Homemade snack bars have never been easier thanks to these no-bake Quinoa Chocolate Chip Granola Bars packed with protein, fiber and omega-3’s.
Are you sick of the peanut butter and chocolate flavor combo? Good. Because I can’t stop. Most recently, my three year old helped me turn my favorite ingredients into a healthy no-bake snack bar packed with quinoa, chia and other super foods.
There is just something about the combination of creamy, salty peanut butter and rich, chocolate goodness that makes me happy. In fact, I could eat it morning, noon and night.
The best part about these Quinoa Chocolate Chip Granola Bars? They’re NO BAKE! That’s right friends, no need to turn on the oven. Which, if you’ve ever tried explaining to a three year old that the granola bars need to cool for an hour before slicing, is a small blessing in and of itself.
No forks required.
- 1 cup quinoa uncooked
- 1 cup oats old fashioned or quick cooking
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup chia seeds
- 1/2 cup flax seed meal
- 2/3 cup creamy natural peanut butter I like to use Skippy or JIF
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
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Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread quinoa, oats, walnuts, chia and flax on a baking sheet then bake until slightly toasted and nutty, about 10 minutes.
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Meanwhile, line an 8" x 11" baking dish with plastic wrap then spray plastic wrap with cooking spray; set aside.
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In a small sauce pot, melt peanut butter and honey until smooth and creamy over medium heat. Remove from the heat once bubbles start to form around the edges - careful not to bring to a full boil. Whisk cinnamon, vanilla and salt into the peanut butter mixture. Mixture should be thin - the consistency of melted caramel sauce.
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Place toasted quinoa and oat mixture into a large bowl then pour melted peanut butter sauce into the bowl. Using a rubber spatula, stir mixture until everything is evenly coated.
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Let mixture cool slightly then stir in chocolate chips then spread mixture evenly into the prepared glass baking dish. Use spatula to press mixture firmly into the pan.
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Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, 2 hours or up to overnight.
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To serve, slice into 16 bars.
Bars must be cooled completely before slicing.
For storage, I like to wrap each bar individually in plastic wrap then place in a resealable plastic bag for on-the-go snacking.
Recipe adapted from Super Healthy Kids.
These are delicious! Thanks for the recipe! Mine were pretty crumbly but still tasted amazing! (Maybe i didn’t press the mixture into the pan well enough?” A healthy snack for my kids’ lunch boxes is just what I needed-thank you! I think I may try them as little “snack balls” next time so I dont have to cut them.
You know I think the key is pressing them really really hard and also letting them really chill. I think in general they can be a little messy but hopefully they were still delicious!
AH-mazing! We made these 3 times in the past 2 weeks, each time adding a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Try coconut flakes, almonds and craisins, we even threw in a little milled flax seed. Delicious! Thanks for such a great recipe 🙂
Oh I’m so glad you enjoyed them Karen!!!! I haven’t made them in a while – thanks for the reminder!
Hi-my daughter needs to eat daily linseed to aid her digestion and stop getting constipated. Do you think a bar for breakfast would contain enough?
I’m not positive – I would ask a dietitian! I’m not even sure what linseed is. 🙂 So sorry!
How is this no-bake when the first instruction is to preheat the oven and bake stuff for 10 minutes?
Hi Scott – You make a good point and I thought about not calling it no-bake but really you’re just toasting those ingredients and you can skip that step. 🙂
Made these and they tasted great but did not completely stay together. What can I do? Add more peanut butter mixture. Had to put in 8×8 pan because didn’t have an 8×11, would that have affected them? Thank you.
Margaret what type of peanut butter did you use specifically?
The day I tire of the PB+choc combo…well I don’t even want to know what that will mean for the universe. SO KEEP IT COMING!! These bars sound so good. The perfect snack!
These are delicious but turned out kind of crumbly for me. Do you think I didn’t mix them enough of maybe spread them too thin?
