Easy nut free granola bars with a no bake recipe is the perfect snack! Recipe is nut free, gluten free, top 9 allergy friendly.
These perfect homemade granola bars are soft, chewy, and filled with healthy protein, fiber, and fats, all in an easy to make recipe. They are perfect for packing into lunch boxes, taking along on road trips, or an easy snack anytime of the day.
Free from: Wheat, gluten, dairy, casein, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, coconut, fish, shellfish, crustaceans, mollusks, celery, corn, sesame, mustard, lupin, sulfites, nightshades, tomatoes, and more
I love making these granola bars because I don’t worry about allergies or cross contamination at all. They are filled with wholesome ingredients, no refined sugars, and since you can easily customize them to any flavor, are perfect for picky eaters.
They are soft, chewy, and you need to keep them in the fridge but I love them chilled! For a fun twist, crumble one over a bowl of your favorite (non-dairy) ice cream. Yum!
For more easy to make snacks, check out my nut free trail mix, gluten free chex mix, or nut free s’mores trail mix. Yum!
Note: This recipe got a mini update in March 2023 that includes an updated recipe. The original recipe is in the notes section of the recipe box, but I really recommend that you try out this improved recipe first!
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Why You’ll Love these Granola Bars
- Super easy to mix up in one bowl!
- Filled with healthy ingredients
- Customize the flavors to make them your favorite snack
- Nut free, gluten free, dairy free, egg free, soy free, top 14 allergy friendly recipe
Ingredients
You need simple ingredients to make these homemade granola bars. This is a quick rundown of what you’ll need.
- Oatmeal: Quick oats, instant oats, or old fashioned oats are all perfect in this recipe. If you need to make them gluten free, make sure your oats are certified gluten free. My favorite are the old fashioned gluten free oats from Bob’s Red Mill!
- Crispy Rice Cereal: This wasn’t in my original recipe but wow do I love adding these now! They add a crispy crunch without compromising on the chewy granola bar texture.
- Sunflower Seed Butter: This is the main ingredient for getting these granola bars to stick together. It adds protein, healthy fats, and delicious nutty flavor, all without the nuts! You can easily swap this out for soy nut butter, cashew butter, almond butter, or a similar product that you love and can safely eat.
- Maple Syrup: The main sweetener of this recipe.
- Vanilla Extract: I love to add this as it brings a depth of flavor to the granola bars.
- Salt + Cinnamon: Adding a pinch of salt and cinnamon really helps to bring out the natural sweetness.
- Chocolate Chips: Mini chocolate chips are my go-to mix for these bars!
Allergy Substitutions
If you are avoiding wheat and gluten, make sure that you use gluten free certified oats. Also, make sure that you are using gluten free rice cereal. Most rice cereals contain barley malt, which has gluten. My favorite gluten free rice cereal is from Nature’s Path!
If you are avoiding corn, make sure that the vanilla extract is made from corn free alcohol. My favorite corn free baking products can be found on my shop page.
While this recipe is written to be totally nut free, if you have a favorite type of nut butter that you aren't allergic to, go ahead and use that in this recipe.
Variations
If you swap the chocolate chips, you can make so many flavor variations on these healthy granola bars. Here are some of my favorite add-ins.
- Fruit and Seed: Add ¼ cup of dried fruit like raisins or dried cranberries. Add ¼ cup mix of flax seeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, or sunflower seeds.
- Apple Caramel: Add ¼ cup diced dried apple bits along with 3 tablespoons of caramel chips.
- Lemon Blueberry: Add ¼ cup of dried blueberries along with 1 tablespoon of lemon zest and 3 tablespoons of mini white chocolate chips.
- Cookies + Cream: Add ⅓ cup crushed Oreo cookies along with a few tablespoons of mini white chocolate chips.
- Mango Coconut: Add ¼ cup of unsweetened coconut flakes along with 2 tablespoons of diced dried mango and 2 tablespoons of mini white chocolate chips. (Note, coconut is classified as a tree nut so use caution when adding coconut to things if you are allergic to other tree nuts).
Instructions
For the full recipe, complete with ingredient measurements, please see the recipe card below.
Making these is so easy!
First, and this step is optional, you can toast the oats. Doing this gives the oats a nutty flavor but isn’t necessary and does kinda count as baking. Preheat the oven to 350F and toast the oats on a baking sheet for about 10 minutes. Let them cool completely before continuing with the recipe.
In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients: Oats, rice cereal, mini chocolate chips, salt, and cinnamon. Give it a quick mix to make sure everything is combined.
Tip! Save a few of the chocolate chips aside so you can press them into the top of the granola bars at the end.
Next, add the wet ingredients: Maple syrup, sunflower seed butter, and vanilla extract. Give this a good stir with a sturdy wooden spoon.
