These No-Bake Granola Bars are lightly sweetened with honey and packed with chia, flax and hemp seeds. Full of fiber, protein, and healthy fats, they make a healthy, kid-friendly afternoon snack!
*Originally published July 2014. Post, recipe & photos updated May 2018*
Hi Friends!
Let’s talk about these No Bake Granola Bars. It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 4 years since I first shared this recipe on the blog. A few weeks ago, I took Little Miss to a toddler playtime at our local community center. Can we also talk about how she almost never gets to do all the fun things by herself with mama like her brother did at that age? Second kid problems. Anyways, as we headed to pick up brother, I realized I’d forgotten to grab his after-school treat. So we made a quick stop at the vending machine and I snagged a $0.50 chocolate chip granola bar.
It was a big hit with the Squish man…..which made me think about this homemade version I’d made so many years ago. I’ve found most homemade granola bars to be overly sweetened in order to help them stick together…but really if you also use nut butter, and you store them in the fridge, you really don’t need that much sweetener.
No Bake Granola Bars
So yes, these crumble a little bit…but for the most part, if you eat them straight out of the fridge, they do their part to hold up as a no-bake granola bar. When I originally made these, I mixed in chopped almonds and pepitas…which I love, but my three-year-old would immediately spit out. So, for this updated version, I omitted those and went with a mix of chia, flax and hemp seeds. They’re all kinda the same color as the oats which helps them blend in so that the only thing that really stands out is the mini chocolate chips, which is what I wanted the focus to be.
So, here’s the updated recipe. For those of you who are fans of the original recipe, I’ve included it in the comments.
No Bake Granola Bars
An easy snack packed with healthy ingredients that's also sweet enough for dessert!
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups rolled oats
- 3 Tbsp chia seeds
- 3 Tbsp hemp hearts
- 3 Tbsp ground flaxseed
- 2/3 cup nut butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 Tbsp water
- 3 Tbsp mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Microwave honey and nut butter in a separate bowl for 30 seconds and stir to combine.
- Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until well coated. Let cool slightly, then mix in chocolate chips
- Press into a 9x9 pan (line with parchment paper for easy removal) and freeze for 30 minutes.
- Cut into 12 bars and store in the fridge.
Recipe Notes
This recipe has been updated. Original recipe is as follows: 1 c rolled oats, 1 c Rice Chex, 2 Tbsp chia seeds, 2 Tbsp hemp hearts, 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, 1/4 cup chopped almonds, 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/3 cup honey, 2 Tbsp chocolate chips.
If you don’t have one of the types of seeds, feel free to leave them out. As mentioned in the notes, I think they’re sweet enough with 1/4 cup honey, but feel free to bump it up to 1/3 cup if you want!
Enjoy!
–Lindsay–
