One of the all-time most popular posts on this blog is the Homemade Granola Bar Recipe. But for over a year now, I’ve been avoiding grains in favor of more nutrient-dense foods. An oat-filled granola bar isn’t going to do me any favors now that I’m grain-free.
Enter: The grain-free granola bar. I took my original recipe and changed it up to reflect my current diet – less sugar, more nuts, no grains. Here you go! (And don’t worry – I’m putting the whole recipe at the bottom, in case you just want to print the recipe.)
Start with 2.5 cups of assorted nuts and seeds. I used what I had – pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds), almonds, walnuts, and pecans.
Scoop out 1 cup of the nuts, and give them a rough chop.
Dump the other 1.5 cups of nuts into your food processor, and pulse until they’re chopped much, much smaller. Be careful not to pulse too much or you might end up with nut butter! We’re just aiming for a variety of sizes of nut pieces. The smaller bits help make the bars more dense and help them stick together better.
Stir to combine with the larger chunks of nuts and seeds.
Add 1 cup of dried fruit. Again, I’m just using what I had – only raisins. You can use dried cranberries, cherries, dates, pineapple, or any combination of your favorites.
Add 2 cups of shredded coconut. This is NOT the sticky sweet coconut you can buy in most grocery store baking aisles. This is only shredded and dried – pure coconut. I’ll be doing another post on this soon, so look out for that!
In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup coconut oil, 1/2 cup honey, a splash of vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and a generous sprinkling of cinnamon. Then some more cinnamon. Cook, stirring, over medium-low heat until it starts to bubble like this. Then remove the pot from the burner.
Pour your honey mixture over your fruit and nuts, and stir to coat it all. At this stage it reminds me of wet playground sand.
Dump your fruit and nuts into a parchment-paper-lined baking dish (This one is 9×13”). Mine has curved edges, which I’ll talk about later… if you have one with straight edges, like a bar pan, that might be better. Next time I’ll be using my bar pan for sure.
I’ve also thought about using mini-muffin tins to make granola bar “bites” instead of bars.
With another sheet of parchment (just so you don’t get your hands sticky), press FIRMLY all over the granola. A lot. You really need to pack the ingredients tightly so that your bars will stick together. When you think you’ve pressed enough, keep pressing.
When you’re finally done squishing everything, it’ll look something like this. Now you have to wait. Wait at least 2-3 hours for it to cool at room temperature, or if you’re more impatient, you could put it in the fridge or freezer. (I froze mine while we ate dinner.)
When it’s cool, lift the whole shebang out of the pan and put it on a large cutting board. See what happened here because of the curved edges of my pan? My bar is thinner on the edges than in the middle… this makes the edges crumble when I cut them. Not a huge deal, but I’d prefer if that didn’t happen… so next time I’ll either try my bar pan or muffin tins.
Cut the whole thing lengthwise with a sharp knife. I find that pressing straight down with the knife works better than sawing or rocking with the knife. It gives less trauma to the granola, so the bars can stay intact!
After you cut it lengthwise, cut each rectangle horizontally into as many bars as you’d like.
And here they are! Packed full of coconut, nuts, and raisins. Nicely sweet (but not super-sweet like the other recipe), satisfying, chewy… so delicious!
Note: If you want your bars to be crunchier, cook your honey mixture a bit longer before mixing it into your fruit and nuts.
Grain-Free Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Granola Bar Recipe
You will need:
- 2.5 cups assorted nuts and seeds
- 1 cup dried fruit
- 2 cups shredded coconut
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup honey
- splash of vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- generous sprinkle of cinnamon
- some more cinnamon
Roughly chop 1 cup of the nuts and seeds. Place in a bowl.
Use your food processor to pulse the other 1.5 cups of nuts and seeds into a finer “chop.” Add to the bowl.
Add your fruit.
Stir in the dried coconut.
In a saucepan over medium-low heat, combine oil, honey, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon. Cook until the mixture bubbles, then pour over the fruit/nut mixture.
Stir to combine completely.
Press your mixture into a parchment-lined pan of some sort. Press HARD.
Cool 2-3 hours, then remove from the pan and cut into bars.
Hi! I'm Emily. I'm a Navy wife and stay at home mom of two beautiful children. I cook simple, delicious, grain-free recipes, do crafts, decorate my home on a budget, and keep a happy household. I tandem breastfeed, babywear, cloth diaper, practice elimination communication, homebirth, and co-sleep, but I'm not a hippie.
[...] Grain-Free Granola Bars These granola bars are gluten-free but full of flavor. www [...]
[...] (Grain Free) Granola Bars from Joyful Abode’s [...]
Hi, love this recipe, however, my bars fall apart at room tempature. How do you fix this or is there something I did wrong. Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks, Linda
I made these exactly how you suggested and they were WONDERFUL! My 2 year old ate a few and loved them. My husband LOVES them also- and of course I find them to be such a sweet, satisfying snack. I love it that they are mostly protein
Thanks for sharing this!
