Sourdough Granola Bars

It’s back to school time! And whether you homeschool, hybrid, or do traditional schooling… these sourdough granola bars are perfect for busy weekdays. They are loaded with healthy fats, no refined sugar, and something you can feel good about feeding your kids.

❤️ Why You’ll Love Sourdough Granola Bars

These granola bars are everything you want to feed your kids in the morning before a school day, because of the chopped dates and peanut butter, they are chewy, naturally sweetened and delicious. They can be enjoyed at all parts of the day, whether it be in the morning, packed in a lunchbox, or even an after-school snack. They are also baked with your sourdough discard so there is no wasting!

🍲 Ingredients

Sourdough Discard – Unfed, inactive sourdough starter that is stirred down and has been stored in the fridge or on the counter.

Oats – You really can use any kind of dried oats you like; I prefer organic rolled oats from “farmer knows” and you can find it at Costco.

Chocolate Chips – Milk chocolate chips are our favorite, and what we use in this recipe.

Dates – Organic dates bring natural sweetness and chewiness to these granola bars. I also buy the big bag of these at Costco.

Nut butter – I’ve used both natural peanut butter and almond butter for this recipe, the only thing about using almond butter is it’s a little thicker and therefor needs a bit more work to incorporate evenly into the mixture.

Honey – Raw honey is best but use whatever you have on hand!

Salt – Good quality salt, we like Pink Himalayan.

Vanilla extract – For more flavor.

👩‍🍳 How to Make Sourdough Granola Bars

• Start by chopping your dates (and your chocolate chips if you prefer them smaller)
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all of your ingredients.
• This doesn’t have to be done in any particular order, but it’s important to make sure that the peanut butter and sourdough discard are evenly distributed throughout the mixture.
• Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper, cut the corners of the parchment paper in a diagonal towards the middle to help the parchment paper fit into the dish.
• Place your mixture onto the parchment paper and flatten out using your spatula so everything reaches the edges and is level and flat on top.
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and bake for 12-15 minutes.
• Let cool completely before cutting. Use a large knife to cut directly down the middle, and then into 5 evenly sized rectangles on each side.
• Store in a a Tupperware in your fridge for up to a week!

🪄 Tips and Tricks

• It’s important that the peanut butter and sourdough discard get evenly distributed throughout the mixture, so if your sourdough discard is thin enough, whisk it together with the peanut butter to help the peanut butter become a consistency that is easier to disperse. 
• Cutting your parchment paper at a diagonal in each corner makes it easier for the paper to fit, therefor easier to spread the mixture evenly inside the dish. 
• I would recommend chopping your chocolate chips or purchasing the mini ones for your granola bars. The larger chucks of chips make the granola bars easier to break or crumble. 

🗒 Variations

Granola bars are an essential “pantry cleanout” for us, you can add whatever chocolate chips, nuts, or trail mix to this recipe! I have a sourdough granola recipe coming soon so stay tuned!

🗒 Substitutions

There are a few substitutions you could do for these granola bars, and it starts by swapping the ingredients to what you have on hand, or what flavors you like better. For instance, if your family prefers white chocolate chips over milk, or semi – sweet, then use that! Or if you have almond butter in your pantry, and not peanut butter, use that 🙂

• Milk chocolate chips – White chocolate chips
• Peanut butter/ almond butter
• Honey – Maple syrup
• Chia seeds are optional.

🗒 Best served with

• Morning breakfast
• In a lunch box
• After school snack.

👝 How to Store Leftovers

Store your leftover granola bars in an airtight container, such as a Ziplock bag, Tupperware, or large mason jar, and keep it in the fridge to eat throughout the week!

🤔 Common Questions

5 from 3 votes

Sourdough Granola Bars

Print recipe

These sourdough discard granola bars are everything you need for back to school mornings. They are filled with honey, peanut butter and dates which makes them chewy and delicious.

Prep Time:5 minutes mins

Cook Time:15 minutes mins

Total Time:20 minutes mins

Equipment

• mixing bowl
• Spatula
• Measuring cups
• 8×8 baking dish
• Parchment Paper

Ingredients

• 2 cups rolled oats
• ½ cup sourdough discard
• ½ cup chocolate chips
• ⅓ cup chopped dates
• 1 tbs chia seeds optional
• ¼ cup nut butter peanut butter or almond butter
• 2-3 tbs honey
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

• Start by chopping your dates (and your chocolate chips if you prefer them smaller)
• To a large mixing bowl, whisk together all of your ingredients.
• This doesn't have to be done in any particular order, but it's important to make sure that the peanut butter and sourdough discard and evenly distributed throughout the mixture.
• Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper, cut the corners of the parchment paper in a diagonal towards the middle to help the parchment paper fit into the dish.
• Place your mixture onto the parchment paper and flatten out using your spatula so everything reaches the edges and is level and flat on top.
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and bake for 12-15 minutes.
• Let cool completely before cutting. Use a large knife to cut directly down the middle, and then into 5 evenly sized rectangles on each side.
• Store in a a Tupperware in your fridge for up to a week!

Notes

I would recommend chopping your chocolate chips or purchasing the mini ones for your granola bars. The larger chucks of chips make the granola bars easier to break or crumble. 

Cutting your parchment paper at a diagonal in each corner makes it easier for the paper to fit, therefor easier to spread the mixture evenly inside the dish. 

It’s important that the peanut butter and sourdough discard get evenly distributed throughout the mixture, so if your sourdough discard is thin enough, whisk it together with the peanut butter to help the peanut butter become a consistency that is easier to disperse. 

Nutrition

Calories: 189kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 260mg | Potassium: 149mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 0.1IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 1mg

Course: Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Granola bars, Sourdough, Sourdough Discard

Servings: 9

Calories: 189kcal