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No Bake Granola Bars

May 18, 2018 by Lindsay 33 Comments

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!

No Bake Granola Bars made with chia, flax and hemp seeds

*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

No Bake Granola Bars made with peanut butter and seeds

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 When I originally made these, I mixed in chopped almonds and pepitas…which I love, but my three-year-old would immediately spit out.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.

Print

No Bake Granola Bars

No Bake Granola Bars made with peanut butter and seeds
Print Recipe

★★★★★

4.3 from 3 reviews

An easy snack packed with healthy ingredients that’s also sweet enough for dessert!

  • Author: Lindsay
  • Yield: 8 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 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

  1. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.
  2. Microwave honey and nut butter in a separate bowl for 30 seconds and stir to combine.
  3. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until well coated. Let cool slightly, then mix in chocolate chips
  4. Press into a 9×9 pan (line with parchment paper for easy removal) and freeze for 30 minutes.
  5. Cut into 12 bars and store in the fridge.

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.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @theleangreenbean on Instagram

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!

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!

[clickToTweet tweet=”Make these kid-friendly No Bake Granola Bars, packed with 3 kinds of seeds, for a healthy after-school snack!” quote=”Make these kid-friendly No-Bake Granola Bars, packed with 3 kinds of seeds, for a healthy, after-school snack!”]

 

 

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

 

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Filed Under: Snack Tagged With: Chia Seed, Chocolate Chips, Ground Flaxseed, Hemp Seed, Honey, Oats, Peanut Butter

About Lindsay

Lindsay Livingston is a Registered Dietitian and new mom from Columbus, Ohio. On her blog, she shares simple, healthy recipes, nutrition tips, workouts and snapshots of her life. Follow her on Twitter @LeanGrnBeanBlog and Instagram @TheLeanGreenBean and be sure to subscribe via RSS or email so you never miss a post!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Linz @ Itz Linz says

    July 2, 2014 at 1:52 AM

    Umm your photographs look fantastic as always! And these are calling my name! I’m all about no bake recipes, granola, & bars!

    Reply
  2. Arman @ thebigmansworld says

    July 2, 2014 at 4:03 AM

    I LOVE no bake bars and these look like a winning variation- the key I find is to store in the freezer and thaw slightly before eating- or just break them over yogurt!

    Reply
  3. Lauren says

    July 2, 2014 at 4:27 AM

    I love granola bars but always find mine crumble too! Need to try the fridge/freezer tip 🙂

    Reply
  4. Maryea {happy healthy mama} says

    July 2, 2014 at 6:56 AM

    I love the ingredient list on these! My big problem with homemade bars is my family eats them up so quickly. 😉

    Reply
  5. Tara | Treble in the Kitchen says

    July 2, 2014 at 7:17 AM

    I am such a granola bar lover! Just pulled one out of the freezer that I made a while ago to keep on hand. I love my granola bar recipe, but I have to bake them for quite a while, which is always a huge factor when deciding to make them or not! I’ll have to give these no bake bars a try!

    Reply
  6. Carla says

    July 2, 2014 at 7:44 AM

    ahhh it is HOT HOT HOT here…for here 🙂
    no bake after CAMP today FTW.

    xoxo

    Reply
  7. Heather (Where's the Beach) says

    July 2, 2014 at 9:05 AM

    These sound fantastic. I love almonds in granola bars. And we’re trying to not turn the oven on for any reason right about now. Have you tried adding in protein powder to these by chance?

    Reply
  8. Emily @ Fit as a Mother... says

    July 2, 2014 at 9:32 AM

    Oooh!! these look so yummy!

    Reply
  9. Kateri Von Steal says

    July 2, 2014 at 9:36 AM

    These sound AWESOME! And I know my son will love to help me with them!

    Thanks so much!

    Reply
  10. Audrey Adams @ In Shape Cupcake says

    July 2, 2014 at 9:37 AM

    WOO! Yum! So need to make these, they look delish!

    Reply
  11. Carly @ Fine Fit Day says

    July 2, 2014 at 9:51 AM

    Yum!! Good tip on the fridge (and I’ll try Arman’s tip on the freezer, too).

    Reply
  12. Emily @ Zen & Spice says

    July 2, 2014 at 10:24 AM

    I’ve never tried hemp hearts before, what do they taste like? The honey bourbon peanut butter sounds amazing!

    Reply
  13. Athletic avocado says

    July 2, 2014 at 10:46 AM

    yum! these look spectacular! and super easy too!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  14. Fiona @ Get Fit Fiona says

    July 2, 2014 at 10:47 AM

    These looks so good! I might have to make them this weekend.

    Reply
  15. Kerri (@KerriOlkjer) says

    July 2, 2014 at 11:20 AM

    YUM! These look so good and easy too. I think I could tweak them Paleo pretty easily.

    Reply
  16. Mindy @ Road Runner Girl says

    July 2, 2014 at 12:00 PM

    Those look amazing!!!

    Reply
  17. Melissa @ Freeing Imperfections says

    July 2, 2014 at 12:37 PM

    I love no bake granola bars! They are my go-to snack these days and it’s so much better than store bought ones. I’ve never used chex mix in mine. That has got to be good!

    Reply
  18. Sarah Kay says

    July 2, 2014 at 5:06 PM

    OMG you included A Loving Spoon Honey Vanilla Bourbon Peanut Butter….how on God’s green Earth did I miss this?! THANK YOU! Sharing this awesomesauce recipe everywhere!!!

    Reply
  19. Alexandra says

    July 2, 2014 at 5:33 PM

    I love no-bake granola bars- so simple! I actually love when then crumble, I put them in a bowl with almond milk- my favorite snack! 🙂

    Reply
  20. Brittany @ Delights and Delectables says

    July 2, 2014 at 6:27 PM

    Love that they are no bake! They look perfect!

    Reply
  21. Matt @ Runner Savvy says

    July 2, 2014 at 7:59 PM

    Oh yum!

    Reply
  22. Stephanie @ StephanieRDN.com says

    July 2, 2014 at 11:32 PM

    Honey bourbon vanilla peanut butter?! wowowow. I don’t do a ton of bars, but I’m drooling already thinking of this on top of ice cream.

    Reply
  23. Nina @ whats for eats says

    July 3, 2014 at 2:01 AM

    You have got some lovely colours in those granola bars Lindsay. I am totally with you on not wanting to get the food processor out – mine is really heavy! And then there is the cleaning…!

    Reply
  24. Jennifer says

    January 29, 2015 at 7:29 PM

    Can you substitute the rice chex or cereal? Or can you omit it all together? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      January 29, 2015 at 11:22 PM

      I wouldn’t omit them. You could try adding more oats? I’m not sure how it would work but worth a try!

      Reply
  25. Vanessa says

    February 4, 2015 at 3:34 PM

    Looks great! I’m definitely going to make these. I’d have to make it without honey and instead use agave because honey is not vegan but I am :-).

    ★★★★

    Reply
  26. Ellen says

    March 25, 2015 at 3:27 PM

    I have been looking for a granola bar recipe that was healthy and tasted great. These fit the bill. I didn’t have any nuts, so I added sunflower seeds instead. Very good.

    Reply
  27. Kelli at Hungry Hobby says

    May 18, 2018 at 10:30 AM

    These sound so delicious! I like that they are kid friendly too!

    Reply

Trackbacks

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Lindsay Livingston The Lean Green Bean Healthy Living Tips and Tricks

I'm a Registered Dietitian and mom of three from Columbus, Ohio. I use this blog to share simple, healthy recipes, nutrition tips, and an honest glimpse of motherhood!

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Questions? Comments? Email me: [email protected]

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