Homemade and Fab Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

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Despite trying to focus a bit more on  relaxing in 2012, I really am a girl on the go.  As a private practice dietitian, I find myself busy with clients, emails, writing, and of course, blogging and I need to have quick and healthy snacks to grab on the run.

Since I had major intestinal surgery about 18 years ago, I have to be careful with what I choose to eat to avoid stomachaches.  I find I need a little snack between clients to keep my blood sugar and energy level up!  Since I talk “food” all day, it can make a girl HUNGRY!  I love to grab a granola bar for those times when I simply don’t have time to stop and whip up a smoothie or make a more complex snack option.  BUT…most commercial granola bars are filled with chicory root extract (inulin) and that can lead for tummy trouble for anyone with a sensitive belly.

I want granola bars that are made with WHOLE, REAL foods, lots of protein, fiber AND also ones that tastes great!

I love this recipe I made today.  I mixed together rolled outs, steel-cut oats, all-natural peanut butter, oat bran, a few pumpkin seeds and of course, a few mini chocolate chips { a girl’s gotta have a bit of chocolate} along with a few other  real food ingredients and got a great finished product!! 

Simply blend ingredients together…

You may want to lick the spoon at this point.  YUM!

Place mixture into 9 x 13 pan, pressing ingredients firmly into pan.

Bake the mixture and cut into bars. I put the bars in wax paper bags so I can grab and GO!  You are all set for the week!

These granola bars are low FODMAP and are a great source of fiber.

25 replies on “Homemade and Fab Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars“

  • Kristi

    I can’t wait to make these Kate! But I will be using sunflower seed butter in place of the peanut butter due to allergies, but I bet the substitution will work just fine. YUM!

  • EA-The Spicy RD

    So glad you stopped by my blog today 🙂 I love these granola bars-they look so yummy! Can you believe I’ve never made granola bars before??? I think this recipe is the perfect one to start with!

  • Lisa Swan

    Hi Kate! I am definitely going to make these, they seem like a great breakfast option for Cam who just doesn’t really like to eat so early in the morning before school. Just wondering thought, what is “FODMAPs friendly”?

    • katescarlata

      FODMAPs are a group of carbohydrates that can be troublesome for people with sensitive digestive tracts…cause gas, bloating…not fun! Many of my clients follow a low FODMAP diet so I like to let them know which recipes would suit their diet needs. 🙂 Glad you asked!

  • elise

    someone just posted a link to this in my comments section and im glad i clicked over – these look great. i think ill try and make a version of these this week. im so sick of all the soy and fructose additives.

    • katescarlata

      Elise, I really love this granola bar recipe so easy to make and quite yummy. Love the pumpkin seed texture–light but still nutty. I have had rave reviews on this recipe so hope you like them.

      I just spotted a blog that had a similar recipe but rolled them into bite size balls–I like that idea too!

      Would love to hear how your tweak the recipe!

  • Cory

    I made these, with a few changes: I used coconut oil, and cacao nibs for the chocolate chips. Instead of peanut butter, I used a mixture of 1/2 pumpkin seed butter, and 1/2 ripe banana –I left out the brown sugar b/c the banana was sweet. They were delicious! Also, the banana made them kind of chewy, instead of crunchy. Next time I’ll have to give the original version a try – also would like to experiment w/different kinds of nuts. Thanks, Kate : )

  • Monica

    Just made these and they’re SO GOOD. I used almond butter instead of peanut, olive oil instead of butter, and skipped the steel cut oats. So yum. Thanks so much for posting! 🙂

    • katescarlata

      Awesome Monica! They are very good! Almond butter is okay on the low FODMAP diet but almonds do have some GOS and fructans–more so than peanuts/peanut butter–so if you are modifying your FODMAP intake–just take note and modify your portion to your personal tolerance.

      • Monica

        Oh, that’s interesting – I didn’t realize that almonds could be a problem. Good tip, thanks! 🙂 I love this blog – it was such a relief for me to find it when I found out I had to stick to the Low FODMAPs diet. Thanks!

  • Stephanie

    Just made these bars. Used the banana, no steel oats (used what I had on hand) they are wonderful!!

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  • Scotti

    I have made the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola bars several times and my only substitution was dark chocolate chips for the semi-sweet ones. Thanks for creating delicious, healthy recipes for those of us who need to follow the low FODMAP diet. Thanks too for the E cookbook. I made the High Fiber Breakfast Porridge and it was delicious.

    • katescarlata

      Thanks Scotti–Yes, I have to say, I LOVE the high fiber breakfast porridge too….It’s a weekend favorite lately! Glad you liked the cookbook! It’s been quite popular! Yay! 🙂

  • Dvora Citron

    These look delicious and I want to make them. I LOVE good dark chocolate and I am wondering if you have some recommendations for brands that are the most low FODMAP-friendly. Today I bought Green & Black because it’s not made with chocolate liquor. But most chocolate chips I see are made with chocolate liquor and soy lecithin. Are those ingredients OK?

  • katescarlata

    NOT really sure about chocolate liquor but don’t think it would be a issue. Soy lecithin is not a FODMAP issue.
    Most semi-sweet chocolate chips should be fine…just don’t go overboard. 🙂

  • Leslie Peay

    Want to try your granola bars. How do I print just the recipe without having to print all the pages.

    Are raisins ok on Fodmap diet.
    thanks.

  • katescarlata

    Leslie, this was an older post and I didn’t have my recipe plug in yet…I just added a pdf to print out the recipe on the site–so go back and click on that and print. Raisins are not allowed on the low FODMAP diet.

  • Kristin

    Is the serving size for these 1 bar/20 bars? Have people had reactions eating more than 1 of these bars in 1 sitting? I have SIBO and am concerned about all the different sweets. Is this something I should potentially avoid?

    • katescarlata

      I recommend the lowest in fiber as the FODMAP in dark or semi-sweet chocolate is in the fructan/GOS component which is fiber–Ghirardelli semi sweet chocolate chips are good. Fiber content for chocolate varies brand to brand. Some of the organic fair trade chocolates are way up there in fiber content…and although I like them–and like the concept of fair trade–just be sure to note fiber.

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