Gluten Free Granola Bars

These gluten free granola bars loaded with almonds, pepitas and chocolate chunks have been on repeat in our household lately.

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A repeat recipe 

If I’m being real with you, eating breakfast isn’t my strong suite. It’s always been a struggle. That’s why this recipe has been such a staple in our kitchen over the past year. 

It was hard enough just surviving 2020, forget eating breakfast 7 days a week! 

Queue these granola bars. No smelly, hard boiled eggs. No greasy bacon to reheat or oatmeal to be microwaved. They can be made ahead of time and sit readily in your fridge to grab and go. Even when you have nowhere to go ❤️

Endless flavor options

Whether you’re into the add ins we like (chocolate, almonds, pumpkin seeds) or not, this recipe is easily customizable. Get creative with your flavors and use what you have in your pantry! 

Here are some of my favorite add-ins:

• Chocolate (it needed to be repeated)
• Pretzels 
• Nuts
• Seeds 
• Dried fruit

Making your granola bars

Making granola bars can seem like an intimidating task meant for soccer moms and people with entirely too much time on their hands, but I can reassure you that’s not the case with this recipe. 

We are 100% not above using shortcuts and today, the microwave is saving us some time and dirty dishes. 

Start by spreading your oats and nuts out on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. These get toasted to perfection in the oven while we prep our other ingredients.

In a microwave safe large mixing bowl, melt the butter and honey together. Then mix in the maple syrup. 

Once the oats and nuts are done in the oven, they get folded in to the honey mixture in the large mixing bowl. At that point it’s important to give everything 10-15 minutes to cool down, so when you add the chocolate chips they don’t melt completely. 

All the add-ins get folded into the oats, then packed into a square baking pan (also lined with parchment paper). Bonus points if you use the same parchment paper you used for the oats and nuts! It ends up being the perfect length to fold the excess parchment paper over the top of the bars, and pack them down without getting your hands dirty. 

From there, they need to chill in the refrigerator for a few hours before taking them out and slicing them into bars.

These gluten free granola bars should keep in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 1 week. 

Guarantee they’re gluten free

If you’ve been eating gluten free for some time, chances are you’ve tried a few different brands of gluten free oats. 

Many people here in Oregon are die hard Bob’s Red Mill fans, and while I do love their products, I have been able to find other brands that I prefer for specific ingredients like oats. 

I find the gluten free oats at Trader Joes to be more affordable and easier to find.

Premade gluten free granola bars I love

Because I know many of us may still not have the time to make homemade granola bars, I wanted to share a short list of some of my favorite store-bought gluten free granola bars:

• Nature Valley Granola Bars
• Bob’s Red Mill Oat Honey
• Safe + Fair Blueberry Cinnamon Granola

Please keep in mind that the granola bars listed above may be subject to change based on the manufacturer. Always read the ingredients if you or someone you are shopping for has life threatening allergies. 

Happy baking!

Salima

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