Today we’re making Vegan Chocolate Chip Granola Bars. If you don’t toast the oats, it’s also a raw foods recipe with no refined sugar.
If you have been looking for no bake vegan granola bars that are easy to make and also delicious, here they are!
You may also enjoy my baked chocolate granola recipe. It’s also vegan and gluten-free. And delicious! Or maybe these spent grain granola bars are more up your alley. Chewy, chocolatey, and studded with tart cherries and chocolate.
For ease of browsing, you can find all my breakfast recipes in one place. Thanks for visiting!
I was brand ambassador for Pacari Chocolate at the Food & Wine Festival in exchange for a reduced conference ticket price. Thank you.
As many of you may know, I attended this year’s Food & Wine Conference in Orlando, FL a few weeks ago. I had applied to be a brand ambassador, and aside from helping to promote the conference itself, I was also assigned Pacari Chocolate as my brand.
I arrived at Rosen Shingle Creek on Thursday night and emailed my Pacari contact, Francisco, to see if he would have time to meet before the conference started so I could learn more about Pacari.
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About Pacari Chocolate
I was able to meet Francisco and his wife Ana for a late breakfast on Friday morning, and we ended up talking for an hour and a half. I came away from our breakfast not only 100% impressed with Pacari chocolate as a product but also with Pacari as a business.
All Pacari chocolate is organic and vegan.
It is also nut-free (although the packaging must say there is a risk for liability issues). They also have a line of raw chocolate including cacao powder (hello, superfood!), nibs, chocolate drops (chips) and bars.
Pacari makes sure to source as many ingredients locally as possible. And for Pacari, local means Ecuador.
Their chocolate bars come in such sophisticated flavors as lemongrass (perfectly balanced), Andean mint (unlike any mint chocolate you have ever tried before, I guarantee), Andean Rose (indescribably perfect), Passion Fruit (which smells so incredible I want The Beloved to wear it as cologne) and my personal favorite, Raw Chocolate with Andean Salt and ground Cocoa Nibs.
The sensation as this chocolate melts on the tongue is hard to describe. The slight crunch of the nibs, the creamy, mellow chocolate and the spark of the occasional salt crystal combine in what is probably the best bite of chocolate I’ve ever had.
Aside from the divine chocolates, there are many things to love about Pacari as a business as well. Allow me to quote from the Pacari website:
Santiago Peralta and Carla Barboto built a business based on socially and environmentally sustainable principles to ensure that their products support the well-being of the land and the community around it. Combining a passion for sustainable business and a commitment to preserving the native Arriba Nacional cacao, they developed Pacari Chocolate – the first single-origin organic chocolate made entirely in Ecuador. –Pacari Chocolate, About
Santiago and Carla realized that none of the cacao farmers that they spoke to had ever eaten a finished chocolate bar.
While they may have known that the beans they harvested and exported wound up in “candy,” they had never tasted chocolate themselves.
Francisco said that was one of the main reasons Pacari got started, to keep the farmers involved every step of the way.
Getting Acquainted with Raw Vegan Granola Bars
Vegan/quasi-raw was completely new territory for me, so I did some searching and found a simple recipe for Five Minute, No-Bake Vegan Granola Bars.
I also looked at The Minimalist Baker’s Healthy Brownie Granola Bars.
For those who are interested, I was looking for proportions of “gluey” ingredients to “main ingredients.” Once I got a handle on that, it was on, and I even finally got to use the very cool date syrup that my friend Stacy from Food Lust People Love sent me all the way from Dubai. Thank you, Stacy!
I think the bars I’ve come up with are the best (mostly) raw no-bake vegan granola bars I’ve ever had.
Okay, they’re the only (mostly) raw no-bake vegan granola bars I’ve ever had, but still. They’re pretty delicious, and this is coming from a girl who loves her baked goods, her refined sugar and her butter.
Do give these vegan granola bars a try. They are seriously good and really easy to make.
They’re also perfect for making in the summer since you don’t have to bake them. Nice!
If you’re looking for a super crunchy, delicious granola, try my friend Beth’s Homemade Olive Oil Granola.
