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Honey Oats Chocolate Chip Granola Bars! Chewy granola bars made with recognizable ingredients and gluten free. An easy homemade snack or lunchbox treat! Gluten Free + Low Calorie
I'm always asked what type of "diet" I follow. This is hard for me to answer because I don't follow a diet. I loosely track my macros in an app, but nothing specific.
After years of calorie and macro counting, I pretty much know how to balance everything in my head.
As for what I eat, a lot of veggies, lean protein with carbs sprinkled in here and there. I call it being "carb responsible." Something I'm learning is very important now that I'm 40.
My carbs include vegetables as well as grains and legumes here and there.
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I eat gluten free for my autoimmune disease and I would say my diet tends to be more Paleo-ish. However, I could never give up grains. I love a good bowl of oatmeal or granola bar. It can be tricky finding cleaner granola bars though with recognizable ingredients and now that I eat gluten free, I've found it even MORE difficult to find ones I really love.
I've made these Honey Oats Chocolate Chip Granola Bars four times this month and truth be told, they did not last long. They're quick to make, with simple and recognizable ingredients - honey, coconut oil, brown rice cereal, oats, vanilla extract. You can't go wrong with that!
Since I made them four times, I tried several variations but this is the one I liked best. Another variation I made was with peanut butter. I subbed half the coconut oil with creamy peanut butter (I love the organic Target brand).
They were also very good, but I already have a peanut butter granola bar on the site otherwise I would have posted those as well. These Honey Oats Chocolate Chip Granola Bars make the best lunchbox snacks. Perfect for back to school!
More Granola Bar Goodness!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars
Vegan Almond Chia Hemp Flax Bars
Trail Mix Granola Bars
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Honey Oats Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 4 cups Gluten Free Rolled Oats
- 1 cup Gluten Free brown rice cereal
- 1/2 cup coconut oil melted
- 2/3 cup honey
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips dairy free
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare a 13-inch x 9-inch baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Heat a small sauce pan to medium heat. Add the coconut oil, honey, salt and vanilla extract. Cook 2 minutes until smooth. Remove from the burner and cool 5 minutes in the saucepan.
- While the mixture cools, add the oats and cereal to a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
- Pour the ingredients from the sauce pan into the mixing bowl. Stir to combine. You need to get the oats and cereal thoroughly covered with the mixture.
- Transfer the ingredients to the prepared baking sheet. Smooth into an even layer into the corners. Use another piece of parchment paper to push the mixture into the pan. This will help it stick together.
- Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top then again use the parchment paper to push it into the bars.
- Bake at 350 F 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool at room temperature 20 minutes then place in the refrigerator a minimum of 2 hours to harden. I like to let mine set overnight to ensure they are fully set.
- Remove from the refrigerator and lift the bars from the pan using the parchment paper. Place on a cutting board and slice into 18 bars.
- Keep bars stored in the refrigerator. They will stay good up to 30 days.
Notes
- My Amazon shop has more products similar to those used for this recipe and that I recommend to my weight loss clients.
- If you love this recipe, check out my low calorie cookbook for more delicious recipes and weight loss tips!
Nutrition
What I Used For The Recipe
Can I omit the brown rice cereal and just add extra oats?
Hi Emily, the bars likely won't stick together without the rice cereal.
What would suggest using in place of coconut oil?
Extra virgin olive oil can be substituted for the coconut oil.
Can the amount of honey be reduced in this recipe or won’t the bars hold together? Can I substitute maple syrup?
Hi Anette! The bars already have the minimum amount of honey to keep them together - I tested that. Maple syrup does not hold keep them together.
If not gluten free and I can’t find the brown rice cereal what can use
Walmart has One Degree brown rice cereal. Target has brown rice cereal as well.
This recipe looks so simple and great. Can I switch out coconut oil for canola or another kind? Thanks!
I never recommend canola because it's so bad for you. If you want something that's healthy with a mild flavor, I would switch to avocado or olive oil.