Sourdough Granola Bars
One of the best snacks you can easily take with you on the go is a granola bar. These soft and chewy chocolate chip sourdough granola bars are a delicious snack you and your kids will love. They are filled with mini chocolate chips and taste even better than the store bought kind. The best part is they are done in about 35 minutes.
Pack these homemade sourdough discard granola bars in your kids lunches for school (and check out these other homemade school snack ideas), as an afternoon snack, or a quick breakfast. These hearty granola bars are filled with fiber from the rolled oats so they are a snack you can feel good about feeding your family.
Why This Recipe Works
Sourdough starter works great in sourdough granola recipes. This recipe uses sourdough discard as the binder that holds it all together. It gives the bars a very subtle tang that pairs well with the slightly bitter chocolate chips. I also used this technique in my peanut butter chocolate sourdough granola recipe and it worked wonderfully!
The butter in this recipe gives the bars a rich flavor that is reminiscent of an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie (also check out my sourdough chocolate chip cookie recipe). You can adjust the texture of these bars to suit your preference by baking slightly longer for crispier bars or shorter for soft and chewy sourdough granola bars.
Sourdough Granola Bar Ingredients
These chewy granola bars are made with just a few ingredients you probably already have in your pantry:
- Butter: Use unsalted butter in this recipe. If you only salted butter that is okay. Your bars will just have a slightly saltier flavor.
- Brown Sugar: You can use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar in this recipe.
- Sourdough Starter: You can use active sourdough starter or sourdough discard.
- Vanilla Extract: I highly recommend pure vanilla extract but you can substitute imitation vanilla if desired.
- Salt
- Oats: Use old fashioned rolled oats in this recipe.
- Miniature Chocolate Chips: Feel free to use any kind of mini chocolate chips. You can use dark chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, or even white chocolate chips.
How to Make Sourdough Granola Bars
What I love about this recipe is that these granola bars are so easy to make:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9×9 inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
- Melt the butter over low heat in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat.
- Whisk in the brown sugar, sourdough starter, vanilla extract and salt until smooth.
- Add the oats along with the butter mixture to a medium mixing bowl. Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to stir the mixture until fully combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Use your hands to firmly press down the mixture to flatten in the pan.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Allow to cool in pan for 30 minutes then transfer to a cutting board. Cut the bars into 12 bars.
How to Store Sourdough Granola Bars
Store these granola bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5-7 days. If the bars start to get dry you can add a small piece of bread to the container and they will soften back up.
Sourdough Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 2½ cups rolled oats
- ⅓ cup brown sugar packed
- ⅓ cup sourdough starter
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Line a 9×9 inch square baking pan parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Remove from heat.
- Whisk in the brown sugar, sourdough starter, vanilla extract, and salt.
- Add the oats and butter mixture to a medium mixing bowl. Use a rubber spatula to mix until completely combined. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Press the granola down firmly to flatten the granola into the pan.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes. When done, the edges will just start to turn golden brown but the center will be soft to the touch. For crispier bars bake an extra 2-3 minutes.
- Allow to cool for 30 minutes before cutting the bars.
- Carefully lift the baked granola out of the pan using the parchment paper. Transfer to a cutting board.
- Cut the sheet of granola into quarters. Then cut each quarter into 3 long rectangles. This will yield a total of 12 bars.
- Store the leftover bars in an airtight container on the counter. If the bars start to get dry throughout the week, place a small piece of sourdough bread in the container. This will soften the bars again.
