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These Sourdough Granola bars are soft and chewy, full of flavor, and are so easy to make. They make a great snack for your kids that you can feel good about since they are made with simple ingredients.
This copy-cat Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars recipe is a great alternative to the store-bought version. Not only are these Sourdough Granola Bars made with wholesome ingredients, they taste even better than the store-bought bars! With minimal prep time and a quick and easy recipe, this is a great sourdough discard snack recipe the whole family will love.
Table of Contents
- Sourdough snacks for kids
- Reasons you will love these homemade granola bars
- Tips for Success
- Tools to make sourdough granola bars
- Optional add-ins for Sourdough Granola Bars
- Ingredients for Sourdough Granola Bars
- How to make Sourdough Granola Bars
- How to store Sourdough Granola bars
- Sourdough Granola Bars Recipe
Sourdough snacks for kids
I love stocking my pantry with snacks for my kids made with my sourdough starter. Some of our favorites are cheez-its, goldfish, animal crackers, and now these chewy granola bars. This sourdough discard granola bar recipe makes a great after-school snack or addition to a packed school lunch. These bars are chewy and delicious, and won’t crumble like many of the homemade granola bars.
Reasons you will love these homemade granola bars
- Made with simple ingredients like oats, honey, peanut butter, and sourdough discard.
- They don’t crumble or fall apart.
- Great for kids and school lunches.
- Knock off version of the Chewy granola bars without all the extra ingredients.
Tips for Success
- Press the granola mixture into the 9×9 pan with a piece of parchment paper before baking. This will help the bars stay together.
- Do not skip putting the bars in the fridge for an hour before cutting into them. The cooler temperatures will set the bars and ensure they stay together when cut.
- Wrap individually in beeswax or seran wrap for an easy grab-and-go snack option.
- Use rolled oats not quick oats. Quick oats are too thin and do not keep their texture as they cook.
- You can substitute peanut butter for almond butter or another nut butter if preferred.
Tools to make sourdough granola bars
The only tool you’ll need is a 9×9 pan. and some parchment paper. I don’t recommend skipping the parchment paper as it is very helpful in getting the bars out of the pan after baking.
Optional add-ins for Sourdough Granola Bars
I love using mini chocolate chips in this recipe, but you can leave them out if you’d like, or you can even substitute them for your favorite add-ins! You can use cinnamon, pumpkin seeds, nuts such as walnuts or almonds, or dried fruit such as golden raisins, cranberries, or apricots.
Ingredients for Sourdough Granola Bars
- Melted butter- Salted or unsalted butter works great or substitute for coconut oil for a dairy-free option.
- Peanut butter – You can substitute for any nut butter you prefer such as almond butter but be sure to use a creamy version not crunchy.
- Honey – This helps not only sweeten the bars but helps them stay together. You can swap honey for maple syrup if you’d like.
- Sourdough discard- Discard is the portion of your sourdough starter that you remove before feeding. It is no longer active and bubbly and is not ideal for leavening bread, but makes a great addition to recipes like this one!
- Vanilla extract – This enhances the flavors in the bars.
- Brown sugar – The brown sugar not only adds flavor but also helps the granola bars stay together.
- Rolled oats – Be sure to use rolled oats, not quick oats or steel-cut oats.
- Salt – Any type of salt you have on hand will work.
- Mini chocolate chips – This is optional, you can omit or replace it with an ingredient like dried fruit or nuts.
How to make Sourdough Granola Bars
Preheat the oven to 325F.
First, melt the peanut butter and butter in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Then, mix in the honey, discard, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl. Add in brown sugar, rolled oats, and salt and stir to combine. Fold in chocolate chips.
Line a 9×9″ square baking pan with parchment paper. Dump the mixture into the prepared pan. Using a piece of parchment paper press the mix into the pan to form an even layer.
Bake for 25 minutes or until the edges are lightly browning and then remove them from the pan and let them cool. Grab the ends of the parchment paper to easily lift them out.
Once they have cooled, cover them and place them in the fridge for at least an hour or more. This makes it easier to cut and so they do not fall apart. Cut them into 12 equal bars.
Wrap them individually in beeswax or plastic wrap so you can easily grab them for a quick grab-and-go snack.
