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These No-Bake Granola Bars are Vegan, Nut Free, and require only 8 healthy ingredients! The best part? They’re NOT sticky at room temperature!
I ate a lot of granola bars candy bars disguised as granola bars growing up. Shoutout to my mom for letting me get the ones dunked in chocolate 😉
While these No-Bake Granola Bars are not enrobed in Cocoa and Sugar, they still taste pretty darn good. Plus, I would consider them to actually be healthy, too.
Before I started this recipe blog, I did try to make my own granola bars using several different recipes from the internet. However, I ran into a two main problems:
- Most of the recipes call for honey (which is not vegan)
- All of the recipes that I did make held up fine in the fridge….but as soon as those babies come to room temp, they melt. Which is kind of problematic if you want to bring your granola bar pretty much anywhere.
Well friends, I am happy to say that this recipe…
- Requires only 8 plant-based ingredients
- Is not sticky at room temperature! Huzzah!
- Is also Gluten-Free and Nut Free — so basically anyone and everyone can enjoy these babies.
FYI, I believe the secret to avoid sticky-ness is to use just the right amount of liquid sweetener coupled with a few tablespoons of flour (oat in this case) to absorb any extra liquid. This also helps the bars to hold together more!
A Few Final Thoughts:
- This recipe is pretty versatile –you can sub equal parts chopped nuts or seeds for the ones I used. Same goes with dried fruit!
- These bars will last for 5-6 days at room temperature; I would not store them in the fridge unless you absolutely have to, as this will dry them out a bit more.
- While I would like to say that these Granola Bars are *flawless,* they can still be quite fragile. To ensure they don’t crumble, I would advise cutting them in the pan before you remove them, and packing them with a little extra cushion.
If you’re looking for more healthy snack recipes, you’ll also love these Cacao & Fig Bliss Balls and these No-Bake Vegan Cosmic Brownies!
Finally, if you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I love seeing your delicious recreations 🙂
PrintNo-Bake Granola Bars (Vegan & Nut Free!)
These No-Bake Granola Bars are Vegan, Nut Free, and require only 8 healthy ingredients! The best part? They’re NOT sticky at room temperature!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 10 bars 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Maple Syrup
- 1/2 cup Nut or Seed Butter (I used a mix of Tahini and Sunflower Butter)
- 1/4 cup Oat Flour*
- 2 1/2 cup Rolled Oats
- 1/3 cup Sunflower Seeds
- 1/3 cup Pumpkin Seeds
- 1/2 cup Cranberries (or other dried fruit of choice)
- 2 tbsp Cacao Nibs or mini Chocolate Chips
- Pinch of Salt
Instructions
- First, add the Maple Syrup and Nut/Seed Butter to a medium bowl. Mix until well combined.
- Add in the Oat Flour with a pinch of Salt, and mix again until well-incorporated.
- Next, add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and stir well, until the sticky mixture is evenly coating all Granola Bar pieces.
- Line a 9×9″ baking tin with parchment paper, and firmly press the Granola Bar mixture into the tin. Let sit for 15-20 minutes, to allow the Oats to absorb any extra moisture.
- Cut the Granola Bars in the pan, then carefully remove. Store at room temperature for up to 6 days.
Notes
- Maple Syrup may be substituted with Agave or Coconut Nectar.
- To make your own Oat Flour, simply blend 1/4 cup of Oats in a blender for 30-60 seconds. I see a lot of people blend their Oats too little – it should be a very fine texture once finished.
- Because these Bars are homemade, they can still be quite fragile. To ensure they don’t crumble, I would advise cutting them in the pan before you remove them, and packing them with a little extra cushion when taking on-the-go.
Want to save these No-Bake Granola Bars for later? Pin the recipe to your Pinterest boards:
I got a lead roll in a play and used these granola bars to keep me going throughout the long days spent rehearsing. They where fantastic and i would highly recommend them to any one needing a healthy pic me up in a place that is strictly nut free.
They are amazing!
★★★★★
That’s so awesome! Hope the performance goes well!
Hi! Could I use carob syrup instead of maple syrup.?
★★★★★
Hey! Sure, you could make that substitution if you wanted. We haven’t tried it, the flavor would be different but it should work just as well.
