Chewy Granola Bars

I’ve been looking for this recipe forever. These Quaker granola bars are just about my favorite snack and I’ve been eating them my whole life. I like them because they are soft and chewy and not hard and tooth breaking like other granola bars I’ve tried. I also like the rice cereal in them because it makes them seem more like Rice Krispy treats with granola in them rather than boring old “healthy” granola bars. Healthy food isn’t inherently fun, Rice Krispy treats are always fun.

But have you noticed how expensive those granola bars are? Especially if you buy a box or two every week like I do. I’ve been on the look-out for a recipe, but haven’t found anything before now. All the recipes I saw were just granola, no rice cereal; they were hard, not chewy. That won’t do! But finally after some serious googling I found this recipe and it’s perfect. It’s exactly the same. In fact, it’s better because you know all the ingredients in it and there aren’t any preservatives and whatever else they put into pre-packaged food. Also? It’s about the simplest thing that ever was. No baking. It takes about 5 minutes to mix together and 15 minutes to firm up in the fridge.

These granola bars are so easy to make that I deviated from the original recipe to recreate my favorites: peanut butter/chocolate chip, s’more, and oatmeal raisin. There are endless possibilities for add-ins to these granola bars, so you can create your own favorite version.

Chewy Granola Bars

Each recipe makes enough granola to fill a 9×13 inch pan, about 18 bars. Since I wanted to make all three kinds (and don’t have room to store 54 bars), I halved the recipes and made them in 9×5 inch loaf pans. I found these to be perfect as I could just cut straight across and get perfect sized bars, 6-8 depending on how wide you want them. I found it easier to remove the whole slab of granola from the pan first (run a knife around the sides and turn it upside-down on your counter and it should come out pretty easily) and then slice it.

Chewy Granola Bars - Wrapped

I cut out strips of parchment and wrapped them up individually, which on second thought is pretty wasteful, but it looks cute if you wanted to give a bunch of these away as gifts or wrap them for your kid’s school lunch. Otherwise store in layers, in an airtight container with a sheet of wax/parchment between each layer.

Note about Granola: I had a really hard time finding plain granola. Maybe I wasn’t looking in the right place? I don’t know, I’ve never bought granola before. I wound up using this granola cereal because it was the only thing I could find at my grocery store. I liked it but it has a lot more fat/calories than I would have thought so I may buy this low-fat version for next time. The original recipe recommends this granola. I honestly don’t know if there’s a difference between granola and granola cereal. I’m open to granola recommendations if you have them!

Update: I’ve started making my own granola for the granola bars instead of trying to find it in the grocery store. I especially like this recipe for low-fat granola. I don’t put in all the nuts/seeds but you could leave them in if you like that kind of stuff in your granola bars.

Tips for perfect granola bars:

1. Start with a plain, low-fat, low sugar, granola for best results. If your granola is large or has a lot of big clusters, make sure to crush it up beforehand.

2. After some tips from readers, I started using 1/4 cup of brown sugar in the recipe instead of 1/2 cup and I think it’s better that way. I honestly can’t taste much of a difference in the sweetness of the granola bars and using less sugar is always better if you can get away with it.

However, I have found that using various kinds of granola (and probably rice cereal as well) can have a big affect on how much brown sugar you need for those bars. I believe that any issue with the bars being too hard or too soft are a result of this. My recommendation at this time is to start with 1/4 cup brown sugar to prevent them from being too hard, but if they wind up being too soft, then increase it to 1/2 cup brown sugar next time.

3. Make sure the dry ingredients are well coated with the sugar mixture to make sure the bars stick together well. If you add in more ingredients than the recipe calls for (extra nuts, seeds, etc.) make sure to reduce the amount of granola and rice cereal a bit to compensate.

4. Use a sturdy spatula to spread the ingredients into the pan and press down firmly to make sure the ingredients will sufficiently stick together. The bars should always be pressed to about 1/2 – 3/4 inch thick. You don’t want them thinner or they could be too soft. I always use two 9×5 loaf pans which are the perfect size and also makes them easier to cut up. I’ve been told the 13×9 pan that the original recipe called for is too large, so if you are using that size pan I would recommend increasing the ingredients by 1 1/2 or even doubling the recipe.

5. It’s easier to cut into the bars when they are still a little warm. Originally I had recommended that you refrigerate the bars, but I’ve found that refrigerating too long can lead to hard bars, so it’s best to let them set at room temp.

Chewy Granola Bars

Peanut Butter/Chocolate Chip Chewy Granola Bars

adapted from Rachel Ray

Snack, Dessert | Servings: 18 servings
Prep time: 0 | Cook time: 5 min | Total time: 25 min

Ingredients

  • 4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar (see tips above)
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 cups plain granola
  • 1 cup rice cereal (Rice Krispies, etc.)
  • 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter chips

Process

  1. Line two 9×5 loaf pans or one 11×7 inch baking pan (see tip #4 above if you want to use 9×13) with foil or parchment. Lightly butter or spray the foil. Set aside.
  2. Combine honey and butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in brown sugar after butter starts to melt.
  3. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
  4. Add the granola and rice cereal into the saucepan and fold them into the sauce until evenly coated.
  5. Spread the mixture into the prepared pans and press firmly with a spatula to evenly fill. Sprinkle the chocolate and peanut butter chips onto the top of the granola and gently press them down with the spatula.
  6. Let sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes or until mostly cooled and set; lift out of the pan and cut into bars.

 

S’mores Chewy Granola Bars

adapted from Rachel Ray

Snack, Dessert | Servings: 18 servings
Prep time: 0 | Cook time: 5 min | Total time: 25 min

Ingredients

  • 4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar (see tips above)
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 cups plain granola
  • 1 cup rice cereal (Rice Krispies, etc.)
  • 2 tbsp. graham cracker crumbs (optional)
  • 1 cup mini marshmallows
  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Process

  1. Line two 9×5 loaf pans or one 11×7 inch baking pan (see tip #4 above if you want to use 9×13) with foil or parchment. Lightly butter or spray the foil. Set aside.
  2. Combine honey and butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in brown sugar after butter starts to melt.
  3. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
  4. Add the granola, rice cereal and graham cracker crumbs into the saucepan and fold them into the sauce until evenly coated. Very gently fold in the marshmallows.
  5. Spread the mixture into the prepared pans and press firmly with a spatula to evenly fill. Sprinkle the chocolate chips onto the top of the granola and gently press them down.
  6. Let sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes or until mostly cooled and set; lift out of the pan and cut into bars.

 

Oatmeal Raisin Chewy Granola Bars

adapted from Rachel Ray

Snack, Dessert | Servings: 18 servings
Prep time: 0 | Cook time: 5 min | Total time: 25 min

Ingredients

  • 4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar (see tips above)
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 2 cups plain granola
  • 1 cup rice cereal (Rice Krispies, etc.)
  • 1/2 cup raisins

Process

  1. Line two 9×5 loaf pans or one 11×7 inch baking pan (see tip #4 above if you want to use 9×13) with foil or parchment. Lightly butter or spray the foil. Set aside.
  2. Combine honey and butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon after the butter starts to melt.
  3. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
  4. Add the granola, rice cereal and raisins into the saucepan and fold them into the sauce until evenly coated.
  5. Spread the mixture into the prepared pans and press firmly with a spatula to evenly fill.
  6. Let sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes or until mostly cooled and set; lift out of the pan and cut into bars.