Nut Free Granola Bars
These nut free granola bars are made with just 4 ingredients and require NO baking. No dairy, no butter, and no nuts needed, they make a filling and healthy snack!
Nut Free Granola Bars
When it comes to nut free snacks, my favorite recipes to make are flapjacks, chocolate muffins, and these nut free granola bars.
It’s no secret that I’m a serial snacker and when I recently had to cut out nuts from my diet to do some allergy testing, my snack game remained strong. This is due to countless batches of insanely delicious nut free bars!
Why these nut free granola bars will be your favorite nut free recipe-
- 4 ingredients. For such a easy and delicious snack, you’ll love that it’s made with just four ingredients- oats, tahini, honey, and dried fruit!
- Easily customizable. Not a fan of dried fruit? Swap it out for some seeds, coconut flakes, or vegan chocolate chips.
- No baking required. Keep those ovens turned off because these require zero baking.
- Back to school friendly. With most schools now adopting a nut free environment, you can keep your kids satisfied between classes with these homemade granola bars.
I’ve been meaning to share a nut free granola bar recipe for quite some time. They’ve been one of my favorite office snacks to share with my colleagues because many of them have peanut allergies and I’d rather not use ANY nuts!
No nuts, no butter, and no oil are needed, but you’d never tell. The texture is soft and chewy, yet stable at room temperature. They are pleasantly sweet with bits of dried fruit throughout, and you won’t taste the tahini at all.
With many of us in situations like schools or workplaces that are peanut free and have actual bans on any nut products, these homemade granola bars are your snacking answer, nut allergy or not!
How do you make nut free granola bars?
The Ingredients
- Quick oats– Quick cooking or instant oats. If you’d like these granola bars to be gluten free, use certified gluten free oats.
- Salt– Just a pinch to bring out the sweet flavors.
- Tahini– Smooth and drippy tahini or sunflower seed butter (sunbutter).
- Honey– Raw honey, but you can also use brown rice syrup or golden syrup. If you use the latter two, your granola bars will be much darker.
- Dried fruit– I used a mix of dried apricots, cranberries, and blueberries.
The Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, add the oats and salt and set aside. In a microwave safe bowl, combine your tahini and honey and microwave in 15-second spurts until the honey is warm and the tahini has softened. Whisk together until combined. Next, add the wet ingredients into the mixing bowl and mix together until combined.
Now, transfer into a lined square pan and press the mixture into the pan and smooth out the top. Refrigerate the bars for at least an hour to firm up.
Tips to make the best recipe
- For an even chewier texture, you can sub out half the quick cooking oats with rolled oats.
- If you don’t follow a nut free diet, peanut butter or almond butter can be used instead of the tahini.
- If you use sunflower seed butter, don’t be alarmed if your bars turn a slight tinge of green- It’s a common occurrence with all sorts of recipes using it.
- Feel free to add other nut-free mix ins, like vegan chocolate chips, coconut flakes, or seeds.
Storing and freezing no bake nut free bars
- To store: Granola bars are best stored in the refrigerator, covered. They will keep well for up 2 weeks.
- To freeze: Place leftover bars in a ziplock bag and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months.
More no bake snack recipes to try
Nut Free Granola Bars (4 Ingredients!)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups quick oats
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup tahini or sunflower seed butter
- 1/4 cup honey or brown rice syrup
- 1/3 cup dried fruit apricots, blueberries, and cranberries
Instructions
- Line an 8 x 8-inch pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add your oats in salt and mix well. In a microwave safe bowl, add the tahini and honey and microwave in 20-second spurts until the honey is warm. Whisk the honey and tahini together until smooth. Transfer the melted mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Fold through the dried fruit at the end.
- Transfer the mixture into the lined pan and press down until smooth on top. Refrigerate the bars for at least an hour to firm up.
- Remove the pan from the refrigerator and slice into bars.
I like Simones idea’s mostly because I can’t think of any. Self important Saturday Sunday sounds good. Self expression Sunday Saturday sounds awesome too 🙂
It’s a cool idea. And I love these bars- yum! Keep procrastinating lol it’s good for our taste buds (who is being self important now lol)
Haha, Thanks Emma- At least its only my grades that will suffer! Thanks for your input!
Selfie and selfish Sunday? You could post a selfie each week too :). I’m an Aussie reader and I just live your blog Arman.
This weekend I am going to the beach- cannot.wait. 🙂
Simone had some great ideas too- I like the self expression Sunday Saturday alliteration particularly 😉
That means so much- thanks for your kind words!
I’m jealous of your beach antics!
My brain is way too fried to think. Self expression or important Sunday can be my pick lol.
Great recipe Arman- love your recipes always. I am also a fan of kangaroo like you- such an underrated meat.
This weekend I am cramming and then sleeping and then I think I will schedule in a cry to relieve the stress from all of the cramming
🙂 but then by this time next week all the study will be over. then the anxious wait for results start- fun.
I love that guy dancing!
Kangaroo IS such an underestimated meat isn’t it- their sausages are amazing!
Good luck on your exams!
Sassy Self Saturday–its a time to brag about your wonderful self leave nothing out!
Thanks for the suggestion! 🙂
The granola bars look good! I will have to try and make some, maybe without oats? Hmm…
Thanks! Maybe another flake type cereal might work?
I’m going to try quinoa flakes and maybe hemp seeds for the oat bran. Thoughts? I’ll let you know how it works.
Fantastic, thanks Melissa!
