Vegan Chocolate Chip Granola Bars are my go-to snack for busy days! Made with 7 wholesome ingredients, these bars have the best texture, flavor, and are 100% vegan.
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I've been on the lookout for the perfect homemade granola bar recipe. Everything I've tried thus far has been too hard, too soft, or too sweet.
Straight to the point - these vegan chocolate chip granola bars are perfect. They have the perfect texture thanks to toasted oats and chopped nuts, rich flavor thanks to the peanut butter, and are naturally sweetened using maple syrup and medjool dates.
My whole family is obsessed with them. They're so easy to make, and are the perfect on-the-go breakfast or lunchbox snack.
These bars are so good, you'll probably want to double (or triple!) the recipe because they're easy to save but will get eaten quickly!
Ingredients
- Old fashioned oats
- Raw almonds
- Raw cashews
- Medjool dates
- Maple syrup
- Peanut butter
- Vegan chocolate chips
How to make chocolate chip granola bars
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spread oats evenly on a baking sheet and toast in the oven 10-15 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Transfer to a medium bowl.
- Place almonds and cashews in a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. Add the nuts to the bowl with the oats.
- Place dates in the food processor (no need to clean it out after the nuts) and process until well chopped and dough-like (about 1 minute). Add dates to the bowl with the nuts and oats.
- In a glass measuring cup, stir together peanut butter and maple syrup and add to the bowl with the oats, nuts, and dates.
- Mix everything together with a wooden spoon or sturdy silicone spatula, breaking up the dates. You may want to switch to mixing with your hands to thoroughly combine everything.
- Transfer the mixture to a parchment lined 8x8 baking dish and press down until flat and even.
- Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top and press down with your hands to help them stick. Transfer the bars to the freezer for 10 minutes to harden.
- Use the parchment to lift the bars out of the pan and cut into 10 even bars.
Top tips
Use pure maple syrup
Make sure you use 100% pure maple syrup and not artificial sugar syrup for this recipe. They are very different, and will cause a very different outcome in cooking.
How to pit dates
Dates have a very hard pit in the center that needs to be removed before sending through the food processor or eating. It is pretty easy to find pitted dates so you don't need to do this yourself (check the baking aisle of the grocery store, near the raisins), however it is also easy to do at home.
Pitting dates yourself will result in the freshest date possible, making your homemade granola bars softer and more rich tasting. To remove the pit, use a small knife to make a slit in the side of the date, then use your fingers to pull it out.
If the dates are very fresh you can also push them out with just your fingers. If you start to run your dates through the food processor and you hear a loud clicking sound, check to see if you missed a pit. It will probably be stuck to the food processor blade.
How to make gluten free granola bars
To make these granola bars gluten-free, simply use certified gluten-free oats instead of regular. Most vegan chocolate chips will also be gluten-free, but you may want to check just to be safe. All the other ingredients are naturally gluten-free.
How to store chocolate chip granola bars
These granola bars will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. To thaw, let them sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes or microwave individual bars for 12-14 seconds.
Tips for customizing vegan chocolate chip granola bars
- Use whatever nuts you like or have on hand, keeping the quantities the same
- Make a s'mores version by adding a handful of chopped or mini vegan marshmallows
- Swap the chocolate chips for peanut butter chips (check to see if they're vegan)
- Swap the peanut butter for sunflower butter if allergic to peanuts
- If your chocolate chips won't stick to the bars, try melting the chocolate and drizzling it over the top
- Swap some of the oats for crispy rice cereal
FAQ
Medjool dates are a large, sweet type of date. They're very sticky, making them great for holding together your homemade granola bars. If you can't find medjool dates, another variety will work.
Raw nuts are usually labeled as such. Most nuts you buy in the grocery store have been roasted and possibly salted.
This will change the flavor of your granola bars quite a bit. I usually buy my raw nuts at Aldi, but I've also seen them at other grocery stores in the natural and organic aisle.
I love Enjoy Life brand chocolate chips. They taste great, maybe even better than regular chocolate chips, and they're free of most major allergens. This makes them a great choice for vegans and non-vegans.
More healthy snack recipes
- Cashew Butter Granola Bars
- Cashew Cookie Larabars
- Pecan Pie Larabars
- Peanut Butter Larabars
- Larabar Chocolate Brownie Bites
- Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bites
- Lemon Poppyseed Protein Balls
- Gingerbread Energy Balls
- Cardamom Rose Energy Balls
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls
- Healthy Peanut Butter Breakfast Bars
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Energy Bites
- Chewy Granola Bars
- Nutty Chocolate Chip Vegan Granola Bars
If you make this recipe, be sure to rate it, leave a comment, or tag #theliveinkitchen on Instagram!
Recipe
Vegan Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups old fashioned oats
- ½ cup raw almonds
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 1 cup packed dates, pitted
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup creamy natural peanut butter
- ¼ cup vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spread oats evenly on a baking sheet and toast in the oven 10-15 minutes or until slightly golden brown. When done toasting, transfer the oats to a medium bowl.
- Place almonds and cashews in a food processor and pulse a few times until roughly chopped. Add nuts to the bowl with the oats.
- Place dates in the food processor (no need to clean it out after the nuts) and process until well chopped and dough-like (about 1 minute). Add dates to the bowl with the nuts and oats.
- In a glass measuring cup, stir together peanut butter and maple syrup and add to the bowl with the oats, nuts, and dates.
- Mix everything together with a wooden spoon or sturdy silicone spatula, breaking up the dates. You may want to switch to mixing with your hands to thoroughly combine everything.
- Transfer the mixture to a parchment lined 8x8 baking dish and press down until flat and even.
- Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top and press down with your hands to help them stick. Transfer the bars to the freezer for 10 minutes to harden.
- Use the parchment to lift the bars out of the pan, then cut into 10 even bars. Store in an airtight container for a 3-4 days, or in the freezer for longer.
gillian @ the haas machine says
I just made these & they are in the freezer. I may or may not be pacing around my kitchen waiting to eat them.
Lindsay Moe says
Ahhh I'm coming overrrrr...
magickiwi says
Don't think I didn't notice you didn't put the chocolate chips in!! I dropped a handful on after putting the whole mix in the pan and pressed them in.
Lindsay Moe says
Thanks for the heads up! That's how I always do it too. I'll get that fixed in the recipe right away.
Kristin says
This looks great….but is there any way to make granola bars without oats? Maybe with brown rice? Is that crazy? Oats give me much GI upset unfortunately.
Lindsay Moe says
I would go for crispy rice cereal instead of regular rice. You could also experiment with replacing the oats with more nuts.