These Nut Free Chocolate Granola Bars are a real healthy indulgence. They’re Refined Sugar Free, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegan, and Nut Free. No baking required and made in just one bowl plus a baking dish, they’re an easy treat to pull together.
I’m not going to name names, but I have been addicted to a certain brand of protein bar for years. I convinced myself that they were healthy, because they had a lot of protein, and with so few packaged quick food options that accommodate all of my dietary restrictions, they always felt like a little treat for myself. Especially in the sleep-deprived years after having a kid.
But then inflation hit, and the price of my beloved bars rose sharply. And I took a good look at the nutrition label. My delusions were shattered. I couldn’t fool myself anymore. Each bar had 12 grams of added sugar! That’s half the daily amount recommended by the American Heart Association. Full disclosure here – there were days when I ate more than one of these bars. Yikes. I’m definitely in the age range where I worry a LOT about my annual lab tests, cholesterol levels, and general heart health. Oh, and our budget.
So… motivated by the request of my best friend from high school, Chie, for a chewy granola bar without nuts, I finally kicked the habit of buying the packaged protein bars. My Nut Free Granola Bar recipe and this Nut Free Chocolate Granola Bar recipe are so easy to make, so fast to make, more budget-friendly, and lower in added sugars – there’s no reason not to be making them from scratch at home.
Listen, I’m not going to say these bars are the healthiest thing you could eat. They not going to beat out kale, for example. But – in comparison to store bought granola bars, they’re lower in added sugars, they don’t have any ingredients you wouldn’t find in your pantry, and they’re full of super healthy pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and healthy whole grains. So, go ahead and treat yourself.
These Nut Free Double Chocolate Granola Bars taste like a treat, but they have a good balance of whole grain carbs and vegan proteins. They’re full of healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. They make a great breakfast on the go, a quick snack, or a healthy dessert for a school lunch.
Please let me know in the comments below how these Nut Free Double Chocolate Granola Bar turn out for you. I hope they’re as satisfying and delicious to you as they are to me.
Why You’ll LOVE this Recipe:
- Nut Free
- Gluten Free
- Dairy Free
- Vegan
- One bowl recipe
- No cooking required
- Easy and quick to make
Ingredients for Nut Free Granola Bars:
- old-fashioned rolled oats
- brown rice cereal
- pumpkin seeds
- sunflower seeds
- chocolate chips
- kosher salt
- cinnamon
- coconut oil
- brown rice syrup
- vanilla extract
Notes on Ingredients:
Old-fashioned rolled oats – Make sure that you buy oats that are labeled Gluten Free. There can be a lot of cross-contamination between wheat fields and oat fields, so if you are sensitive to gluten, then definitely check to make sure that the oats are Gluten Free.
Brown rice cereal – Make sure that it has no added sugars.
Chocolate Chips – There are many great brands of sugar free chocolate chips on the market nowadays. My favorite is Hu Keto Chocolate Chips, because they have no sugar alcohols and therefore are Low FODMAP. I have also used Lily’s Dark Chocolate Chips and Bake Believe Chocolate Chips (from Costco).
Brown rice syrup – To get the bars to hold together and not crumble when they’re cut, I needed a natural sweetener that is gooier than my usual go-to maple syrup. Brown rice syrup fits the bill perfectly. The bars cut clean and don’t crumble at all with the addition of brown rice syrup.
Very Important Tip for Making Nut Free Granola Bars
Toast the oats.
In the process of developing the recipes for granola, I discovered that raw oats give me mad heartburn. It turns out that is the case for many people. However, toasting the raw oats before eating them prevents the heartburn. Added bonus – toasting the oats also gives them a fuller, nuttier flavor.
I recommend toasting the oats before using them in this recipe. I usually just go ahead and toast the entire bag of oats at once. Just put them on a baking sheet in an oven preheated to 350 F for about 5-10 minutes. Put the timer on for 5 minutes, then use a spatula to move the oats around. If they’re smelling nutty and starting to turn golden, then take them out. If they’re still quite pale and not smelling wonderfully nutty, then keep them in the oven for another 5 minutes.
Let the oats cool completely before using them in this recipe. Toasted oats can also be cooked on the stove like regular oats.
More Nut Free Gluten Free Recipes
Gluten Free Butter Cookies - Nut Free Dairy Free Sugar Free
Gluten Free Sugar Free Sandwich Cookies - Nut Free Dairy Free
Nut Free Chocolate Cupcakes - Gluten Free Sugar Free Dairy Free
Best Gluten Free Sugar Free Cinnamon Rolls - Nut Free Dairy Free
Nut Free Chocolate Chip Granola Bars – Gluten Free Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, toasted
- 1 cup brown rice cereal
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds, raw
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 14 cup coconut oil
- ½ cup brown rice syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Toast the oats for 5 minutes. Allow to cool completely before using in the recipe.
- In a large bowl, combine the toasted oats, brown rice cereal, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chocolate chips, salt, and cinnamon.
- In a microwaveable bowl, combine the coconut oil and brown rice syrup. Microwave for 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Add the vanilla extract. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before pouring into the dry ingredients.
- Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir until completely combined. Don’t stir too hard. The hot liquid ingredients might melt the chocolate chips a little, and that’s okay, but you still want to be able to seethe chocolate chips.
- Line an 8 x 8 glass dish with enough parchment paper so that the parchment paper hangs over the sides.
- Pour the granola mixture into the prepared glass dish. Spread the mixture out to fill the entire dish. Use another piece of parchment paper to place on top of the granola mixture, and use your hands to press into the parchment paper to make the granola mixture compacted and flat.
- Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Lift the granola bars out of the pan by holding the edges of the parchment paper. Use as harp knife to cut into 10 bars.
- Granola Bars will keep for 5 days in the refrigerator.
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