Decadently wholesome Chocolate Chia Oat Granola Bars are super easy to make in your microwave. 
Chocolate Chia Oat Granola Bars
These Chocolate Chia Oat Granola Bars are proof that necessity is root of invention. Last week our oven broke. Well, thats a bit dramatic. The ignitor on our gas stove went bad and it wouldn’t heat up. And we were a little lazy about called the repairman and I found myself without an oven for a few days. My natural response was to immediately and incessantly crave freshly baked chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. These cookies to be precise.
Just Nuke It
Of course, as we all know, when your oven is broken there will be no freshly baked cookies. But as much as I kept trying to explain that to myself, the chocolate craving just kept nagging me. So I started looking for a work around. And then I remembered the 2-Minute Oatmeal Chocolate Clusters that my friend Ana from ProjectLifeWellness shared on in Instagram feed awhile back. She made them in the microwave. YES!!!!
As amazing as Ana’s bars looked, I knew I’d need to make some adaptations to suit my cooking style and pantry ingredients — that is to say, the chefs at my culinary school were old-school French and instilled in me great respect and enthusiasm for butter. With that in mind, the base for my bars combined old fashioned oats, walnuts, half a stick of butter, cinnamon, honey, brown sugar, chocolate chips, chia seeds (optional) and salt. Adaptations made; microwaving commenced. Good things happened.
After microwaving, I dumped the mixture into an 8×8″ pan lined with parchment added more chocolate chips on the top and used a second piece of parchment to press them flat. 30 minutes in the freezer and they’re ready to go.
You Need these In Your Life
Voila! I give you no bake Chocolate Chia Oat Granola Bars and they are damn good. No seriously. These are incredible. They’re awesome tucked into the kid’s lunchboxes for dessert, make a great afterschool snack paired with half a banana and a glass of milk, and — of course– the husband has been noshing them like crazy as a midnight snack.
Yes, they have half a stick of butter. Yes, the have actual real sugar. Yes they have chocolate. You know what? I don’t care. They’re packed with whole grain oats and omega-3 rich walnuts and chia seeds and thats dark chocolate you’re looking at. They’re super satisfying so a little bit goes a long way and they are GOOD. Good enough to tame a serious chocolate chip cookie craving.
Get thee to the store, you’re gonna need to stock up on oats (and pick up some butter while you’re at it).
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Chocolate Chia Oat Granola Bars
- Prep Time: 3 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 8 bars 1x
- Category: Snack
- Method: Microwave
- Cuisine: Granola Bars
Description
Decadently wholesome Chocolate Chia Oat Granola Bars are packed with goodness and super easy to make in your microwave.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- Line an 8×8 ” baking pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. Prepare a second sheet of parchment paper to fit on top of the pan and set it aside.
- In a large microwave safe bowl, combine butter, oats, walnuts, chia seeds, ground cinnamon, salt, honey, brown sugar and 1/4 cup of the chocolate chips. Microwave on high for 1 minute.
- Remove bowl from microwave and stir until evenly combined. Place bowl back it the microwave and cook on high for 1 minute more.
- Remove bowl from microwave and immediately transfer contents to prepared baking pan. Use a rubber spatula to distribute the oat mixture evenly in the pan. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips over the evenly over the mixture, then place the second sheet of parchment paper over the top and press down until even.
- Place the pan in the freezer until bars are completely firm, about 30 minutes. Remove pan from freezer and peel off top layer of parchment. Slice into bars to serve.
Notes
Bars will become soft if placed in a covered container. Store loosely covered in the refrigerator for up to one week (if they last that long!)
Keywords: Chocolate Chia Oat Granola Bars