How to store Sourdough Granola bars
It’s best to store them wrapped in beeswax or seran wrap, or in an airtight container or ziplock bag. If kept on the counter they will last several days, or they will last up to 10 days in the fridge. If you want to freeze them, you can wrap them individually and then add them to a freezer bag. They will stay fresh in the freezer for a couple of months. To thaw, just remove them from the fridge and let them thaw on the counter or in the fridge.
Sourdough Granola Bars
Equipment
Ingredients
- 57 grams butter, melted, 1/4 cup
- 65 grams peanut butter, 1/4 cup
- 120 grams honey, 1/2 cup
- 120 grams sourdough discard, 1/2 cup
- 5 grams vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon
- 55 grams brown sugar, 1/4 cup
- 360 grams rolled oats, 4 cups
- 3 grams salt, 1/2 teaspoon
- 163 grams mini chocolate chips (optional), 1 cup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325℉
- Melt peanut butter and butter in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Mix in the honey, discard, and vanilla extract in a large bowl.57 grams butter, melted, 65 grams peanut butter, 120 grams honey, 120 grams sourdough discard, 5 grams vanilla extract
- Then mix in brown sugar, rolled oats, and salt. Fold in chocolate chips. 55 grams brown sugar, 360 grams rolled oats, 3 grams salt, 163 grams mini chocolate chips (optional)
- Line a 9×9" pan with parchment paper. Dump the mixture into the pan. Using a piece of parchment paper, firmly press the mix into the pan to create an even layer. Pressing the mixture into the pan is important for getting the bars to stay together so don't skip this. Go over it once or twice with the parchment paper.
- Bake for 25 minutes at 325℉.
- After it has baked let cool. Once it has cooled, cover and place in the fridge for at least an hour, ideally two.
- Cut into 12 equal bars. Wrap individually with plastic wrap or beeswax or store in an airtight container.
Notes
- Don't skip placing these in the fridge for an hour. It will make the bars stick together and make it much easier to cut.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Yum almonds and cranberries sound delicious!
These are so tasty! Do they need to be stored in fridge or is counter ok?
I left my last batch on the counter all week and they did just fine! If my house is warmer I prefer the fridge so they hold up longer
Easy to make, and so tasty. Definitely cooling in fridge is a must. I swapped out the chocolate chips for chopped almonds and dried cranberries, and used maple syrup instead of honey as thats what I had, delish!
I’ve made these 3 times now and my whole family is obsessed! I only had about 80g discard this time and they still turned out perfect! Thanks for sharing !
If I want to add chia seed abd flax seed, how much would you recommend?
thanks for the recipe! I made these using 1 cup total of these addins: min choc chips, almonds (I crushed my whole almonds), pepitas, chia seeds and flaxseed. I did have a tiny bit of crumbling during cutting but not bad. My husband is on the road all day for work so I individually wrap with PressAndSeal wrap. He said they are so good I could sell them!
hi! Is there a way to omit the peanut butter?
I just made these with almond butter instead of PB, and they worked well!
Thanks for sharing!
Hi! I tried these, omitting the honey and sugar, but adding 5 chopped dates (rolled in flax meal to keep separate). I also replaced one of the cups of oats with a mix of chopped almonds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, and some flax meal. I also added a splash of oat milk. They turned out great, but were too crumbly for bars. Any idea of what I might use to make them more cohesive?
The honey and sugar are not just for sweetening they act as binders. If you prefer not to use honey you could try maple syrup.
Thanks!
I made some today and didn’t have enough honey which meant they weren’t super cohesive, but they’re still chilling so no official word on that. I don’t use sugar in baking and instead sub with erythritol or stevia or a mix. To make brown sugar, I mix some granulated erythritol with a little molasses and it tastes perfect!
Good to know thank you!
Would you do the same amount of maple syrup to replace the honey?
Yes!
Have you ever tried adding some protein powder? I was wondering if it would work. Thank you!
I’ve had a few people tell me they add 2 scoops of protein powder and it works great.
What can I use in place of the sourdough discard?
Discard is just flour and water, I didn’t have any either so I used flour and water and mixed it until it was the right quantity and texture. I’d say about 1/2 cup of flour and water- but I didn’t keep track so you just have to test it out. Mine came out great!
Thank you for sharing! I’ve been hesitant to recommend since I wasn’t sure if it would change the flavor so that’s good to know!