that one so much, and so did the fam—clearly the much higher standard for taste-testing (what with my eating hobby and such). But let’s face it, what really trumps an oatmeal raisin cookie?
A chocolate chip cookie.
And since we’re in the habit of dreaming about cookies and rivers of chocolate around here, why not make a new no bake granola bar that’s secretly good for you, but outwardly tastes like a chocolate chip cookie?
Winner!
Like, more winning then that one vending machine game. 😉
So sweep all of your eccentric hobbies aside (okay, I might be just talking to myself here), and check it out. These No Bake Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars are:
- super tasty AND super chewy
- perfectly portable, even at room temperature
- vegan and gluten free
- packed full of nutritious ingredients
- easy to make
- protein-rich & filling
- perfect for on-the-go snacking
- don’t require games or rules 😉
Treat yourself to these wonderfully homemade, wonderfully satisfying granola bars. You know you deserve it. 🙂
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No Bake Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (Vegan, Gluten Free)
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 12-18 granola bars 1x
Description
No Bake Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (V+GF): the perfect protein-rich, on-the-go snack that’s super easy to make, full of simple ingredients and delicious. Vegan and Gluten Free.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups gluten free rolled oats
- 1/2 cup gluten free oat flour*
- 1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 2 flax eggs (whisk together 2 tablespoons ground flax + 6 tablespoons warm water, let set for 15 mins)
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/2 cup natural, unsalted almond butter
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Add-in Ingredients
- 3/4 cup vegan mini chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or other add-ins of your choice
Instructions
- Line a 9×9 baking pan with parchment paper or wax paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients: oats, flour, coconut and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the wet ingredients: flax eggs, coconut oil, almond butter, maple syrup and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.
- Pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture. Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to stir ingredients together until well combined. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.
- Pour into the prepared baking pan. Spread granola bar mixture into an even layer, pressing down until it’s tightly packed and smooth.
- Place baking pan in freezer for 15-20 minutes.
- Remove from freezer. Lift bars out of the baking pan. Set onto an even surface and slice into 12-18 bars. Enjoy!
Notes
– Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks. You may also freeze these for up to a month.
– Storing at room temperature: These bars will be slightly soft, but still keep together at room temperature. If you’re bringing these as a snack, make sure to store them in a hard container, like a Tupperware.
– *To make homemade oat flour: place rolled oats into a blender. Blend until you get a just slightly grainy flour. Remember: 1 cup of rolled oats does not equal 1 cup of oat flour. You’ll need to blend more rolled oats to create less flour- the oats decrease in volume as you turn it into a flour. It’s easiest to blend up a big batch of oat flour, and just scoop out what’s needed for any recipe.
– Adapted from my No Bake Oatmeal Raisin Granola Bars.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Category: Vegan, Gluten Free, No Bake
© beamingbaker.com. All content and images are protected by copyright. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please re-write the entire recipe using your own words and include a link to this post for the recipe.
If you love no bake granola bars, check out my No Bake Oatmeal Raisin Granola Bars (Vegan, Gluten Free). They’re simply delicious.
Healthy snacks are hard to find, I know! Try my No Bake Almond Butter Coconut Bites (Vegan, Gluten Free). Protein-rich, super simple to make, and YUM.
What’s your favorite unusual hobby?
I can’t wait to hear your responses.
Thanks for this recipe! I’ve made them twice and loved them — the second time I added 2 Tbs of cocoa powder and 1 Tbs of honey to offset the bitterness from the cocoa. Both times they were delicious!! I can’t wait to try making them with almond butter…
Yay! So happy to hear you’re enjoying them Emily! .
Demeter these look amazing! So much better than the store bought Quaker ones!
Woohoo! So glad you think so Ashlyn!
Hello! Looking forward to making these for my family. Do you think I could put these into silicone molds instead of a baking pan? I’m trying to make heart shaped snacks for my daughters and thought these would be great!
Aww how sweet! . Yep, that should work fine.
Great looking recipe! I’m besides flax I’m allergic to other seeds including chia (all legumes and wheat too).
Might be impossible to do a no- bake but I can’t think of an alternative other than more coconut oil and refrigerate.
Any ideas?
