Delicious & Portable Chocolate Chip Granola Bites: Your Ultimate Healthy Snack!
Who doesn’t adore granola? Its delightful crunch, nutty goodness, rich maple notes, and warming spices make it a fantastic way to kickstart your day. It also serves as an excellent snack to curb those midday cravings. While loose granola is perfectly fine for enjoying at home, its portability becomes a challenge when you’re on the move. Imagine trying to eat a bowl of loose granola on an airplane, during a busy commute, or while hiking! This is precisely why we’ve crafted a perfectly portable version of our beloved roasted maple granola: introducing our irresistible Chocolate Chip Granola Bites.
The Inspiration Behind Our Portable Granola Bites
The idea for these convenient granola bites came to me while preparing care packages for friends embarking on their flights home. As I handed them zip bags filled with my classic roasted maple granola, a sudden realization struck: eating loose granola in the confines of an airplane seat would be far from ideal. That’s when the mission began to develop a more travel-friendly version of my favorite crunchy treat. The solution? Transforming my trusted granola recipe into bite-sized portions, baked in a mini muffin pan, and enhanced with delicious chocolate chips. These delightful Chocolate Chip Granola Bites are designed to be the perfect size to discreetly tuck into a handbag, briefcase, backpack, or lunchbox, ensuring a healthy and satisfying snack is always within reach.
Crafting the Perfect Granola Bite: Ingredient Tips
Achieving the ideal texture and taste for these granola bites requires careful selection of ingredients. We’ve made specific choices to ensure they stick together well and deliver maximum flavor without unnecessary sugar.
The Binding Secret: Egg Whites
To ensure our granola mixture holds its shape beautifully and doesn’t crumble, we incorporated egg whites. These act as a natural binding agent, giving the bites their desirable firm yet chewy texture. For those seeking a vegan alternative, a “flax egg” (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons water, allowed to sit for 5 minutes) can be a suitable substitute, though the texture might vary slightly.
Sweet Indulgence: Sugar-Free Dark Chocolate Chips
Instead of relying on dried fruit, which is optional in my original granola recipe, we opted for chocolate chips to add a delightful treat. For this recipe, we highly recommend Lily’s Sweets sugar-free dark chocolate chips. They are truly terrific, offering the rich, decadent flavor of dark chocolate without the added sugar, making these granola bites a guilt-free indulgence. Dark chocolate also provides antioxidants, adding a small health boost to your snack.
The Heart of Granola: Gluten-Free Rolled Oats
As we often follow a gluten-free diet, we chose gluten-free rolled oats from Bob’s Red Mill as the foundation for our granola. Rolled oats are an excellent source of fiber, which aids digestion and helps maintain steady energy levels throughout your day. If gluten is not a concern for you, regular rolled oats work just as well.
Tropical Sweetness: Fine Unsweetened Coconut
For the coconut component, aim for a fine, dry, and unsweetened variety, such as Bob’s Red Mill Fine Macaroon Coconut. It’s crucial that it’s unsweetened to control the overall sugar content and unsulphured to ensure a natural, pure flavor. This type of coconut adds a delicate sweetness and a pleasant chewiness to each bite.
The Natural Sweetener: Real Maple Syrup
When it comes to maple syrup, there’s no substitute for the real thing. Genuine maple syrup not only provides natural sweetness but also imparts a depth of flavor that artificial syrups simply cannot replicate. Its unique caramel notes beautifully complement the other ingredients, elevating the overall taste of these granola bites.
Warmth and Aroma: Spices
Cinnamon is a classic choice for granola, offering a natural, warm, and comforting spice flavor that everyone loves. However, for those looking to venture into a more unique aromatic experience, consider trying Chinese Five Spice. This warming, exotic blend typically includes cinnamon, star anise, cloves, Sichuan peppercorns, and fennel seeds, providing a complex and intriguing flavor profile that will make your granola bites truly stand out.
Nutrient Powerhouses: Nuts and Seeds
This recipe incorporates a blend of finely chopped walnuts and slivered blanched almonds for their delightful crunch and healthy fats. Walnuts are known for their omega-3 fatty acids, while almonds offer vitamin E. We also add raw unsalted sunflower seeds, ground flaxseed, and hemp seeds. Sunflower seeds provide crunch and essential minerals, flaxseed is rich in fiber and omega-3s, and hemp seeds are a complete protein source, adding significant nutritional value to these already wholesome healthy granola bites. These ingredients not only contribute to the textural diversity but also boost the overall nutrient density, making these bites an incredibly satisfying and beneficial snack.
Tool Tips: How to Bake Perfect Granola Bites
Baking these chocolate chip granola bites is straightforward, but having the right tools makes the process even easier and ensures perfect results every time.
