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My husband loves an afternoon snack. I was buying him boxed granola bars that he was eating too quickly for me to replenish so of course he started eating my snacks once his ran out. We just can’t have that, can we? So I thought, why not whip up a batch of granola bars he can munch on until I go get more at the store. What I wasn’t counting on was the birth of a masterpiece. I can’t even tell you how good these things are. Now I’m the one eating HIS snacks! (Sorry Ev, I’ll make some more tomorrow I promise.)
The ingredients list might look like a lot, but these bars are actually super speedy to put together. My secret weapon here is the peanut butter chips. They take these where no granola bar has gone before. Trader Joe’s just launched their version of a peanut butter chip that has fewer additives and just tastes flat out amazing. I highly recommend using those here. The other trick with these is preparing your oats and almonds. With a quick stovetop toast, you can bring them to a level of warmth and yum you didn’t know existed! Don’t skip this part, it is SO worth it.
In spite of the little peanut butter chip and chocolate drizzle guilty pleasure here, these bars pack a punch with protein and fiber thanks to the nuts, flaxseed, and chia seeds. A good mix of tasty, sweet, salty, and nutrients - a perfect afternoon snack.
Another quick note is that I got my entire list of ingredients from Trader Joe’s. Their salted peanut butter is the best (just peanuts and salt) and their vanilla extract is my favorite. That said, you can use similar ingredients from other grocery stores and they will work just fine too!
Peanut Butter Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup slivered almonds (or raw almonds, roughly chopped)
- ½ cup peanut butter chips
- ½ cup peanut butter (just peanuts and salt)
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 2 tbsp flaxseed meal
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- ¼ cup chocolate chips or 2 oz dark chocolate
Directions
- Add oats to a saucepan over medium heat. Toast for 7-8 minutes or until the oats feel a bit more firm and you start getting a nice oat-y smell. They won’t look very different, that’s okay.
- Pour toasted oats into a large bowl and set aside.
- Add peanut butter chips immediately to the bowl with warmed oats (this helps them get a little melty which is what we want!).
- In the same saucepan over medium heat, toast the almonds for 3-4 minutes or until they become fragrant and look toasty. Slivered almonds will be quicker than chopped raw almonds.
- Add almonds immediately to the bowl with oats and peanut butter chips. Add salt and chia seeds, but don’t stir it all together quite yet. We want those chips to finish melting. Set the bowl aside for now.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the peanut butter, maple syrup, flaxseed meal, water, and vanilla extract. The mixture might not come together right away, but keep stirring and it will get there.
- Using a rubber spatula, return to your large bowl and mix it all together. You just want the oats and almonds to mix up and the melty peanut butter chips to start moving throughout.
- Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the oats and mix well.
- Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper with extra paper coming up the sides of the pan. Spread the granola bar mix evenly into the pan, pressing down with the spatula and doing the best you can to make it flat and level. Freeze for 30 minutes to set.
- While granola bars are in the freezer, melt chocolate chips in 30 second increments in the microwave until fully melted. If your chocolate seems much too thick to pour, try adding half a teaspoon of coconut oil and melt for another 30 seconds.
- Once granola bars have set, remove from the freezer. Pour melted chocolate over the top and place back in the freezer for a couple of minutes to harden.
- Remove from the freezer and lift the entire brick of granola out of the pan by pulling on the parchment paper.
- Chop granola bars as you please, I cut mine into 8 large ones but you do you!
- Enjoy! These taste best when kept in the refrigerator but are okay to be kept at room temperature too.
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