Thanks Bonnie! Are you allergic to psyllium husk? I haven’t tried it yet, but it’s possible to make a vegan egg sub out of 1 tablespoon psyllium husks + 2 tablespoons water. Basically, use it in a 1:1 sub ratio for the ground flax. Let me know if that works for you! 🙂
how many calories in total?
Hi Demeter,
Your No-Bake almond butter cookie dough bars and chocolate chip granola bars look amazing. I would love to make them except I’m allergic to flax and unfortunately found out the hard way. Is there something else I can use in its place or can it be omitted? I was so excited when I saw the picture of them but then sadness set in when I read the ingredients. I would really love any guidance you could give me so that I can still make them. Thank you!!
Hi Autumn, thank you! The flax eggs can be replaced with chia eggs at a 1:1 ratio (so when the recipe calls for two flax eggs, be sure to use two chia eggs). To make one chia egg, whisk together 1 tablespoon ground chia seed and 3 tablespoons water. Set for 15 minutes, or until it gels up completely. Enjoy! I can’t wait to hear what you think! 🙂
Hey, Demeter! I just wanted to let you know that I made these for my kids this afternoon. They are a HUGE hit! Recipe is definitely a keeper!
My boys said that they taste just like their favorite monster cookies from the farmer’s market, because I used peanut butter instead of almond butter and mini M&M’s instead of chocolate chips. 🙂
Hey, Blair! 🙂 Oh, I’m so happy that your family enjoyed it! 🙂 Your substitutions are, put simply, AWESOME!! Who doesn’t want a monster cookie no bake bar? Thank you for taking the time to try this recipe out and sharing a pic on your lovely blog. Wishing a great rest of the weekend! 🙂
These granola bars look amazing! It’s like eating a candy bar that you don’t have to feel guilty about. I can see how soft and chewy they are. I never buy the things because they’re dry and taste like sawdust! PINNED!
Thanks so much Julie! No guilt here for anyone. Oh, yeah! Thanks for pinning J. xo
ALL your granola bars look amazing! I love that it is super chewy. Who wants a hard granola bar? and yesssss I tried the pink lemonade lip smackers! I think I remember collecting all 12 of them or something, ha! Homemade granola bars is always better than store bought. This looks so yummy Demeter!
Definitely chewy is easier on the teeth. Lol. Yeah, they had manageable number like 12 before they went across the board and created like 1,000 flavors or something! Thanks so much, Amanda. 🙂
OK I am laughing so hard right now. I was obsessed with lip gloss too! I had literally every flavor of lip smackers. Every. Single. One. And these granola bars look wonderful. Granola anything is great in my book :).
Sweet!!! 😉 🙂 Lip gloss is the best, right? Thank so much, Kelsie! xoxo
I love a snack that doesn’t require games or rules! These little lovelies look so good, id be afraid if eat them all at once! I love the healthy ingredient list, much better than those store-bought granola bars 🙂
Right?? LOL. Leave it to you to notice that line… (I’m blushing and laughing at myself right now). Oh, you would love these, Jessica! Thanks for stopping by, friend. 🙂
No bake is attracting me like anything. Chewy granola bars packed with all goodies is my favorite. Btw i was crazy on many such wallet burning activities which is luckily replaced by few better cookin activities. Thank god iam saved
That’s awesome! Honestly, sometimes you just need something super, super quick and easy. 🙂 Yay on better cooking activities! 🙂 Thanks, Smitha.
Let me start off by saying that I once had a lip balm… um, infatuation(?) that was so bad, my then-boyfriend may have questioned whether or not I had a legitimate problem. But what the heck did he know anyway?? Seriously dude, if you can’t support my lip balm habit, what good are you to me? I digress… these granola bars are EVERYTHING. I love that they’re chewy, because that’s really where it’s at for me. You’re so right about store-bought granola bars! Most of them should be ridiculously ashamed of themselves for what’s on those labels. Sigh. Thank heavens we have you to make everything right again <3 My kids will be all over these, thanks, Demeter!
Oh, you so would!! That’s why we’re besties. That’s all I’m sayin’. 😉 I note now that that’s why he’s the “then” boyfriend. Haha. Me to make everything right again: Ohmygoodness. Thank you for saying the best things… EVER. Steph, you’re the best! Let me know how the kiddos like it (and I’m not just talking about Bruce. haha). xoxo