Granola bars are the best kind of snack to make ahead in bulk and have for 1-2 weeks of snacking! These chocolate maple granola bars have the texture of a LaraBar mixed with an RXBar – two of my favorites. 🙂 Feel free to add any of your favorite trail-mix style of ingredients to make your own flavors and combinations.
If you’re thinking – “why would I make homemade granola bars when I can buy them at the store?” Let me convince you…
1. You can accomplish a sweet chocolatey flavor AND no added sugar. Most granola bars at the store will make you sacrifice one or the other
2. You can focus on the flavors your kids LOVE. Does your kid want to throw in coconut? M&M’s? More chocolate? Great – they are getting the protein and fiber right along with it
3. This recipe takes 10-15 minutes and can easily be doubled to make 2 weeks worth of healthy snacks for your kids.
No Bake Chocolate Maple Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups almonds
- 12 dates, pitted
- 1 1/2 cups oats
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup protein powder
- 1 tbsp chia seeds (or flax seeds)
- 2 tsp maple extract or maple syrup
- 1 tsp cinammon
- 1 tsp salt
- chocolate chips for topping
Instructions
- Soak the almonds and dates in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes. This helps soften them to make them easier for blending later on
- Once the almonds and dates have been soaking for 10 minutes, drain, while reserving 1/2 cup of the water for blending
- Place the date, almond, water mixture in a high-powdered blender (like a Vitamix) and add the oats. Blend on high until paste forms and no large chunks of almond remain. If you don’t have a Vitamix, it might just take a couple of times of stopping the blending and mixing to reach the right consistency
- In a large bowl, combine the oat almond date paste, cocoa powder, protein powder, cinnamon, maple extract, salt, and chia seeds. Stir until well combined. It should be the consistency of firm cookie dough
- Line a 9×9 baking pan with parchment so that it has a “lip” hanging off on either side. This makes the bars 100x easier to get out of the pan, and makes clean-up easier!
- Empty your mixture into the lined baking pan and press down until it is level
- Top with chocolate chips. Make sure to press them down into the bars
- Chill for 1-2 hours or overnight. Once chilled, Cut into 12 equal bars. Store in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks in an airtight container. Enjoy!
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