Grain Free No-Bake Granola Bars
HUH? A grain free granola bar? What does that even mean?
I'll tell you.
It means these bars are completely oat free. Yes, a granola bar without oats. An oat-less granola bar. A nut and seed and dried fruit and chocolate chip granola bar. A wholesome, nutrient packed, energy heightener, on-the-go breakfast, lunch box accompaniment granola bar.
With creamy, smoky almond butter and rich coconut oil and sticky honey or maple syrup to hold all the above mentioned ingredients together.
Can I get an amen? (AMEN!)
I really do hate to be the one to inform you, but it's August 31st. The summer is just about over. Vacation time has ended. It's back to school and work week.
Which means, if you have kids, you need a nutritious, easy, delicious breakfast or snack bar to offer up to the youngsters. And which means, if you're an adult heading back to college or to your 9 to 5, you need a nutritious, easy, delicious breakfast or snack bar to appease yourself and make the transition a bit more manageable. Either way, you need these grain free no-bake granola bars in your life.
Oh yeah, about the no-bake part. These bars are 100% raw. No oven, no problem.
You make the bars, freeze them, slice them, and eat them. And keep eating them, storing the rest in your fridge or freezer for future snack sessions.
These granola bars are seriously loaded. With nutrient dense ingredients.
Four types of nuts, three types of seeds, dried fruit and dark chocolate, shredded coconut, coconut oil, honey/maple syrup, and almond butter. And salt and vanilla extract, because salt and vanilla extract.
What's also great about these bars (and most granola bars in general) is how versatile they are.
Don't like walnuts? That's okay - swap them out for macadamia nuts. Don't have pumpkin seeds on hand? No worries - use sunflower seeds instead. Not crazy about almond butter? Not a problem - try peanut butter as an alternative. Not a huge fan of raisins? Don't fret - chop up some dates or just add some extra chocolate chips in their place.
Look at that photo right on top of this sentence. See? Told you they were loaded.
Now, I'm not gonna lie, there's a pretty impressive list of ingredient required for these no-bake granola bars. Sixteen components in total. Some of which you may not have sitting and waiting in your cupboard. I mean, you may have shredded coconut AND pumpkin seeds AND flax meal AND pecans AND almond meal AND almond butter. But those darn chia seeds - you just ran out.
Which is why I suggest you read through the entire list before you attempt these granola bars. And why I provided links to the items that are less often found in people's cupboards so that you can purchase them online. But if you're only missing one or two ingredients, you should be fine. Find something suitable to substitute it with.
Soft and chewy. Rich and flavorful. Crunchy and lightly sweetened. Wholesome, raw, and grain-free. I'll take all of them, thank you very much.
grain free No-bake granola bars
Yield: About 30 bars
1/4 cup coconut oil*, melted and cooled
2 cups sliced almonds
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup chocolate chips
3/4 craisins/raisins
1/2 cup chopped cashews**
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup pumpkin or sunflower seeds
1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup almond butter
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Line one 9x13 inch baking dish (for thicker granola bars) or both a 9x13 dish and an 8x8 dish (for thinner granola bars) with parchment paper.
Melt the coconut oil and set aside.
In a large bowl, stir together the 12 dry ingredients, from the sliced almonds through the salt. Add in the almond butter, honey/maple syrup, cooled coconut oil, and vanilla extract and mix till everything is evenly coated.
Press mixture firmly into your prepared pan/s until it's well compacted and even. Place the pans in the freezer until granola bars are hardened and chilled, about 25 minutes.
Slice bars into desired size, then store in the fridge or freezer.
*Note: use refined coconut oil if you don't want a strong coconut flavor in your bars.
**Note: this recipe is very versatile. You can use any combination of dried fruit, nuts, and seeds as long as you keep the amounts noted in the recipe the same. You can also adjust the amount of sweetener to suit your tastes.