I noticed a lot of people have had the same issue as I did, with their bars coming out crumbly. I solved this by adding a “flax egg”. For those who don’t already know, Mix 1 Tbsp of Flax seed with 2.5 Tbsp of water in a small bowl and set it aside for at least 5 minutes to thicken. Then add it with the other ingredients and the bars stay moist. I also usually add some protein powder. I like Garden of Life Raw Organic protein powder in Vanilla.
★★★★★
I love this and absolutely intend to use this recipe. I’m thinking of starting a charity making lunches for disadvantaged school children and these would be perfect! Just a reminder though, oats do contain gluten, so something else would need to be swapped in to make this gluten free.
★★★★★
You can buy certified Gluten-Free Oats at most grocery stores 🙂
These hold up very well and are super tasty
★★★★★
This granola bars are awesome! First granola bar recipe I have ever made that wasn’t too dry and crumbly. Extra bonus that I don’t even have to bake them! My son loves one of these instead of a PB&J sandwich for lunch now. Thank you!
★★★★★
I tried the recipe, and found them a little too crumbly. They didn’t stick together, so I put it in a bowl with milk and ate it like granola cereal. It is delicious, but I am really wanting to find a recipe that will cut into bars for my kids lunches.
Your recipes never fail me Caitlin! I’ve made these bars over 10 times because they are so good! I like them more than store bought bars and they are healthier. Even my non vegan friends love them and I have shared your recipe with a few friends. Thanks again!
Amazing! 🙂
These are so good!! I added some pumpkin pie spice to them as well and I know that I’m gonna have to keep this recipe!!
★★★★★
That’s a great idea, Theresa!
My toddler and I made up a batch of these yesterday following your recipe exactly but using tahini and natural peanut butter. We took them on a road trip today and the whole family loved them. They will definitely be a staple in our household now. Thanks!
★★★★★
So happy to heat that, Lauren!
OMG THE BARS EVER, ITS SO DELICIOUS????I LOVE YOU CAITLIN SHOEMAKER THANK YOU????
You’re so welcome!
I made this recipe for one of my vegan clients, she was hosting a quilting tour and wanted some tasty takeaways for the tour. They taste absolutely delicious, the closest thing to peanut butter I have ever tasted.
Glad you and your client enjoyed them, Colleen!
Love the inspiration this recipe gave me! I used your recipe as a base and did a little improv along the way to creating my own granola bars. I prefer more moist (ah I hate that word!) granola bars, never been a fan of dry bars. All I did was add more maple syrup and nut butter and it came out perfect! Used cupcake pan and cup cake liners in order to separate the granola out. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★
Hi, I know it says not to refrigerate these granola bars. However, are they freezer friendly? I don’t think that I would eat all 10 bars within the 5-6 days, and I would like to save them as snacks for other weeks.
I don’t think they would hold together well in the freezer either
This is my favorite granola bar recipe! I’ve always frozen them with no issues 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
I love the flavor but, even though I carefully followed the recipe, I found the bars to still not hold together very well. I refrigerated them too. I’ll check them again after letting them sit overnight and see if they hold together better. Again — they taste amazing!
Hi Liz! I would not recommend refrigerating them, as I said in the recipe notes.
I made these with only 2 cups of oats instead of 2 1/2 cups, and found that they weren’t sticky and stored well in the fridge (didn’t dry out). I used tahini and almond butter and subbed in raisins and carob chips. THEY WERE AMAZING! So easy and great for taking with me to work. Thank you!!
★★★★
When I ate granola bars on the daily, I remember running into a few that wouldn’t hold their shape very well, or were just WAY too sticky when I’d unwrap them. Not that they didn’t taste good or that I didn’t like them, but they were just a bit unconvenient to eat (i.e. Nature Valley oat and honey bars!). I love your take on the classic superfood-loaded oatmeal granola bar! Would freezing the bar “dough” help in maintaining structure of each bar to prevent crumbling while cutting them into bars, or would it only solidify the dough too much?
No, I think it is best to leave them at room temperature
Well Caitlin, you can bet that I will be making these! They look delicious – all my favorite ingredients combined in one glorious bar, what could be better?!
http://www.beingisabella.com
Thank you Isabella – I hope you love them!
I just made these and they are awesome! Sturdy, great texture and amazing taste 🙂
★★★★★
Yay! So happy you like them 🙂
Looks so yummy! Thanks for the recipe.