During my senior year of high school, I jam-packed my afternoons with lots of extracurricular activities: marching band practices, our high school’s musical, teaching elementary school kids flute and piano lessons, taking my own flute and sax lessons, announcing baseball games (my favorite!), and daily workouts on our elliptical trainer… To name a few.
With earning straight A’s in my classes as my top priority, I pored over my homework during the rest of my time, scribbling down answers to tough calculus problems and reading various Shakespeare plays until I closed my textbooks to turn out the light and go to bed. As a result, Dad generously offered to pack my lunch each evening to give me a few extra minutes of rest.
I have the best dad in the world.
While the main “entrée” varied between sandwiches, yogurts, and other protein-packed options, I almost always found the same type of granola bar that Dad tucked in for our school’s designated 3rd period snack break. During the first 10 minutes of class, the video production team aired a daily bulletin with clips about upcoming sports matches, school-wide dances, and other important news, and our teachers allowed us to eat while we watched the TV segment.
After sliding into my seat, I reached into my black tote bag with a few large musical notes printed on the front (I ditched my regular backpack that year, and my posture completely improved because of it!) to grab the granola bar from my brown bag lunch. I carefully peeled back the foil wrapper and slowly nibbled on the small 100-calorie snack, usually the oatmeal raisin or chocolate chunk flavors, taking itty bitty mouse-sized bites and saving the pieces with the most chocolate for last.
Once a chocoholic, always a chocoholic… That’s why I published my Healthier Chocolate Treats cookbook!
When I recently stopped by the local high school to visit my friend who works in the attendance office, I remembered those fond memories of my 3rd period snacks… But instead of driving to the grocery store to get my fix, I baked these Healthy Chocolate Chip Granola Bar Bites instead. They have the same chewy texture and plenty of chocolate (just look at all of those decadent chips!), but they contain just 8 healthy ingredients and no corn syrup, refined sugar, artificial ingredient or preservatives.
I just checked the ingredients on the labels of those granola bars I used to eat… And yes, all of those things were listed. Plus more. Yikes!!
HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY CHOCOLATE CHIP GRANOLA BAR BITES
To make these healthy homemade granola bar bites, you’ll start with old-fashioned oats and brown rice cereal. I know, I know… Brown rice cereal?? That probably sounds a little strange, but I promise it works! The brown rice cereal accentuates the granola bars’ chewiness after it has been baked, and it also helps hold together the granola bars.
This is the kind of brown rice cereal that I buy, and you can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores. My local Safeway even started to stock it! You can substitute regular crisp rice cereal, as well as lightly crushed rice pocket cereal.
Next, you’ll mix in a combination of honey and egg whites. Just like the brown rice cereal, the egg whites may sound strange… But they add a protein boost and also act as the glue that holds together the two different cereals.
Finally, my chocholic heart’s favorite part… The mini chocolate chips! I highly recommend using mini chips because their smaller size ensures that every granola bar bite contains many morsels of chocolate, and it also allows the bars to stick together better. (Regular-sized chocolate chips are large enough that the granola bars would start to fall apart!) These are the mini chips that I buy because I love their rich flavor and they turn perfectly melty in the oven.
Snack time! And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees that I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy chocolate chip granola bar bites!
Healthy Chocolate Chip Granola Bar Bites
Ingredients
- 1 tsp coconut oil, melted
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- ¼ cup (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt, room temperature
- 3 tbsp (45mL) honey
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ cups (45g) crisp brown rice cereal
- 1 cup (100g) old-fashioned oats (measured like this and gluten-free if necessary)
- 2 ½ tbsp (35g) miniature chocolate chips (divided)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F, and lightly coat an 8”-square pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut oil and egg whites. Add in the Greek yogurt, honey, and salt, stirring after each addition until thoroughly incorporated. Stir in the rice cereal and oats. Gently fold in 2 tablespoons of miniature chocolate chips.
- Gently press the mixture into the prepared pan using a spatula, and gently press the remaining chocolate chips into the top. Bake at 300°F for 16-19 minutes or until light golden and the center feels firm to the touch. Cool completely to room temperature in the pan before slicing into squares.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Apple Pie Granola Bar Bites
♡ Double Chocolate Granola Bar Bites
♡ Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Protein Bars
♡ Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Protein Bars
♡ Fudgy Brownie Batter Protein Bars
♡ Brownie Batter Energy Bites
♡ Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Energy Bites
Sound great! I want to make them tonight but don’t have Greek yogurt. Any substitutions for that in a pinch?
