These bars were born of necessity sometime in the spring of 2020… full on lockdown, homeschooling with 5 kids, never quite knowing what will be sold out next when I get to the grocery store. And we’re all hungry… all. the. time!! Enter a sheet pan worth of easy, satisfying, no-bake granola bars – pure genius!!!
My kids have always loved the Quaker chewy bars from the grocery store, but they don’t have much for nutritional value. This kind of thing barely puts a dent in the raging appetites of my growing brood! I found a recipe for homemade chewy bars online, and decided to beef it up with extra protein/fats to make it more of a substantial snack, while still maintaining nut free status like the original chewy bars. And thus the pandemic granola bars were born – I’ve been making these on repeat this entire year, it is far past due that I shared the goods with you!!
If you have a large family like mine, I highly suggest you make a double batch and freeze half for later – you’ll be so glad you did! Also, please know the recipe is very flexible – feel free to swap ingredients depending on what you have and like. If you really like dried fruit, swap out some of the seeds or chocolate chips for some! If you only have nuts on hand and you don’t need it to be nut free, use slivered almonds instead of pumpkin seeds. You can use regular brown sugar instead of coconut sugar. This is what I love about no bake bars – they aren’t fussy like regular baking. If your mixture seems a bit dry in the end, add a splash more milk (whatever kind you like!) to bring it together. Make sure to give them a good thorough press into the pan and they will turn out fantastic!
Looking for some other healthy snack ideas? Turns out we are big connoisseurs of “healthy baking”, check out my other go-to recipes:
Chocolate Oatmeal No Bake Bars
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
I hope these granola bars are as helpful for you as they are for us. A good hearty snack goes a long way friends 🙂 Make sure to let me know in the comments below what you think of them, and tag me on Instagram with your creations (@garnishathome), I love seeing what you guys are making!!
Chewy Granola Bars (Gluten, Diary, Refined Sugar, and Nut Free)
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup coconut oil, ghee, or vegan butter or butter if not dairy free
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar or sweetener of choice
- 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 cups quick oats certified gluten free, if necessary
- 2 cups crispy rice cereal
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut sub with extra oats or crispy rice if you don't like coconut
- 1 cup roasted pumpkin seeds or seed of choice
- 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
- 1/2 cup hemp seeds or seed of choice
- 1/4 cup dairy free milk of choice (oat milk, coconut milk, etc.) only use almond/nut milk if not needed to be nut free
- 1/2 cup dairy free chocolate chips mini chips work well here if you have them
Instructions
- Line a large sheet tray (11" x 17") with parchment paper.
- In a large pot, combine the coconut oil/ghee/butter, coconut sugar, honey, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 2-3 minutes until slightly thickened, stirring regularly.
- Remove from heat and add the the remaining ingredients, except the milk and chocolate chips. Stir well to combine.
- Add the milk, just enough to moisten the mixture so there are no dry bits (you may need a tad more or less than the 1/4 cup, depending on your mixture).
- Dump the mixture onto the lined sheet tray and press firmly and evenly in the pan (a spatula works better than hands which tend to stick to everything!). A thorough job of pressing will ensure your granola bars don't fall apart later!
- Scatter the chocolate chips evenly on top and press into the granola bars with a spatula.
- Chill the pan in the fridge for at least an hour, or the freezer for 30 minutes, before slicing and serving. Cut in long skinny bars if you want them to resemble chewy bars! Keep stored in the fridge (these also freeze well). Enjoy!
Featured in This Post:
This post includes affiliate links, meaning I made a small commission at no extra cost to you, should you decide to click through the links and purchase anything. These are my honest opinions and I would never recommend anything to you I didn’t absolutely love and use on a regular basis. Hope you find these lists helpful!
Gluten Free Old Fashioned Oats – When baking for someone who is Celiac or gluten intolerant, it is important to make sure your oats are certified gluten free to make sure there is no cross contamination in the product. Bob’s Red Mill is a reliable brand for gluten free oats, they are top notch quality and taste great!
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds – A great alternative to nuts, these are one of my favourite additions to granola bars, oatmeal, trail mix, etc. Pumpkin seeds are not only delicious, but also a great source of protein, healthy fat, and iron!
Ground Flaxseed – Flaxseed is an excellent source of protein, fibre, iron, calcium, and omega-3 fatty acids. This superfood is the perfect binding addition to your granola bars and baking, and is also a known milk booster for my fellow nursing mamas! Make sure to use ground flaxseed rather than whole, so you get the maximum absorption of all its amazing nutrients!
Hello There. I found your blog the use of msn. That is
an extremely well written article. I will be sure
to bookmark it and return to read more of your useful info.
Thanks for the post. I’ll certainly comeback.