These Sourdough Granola Bars are made with peanut butter, oats, maple syrup, cranberries, and chocolate chips. They are chewy, slightly crispy at the edges, and great for an on-the-go breakfast or snack.
To make the granola bars, the ingredients are mixed together in a large bowl, pressed into a 9x13 pan, and baked for 30 minutes, making it super easy to put together. They’re a great way to use sourdough starter or discard (either is fine).
We recently brought these with us on a ski trip, and they were the perfect snack after coming in from the cold, tired and hungry.
🔍 Recipe Testing
I set out to create granola bars that stuck together well, had the right proportion of ingredients, not too sweet, but with peanut butter so that they have protein and are filling.
I used my Sourdough Granola Recipe as a starting point in testing the recipe, but the two recipes differ quite a bit. The regular granola recipe is crunchy and does not have chocolate or peanut butter. These granola bars are chewy, and I adjusted the amounts of each ingredient to make sure that the granola bars have just the right texture.
For granola bars without using sourdough discard, try Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola Bars.
🛒 Ingredients
Below are the ingredients needed to make Sourdough Granola Bars.
- Maple syrup: Use real maple syrup, not pancake syrup. Costco or wholesale stores typically carry it for less per unit volume.
- Sourdough Starter: Use either ripe sourdough starter or sourdough discard.
- Peanut Butter: Use real peanut butter that contains only peanuts and salt. If you have extra peanut butter, use it to make these Peanut Butter Oreo Cookies.
- Cinnamon: I recommend using a high-quality brand of Ceylon cinnamon.
- Salt: Just a quarter teaspoon to bring out flavor. I’ve made it without salt, and while it tastes good, it is a little flat.
- Rolled Oats: Be sure to use rolled oats, not steel cut. I use a ton of oats to make this Sourdough Granola Recipe, Maple Pecan Granola, or this Homemade Granola, and I’ve had success with oats from Costco, Trader Joe’s, and Quaker Oats.
- Pecans: These are less expensive at Costco or other wholesale stores.
- Dried Cranberries: You can substitute dried cherries.
- Chocolate Chips: I use semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you could use milk chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, or dark chocolate chips.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
📝 How to Make Sourdough Granola Bars
Below are the step-by-step instructions for how to make Sourdough Granola Bars.
*Note: The recipe card with instructions, ingredient list, and quantities is included further below these step-by-step photos.
Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9x9 square metal baking dish and line it with parchment paper.
Tip: To cut the parchment paper to the right width to fit the dish, let the paper roll up into a curl, align the curled paper with the dish, and cut the paper measuring from the bottom inside of the pan on one side to the bottom inside of the pan on the other side. This is much easier than cutting the paper unrolled.
Step 1. Combine Wet Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the maple syrup, sourdough starter, peanut butter, cinnamon, and salt. Continue stirring until the ingredients are well combined with each other.
Step 2. Add the Dry Ingredients: Add the oats, chopped pecans, dried cranberries, and chocolate chips. Stir until well incorporated into the wet ingredients.
Step 3. Bake: Press the granola mixture into the prepared baking dish. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Remove the granola from the dish using the parchment paper as handles to lift it up and move it to a cutting board. Cut into granola bars.
How to Store
Once fully cooled, store the granola bars in an airtight container or gallon-sized freezer bags. They will last for up to a week.
💖 If You're Interested in More Granola or Sourdough Recipes, You May Love These
If you tried these Sourdough Granola Bars or any other recipe on my site, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. I'd love to hear from you!
Sourdough Granola Bars
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 90 g sourdough starter ~¼ cup +2 tbsp
- ⅓ cup natural peanut butter
- ½ tablespoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups rolled oats
- 1½ cups pecans, chopped
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ⅓ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Butter a 9x9 square metal baking dish and line with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the maple syrup, sourdough starter, peanut butter, cinnamon, and salt. Stir until well combined.
- Add the rolled oats, chopped pecans, dried cranberries, and semi-sweetchocolate chips. Stir thoroughly until the dry ingredients are fully incorporated into the wet ingredients.
- Press the granola mixture into the 9x9 metal baking dish. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.
- Remove and let cool. Lift the granola out of the pan using the edges of the parchment paper as handles and place it on a cutting board. Cut into granola bars.
Notes
- Maple syrup: Use real maple syrup, not pancake syrup. Costco or wholesale stores typically carry it for less per unit volume.
- Sourdough Starter: Use either ripe sourdough starter or sourdough discard.
- Peanut Butter: Use real peanut butter that contains only peanuts and salt.
- Cinnamon: I recommend using a high-quality brand of Ceylon cinnamon.
- Prepared Baking Dish: To cut the parchment paper to the right width to fit the dish, let the paper roll up into a curl, align the curled paper with the dish, and cut the paper measuring from the bottom inside of the pan on one side to the bottom inside of the pan on the other side. This is much easier than cutting the paper unrolled.
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