Chewy Chocolate Goji Granola Bars

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These chewy goji chocolate granola bars are the perfect trail food to bring on your next hike.

Megan holding a homemade granola bar
Winter can be a sleepy time on the Connecticut shoreline. The sky is gray, the wind is cold, and the rain always seems to be just a few degrees above freezing. For many, it’s a time to hunker down by the fire, pour a cup of tea, and patiently wait for the northern hemisphere to get on with it already and tilt the other direction. And depending on your disposition, it can be a very long wait indeed.

For us, this winter has offered us an opportunity to experiment in the comforts of a full kitchen. To get creative and develop recipes without the high stakes of cooking at a campsite. Now when we dirty a bunch of dishes we can just stick them in the dishwasher. Or when we run out of food, we can just drive to the store to pick up more. We can bake things in an oven, warm stuff up in a microwave, a chop whatever we want in a food processor. And while all this might seem run-of-the-mill to most civilized people, we can assure you, we’re still getting a big kick out of it.

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Chopped chocolate on a wooden cutting board
Ingredients for homemade granola bars in a mixing bowl
However, we can only bake so many batches of cookies and puree so many bisques before we feel the need to get outside again. Having every kitchen gadget at our fingertips is nice and all, but sometimes less is more.

So we started tinkering on hiking snack recipes, which brought us to this chewy chocolate goji granola bar. We went through a couple of versions before getting the consistency down, but finally, we got it—a bar that was chewy without tasting raw yet firm enough to hold its shape. Once we dialed in the recipe, we couldn’t wait to take them out on the trail.

A knife slicing homemade granola bars into bars
So in our excitement, we decided to drive up to East Haddam to explore Devil’s Hopyard. It was cold out and misting rain, but we were done letting the weather push us around – so off we went into the woods. We hiked along Eightmile River and followed the sound of crashing water until we reached Chapman Falls. Michael summed it up best by saying, “While I’ve definitely seen better waterfalls in Oregon, I’ve also seen crappier ones there too.” We took a trek through the woods that led us on a loop through the forest and back to a covered bridge, a quintessential hallmark of New England quaintness.

The waterfall at Devil's Hopyard State Park
Covered Bridge at Devil's Hopyard State Park
As is often the case, we blew straight through lunchtime and didn’t notice until it was too late. This is the beauty of carrying a couple of granola bars with you. All it takes is a little foresight to make a batch of these ahead of time, so you can lose yourself completely in whatever you’re doing later.

Megan holding a homemade granola bar

Megan holding a homemade granola bar

Chewy Chocolate Goji Granola Bar

5 from 2 ratings
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Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
6 bars

Ingredients

  • 6 dates, pitted and roughly chopped
  • ½ cup water
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • ¼ cup goji berries
  • 1 oz dark chocolate, chopped (we use Trader Joe's brand to make these vegan friendly!)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Place the dates, water, maple syrup, chia seeds, vanilla, and salt into the bowl of your food processor. Let it all soak for 5 minutes, then process until fairly smooth (it’s OK to have some pieces of dates remaining, but you don’t want any big chunks).
  • Toast oats over medium heat in a heavy bottomed skillet until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir frequently to ensure even toasting and prevent them from burning.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, add the oats, goji berries, dark chocolate and the date mixture. Mix well with a spoon until all the oats are completely covered in the date mixture.
  • Line a 8.5" x 4.5" loaf pan with parchment paper. Spread the mixture evenly into the pan, then press down on it to really compact it (we used the bottom of a glass for this).
  • Bake for 20 minutes. Cool completely, then remove from the pan and cut into 6 bars.
  • To make these portable, wrap them in parchment paper, plastic wrap, or small ziplocks, then throw them in your pack and go!

Notes

Equipment Needed
Measuring cups & spoons
Food processor or blender
Sharp knife + cutting board
Heavy-bottomed skillet
8.5" x 4.5" loaf pan
Wooden spoon or spatula

Nutrition (Per Serving)

Calories: 242kcal

*Nutrition is an estimate based on information provided by a third-party nutrition calculator

A stack of homemade granola bars

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10 Comments

  1. Harriet Emily says:

    Yummmm! These look so amazing, and I love how healthy they are. I’m definitely going to try this recipe out – chocolate and goji berries are two of my favourite things! Thank you for sharing! Your blog is beautiful <3

    1. Fresh Off the Grid says:

      Thank you, Harriet ! Healthy is definitely what we were going for; so many of the bars we’ve come across are just loaded with sugar, so we hope this one is a slight improvement 😉

  2. KJ | Om Nom Herbivore says:

    These sound really good! I like to homemake granola bars when I’ve got the chance!! I will definitely give these a try!! Your hike looks beautiful 🙂

    1. Fresh Off the Grid says:

      Homemade granola bars are a game changer!!

  3. Christine | Vermilion Roots says:

    I grew up having goji berries in my herbal soup. Seeing them being used in other recipes always excites me! These days I have them in my granola, oatmeal, salad… This bar looks like the perfect snack on a hiking trip!

    1. Fresh Off the Grid says:

      Goji berries are a new-to-me ingredient, I didn’t realize they were used in soups! I have been enjoying them mixed in with our trail snacks. I saw the granola recipe you have on your blog that uses gojis, and am looking forward to trying that as well 🙂

  4. Can’t wait to try making these healthy snacks! Thank you kindly for thinking of us vegans, where the chocolate is concerned. These look very kid-friendly, also. Bonus!

  5. Maria Costa says:

    Hey there!
    First of all, thanks for the amazing recipe, they look delicious!
    For how long do they stay eatable, without being refrigerated?

    1. Fresh Off the Grid says:

      We’ve always eaten them within two or three days, but I would think that they could last 4 days if kept in an airtight container.

    2. Fresh Off the Grid says:

      They will last a couple of days at room temperature but after that, you will probably want to refrigerate them.