Shoot – sorry they didn’t set up!! I’ve made them twice now so I know they work but there are a few key things: 1) are you using creamy natural peanut butter that contains an emulsifier like molasses? i.e. Skippy or JIF? This doesn’t work with non-creamy natural peanut butter that is just peanuts and salt. 2) did you let them chill until cold? They have to be cold before slicing. 3) I added a note to make sure people press the mixture firmly into the pan. You almost have to push the mixture together to get it to hold. Does that make sense? Let me know if this helps at all!! Hope you still at the crumbly bits but I want them to work for you as bars because we eat them as bars. 🙂
I’m so behind on making my own granola bars. So intrigued by this recipe – love that they’re no-bake!
You must try these friend!!! Super easy and nice for summer not having to turn on the oven!
These look amazing! I love the idea of toasting the quinoa!
Thank you so much Amanda!
Love making my own bars! Quinoa and chia are one of my favorites, and as you said, I could have the peanut butter-chocolate combo at every hour of the day.
You and me both!
When I saw the picture of these on Instagram I knew I had to come check them out! So glad I did, they are packed with so many healthy ingredients! Love the added quinoa in them!
I hope you make them!!
I really need to work on my granola making/baking skills! Can I come to MI to learn from you?!! I’ll bring tots:)
DEAL!! No really.. when can you come? 🙂
These look so great. I’m sure my kids will go crazy for them and I’ll feel good giving them them. So many healthy ingredients packed into a bar. Love it!
haha I always try to hoard them but they always find them!
I am a celiac and eat a lot of quinoa. Now I just need to track down some gf oats. Any suggestions for substitutes if I have trouble. ?the recipe sounds great.
Bob’s Red Mill has incredible GF oats!
These look so good! What a great way to use quinoa – totally new to me. I will never ever tire of PB/Chocolate so don’t stop! 🙂
haha I’m glad because I can’t stop!!
I’ll never get tired of chocolate and peanut butter together! I love that you added quinoa to these! And no-bake granola bars are the best!
I can’t help myself!
I just made granola with quinoa, chia, and peanut butter yesterday, so I’m totally feeling these right now!! And who could ever be sick of the peanut butter and chocolate combination??
You really can’t!!!
What do you think of making these with almond or sunflower seed butter instead? Do you think they’d lose some of the taste?
I think it would work out well!!
Yummy!! They look really good!!
Question – if it’s no bake, why does it say “Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees”?
Because the quinoa is quickly toasted but you don’t bake the granola bars. 🙂
Liz, this is SO perfect! I have quinoa AND natural PB I need to use up and have been thinking about making granola bars with them! Thank you for reading my mind and giving me a recipe!!! xoxo!
Oh I hope you love this! We are making another batch soon..the boys loved them!!
AHHHH these look so goood!!! PINNED!
Thank you girlfriend!
See? This is exactly kind of healthy snacking I need to have around the house. It would keep me out of the unhealthy snacking food that is also around the house. Yay for healthy snacking!
I hope you try these Marly!! So good and so easy!
LOVE the sound of these granola bars! Love that they’re so easy and of course love that they involve chocolate! I made some quinoa granola bars for the first time last week and have been loving the flavor, so I’m definitely going to make these for my next batch of granola bars!
I don’t love quinoa cooked – I think toasted raw in these bars is my new favorite way to eat quinoa
Haha, you and I both know I don’t love plain cooked quinoa (hello quinoa breakfast bowl disaster of 2015) so I think toasted raw quinoa in these bars will be the best way to eat quinoa from here on out 🙂
hahaha I’ll never forget our quinoa breakfast disaster!!
Love these! The combo is classic- one that I’ll never tire of- and this no bake version is fantastic. I love snacks like these for stashing in my pocket on ski or hiking days!
Wow these look amazing! I wonder if they have a crunch/bite to them at all? That always seems to be what I grave when I am extra hungry. Can’t wait to try them!
Yes they do have a big time crunch – that was what I loved about them!!
Wow, these look just delicious. It’s such a smart idea to toast quinoa and other goodies before adding them to these bars. Pinned!
I hope you love them!
These look really yummy! Quick question for you: do you rinse the quinoa before toasting in the oven? Whenever I have made quinoa “the regular way” directions call for rinsing to remove the bitter coating. Just curious if that needs to be done for this recipe. Thanks!
Nope no rinsing needed!! Enjoy!