Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (Vegan, Gluten Free, Oil Free)
These are seriously the best Chocolate Chip Granola Bars ever. They are so delicious, full of amazing texture and flavor and happen to be vegan, gluten-free and oil-free!
Servings: 16 bars
Calories: 188kcal
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (165g) QUICK cooking oats (NOT regular!) The quick oats are what help to bind the bars here. I used the Quaker brand in the container.
- 3/4 cup (84g) almond flour
- 6 tablespoons (48g) superfine oat flour
- 5 tablespoons (30g) ground flaxseed
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon (180g) pure maple syrup (See Notes)
- 1/2 cup (128g) creamy runny roasted almond butter (It really needs to be runny and not stiff, thick or dry, so the batter is correct/moist)
- 5 tablespoons (75g) hot water
- 1/2 cup (90g) semi-sweet dairy-free chocolate chips (I use the mini ones by Enjoy Life)
NOTE
- I always use and recommend a scale for baking, for accurate results. My recipes are created using ONLY the weights listed, not the cups. So you don't need to get out your cups to compare those measurements to weights. That is not needed here. You just need to use the scale and a bowl. Very simple. Make sure to zero out between each ingredient addition.
- I use this scale
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and line an 8x8 square baking dish (I used ceramic) with 2 pieces of parchment paper, cut to fit and lie flat, going in each direction of the pan.
- Add the oats, almond meal, oat flour, flaxseed, cinnamon and salt to a large bowl and stir very well, until mixed and breaking up any lumps.
- To a separate medium bowl, add the syrup, almond butter and hot water. Whisk until completely smooth. Pour the wet over the dry and stir roughly until mostly mixed and moistened.
- Add the chocolate chips and stir for 2 to 3 minutes, really stirring and pressing the mixture repeatedly with the back of a spoon. Do this until the mixture becomes very wet and sticky. You want it well mixed before baking.
- Spoon the batter onto the lined pan. Place a large piece of parchment paper over the batter and press the mixture out to the sides, smoothing across with your hands. Do not rush this step. Really take the time to smooth out the batter so that it is flat, smooth and even. Make sure to go along the edges also with your fingers, pressing it down and even. The more smooth it is before baking, the better your bars will bake up. Once it is as flat as you can get it, peel off the paper, dampen your fingertips with water and smooth along the edges. Refer to photo in post.
- Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.
- Cool 1 hour minimum at room temperature and then place the pan in the fridge for 30 minutes for additional cooling. These steps are necessary to really form the structure of the bars. Cutting them while warm or too soon will cause them to break. Do not skip the cooling step!
- Once cooled, use a super sharp knife to carefully cut into desired sizes. I cut them into 16. I then like to then wrap each bar individually with plastic wrap (or parchment if you don't want to use plastic) and store at room temperature for easy grab-n-go snacks.
Notes
- HEALTHIER OPTION: If you would like to make these even healthier, feel free to omit the chocolate chips. They are perfectly sweetened on their own with a wonderful cinnamon flavor.
- MAPLE SYRUP SUB: While I have not tested this, if you would like to try date syrup in place of the maple syrup, I think it would work here. Just make sure it is sweet enough and a runny consistency similar to maple syrup, so that the bars are moist enough. Additionally, this version may not get as crispy along the edges, since maple syrup helps to make things crispy.
Nutrition
Serving: 1bar | Calories: 188kcal | Carbohydrates: 23.3g | Protein: 4.9g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1.8g | Sodium: 39mg | Potassium: 147mg | Fiber: 3.8g | Sugar: 9.8g | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 2mg