I recently bought an economy-sized box that was on sale and needed to make something with them or else we were going to be eating them until Christmas.
These fast, easy, bars cost just a fraction of storebought bars to make, they’re healthier, and they’ve got fun, bright colors. In the past I’ve used Golden Grahams, Special K, Chex, Rice Krispies and many others in recipes, but never the classic O’s until these.
I have many other microwave and no-bake granola bar recipes. See the Related Recipes below. These Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (no-bake, vegan, GF) are my favorites for something that has the texture of a Quaker Chewy Granola Bar and are a cinch to make, while still staying in the healthy realm. I wanted these to be a snack bar or breakfast bar, on the healthier side, while branching out from recipes I’ve already made or tried.
Normally I use corn syrup in my microwave bars because it’s cheap, and it makes an excellent glue to bind ingredients. Very little can escape it’s tacky grip. However, for these I used honey to play up the honey flavor from the cereal. I will be honest, honey does not make as good of a glue as corn syrup. If I were to remake them, I’d use corn syrup. At room temperature, the bars do get soft and loose, and you’ll need to store them in the fridge.
I stirred in raisins for extra texture, flavor, fiber, chewiness, and oomph. I know some people don’t like raisins, so feel free to omit them or use dried cranberries, apricots, or another dried fruit. The recipe is very flexible and you could also stir in honey-roasted peanuts, sliced almonds, or a handful of your favorite trail mix.
I topped them with chocolate-covered sunflower seeds. If you have a Trader Joe’s in your area, don’t buy them unless you have really good self-control. They’re crunchy, chocolaty, and one step away from eating chocolate candy-coated sprinkles. So good. They give a fun, bright pop of color to otherwise boring brown bars, and since I knew I was putting these in my 6 year old’s lunch box, I wanted them to be cheery. If you can’t find them in your area, no biggie. Just use another small seed, nut, or omit.
Between the honey, cereal, raisins, and chocolate-covered seeds, the are were on the sweet side. A sprinkling of Kosher salt cuts that and plays up the salty-and-sweet aspect. I wish the Cheerios I ate as a kid were this fun to look at.
Related Recipes
No-Bake Samoas Cookie Granola Bars (vegan, GF) Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes!
Snickerdoodle Cookie Granola Bars (no-bake, vegan, GF)
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Granola Bars (no-bake, vegan, GF)
Sunflower Seed Butter Granola Bars with Chocolate Drizzle (no-bake, vegan, GF)
No-Bake Peanut Butter Marshmallow Cereal Bars (GF)
Cinnamon Oatmeal Date Bars with Chocolate Chunks (no-bake, vegan, gluten-free) – (no-bake, vegan, GF) – Taste like cinnamon oatmeal
Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Coconut Oil Protein Bars (no-bake, vegan, GF) – Recipe from early 2010 Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Granola (vegan, GF)
Browned Butter Rice Krispies Treats (GF) – The best RKTs I have ever had. Double the butter and it’s browned, for great flavor and soft, buttery, chewy bars
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (no-bake, vegan, GF)
Are you a Cheerios or cereal fun?
