The Best Chewy No Bake Granola Bars

I’m human, I make mistakes. And no matter how many people edit a book, something is going to slip by. The Chewy No Bake Granola Bars recipe in Go Dairy Free is a classic that we’ve loved for years. But I just realized that there was an error in the book ingredients. One that I’m correcting today!

We’re a small household, so I usually do half batches when testing. For the final recipe, I properly doubled everything, except for the sweetener. That sticky goodness is needed for cohesiveness! Without enough of it, the bars still taste great, but they crumble like mad.

The recipe will be fixed in future printings. But for those of you who have a copy from the first printing, my humble apologies. And here is the corrected recipe for all to enjoy!

Special Diet Notes: Chewy No Bake Granola Bars

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, optionally nut-free, optionally peanut-free, soy-free, vegan, and vegetarian.

Alisa Fleming

The Best Chewy No Bake Granola Bars

5 from 8 votes

This recipe has been adapted from my book, Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook. I like my granola bars thick, so these are generously sized. You can press them into a larger pan for thinner, more traditionally-sized bars, if desired. Please note that the Prep time doesn't include chilling.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 3 minutes mins

Total Time 23 minutes mins

Servings: 20 bars

Calories: 186

Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

• 3 cups crispy rice cereal
• 2 ¼ cups quick oats certified gluten free, if needed
• ½ cup sliced almonds see Nut-Free Option below
• ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 cup agave nectar or honey
• ¼ to ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar can sub coconut sugar for less sweet; see Sweetener Note below
• 1 cup creamy almond butter or peanut butter
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt can reduce to 1/4 teaspoon if using salty nut butter
• ⅔ cup dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips mini chips if available; optional

Method

 

1. Grease a 9 × 13-inch baking dish. (See note in intro above.)
2. In a large bowl, stir together the rice cereal, oats, almonds, and coconut.
3. Put the liquid sweetener and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and then immediately remove the saucepan from the heat. Whisk in the nut butter, vanilla, and salt until smooth.
4. Pour the hot, gooey mixture into the cereal mix and stir until well combined. Let cool for 2 minutes. Stir in the chocolate chips, if using.
5. Press the mixture very firmly into your prepared baking dish with a piece of plastic wrap, parchment paper, or wax paper to avoid sticking.
6. Place the bars in the freezer for 30 minutes.
7. Cut the mixture into fourths horizontally, and then fifths vertically to create long bars.
8. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or in plastic freezer bags in the freezer to enjoy later.

Nutrition

Serving: 1barCalories: 186kcalCarbohydrates: 29.5gProtein: 2.6gFat: 7gSodium: 100mgFiber: 2.2gSugar: 18.2g

Notes

Nut-Free Option: Substitute 1/2 cup more oats, shredded coconut, seeds, or chopped dried fruit for the almonds and use sunflower seed butter in place of the nut butter.

Sweetener Note: The full amount of brown sugar yields the stickiest, most cohesive results. But you can safely reduce that sweetener to 1/4 cup for bars that are still pretty cohesive. If using coconut sugar, make sure it fully dissolves in the liquid sweetener. It will cause the bars to be a little less cohesive.

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Bonus: “Nutella” Granola Bars & Other Options

In one “treat” batch for neighbors I swapped chopped hazelnuts for the slice almonds and topped the bars with dairy-free chocolate hazelnut spread (I used the dairy-free version of Nocciolata – it’s delicious!). They loved them! Those bars are pictured below. For an even nuttier finish, you can also swap chopped hazelnuts for the shredded coconut.

For more of a breakfast or hefty snack, I sometimes top these chewy no bake granola bars with peanut butter or nut butter. Because everything is better when “frosted.” If my nut butter is runny, I serve it on the side for dipping!