A NUT FREE granola bar that stays together and doesn't need to be baked?? IT'S TRUE!!! Soft and chewy but holds together perfectly! Cocoa flavor throughout with a nice little crunch from some brown rice crispy cereal!
Super easy to make too! All you need is a few ingredients and about 10 minutes of your time to prepare. After ingredients are melted and stirred together you pour them into a small baking dish and refrigerate for 30 minutes!
You may not have ever seen this type of honey before but I found it at Whole Foods Market right next to regular honey. I chose it for another recipe but ended up using it for these bars. It's a bit thicker than regular honey and helps the bars stick together well. You can certainly use regular honey if that's all you have on hand.
See?? Thicker, not so loose. This recipe is an adaption from my daughters American Girl Doll magazine if you can believe it!! It called for peanut butter and honey of course. And when my boys saw them ...OH how they wanted some, but couldn't because of their nut allergies! I had to make something they could enjoy! (By the way they absolutely love their version!) My daughters came out very tasty, but were a bit more soft then the ones I made with the creamed honey. But also what I use to replace the honey is what really holds it all together once it refrigerates a bit.
You can leave them alone to sit for an hour and gel together or refrigerate for 30 minutes then they will be much easier to cut into bars or squares.
Perfect for a snack anytime or on the go as a breakfast, it does contain fab ingredients. 🙂
Quick Note on Substitutions:
You can easily substitute the coconut butter for any nut butter of your choice. Sunflower seeds can be replaced with chopped nuts. Be advised that if you add additional ingredients such as raisins or chocolate chips you may need to increase honey and coconut butter. If you are gluten free, make sure to purchase gluten free rolled oats.
Nutrition Info [16 Squares]
Calories per bar: 98* Fat: 6g* Cholesterol: 0mg* Sodium: 32mg* Carbs: 11g* Fiber: 3g* Sugars: 4g* Protein: 2g* Points+: 3*
No Bake Chewy Cocoa Granola Bars {Refined Sugar, Gluten & Nut Free}
Ingredients
- 1 cup crispy brown rice cereal
- ¾ cup rolled oats gluten free
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds
- 2 packets powdered stevia
- ⅓ cup coconut butter melted
- ⅓ cup creamed clover honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl stir together the first 7 ingredients until well blended.
- In a separate microwaveable bowl add the coconut butter, honey, and vanilla. Melt for 1 minute and stir completely until well incorporated.
- Pour into the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Line an 8 by 8 baking dish with parchment paper hanging over opposite sides. Spray the parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray.
- Pour the mixture into the baking dish.
- Spread to edges and press down with a spatula to even off the top.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Lift by parchment paper onto a cutting board.
- Slice into squares or bars.
- Wrap individually to store.
Notes
Nutrition
Kenny Benton
Me again. My friend who was making these before i knew about you, can not eat grain of any kind, so what do you suggest we can substitute the rice and oat with? Again i can't ask her. No longer in contact.
Brenda
I would think a different recipe might be needed because I can't really think of a grain free solution in this recipe. Try this one instead:https://www.sugarfreemom.com/recipes/no-bake-sugar-free-coconut-cashew-protein-bars/
Jena
When you said your kids have a nut allergy, I thought of this fruit I had a while back. It's called....*searching Google*....Bunchosia Argentea. It tastes just like peanut butter. I'm not sure if you live in a warm climate or not, but if so you may be able to grow it. 🙂 I live in Hawaii and our neighbors were growing it for their kids.
Hala
Help! I made these and they fall apart. They taste GREAT but don't hold together. Any thoughts?
Brenda
Did you use the creamed honey?
Tracy Van Lone
Since when is honey NOT a sugar?
Brenda
The title of this recipe is refined sugar free, not sugar free. I use honey for recipes for my children because it is a natural sweetener.
Nicole
Made these tonight but used regular creamed honey rather than clover. I left out the powdered stevia but found these to be too sweet. I do love the taste and if i could tone down the sweetness it would be perfect. If i cut the honey in half i fear i wouldnt have enough "stick". Is clover honey a milder sweetness?
Brenda
I've not used creamed honey there certainly maybe be a difference in sweetness. I agree that reducing the honey might not keep them together. Did you use any powdered stevia? Maybe if you do reduce the amount of honey, increase the amount of coconut butter.
Nicole
Hi Brenda thank you for your reply. No, i did not use any stevia. These are really good, just to sweet for my tastes. I had also thought about reducing the honey and making up for it with the coconut butter. Will definately give that a try!
Amy
Fantastic recipe. I have made this many many times and it is my go to granola bar recipe for the kids school lunches. I do not use cocoa but instead cacoa and because it is a lot more bitter I started with 1/8 of a cup and 1/8 of a cup of coconut sugar. Already in the past two weeks I have increased the cacoa and reduced the coconut sugar but it's just a matter of time till my kids get used to the cacoa versus the high artificial sweetness of store bought granola bars. I also use cacoa nibs in place of sunflower seeds. My kids school is nut and seed free. I dont use clover honey either, I find it too runny. I use organic honey bunny creamed raw honey which holds up much better.Thanks for this recipe. I couldn't be happier.
Brenda
THANK YOU so much for sharing your adaptions, good to know!!
Angela
How do you calculate the nutritional values such as carbs, fats, and sugars
Brenda
I am currently paying a small fee through the website My Food Diary to calculate accurate nutrition info.
Carmin Wesley
My kids LOVED these. I had to do a few substitutions (used butter for coconut butter, skipped sunflower seeds (only since I didn't have on hand), the coconut I had was sweetened and omitted Stevia (don't yet have it). Luckily they still turned out well. My next batch will be much closer to the recipe and likely just as great! Thanks for the recipe.
Brenda
Glad you liked these and the kiddies too!
Dawn
Is coconut butter different than coconut oil??
Brenda
Yes much different. The oil can be used to replace other oils but doesn't have the same texture as the coconut butter which is more consistent with the texture of peanut butter, thick and creamy.
Jenn
Wow, these look fantastic! I had to search for some of the ingredients online, but I cannot wait to try to make them!
Any thoughts on substituting out the shredded coconut out for something else? We are not big coconut fans here in my house. I'm swapping out the butter for almond butter already.....
Thank you! 🙂
Brenda
Well you really can't taste the coconut much at all but I would say peanut butter would be the best substitute for that.