It worked and they’re amazing- tastes like the inside of a peanut butter cup. Here’s my substitutes: flax meal for oat bran, quinoa flakes for oats, added a scoop of vegan protein powder because the quinoa is not as absorbing as oats, and cut the honey in half. So amazing. Thank you
I reckon Thursday or a Saturday for a link up as there tend to be none that I know of on those days…or even Sunday. Friday I know of quite a few. As for names…hmmm I’ve got Friday brain and I’m drawing a blank!
That dance video is hilarious! It reminds me of back in the day when I was 19 I used to work in call centres and 99% of the guys that worked there were gay so I used to go out to clubs with them and there would always be drag queens performing and their dancing and lip synching was sometimes terrible but a lot of times it was as good as that video…ah memories!
Yum to that granola bar recipe, I’m yet to try brown rice syrup but need to change that!
Thanks for the input Jan- I’m thinking Thursday or Sunday!
Hahaha that sounds awesome- seriously that guy…next time I want a quick cardio workout I’m going to attempt to mimic his moves! Definitely get onto the brown rice syrup…I got it because it was cheaper than honey lol!
Oh gosh, those MSN memes just took me back 5 – 10 years lol, they were all so true at the time! And so help you if somebody didn’t reply for a while and changed their status to ‘Away’ … Yikes! 😛 I think my name used to change like the weather, full of emoticons and whatnot. Oh the shame of it all now.
Matt Corby’s EP is so awesome, I’d recommend it to anybody! 🙂 It’s got a really chilled summer-ish vibe to it, perfect for lazy days where road trips to the beach are mandatory.
Clever alliterative names escape me. I’ll just be happy to link up ;P
Hi!
I’m a long time reader, also an Aussie, living in Canada.
In terms of the alliteration link up, I had a few ideas:
1) More about me Mondays
2) Talk and Tidbits Tuesdays
3) Truthfully Me Tuesdays
Thanks so much for the input Amy- but more importantly thank YOU for being a reader! Hope your enjoying Canada!
Truthful Me or Talk and Tidbits sounds great!
So much shame..so much TIME wasted on it!
Thanks for wanting to link up- I’ll hopefully have details set in stone by next week! PS How funny everyone from Australian Idol who came 2nd place have outdone ALL the winners.
That song: obsessed. Thank you. Oh and: Shamelessly Selfish Sharing…how’s that for alliteration? 😉
Anytime, my friend. If you have the chance to, listen to his first song ‘Brother’- its amazing!
Love the alliteration- Its one of my favourites!
Oh my God. That Beyonce dancer! His hair!! And that old carpet?! Fatasticly hilarious!!
As for the link up, I think Thursdays or Sundays would be good. And…..how about
ME – Selfish Sunday; Look at ME; let’s talk about ME….
It’s my day off, my brain is empty!! 🙂 happy Weekend bello!!
bahaha i like Lucie’s idea! but i want to win the vegemite.. just sayin
Hahahaha. Hope the jar is being put to good use…off season and all 😉
…oh dear my hair (without product) looks exactly like that hahaha! Can we have a dance off on Persian carpets?
Most people are keen for Thursdays so I think I’ll put it in the works! Hope your having a BLAST of a weekend my friend. STAY AWAY FROM THE FOOD PROCESSOR.
Self Centred Sundays!
I always call my Sundays my ‘self centred’ days. They are the day I never work and always use to prep, plan and set myself up for the week ahead and indulge in some well earnt ‘me time’.
Thanks for the suggestion Ally- I love the notion behind it!
Amy’s Talk and Tidbit Tuesdays and Ally’s Self Centered Sundays sound like great ideas…or “Tell me more (you twat) Thursdays?…
Love the Beyoncé workout video – no kidding, those lunges and deep squats are seriously killer 🙂
Sunbutter granola bars sound Fab! You are the official “no-bake granola bar” King!
Hope your weekend is wonderful Arman!
You hit the nail on the head, Shashi- those two are ones I’m really liking…Although anything with TWAT in it is a Winner in my book 😉
Seriously its my new go to HIIT workout…
Hope your weekend is going great Shashi 🙂
I love Amy’s ^ ideas! She wins 🙂 haha I’m going to think about this over the weekend — too early for my brain to be working very hard right now. MSN messenger– such a throwback! Pretty sure I was on that thing 24/7. Ah those were the days. I am loving Sunbutter lately. I have a couple of others bars on my to-make list but certainly adding these to my never ending list. Have a great weekend friend!
ps. Queen B = life.
LOl – true story- My mum used to hide the modem or take it to work with her when I had days off school because I was such an addict!
I think The Talk and Tidbit Thursdays might be it- The consensus seem to be hankering for a Thursday link up!
PS expect a reply this afternoon 🙂
HAHAHA poor Beyonce! HOW DARE THEY. I can’t remember what my msn name was! I miss it!!! But, on the bright side, my work has Sametime instant messaging, so it’s basically the same thing. I spend all day messaging my work friends instead of working.
Please tell me you have snapchat.
Seriously…who put Queen B in the bin. Not cool. Also I called it the bin. Who am I?
Thoughtful Thursdays? OR more accurately FML Fridays?
‘Thoughtful Thursdays’- what kind of a Maven are you? Haha fml Fridays- I wish. I think most want a Thursday linkup so maybe a tweak on a thoughtful and we’ve got something going on!
This is when I wish I had a creative bone when it came to thinking of titles…but considering that it took me a good year or two to come up with my own blog name, we’ll probably be here a while :S
And oh my goodness, MSN…that takes me back. I remember in high school the thing to do was that if you were dating someone, you were expected to have their name in hearts somewhere in your screen name. Awkward.
Oh geebuz…or you’d allude your crush in your name. I cringe thinking back to those days!
Glad it took you that long to come up with your name- I associate sprinkles with you to this day.