We love these homemade chocolate chip granola bars because they’re the perfect balance of chewy, crisp, and sweet. This is a simple, no-fuss recipe you can rely on for busy mornings, lunchbox snacks, or a mid-afternoon treat.
If you’re new around here, I love to save money, so making snacks at home is one of my favourite challenges. Granola bars can be expensive in the store, and most of them are filled with unwanted ingredients.
Making these granola bars yourself is much cheaper, and I promise they don’t require much time or effort. A quick mix on the stove, combine everything together, leave it to set, and you’ve got a batch of chewy, homemade bars.
If you’ve ever found store-bought granola bars too sweet, too crumbly, or just a bit dull, this version, or my seedy granola bars, might become your new go-to.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Quick and easy: Simple ingredients, minimal prep, and no oven or baking required.
- Perfectly chewy texture: Soft, sticky, and just the right amount of crunch from the rice bubbles.
- Family-friendly: Loved by kids and adults (my husband takes these to work 🙂 ), great for lunchboxes or on-the-go snacks.
- Super easy to customise: Add nuts, seeds, or dried fruit if you want to mix things up.
- Naturally sweetened: Honey and brown sugar give it that classic, toasty flavour without being overly sweet. No corn syrup around here!
Ingredients & Substitutions
The printable recipe card below has the full ingredients list and instructions.
- Rolled oats: Use whatever oats you have. For these, I used quick oats, and they came out great.
- Rice Krispies: Add lightness and crunch. You can use any puffed rice cereal here. Also known as Rice Bubbles in NZ & Australia 🙂
- Butter: Adds richness and helps bind everything together. Coconut oil can be used for a dairy-free version, though the flavour will be slightly different. Don’t use margarine!
- Honey: A natural sweetener and binder.
- Brown sugar: Deepens the flavour and helps the bars hold together. You can reduce the amount slightly for a less sweet bar.
- Mini chocolate chips: Stir these in once the mixture has cooled slightly so they don’t melt. Dark, milk, or even white chocolate all work well.
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
Recipe Tips
- Press firmly: This is the secret to bars that hold their shape. If they’re too loosely packed, they’ll crumble when cut.
- Cool before adding chocolate: Warm syrup will melt your chips so please be patient and let the mixture cool first.
- Check the syrup consistency: Boil too little, and the bars may be soft but boil too long, and they can become hard. Aim for that 3-4 minute sweet spot.
- Use a sharp knife: For clean edges, use a large, sharp knife and cut straight down rather than sawing.
- Make it your own: Add chopped nuts, seeds, coconut, or dried fruit for variety, just keep the total dry mix ratio roughly the same.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Step 1: Line a 15”x10” inch (25cmx38cm) jelly roll pan or baking tray with aluminium foil or baking paper, leaving a little overhang for easy removal. (I find foil easier to use as it moulds nicely to the tin when pushing the granola bars together).
Step 2: In a large bowl, combine the rolled oats, rice bubbles, and salt. Set aside.
Step 3: In a small saucepan, melt the butter, honey, and brown sugar over medium heat. Stir continuously until the mixture comes to a gentle boil. Continue cooking for about 3-4 minutes, stirring often so it doesn’t burn. The mixture should be glossy and slightly thickened.
Step 4: Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the hot syrup over the dry ingredients and mix well until everything is evenly coated.
Step 5: Let the mixture cool for about 20 minutes. This helps prevent the chocolate chips from melting. Once cool, stir in the chocolate chips gently.
Step 6: Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin. Use the back of a spoon or a piece of parchment paper to press it down firmly. The more compact it is, the better it will hold together once set.
Step 7: Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or until firm. Lift out using the foil and slice into 16 bars or desired squares with a large, sharp knife.
Helpful Equipment
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Martha Stewart Knife Block Set
Buy Now →Storage Instructions
- At room temperature: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- In the fridge: Keeps well for up to 2 weeks.
- In the freezer: Wrap bars individually and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature before eating. (I pop a frozen bar into my husband’s lunch, and it’s defrosted by lunchtime).
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Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 2 cups Rice Krispies or Rice Bubbles
- 1/2 cup butter (113g)
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Line a 15”x10” inch (25cmx38cm) jelly roll pan or baking tray with aluminium foil or baking paper, leaving a little overhang for easy removal. (I find foil easier to use as it moulds nicely to the tin when pushing the granola bars together).
- In a large bowl, combine the rolled oats, Rice Bubbles, and salt. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter, honey, and brown sugar over medium heat. Stir continuously until the mixture comes to a gentle boil. Continue cooking for about 3-4 minutes, stirring often so it doesn’t burn. The mixture should be glossy and slightly thickened.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the hot syrup over the dry ingredients and mix well until everything is evenly coated.
- Let the mixture cool for about 20 minutes. This helps prevent the chocolate chips from melting. Once cool, stir in the chocolate chips gently.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin. Use the back of a spoon or a piece of parchment paper to press it down firmly. The more compact it is, the better it will hold together once set.
- Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or until firm. Lift out using the foil and slice into bars or squares with a large, sharp knife.
