Soft and chewy granola bars are chock-full of oats with a hint of chocolate for a satisfyingly sweet and nutty bar made with just six ingredients!
If you’re looking for a soft yet chewy granola bar that doesn’t require any baking and only uses 6 ingredients, I have the recipe for you!
What goes into these no-bake granola bars?
If you’re looking to cut down on refined sugar or focus on more whole foods, these are a great option. The basis of these bars are rolled oats, and they’re naturally sweetened with a Medjool date paste. Nut butter and cocoa powder add flavor and additional richness, while the add-ins add more flavor and texture.
- Medjool dates
- Baking powder
- Rolled oats
- Nut butter of choice (peanut, almond, etc.)
- Cocoa powder or raw cacao powder
- Add-ins like chocolate chips, slivered almonds, dried fruit, etc.
How to make no-bake granola bars?
The first step is to make the date paste by boiling the dates with a bit of baking powder to help break down the dates. From there, simply mix together all the ingredients and press into a pan and refrigerate until firm and sliceable.
What do they taste like?
Because these don’t have any refined sugar, most of the sweetness comes from the earthy date paste. Adding chocolate chips as a mix-in will help enhance the light chocolate-y flavor of these, and I like the nuttiness that adding slivered or sliced almonds provides. These do get fudgier the longer they sit in the fridge, but at room temperature, they kind of remind me of those Quaker Chewy granola bars.
Soft No-Bake Chocolate Granola Bars
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Medjool dates
- ½ cup water
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 1.5 cups rolled oats
- 1 tablespoon nut butter of choice (peanut, almond, etc.)
- 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder or cocoa powder
- ¼ cup add-ins: chocolate chips, slivered almonds, dried fruit, etc.
Instructions
Make the date paste
- Add the dates and water to a small saucepan over high heat, uncovered. Once the water begins to boil, add the baking powder and stir, lowering the heat to medium or medium-high, so that the date mixture continues to foam and bubble. Continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until date mixture is completely broken down into an approximate paste. Remove from heat and let cool. Optionally, you can blend the cooled date paste in a blender or food processor to get a smoother paste.
Make the granola bars
- In a medium bowl, combine the oats, cacao powder and add-ins of your choice (I added 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons of toasted, slivered almonds). Stir in cooled date paste and nut butter until the wet ingredients are evenly distributed.
- Press oat mixture into a greased baking pan or, if you're lazy, rip off a large square of plastic wrap. If you press the oat mixture into a rough rectangle and then cover in plastic wrap, you can use a heavy cutting board to flatten it out into a prettier square.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting into bars for the cleanest cuts.
Stephanie
I’ve made these four times so I think I am overdue to comment. I LOVE these bars. The best thing about them is no food processing (so no cleaning the food processor). I use more chocolate chips (or carob chips) and no nuts. I would err on the side of more dates to allow for more stickiness and CHOP them before adding the pan. I just added instant coffee to my last batch and it was tasty. Thanks for the recipe! Again great idea and love the way they taste!
erika
So happy to hear you’ve been loving these, Stephanie! Thanks for sharing your modifications and tips! 🙂
Rikki Williams
Omg, These are amazing and I haven’t even tried a completed one! I snagged a pinch while forming them into a square and I almost died. SO amazing!!!!!
erika
Oh yay!!!! Rikki, I’m so glad to hear it 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by to let me know! <3
Allison
What is the yield of this recipe? And what size pan do you use?
Thanks!
erika
Hi Allison! The yield will depend on the size you make the bars. I didn’t use a pan when I made these (just formed them using plastic wrap and my hands on a cutting board) and made about 6.
I think a loaf pan would be a good size, or you could use the smallest square-shaped pan you have (an 8×8 would probably make the bars too thin). Hope this helps–I’d love it if you let me know how they turn out for you! 🙂
Whitney
I made these last night mainly for my boyfriend to take to work, and he approves! Of course I loved them, but he’s a little harder to please. I didn’t have quite enough oats so I added a bit of almond meal. I added some chopped nuts and chocolate chips but left everything else the same. They had the perfect amount of moisture and cut into bars nicely. Nice job!
erika
Whitney!! So glad to hear it! Adding almond meal + those other add-ins sound DELICIOUS. Thanks so much for letting me know they worked out for you 🙂
Lianna
reading this post makes me miss summer so much!! I’m really digging the whole idea of using dates as a natural sweetener, I really need to get on this!
Darlene
i wanted to ask if you might know what the calories are and the carbs thanks alot , i ask because carbs are not my friend
Roberta
Just made these and they look fantastic!! I love the date paste ingredient – I’ve used dates before, but never broken them down with water and baking powder, what a great method! I’m sure I will be making these often, thank you!
McKayla
Not a big fan of dates. Any suggestions of alternates? Thanks! 🙂
erika
Do you like raisins? Or apricots? Actually, most dried fruits should work fairly well. You may need to add some sweetener to taste, but I think raisins would be the closest sub. Or prunes. Let me know how it goes!
Lynn @ The Actor's Diet
I just bought a whole buncha dates – can’t wait to make these!
erika
Yay! Let me know how you like them 🙂 I’m busy exploring your blog right now and it’s amazing!! Thanks for stopping by 🙂