These Cheerios Cereal Bars are easy, healthy homemade breakfast cereal bars made with 5 basic ingredients.
Plus, they are kids approved and perfect for a kid’s lunchboxes and school snacks.
My kids love cheerios cereals for breakfast, and even if they are not as healthy as plain oats, they are still nutritious and good for them.
My kids are mostly vegetarian, and cheerios are a great way to boost their intake of iron, vitamins, and nutrients in the morning.
So these cheerios cereal bars are our new homemade snack for kids. They are packed with plant-based protein, refined sugar-free, and a delicious cereal bar recipe for the whole family.
How To Make Cheerios Cereal Bars
It’s super easy to make peanut butter Cheerio bars at home.
Ingredients
All you need to make these homemade peanut butter cheerios cereal bars are:
- Natural Peanut Butter – It means without added sugar or added oil. Feel free to use almond butter if you have peanut allergies.
- Honey, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, or agave syrup. Any liquid sweetener you love works in this recipe.
- Cheerios Cereals – If you don’t have cheerios, feel free to use any other puffed cereals of the same size. If your puffed cereals are larger, you may need more liquid ingredients for them to stick together.
- Dark Chocolate Chips
- Coconut Oil
Combining The Ingredients
First, in a large glass bowl that fits all the puffed cereals, add peanut butter, honey or maple syrup, and melted coconut oil. Stir to combine.
If your peanut butter is a bit dry and doesn’t dissolve well, microwave the mixture for 30 seconds and stir to combine.
Stir in cheerios cereal and stir to coat with the liquid ingredients.
The batter will be very sticky, and that’s what you want.
Line an 8-inch x 8-inch baking sheet with parchment paper. Slightly oil the paper with cooking oil spray or coconut oil.
Pour the sticky batter into the pan and press it to spread it, and pack the cereal evenly into the pan.
Freeze the pan while preparing the chocolate layer.
Chocolate Layer
The chocolate layer is not optional in these peanut butter cheerio bars. In fact, the chocolate layer is what holds the cereals together and firms up the bars.
In a microwave-safe bowl, add the chocolate chips and coconut oil.
Microwave the mixture in 30-second bursts, stirring between each, until all the ingredients are melted and come together into a shiny melted chocolate mixture.
Remove the pan from the freezer and pour the melted chocolate all over it. Work quickly by tilting the pan to spread the melted chocolate over the base.
Freeze again to harden the chocolate layer. It takes 12 to 15 minutes. You can also refrigerate it. It takes 1 to 2 hours before it hardens.
When the chocolate is hard, use the overhanging part of parchment paper to pull out the cheerios bar from the pan.
Place the bar on a chopping board and, using a long sharp knife, cut the bar into smaller bars. I made 16 squares.
The bars are going to break a bit and won’t cut perfectly, but the chocolate layer should hold the cereal pretty well together.
Storage Instructions
These cheerios bars must be stored in the fridge in an airtight box or in their baking pan covered with a lid or plastic wrap.
The bars soften quickly at room temperature, so it’s always better to eat them straight out of the fridge.
They are convenient on-the-go treats. Individually-wrapped bars can be stored for longer and preferably in the Fall or Winter season when it’s not too hot as they soften quite quickly.
Allergy Swaps
If you have some food allergies try the substitution ideas below:
- Nut-Free – You can replace peanut butter with sunflower seed butter.
- Sugar-Free – A natural sugar-free sweetener like monk fruit syrup will work. For the cereal, pick unsweetened puffed cereals like puffed brown rice, puffed quinoa, or puffed buckwheat.
Variations
You can use this recipe as a base for may puffed cereal bars flavor.
For example, you can add some nutritious seed or nut meal in the mix, like ¼ cup:
- Flaxseed Meal
- Almond Meal
- Chia Seed Meal
Or some nuts and seeds, like 3 or 4 tablespoons of:
- Chopped Walnuts, Pecans, or Almonds
- Unsweetened Desiccated Coconut
Or 1 to 2 teaspoons of:
- Chia Seeds
- Sunflower Seeds
- Pumpkin Seeds
Frequently Asked Questions
Find below the answers to your most common questions about this recipe.
Can I Use Other Puffed Cereals?
Absolutely, you can use any puffed cereals of similar size.
If your cereals are smaller, like puffed rice, you may need to add an additional ½ cup of puffed cereal.
Why Are My Bars So Soft?
The bars are soft and must be chocolate covered. The chocolate layer holds the cereal together into bars.
More Kid Snack Recipes
Below are some more lunchbox-friendly snack ideas.
Have you tried these cereal treat bars? Share a comment or review below!
Cheerios Cereal Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup Maple Syrup
- ½ cup Unsalted Peanut Butter
- 3 ½ cups Cheerios Cereal
- 1 teaspoon Coconut Oil
Chocolate Shell
- 1 cup Dark Chocolate Chips
- 2 teaspoon Coconut Oil
Instructions
- Line an 8-inch x 8-inch baking sheet with parchment paper. Slightly oil the paper with coconut oil. Set aside.
- In a microwave-safe glass bowl large enough to fit the puffed cereals, add peanut butter, maple syrup (or honey), and coconut oil.
- Microwave in 30-second bursts until the coconut oil is fully melted and easy to stir.
- Stir until smooth and well combined.
- Stir in the cheerios cereal. Stir well to coat all the cereal with the peanut butter mixture. It should be very sticky.
- Press firmly and evenly the sticky cheerios bar batter onto the prepared pan. I used a silicone spatula, so it doesn't stick too much to the tool.
- Freeze the bar base while preparing the chocolate shell.
- In a small microwave-safe glass bowl, add the chocolate chips and coconut oil.
- Microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring between each one, until it's melted and shiny.
- Remove the base from the freezer, pour the melted chocolate over it and quickly tilt the pan to spread the melted chocolate evenly on top of the bar.
- Freeze again to quickly harden the chocolate layer. It takes 12-15 minutes in the freezer or refrigerate it for a few hours.
- When the chocolate is hard, cut the bars into 16 even squares or larger bars if you prefer.
- The bars are slightly fragile and crumble a bit when you cut them. That's normal.
Storage
- Store in the fridge for up to 1 week and eat straight out of the fridge because they soften fast.