More Vegan Recipes from Pastry Chef Online
If you are looking for more vegan food recipes, I have some great ones on the site. Mostly desserts, because I’m me:
- This vegan boozy apple crisp is super easy to make and is very, very good. Made with shredded apples that cook down to a tasty jam in the oven, these guys are hard to beat.
- You may also enjoy my Vegan Chocolate Christmas Cake which is truly dinner party worthy.
- If you’re an ice cream fan, give my Vegan Curried Peanut Butter Fudge Ice Cream a try. Creamy, crunchy, a little bit different, and a whole lot of delicious!
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You can use the stars to rate 1-5 (5 is best), and leave a review in the comments. It helps me make adjustments if any are needed, and comments help others decide whether the recipe is worth making.
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Thank you so much for taking the time!
And now, without further ado, I give you these raw granola bars. Enjoy!
No-Bake Vegan Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Bars
- 2 ½ cups rolled oats toasted or not.
- ½ cup whole roasted lightly salted almonds (you can also use raw almonds)
- ⅓ cup Grade B organic maple syrup
- ⅓ cup date syrup
- ⅔ cup almond butter (nothing but almonds in the ingredient list)
- 2 Tablespoons liquid coconut oil (will keep them firmer in the fridge)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup raw cacao powder I used Pacari
- ¼ cup raw cacao nibs I used Pacari
- ¼ cup raw 70% chocolate chips I used Pacari
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
To Finish (Optional)
- 1 Tablespoon Pacari raw 70% chocolate drops
- 1 Tablespoon dried cranberries
- a couple of pinches of coarse-grained flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Prepare an 8"x8" or 9"x9" pan by lining the bottom and up two opposite sides with non-stick foil or parchment paper. Set aside.
- Place the oats and almonds in a medium bowl. Set aside
- Thoroughly stir together the maple syrup, date syrup, almond butter, coconut oil (if using), vanilla, and salt.
- Evenly mix in the cacao powder, nibs, chips, and dried cranberries
- Scrape the cacao mixture into the bowl with the oats and almonds.
- Fold together thoroughly until all the oats and almonds are well-coated.
- Press the stiff dough evenly into the prepared pan.
To Finish (Optional)
- Evenly sprinkle on the chocolate drops, dried cranberries and salt. Press down gently so they adhere.
- Press plastic wrap down on the surface of your granola and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours.
- Slice into bars of your desired size.
- Store in the refrigerator for 5-7 days or freeze for longer storage.
Did You Make Any Changes?
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Hi, y’all! I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and hopefully also learned a thing or two.
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These look incredible!!
Definitely going to try these for a yummy back-to-school snack.
And Pacari Chocolates are Kosher Pareve! Can you see my happy dance?
🙂
Hi, Leah! I’m so happy you’re going to try them! And I hear you’ve been making tons of the coconut avocado ice cream. So glad you are enjoying it!
Healthy energy bars – I’m in! Bookmarked the recipe as we’re all about no bake desserts atm – it’s too hot to turn the oven on.
True–it is so hot here, too! I think you’ll love these, and of course you can sub in whatever goodies you like for what I used in mine. Enjoy, Oana!
I HAD to eat a Pacari Aji (chilli peppers and spices) bar while reading this fabulous post. Pacari hit the lottery when you were assigned as their Brand Ambassador at the Food and Wine Conference. The chocolates are as divine as you describe and I love how creative you got here. Not surprised in the least!
Aw thank you, Betsy! And that chilli one is fantastic! The Lemongrass? I die! You have to go get All The Chocolate! =)
Wow, these turned out great! Love that you put chocolate & cocoa nibs in them. I love granola bars with chocolate in them, and from what you’ve mentioned about the company, I think the Pacari chocolate is the perfect chocolate for this kind of no-bake treat
P.S. Glad you snuck in some butter 😉
Thank you so much, Janice! Yes, I am so impressed with Pacari, both the chocolate and the business! I didn’t use butter because I was trying to remain true to the vegan chocolate, but that doesn’t mean the next time I make them I won’t add some. Or that I’m not thinking about espresso shortbread studded with those raw chips… =)