The most delicious Chocolate Chip Granola Bars made from leftover almond pulp! Or you can just use blanched almond flour if you prefer. These are full of flavor, are vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and oil-free and only 8 ingredients! SO much better than store-bought!
I make my own homemade almond milk. It’s ridiculously easy and SO MUCH better than store bought. Honestly, I make mine on the thick side, so it is almost like cream. I use organic almonds as well, and I swear that increases the clean smell and flavor of the milk as well. It smells just like pure sweet almond oil.
Anyways, the only issue I have had when making almond milk is what to do with the leftover almond pulp. I hate to admit, I’ve thrown it away too many times. I have made a few recipes with it and haven’t been pleased with how they’ve turned out….typically too soggy of results. The almond pulp has tons of moisture in it, so it doesn’t work exactly the same as almond flour in every recipe. But for these bars specifically, the almond pulp finally worked well….without having to dry/dehydrate it first. Score.
So, I finally came up with these amazingly, delicious chocolate chip bars. The almond pulp makes them so moist and chewy. These have a slight crisp on the outside, but soft and chewy on the inside. These almond chocolate chip bars are only 8 ingredients, vegan, gluten-free and oil-free!
A lot of sites/blogs are copying/stealing this recipe and posting it on their site as their own, without ANY CREDIT. It’s shameful and disgusting behavior. Please have respect to my hard work, create your OWN RECIPES and do not repost my recipe on your site, if you are inspired, link and give credit properly, but do not post my recipe on your site.
Almond Pulp Makes The Best Chocolate Chip Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup (107g) almond pulp or 1 cup (112g) blanched almond flour
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons( 200g) pure maple syrup, room temperature (or agave)
- 1/4 cup (32g) ground flaxseed
- 1 cup (100g) gluten-free whole rolled oats, NOT quick oats
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup (120g) mini dairy-free chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life)
- 1/2 cup (128g) creamy roasted almond butter
- 2 teaspoons (10g) vanilla extract
Note
- This recipe does not require you to use a dehydrator or "cook" your almond pulp before using it! But because of this, there is more moisture in it than almond flour. You can use regular blanched almond flour as well for this recipe, just note that the baking times below are slightly different. They are delicious either way.
NOTE
- I always recommend to use a scale for accuracy when baking, following MY gram weights listed, since we all measure differently. Please understand that using your measuring cups and comparing them to the weights I have listed will likely vary. In fact, you don't even need to get out the cups to do this, it is not needed if you just follow my weights listed. I always test my recipes specifically using the WEIGHT LISTED. Keep in mind, so many measuring cups, even if they all state 1/2 cup, for example, will still slightly vary in size. I've noticed this myself with several different measuring cups I own! This is also why your measurements will vary. For this reason, weighing is the only TRUE way to get the exact result. Just use the scale and bowl and make sure to zero out in between each ingredient.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Before following the recipe, if you are using homemade almond pulp, make sure you have squeezed out the excess moisture out really well, from preparing the almond milk. Papertowel dry it and store in the fridge overnight, as this helps to dry it out some. You do not need a dehydrator or to bake it to dry it out, but you also don't want it too wet or to use it immediately after making your almond milk, because it could make the bars too wet.
- Preheat an oven to 350 degrees and line a 9X5 loaf pan with parchment paper hanging over the sides for easy removal later. Do you use a different size or bigger pan, otherwise the bars will be too thin and not bind well or hold their shape. They are meant to be thick bars like in the photos.
- Mix the syrup and flaxseed in a cup well with a fork and set aside for 10 minutes to gel up. Do not skip this step, as it is what acts as the "egg" and binds the bars to hold their shape.
- In a large bowl, combine the almond pulp (or almond flour), oats, cinnamon and salt and whisk well. Stir in the chocolate chips. I prefer mini because they disburse well and stay in tact better.
- After the 10 minutes is up for the syrup and flaxseed mixture, stir in the almond butter and vanilla until very smooth. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir for a couple of minutes until very sticky and absorbed, pressing with the back of your spoon to help mix.
- Add the dough to the loaf pan and spread out evenly and flat with a rubber spatula. You can slightly dampen your fingers to help press it down around the edges, as it will be sticky.
- For dough using almond pulp, bake for 30-32 minutes until very golden brown and firm on top. For dough using almond flour, bake about 27-30 minutes until very golden brown and firm on top.
Important
- Cool 1 hour before cutting, or they will fall apart. They firm up a lot as they cool. If desired, melt some chocolate chips and drizzle the tops for added sweetness or for presentation purposes. Honestly, they are plenty delicious without it, I just did it more for looks. Slice very carefully into 8 bars. Wrap each individually in plastic wrap and store in the fridge. They will hold their shape very well this way and it makes for an easy grab-and-go snack!
I wonder if you can freeze these?
Don’t even bother making this recipe as is… Quadruple it!!! Your photo drew me in and I’m so glad it did! This was my first time making these but it will not be my last! Thank you for sharing a healthy and delicious snack recipe!
Awww yay Lynn, thank you for sharing your feedback!
Disclaimer: I am not a dietitian. For those asking about the nutritional value, I entered the ingredients into the very well nutritional value calculator, anybody can do it with any recipe just keep in mind that the results may not be perfect, only as good as the information entered and/or selected, often requires adjustments. This is the result….
Calories 206, total fat 14.7, saturated fat 3.6, cholesterol 0, sodium 119, total carbs 18.1, fiber 5.4, sugar 8.1, protein 5, potassium 129
Absolutely delicious! They came out perfectly! I used honey instead of maple syrup and peanut butter instead of almond butter (where i live maple syrup and almond butter are hard to find) ! Thanks for such a delicious recipe that uses left over almond pulp!
So glad to hear that Audrey, thank you for the feedback!
Would you happen to know how many grams of proteins and carbs these bars have? and would you happen to know the total calories of each bar?
Hi Audrey! I’ve added the nutrition above to the recipe card now.
Delicious and super easy to make! I made almond milk for the first time yesterday and was wondering what I could do with the pulp. I didn’t want to turn it into flour as it seemed a lot of time in the oven. So I am delighted I found your recipe! I made it this morning after drying the pulp and leaving it in the fridge overnight as you suggested. Really delicious and pleased I have a go-to recipe now for my almond pulp. Thank you Brandi! (United Kingdom reader)
So very happy to hear you loved these Dawn!!
These are amazing. So glad I have a use for the almond pulp. I followed your directions exactly. My pulp isn’t wet, and is very squeezed out. However, the bars never seem to get “done”. I bake it for longer than the instructions say and they don’t brown or crisp up on the outside. They are very fudgy and delicious but have no structural integrity. They crumble when picked up. I end up with very delicious chewy granola. Any advice?
Hmmm, not really sure what happened Ann, I’ve not had that problem! Did you weigh the ingredients or use instant oats?
Thanks for your reply. Yes I weighed everything like you said and use organic gluten free rolled oats. Don’t get me wrong, this recipe is amazing, it but didn’t turn out like it should.
Easy recipe to follow, I made a few substitutions (I used cashew pulp and peanut butter) and they turned out great, but I won’t be making them again – they’re very moreish and I couldn’t help but eat the whole lot in 24 hours! So for the sake of my waistline, I’ll try and find something else to do with my leftover pulp!
haha that made me laugh! So glad you loved them though!
Wow this recipe is delicious..Thankyou so much…I m sorry some people have been stealing it from you without giving you credit…i have to say that I don’t agree with your suggestion to plastic wrap each bar…our Earth is in a desperate way and we all need to stop using clingwrap n other such stuff and do what we can to protect our struggling environment…💚🌏🌳🌊