These chia bars are easy, no-bake granola bars with a soft texture and perfectly sweetened flavor. Made with oats, almond butter, maple syrup, chia seeds, coconut, dark chocolate and pecans, these homemade chia seeds bars are an easy wholesome treat! Just mix together the ingredients and chill for 1 hour.
When you're craving a sweet treat but you don't want a dessert that's too sweet, these chia bars are the perfect fix. These no-bake bars are equal parts dessert and wholesome snack.
Plus, this chia granola bar recipe is really versatile. You can switch around or skip a few of the ingredients to give the granola bars the flavor you want.
Looking for more lightly sweetened treats? Try cinnamon granola or no-bake sunflower butter granola bars. If you love almond butter, try no-bake almond butter granola bars or baked almond butter bars with chocolate.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe for Chia Bars
- Easy, no-bake instructions. Just mix and chill for 1 hour.
- Soft, chewy and slightly crumbly texture.
- Endless variations in flavor, add what you love and take out what you don't.
- Lightly sweetened with maple syrup - no refined sugar
Ingredients, Substitutions and Variations
You can change these chia bars based on what you have on hand, or based on your favorite flavor combinations.
Almond Butter: The natural sweetness of almonds makes almond butter perfect for granola bars. However, any type of nut or seed butter can be used. Peanut butter is a great substitute.
If you're looking for nut-free bars, try my nut-free granola bars made with sunflower butter, or tahini granola bars with cherries and vanilla
Maple Syrup: Using pure maple syrup as the sweetener gives chia bars a lightly sweetened flavor with a hint of maple.
Honey can be used in place of maple syrup. Keep in mind that honey has a distinct "honey" flavor and will make the bars taste slightly sweeter and have a stickier texture.
Oats: Use regular or certified gluten-free old fashioned oats (also called rolled oats) They work better in these bars than quick oats.
Chia Seeds: If you take out the chia seeds, these obviously wouldn't be chia bars anymore, but you can do so if you like. You can also substitute in sesame seeds or sunflower seeds.
Chocolate Chips: Adding chocolate gives these chia bars more of a dessert-like flavor. It's optional, but delicious! I love using dark chocolate, but use any type of chocolate chip that you like. You can use mini-chocolate chips or regular size.
Dried fruit: Instead of chocolate, try adding dried fruit. Try dried cherries, raisins, dried cranberries or dried blueberries. You can also use chopped, dried apricots.
Vanilla: A hint of vanilla flavor is always good in granola bars, but adding it is optional.
Cinnamon: I don't include any spices in the recipe, but you can add a teaspoon of cinnamon if you like.
Coconut: Either you love it or you hate it, right? I haven't tried leaving out the coconut, but you could probably skip this ingredient and the bars will be just as good.
Pecans: Nuts are optional, but they add a really delicious crunch to these otherwise soft and chewy bars. I love pecans, but you can use any type of nut you want (walnuts are also delicious!). Just make sure the nuts are chopped in small to medium pieces.
Roasted nuts have more flavor and crunch. You can lightly toast the nuts yourself or use store-bought roasted nuts.
Step-By-Step Instructions
For detailed instructions and ingredient amounts, see the recipe card at the end of the post.
Step 1: Mix together oats, pecans, coconut, chia seeds, chocolate chips and salt.
Step 2: In a separate bowl, mix together almond butter, maple syrup and vanilla. Warm briefly in the microwave to soften the almond butter.
Step 3: Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Mix REALLY well.
Step 4: Pack the batter into an 8x8 parchment lined pan.
Step 5: It's very important to pack the bars in really firmly so they hold together. Use a glass jar to push down on the bars again, really packing the batter in.
Step 6: Chill for at least 1 hour, then cut the bars.
Expert Tip
Toasting nuts and coconut gives the ingredients a crunchier texture and richer flavor. It's easy to buy toasted nuts at the grocery store, or you can toast your own. Shredded coconut is usually sold un-toasted. It will have a stronger, richer flavor if you toast it before adding to granola bars.
Step 1: To toast nuts or coconut, preheat the oven to 350 F. Spread the nuts or coconut shreds out evenly in a sheet pan.
Step 2: Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Sometimes it will take less time, especially for coconut. Use your nose as a guide; when you smell a sweet, toasted flavor they're done. Use a timer and check the oven a few times - these ingredients can go from lightly toasted to burn very quickly.
More Granola Bar Recipes
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Print📖 Recipe
Chia Bars
These chia bars are easy, no-bake granola bars with a soft texture and perfectly sweetened flavor. Just combine the ingredients and chill for 1 hour before cutting.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 square bars
- Category: Snack and Beverages
- Method: Mix and chill
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups rolled oats (also called old-fashioned)
- 1 cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped (or your favorite nut, chopped)
- 1 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- ¼ to ½ cup chocolate chips (or dried fruit)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup almond butter (or your favorite unsalted, unsweetened nut or seed butter)
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper. The parchment should be long enough to hang over the edges of the pan so that you can fold the paper up and over the bars (the parchment should be about 20 inches long).
- In a large bowl, mix together oats, pecans, coconut, chia seeds, chocolate chips and salt.
- In a smaller, microwave safe bowl, combine almond butter, maple syrup and vanilla. Warm the mixture in the microwave so that it’s easy to stir - about 30 seconds - then stir until the almond butter is smooth and completely mixed in with the syrup.
- Pour the almond butter mixture over the oats. Use a big spoon or a spatula to mix really well, so that the oats and other ingredients are no longer dry and are completely covered with almond butter. Take your time mixing and make sure no dry oats remain! Taste the mixture and add a pinch more salt if needed.
- Scrape the mixture into the 8x8 pan. Press the oats down really well - this is important. The bars won’t hold together if they’re not packed in. First, fold the long edges of the parchment up and over the bars so your hands don't stick to the oats as you press. Then, use the bottom of a glass jar or drinking glass to help pack down the oats very firmly.
- Refrigerate the chia bars for at least 1 hour, but ideally a few hours so that the bars completely set and hold together when cut.
- To cut the bars, first use the overhang of parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan. Use a long serrated knife or large chef’s knife to cut the bars into squares or rectangles.
- I like storing the bars in the refrigerator, where they keep well for up to 2 weeks. They can also be kept in the freezer for several months.
Notes
Any type of nut or seed butter can be used, as long as it's unsweetened and has no salt added. If you use nut butter with salt added, don't add extra salt to the bars.
Regular sized or mini chocolate chips can be used. The chocolate chips will melt slightly when the warm almond butter is added. If you don't want the chocolate to melt, wait and add the chocolate chips as the very last ingredient after you have mixed in the almond butter and other wet ingredients.
Small dried fruit, like cherries, cranberries, raisins or dried blueberries can be used instead of chocolate.
Honey can be substituted for maple syrup but the bars will be sweeter and stickier.
Even though these are called chia bars, the chia seeds can be left out.
S. says
These are such a great snack, so good! Love the texture and combination of flavors.