I found this recipe a while ago and my husband really liked. I ate it all except his little bar! So I had to wait a while to make again and then I couldn’t find where I wrote it down. I’ve been searching and such finally googled and SO glad I found!
Thanks!!!
[...] 2. Grain-free granola bars [...]
So I just made this recipe, with what I have on hand. I had to substitute olive oil for the coconut oil. I didn’t have coconut flakes. I used unsalted unroasted, peanuts, walnuts & almond. And dried apricots. I had the honey, cinnamon & vanilla. You’re right LOTS of cinnamon!! I skipped the salt.
I can’t wait for my husband to try these. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!
Seriously these COULD NOT be easier to put together. And heavenly!! I want to eat all the gooey granola dough!! LOL
I don’t have a bar pan so I used your idea of mini muffins. Here’s a little tip, fill less than half way & go ahead and suck it up and use a second paper muffin cup to squish it down, it’s the easiest way. This recipe made two pans of mini granola bites
Hi Emily,
So admire you for so many things, Navy wife, new mom, caring mom and awesome recipes…thank you for sharing your joyful abode.
HAVE A HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!
Blessings to you & your family.
Kendra
Oh my goodness. Seriously the best tasting granola bar I have EVER had. I didn’t have any coconut, so I just left it out. They turned out so super great!! The only fruit I had were prunes and apricots! They were so yummy and any fruit can be substituted!
thank you! I have made 2 big batches. I am going to make a new batch on monday. I am going to soak and dehydrate my nuts though…had some trouble digesting them last time.
Best granola recipe ever!! Thank you!!
Wonderful…very tasty!! Thanks
[...] Grain-free Granola from Joyful Abode [...]
[...] Grain-free Granola from Joyful Abode [...]
Thanks for these, Joy! They are delicious! My niece is GF. For the past 2 years, we’ve been doing a GF “test kitchen” with my daughters, niece, and 3 of their pre-K friends. It’s nice to find a GF bar that is nutritious, easy and kid-friendly!
[...] Abode – Grain-Free Granola Bars (love that she’s gone grain-free and delivering such [...]
Love, love, love this! You are wonderful. I have been looking for a recipe that would taste as wonderful as it looked. Thanks for all your “time” in the kitchen… Can’t wait to try it, I live on nuts and seeds, so this will be a keeper!
Just wondering if yours tend to fall apart at room temperature? I made these this weekend and are great right out of the fridge, but when we take them on the go, we end up having to scoop up the pieces from the bag.
They taste great and my picky 22-month old LOVE them. I didn’t have dried fruit, so I chopped up some super dark chocolate and put that in there. Makes a great flavor!
sometimes, sometimes not… i find that when i cook the honey mixture a bit longer they stay together better at room temp. I hope that helps.
(If they fall apart they’re really good sprinkled in some full-fat yogurt, btw).
Not only do I have a batch of these in the freezer, but I had to instantly make a second batch because my children demanded some as just granola to eat on their homemade yogurt. I’m in heaven – this is so delicious and easy! I can see some ingredients I will now need to be buying in bulk. Thank you so much!!
This is genius!
This is genius! Must.try. SOON!
I make primal granola bars all the time, but NEVER thought about pulsing the nuts a few times to get them to an “oat-like” texture before making them into bars. Kudos on the great idea – I will be trying this SOON.
Hey! : ) I was wondering if you ever sub the coconut and what you might sub it with as I am not a fan (I only like the milk of the nut).
Also, I was curious (and haven’t seen otherwise written on your site) as to why you decided to go grain free? (If you don’t mind me asking that is.) : )
I am a new (stay-at-home) mom as well. Like you, I also breastfeed, baby wear, and love to decorate on a budget and cook healthy for my family. Sounds like we have a lot in common. : ) I am trying to find quick to make, healthy, and budget friendly organic and levitical diet based recipes. Thanks for the granola bar recipe! Blessings….
Jessica – I don’t see a reply to your question. The better nutritionists and MDs have been doing research for years on the effect of grains in our diets, and the results are not good. Anthropologist find that paleolithic man ate primarily lean meat, nuts, and seasonal fruits and vegetables and they were very healthy, build like our modern-day athletes. Once neolithic man began farming grain and dairy products many physiological maladies began to appear. Today most cases of obesity, diabetes and other diseases can be tied to extremely high calorie, low nutrient density diets, esp. grain/gluten products. Run a search for “The Paleo Solution” – and take a look at the info. on Robb Wolf’s website.
These look great. I do hope you plan on doing a cookbook one day!
[...] subscribe to the RSS feed for great healthy recipes, home decor tips, and more.Today, I made these grain-free granola bars, but when I was making the honey-coconut oil mixture, I dumped in a couple tablespoons of cocoa [...]
[...] This is one of those things where I think to myself “These things are not that good for me…. look at that ingredient list!” but I just can’t make myself care. I was on the verge of caving and getting the stuff to bake cookies (since I’ve tried gluten-free mixes and it just wasn’t the same). But as I was looking at recipes in multiple sites, trying to get a starting point for baking with coconut flour (see here to understand why) , I came across the recipe for Grain-Free Granola Bars on Joyful Abode. [...]