Press this into an 8x8 baking pan that has been lined with a piece of parchment paper. This will prevent it from sticking. Really press it in there so that the granola bars will hold. Sprinkle those reserved chocolate chips on top and pop it into the fridge to chill for at least an hour.
After an hour or two, they are ready to cut into bars! Remove them from the baking pan and using a sharp knife, cut them into either 12 bars or 9 or 16 squares.
FAQs
I think they are, yes. Since they are homemade, you can know exactly what goes into them. Oats are full of protein and fiber, the sunflower seed butter is full of healthy fats and protein, the maple syrup gives the sweetness making them refined sugar free, and the different mix-ins can really elevate the granola bar to a super healthy option. Especially when compared to other snack ideas, I think these are a good choice.
While this easy recipe doesn't have any added sugar in the mix, you can make this as sweet as you like! Add a tablespoon of brown sugar to the wet ingredient mix and make the recipe as written. Some natural sweeteners that you could use are date sugar, coconut sugar, or extra maple syrup.
How to Store
As they are no bake granola bars, these do best when stored in the fridge. Keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. I suggest placing a bit of parchment paper in between each bar so they don’t stick back together.
Freezer: You can freeze fully mixed and cut granola bars in the freezer for up to 2 months. Again, store them individually wrapped in parchment paper and keep them in a freezer safe container.
More Easy Snacks to Love
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Recipe
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- mixing spoon
- measuring cup
- measuring spoon
- parchment paper
- baking pan
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats
- 2 cups rice crispy cereal
- ⅔ cup sunflower seed butter
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips reserve 1 spoonful for pressing into top
- Pinch salt and cinnamon
Instructions
- Prepare the pan. Line an 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan with parchment paper for easy removal of the granola bars after chilling. Set this aside.
- Optional toasting. Preheat the oven to 350°F/170°C and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Toast the rolled oats for 10 minutes. Let cool completely before moving forward in the recipe.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, stir together the rolled oats, rice crispy cereal, mini chocolate chips, salt, and cinnamon.
- Mix the wet ingredients. To the dry ingredients, add the sunflower seed butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Mix this together until no dry ingredients remain.
- Press and chill. Using the back of a spoon or spatula, press the granola bar mixture into the prepared baking pan. Chill for 1 hour at least but overnight is preferred.
- Slice and serve. Using a sharp knife, cut into either 12 bars, or 9 or 16 squares. Enjoy!
Notes
- How to Store
- As they are no bake granola bars, these do best when stored in the fridge. Keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. I suggest placing a bit of parchment paper in between each bar so they don’t stick back together.
- Freezer: You can freeze fully mixed and cut granola bars in the freezer for up to 2 months. Again, store them individually wrapped in parchment paper and keep them in a freezer safe
- Allergy Substitutions
- If you are avoiding wheat and gluten, make sure that you use gluten free certified oats. Also, make sure that you are using gluten free rice cereal. Most rice cereals contain barley malt, which has gluten. My favorite gluten free rice cereal is from Nature’s Path!
- If you are avoiding corn, make sure that the vanilla extract is made from corn free alcohol. My favorite corn free baking products can be found on my shop page.
- While this recipe is written to be totally nut free, if you have a favorite type of nut butter that you aren't allergic to, go ahead and use that in this recipe.
- Variations
- Fruit and Seed: Add ¼ cup of dried fruit like raisins or dried cranberries. Add ¼ cup mix of flax seeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, or sunflower seeds.
- Apple Caramel: Add ¼ cup diced dried apple bits along with 3 tablespoons of caramel chips.
- Lemon Blueberry: Add ¼ cup of dried blueberries along with 1 tablespoon of lemon zest and 3 tablespoons of mini white chocolate chips.
- Cookies + Cream: Add ⅓ cup crushed Oreo cookies along with a few tablespoons of mini white chocolate chips.
- Mango Coconut: Add ¼ cup of unsweetened coconut flakes along with 2 tablespoons of diced dried mango and 2 tablespoons of mini white chocolate chips. (Note, coconut is classified as a tree nut so use caution when adding coconut to things if you are allergic to other tree nuts).
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Kelly says
Do you happen to know if these freeze well?
Laura says
Yes! You can freeze these for up to 2 months. I would store them with some parchment paper in between the layers so that they come apart easily. Let them thaw at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before eating them from frozen.
Mel says
Hi! I’m pleased to have found your site. Would you please let me know the calories (approximate) in the g-f, n-f granola bars? Also , would brown sugarTruvia work instead of sugar? Thanks in advance.
Laura says
Hi there! I'm also so happy that you've found this blog and hope you enjoy the recipes here. I have an approximate calorie count for a single granola bar to be at 118 calories. That is without the brown sugar added as that ingredient is optional (and I've had these with just the maple syrup and found them to be sweet enough!). While I've never made these granola bars with brown sugar Truvia, I can't see why it wouldn't work in this recipe as they are no bake granola bars. If you do make these, please let me know how they turn out for you!