If you have regular yogurt, that would be the best substitute! Otherwise, applesauce or mashed banana will work, but the granola bars will have a distinct fruity flavor. 🙂 I’m excited to hear what you think of these Terrie!
I guess it was meant to be! Found 1 fruit at the bottom Greek yogurt I was able to salvage the plain from the top. They’re in the oven now. Can’t wait to try them! Thanks
That completely sounds like it was meant to be Terrie! That was so smart of you to be so resourceful — I’m impressed! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear how they turned out!
did you use 0% plain greek yogourt? and do you think you could add in peanut butter? if so, how much would you recommend?
I appreciate your interest in my recipe Charity! Nonfat plain Greek yogurt = 0% plain Greek yogurt. You could probably add in a couple tablespoons of peanut butter, but I can’t guarantee if that’s the best amount since I haven’t tried it myself. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these granola bar bites!
Hi Amy! I love making these “to-go” treats without the guilt. I find now that every time I make your recipes I whistle the jingle that is present in your videos! Everyone knows that I’m baking something from your blog! LOL! My younger son comes into the kitchen asking “what Amy recipe are you making now?” I made these earlier today and they are soooo good!! They are satisfying and and easy snack to grab and go. Will be making these often! Thank you kindly!
Oh my goodness!!! That’s SUCH a fun image of you whistling the jingle Carmelina! It gets stuck in my head all the time too… Like right now, when I’ve spent the afternoon editing new videos to share! 😉 I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed these granola bar bites!! I’m really excited to hear what you try next!
Hi Amy!
I always love to make your recipes as is but I don’t have rice cereal on hand. But I will certainly add it to my list. Any way I could double the oats and leave out the cereal to make it today? 😀 Do you have any experience with that? Or do you fear it may crumble, as you mentioned with regular sized chocolate chips?
Thank you for your advice!
Warmly,
Abby
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Abby! These granola bar bites work best with the rice cereal. You can probably double the oats, but the bites may still fall apart a little bit. I’d love to hear what you think if you try them! 🙂
Thank you so much, Amy! I appreciate your advice. I didn’t have rice cereal on hand so I used roughly chopped chex cereal (cinnamon). It was so good! And added a nice touch of sweetness. I’m so glad you made the note to use mini chocolate chips, because it really did help keep them intact. Thank you for another great recipe!
I absolutely LOVE your idea of using chopped cinnamon Chex!! I’ll have to remember that! I always have the plain variety in my pantry, but the cinnamon flavor must have added something special to the taste of your bites! 🙂 I’m so excited to hear what recipe you try next Abby!
I made these tonight! They are so good. Mine seem to still be a little too chewy even after being in the over awhile, but I did make them pretty thin. I will try to make them thicker next time!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these granola bar bites Ann-Marie! 🙂
Hello, can you let me know once made how long these last?
Thanks
Laura
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Laura! I’ve actually included that information already in the paragraph directly beneath the recipe title in the recipe box. It can be easy to miss! 😉 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these granola bar bites if you try them!
I made these. They turned out great. Thank you so much..
I’m so glad you enjoyed these granola bar bites Leon! Thanks for taking the time to let me know! 🙂
Hi Amy!
Can you use any type of Greek yogurt? I know you used 0% but I have whole milk plain Greek yogurt and whole milk vanilla? Just curious if it will change the consistency or not.
Thank you!
Emma
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Emma! Your whole milk Greek yogurt will work just fine. It won’t change the texture or consistency! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these granola bar bites!
I made these too and they were still chewy also despite having left them in the oven for a little longer. They just wouldn’t firm up. Do you have any suggestions on this Amy? I really enjoy the taste though..they are great!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Sonya! These granola bar bites were actually designed to be chewy. You could try baking the pan longer next time, but I’m slightly afraid that they’d burn before they turned crunchy… But you could probably set your current batch of fully-baked slices granola bar bites on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper (leave a little space between each bite!), and you could bake them at 325°F until they turn out crunchy to make this batch suit your texture tastes! 🙂
Thank you for your quick response Amy. I should probably say soggy rather than chewy. I thought maybe this is due to my mixing of the dry and wet ingredients. If there is a technique to it. They are so tasty and I really enjoy them and want to make them again however I want to make sure I’m doing this right:) thank you for your feedback. It’s much appreciated!
It’s my pleasure Sonya! I’m always happy to help! 🙂 How did you mix together the wet and dry ingredients? Did the mixture look like mine did in the recipe video? Also, did you make any substitutions (including those in the Notes section!), and how long did you bake your bites? I remember you said a little longer, but I wanted to make sure I knew the amount of time! We’ll get this sorted out so your next batch doesn’t turn out soggy!