I just made these last night with a few alterations. I cooked down some apples and made applesauce and subbed that for some of the honey. I also baked it. I love them! They are so delicious. Already ate a ton of them.
I love your recipe and I love coconut, but my daughter does not like it. How do you think it will turn out if I omit it, or what else could I use in it’s place?
Thanks
http://www.joyfulabode.com/2008/04/11/homemade-granola-bar-recipe-no-high-fructose-corn-syrup-in-these-bars/
THESE ARE SO GOOD!!!! Thank you!!!!!
I made these to take camping over the weekend…..ummm…YUM! Used macadamia, almonds, and pecans for nuts and cranberries for fruit. They were a bit crumbly, next time I will try a different pan so I can press them a bit harder and maybe cook the honey mixture down a bit more. We are keeping them in the fridge and they stay together well when cool. Hubby LOVES them, cinnamon really pulls it together. Thanks for the great recipe!
I have an idea…you could drizzle melted dark chocolate over them too. Wow, I can hardly wait to make these too. I just made the other recipe last night.
I made these today after finding your site through Mark’s Daily Apple. They taste DELICIOUS, but they are really crumbly. Did I not cook the honey/oil mixture enough or did I not press it enough into the pan? I really want these to work out because I want something healthy for my kids and me as we run from hockey to Cub Scouts, etc….
Looks awesome!
Can’t wait to try these!
Where is a good place to look for the coconut?
And the oil as well.
THANKS!
newly gluten-free Me
oh yay! you’ve gone gluten-free? nifty.
The coconut oil is available in all the grocery stores around here … with the other cooking oils. Usually on the top shelf, and it’s in a jar, not a bottle.
The coconut – best place is Tropical Traditions online. Check out my coconut review/giveaway post for buying info and a chance to win … I’m “drawing” the winner TOMORROW so get in your entries now!
I Found the Ground coconut BUT I still have not been able to buy the Coconut Oil.
Is there anything else that you think I can sub for it in this recipe? I’d like to try & make these today.
Hubby special requested I do some with dried cherries & raisins & then some others with dark chocolate chips!
you can use butter instead of coconut oil.
hubby’s requests sound GOOD to me!
Awesome & Thanks!!
Straight across… So 1/4 cup of Butter instead?
yes, the same amount.
I found unsweetened coconut at our Kroger…
These look delicious! I’ll definitely try them. I tried your grain free chocolate muffins last week and loved them, thanks for all the great recipes.
Love this recipe, anxious to try it next weekend. Perfect for Primal/Paleo diets, love the fact that I can have a sweet treat without the sugar or grains and have it high in fat, which is what makes me burn the fat!
I think I might make mine in the little mini muffin tins and tap it down with some kind of tool……THEN for some of them I might drizzle some organic extra dark chocolate over them! Sounds like a great afternoon snack at the office
Thanks so much for your great blog, so happy I stumbled upon it today, let me know when you need my shipping address for my special deliver! LOL
I’m excited to try these! With a toddler allergic to corn, it is difficult to find a granola bar that he can have. (your granola bars with oats look great, as well!).
Since I used to be a HUGE fan of true granola bars I would LOVE to try these… I just might do so soon! So far your recipes have been super!
I think I will make these for the Grand Kids tomorrow !
Can’t wait to try this!! I was just thinking about a good homemade granola recipe the morning before you posted this. I just tried an organic one that tasted so easy to make!! Hope I like it!
These sound so good! Nice to have something healthy to grab and go.
I am definitely going to be trying these! Triathlon and paleo don’t really go together very well on the nutrition side of things… these look great for long run/ride fueling!
I’m not grain-free, but I will definitely try there. I’ve been wanting a granola bar recipe for my kids that will stick to their bones a little more than what I’ve been trying.
I really want to try these when I get around to buying more nuts (can’t keep them around the house or I eat them all :p)
[...] Well, the first thing I did when I got the coconut in the mail was use it to replace the oats in my homemade granola bars. And it did beautifully. So much so that the granola bars are almost gone. And I have to make some [...]
These look delish! I make grain-free granola all the time but now I have to try it in bar form. Thanks!
This is a great idea, though raw nuts are not the best, especially in these quantities. They should be soaked and dehydrated to rid them of enzyme inhibitors and anti-nutrients, especially phytic acid — which almonds for example, contain a lot of.
You always have the best recipes! I’m going to make these this week. They will be perfect for my kindergartener’s lunch and snack box and to throw into the diaper bag for my toddler (and me
) Thanks for all your hard work!
Aw, I hope your family loves them! I’m definitely making them again when we run out (looks like that’ll be tomorrow. haha).
Great recipe! I hope MDA links to this one.
These looks great! I will have to give them a try.
Thanks you, thank you! We just started the SCD for my daughter's Aspergers and this recipe looks great!
Definitely trying these this week for my preschooler's lunchbox! THANKS for posting!
How exciting to see a gluten free granola bar recipe. Thanks! Cannot wait to try it!