Essential Equipment: The Mini Muffin Pan
To achieve the ideal bite-sized portions, you’ll definitely need a mini muffin pan. We recommend one with 24 cups or wells. The pan I frequently use features wells that are approximately 1 ¼″ deep and 2″ across (measured from the inside edge). This size is crucial for creating uniformly shaped portable granola bites that hold together well and are easy to handle.
The Secret Weapon: A Mini Off-Set Spatula
One incredibly handy—and surprisingly inexpensive—kitchen tool that I rely on heavily for baking these (and many other things!) is a mini off-set spatula. Its small size and angled blade are perfect for gently prying the granola bites out of the muffin pan without damaging their delicate structure. This tool is a game-changer for effortless removal, ensuring your bites remain intact and beautiful. You can easily find these online, at specialty cooking stores, or even at restaurant supply outlets.
Baking and Storage Tips
After mixing your ingredients and firmly pressing them into the mini muffin pan wells, it’s important to bake them until they are firm and the edges are lightly golden brown. This usually takes around 25 minutes in a convection oven, but cooking times may vary depending on your specific appliance. The firm packing and proper baking are key to preventing your homemade granola bites from crumbling. Once baked, let them cool completely in the pan. This cooling period is vital; it allows the bites to set and harden, making them much easier to remove and ensuring they maintain their shape. Attempting to remove them too soon can lead to breakage. Once cooled, use your mini off-set spatula to carefully pop each one out.
For storage, place your cooled chocolate chip granola bites in an airtight container. They will keep well at room temperature for up to a week. If you want them to last longer, you can store them in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, or even freeze them for up to three months. When freezing, layer them between parchment paper in an airtight container or freezer bag to prevent sticking. Thaw them at room temperature or enjoy them straight from the freezer for a surprisingly delightful cold treat!
Serving Suggestions & Customization
These versatile granola bites are incredibly delicious on their own as a quick snack or a light breakfast. For a more substantial start to your day, pair them with a mini container of plain Greek yogurt, adding a boost of protein and probiotics. They also make a perfect accompaniment to your morning coffee or tea.
Feeling adventurous? Don’t hesitate to customize your granola bites! While chocolate chips are a favorite, you could experiment with other add-ins:
- Dried Fruits: Substitute or add finely chopped dried cranberries, apricots, or even cherries for a fruity twist.
- Different Nuts: Try pecans, cashews, or a mix of your favorite nuts for varying flavors and textures.
- Extra Spices: Enhance the warmth with a pinch of nutmeg, cardamom, or a pumpkin spice blend, especially for seasonal variations.
- Chocolate Variations: Use milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chunks, or even a mix of different types of chocolate for varied sweetness and flavor.
For dietary considerations, if you’re not gluten-free, feel free to use regular rolled oats. If you’re aiming for a vegan recipe, you can experiment with a flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons water, let sit for 5 minutes) to replace the egg whites, though final texture might differ. For nut-free options, simply omit the walnuts and almonds and increase sunflower or pumpkin seeds, ensuring all ingredients are processed in a nut-free facility if severe allergies are a concern.
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Chip Granola Bites
Sally Cameron
Pin Recipe
Equipment
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mini muffin pan
Ingredients
Dry
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats 6 ounces, gluten-free
- ½ cup dry, fine, unsweetened coconut thread 1 ½ ounces
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts 1 ounce
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped slivered blanched almonds 1 ounce
- 2 tablespoons raw unsalted sunflower seeds
- 1 ½ tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 1 ½ tablespoons hemp seeds
- 3 tablespoons sugar-free dark chocolate chips Lilys Sweets
Wet
- ¼ cup real maple syrup
- ¼ cup unrefined coconut oil melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon or Chinese Five Spice
- 2 egg whites
Instructions
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Pre-heat oven to 325ºF (160ºC). Lightly spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick spray (refer to the “Tool Tips” section for pan specifications). In a large bowl, thoroughly combine and mix the rolled oats, coconut, chopped nuts (walnuts and almonds), and all seeds (sunflower, flaxseed, and hemp seeds) until well distributed. In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together the real maple syrup, melted unrefined coconut oil, vanilla extract, chosen spice (cinnamon or Chinese Five Spice), and egg whites until the wet ingredients are fully blended. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mix and stir diligently until the dry ingredients are completely and evenly coated. Finally, gently fold in the sugar-free dark chocolate chips.
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Into each well of the prepared mini muffin pan, pack approximately 2 tablespoons of the granola mixture. It is crucial to tamp down the mixture firmly into each well; this step helps the bites hold their shape and become crunchy rather than crumbly. Bake for approximately 25 minutes (this is the ideal time in a convection oven, but adjust for standard ovens), or until the bites are firm to the touch and the edges are a beautiful light golden brown. Once baked, remove the pan from the oven and allow the granola bites to cool completely in the pan before attempting to remove them. This cooling period is essential for them to set properly. After they are fully cooled, use a mini off-set spatula or a thin knife to carefully pop each bite out of the pan. Store in an airtight container for lasting freshness.
Nutrition