These Copycat Kind Granola Bars are loaded with nuts and drizzled with chocolate and sea salt. They taste just like the Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt Kind Bars! They turn out perfectly crunchy, delicious and nutritious!
If you love easy and filling snacks as much as I do, try my Energy Balls and my Pumpkin Pecan Granola!
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Copycat Kind Granola Bars
During the week, granola bars are always my breakfast go to. I have been eating the Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt Kind bars for the past couple of months and decided to try making them at home. After all, Kind Bars are actually a bit pricey and I figured it would be pretty easy to make at home!
I was right. These bars taste EXACTLY like the Kind Bars I love. Perfectly chewy, crunchy, sweet and chocolatey. These bars are perfect as a snack for back to school or as an on the go breakfast. These granola bars are easier to make than you might think. They take 20 minutes to prep and makes 20 bars!
Ingredients Needed
These Copycat Kind Granola Bars use whole ingredients for a nutritious and filling snack. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Nuts: Almonds, Peanuts & Walnuts make a great combination of flavors for these granola bars.
- Crispy Rice Cereal: An addition of crispy rice cereal adds some carbohydrates and a great crunchy texture.
- Ground Flaxseed: Ground flaxseed has beneficial fiber and will keep you fuller for longer!
- To Sweeten: A combination of Honey, Light Corn Syrup and Maple Syrup are combined to sweeten and act as a binding agent for the granola bars.
- Sea Salt: Sea salt is crunchy and balances the sweet and nutty flavors of these bars.
- Vanilla: A bit of vanilla adds a nice flavor!
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: You will want to melt some chocolate chips of your choice to drizzle on top of the bars.
- Coconut Oil: I like to combine coconut oil with the chocolate to help with the texture of the chocolate.
How to make Copycat Kind Granola Bars
- Prep and Mix: Generously grease a 13 x 9-inch pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, add all of the nuts, cereal and flax seed. Set aside.
- Cook the Syrup Mixture: Add honey, corn syrup, maple syrup, vanilla and sea salt to a medium saucepan. Over medium-high heat continuously stir until the mixture reaches 260 degrees on a candy thermometer. Immediately pour the syrup mixture over the nuts. Stir until well incorporated.
- Pour & Chill: Pour mixture into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to harden. Once chilled cut into 20 bars.
- Melt the Chocolate: Add chocolate chips and coconut oil into a microwave safe bowl. Melt in the microwave for 15 second increments until fully melted and smooth.
- Assemble: Dip the bars in the chocolate and place on parchment paper greased with cooking spray. Drizzle with extra chocolate on top of the bars and sprinkle with sea salt, if desired. Place back in the refrigerator to let the chocolate set. (About 30 minutes).
- Store & Enjoy: Store the bars in an airtight container for up to a week. Enjoy for an easy breakfast or snack!
Tips for the Best Granola Bars
- If you don’t have a candy thermometer, you can cook the syrup mixture until it comes to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, stir continuously for about 3-4 minutes until the mixture is thick. Once it is cooked for a few minutes, it will be sticky enough to hold the bars together!
- Make them sweeter! If you prefer a sweeter copycat Kind granola bar, try using milk chocolate or white chocolate instead of semi-sweet!
- For the crispy rice cereal, you can choose a natural, organic brand of cereal or regular Rice Crispies will also work.
- Add some dried fruit! You can really make these granola bars your own. If you like some dried fruit in your bars, feel free to add some!
Frequently Asked Questions
How should I store my granola bars?
You can store these granola nut bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. I like to wrap them individually so that I can grab them and go!
Do I have to use corn syrup in these granola bars?
The corn syrup in this recipe is essential to making the granola bars hold their shape. If you skip the corn syrup, they might not stick together as much as you want them to. However, they will still be delicious!
Do I have to use Sea Salt?
You don’t have to use sea salt, but I highly recommend it. I like the way the sea salt tastes with the nuts and chocolate, and regular salt just won’t do the same thing. If you don’t have sea salt on hand, you can use course kosher salt instead.
Here are more breakfast recipes to try!
- Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars
- Easy Breakfast Cookies
- Healthy Baked Oatmeal
- Oatmeal Smoothie
- Coconut Pecan Chocolate Chip Granola
- Chocolate Protein Balls
Copycat Kind Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole unsalted almonds
- 3/4 cup unsalted peanuts
- 3/4 cup walnuts, almonds or cashews chopped
- 1/2 cup crispy rice cereal
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 1/2 cup honey
- 3 tbsp light corn syrup
- 2 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
Instructions
- Generously grease a 13 x 9-inch pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, add all of the nuts, cereal and flax seed. Set aside.
- Add honey, corn syrup, maple syrup, vanilla and sea salt to a medium saucepan.Over medium-high heat continuously stir until the mixture reaches 260 degrees on a candy thermometer.
- Immediately pour the syrup mixture over the nuts. Stir until well incorporated.Pour mixture into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer.
- Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to harden.Once chilled cut into 20 bars.
- Add chocolate chips and coconut oil into a microwave safe bowl.Melt in the microwave for 15 second increments until fully melted and smooth.
- Dip the bars in the chocolate and place on parchment paper greased with cooking spray.
- Drizzle with extra chocolate on top of the bars and sprinkle with sea salt, if desired.Place back in the refrigerator to let the chocolate set. (About 30 minutes).Store the bars in an airtight container for up to a week.
Nutrition Information
Did you make this?
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Adapted from Comfort of Cooking
Samantha
Delicious!!!!! I didn’t have a candy thermometer so I must not have heated it enough…they easily fell apart but they were so tasty anyway. I’ll definitely try again soon with a thermometer.
Kelley Simmons
Oh no sorry to hear that! Glad you still enjoyed them!