Nut-Free Granola Bars (Gluten-Free and Vegan)

Front angle view on a few vegan nut-free granola bars filled with chocolate chips and cranberries that are placed on a wooden board covered with parchment paper.

5 from 1 vote

Nut-Free Granola Bars (Gluten-Free and Vegan)

These easy one-bowl nut-free granola bars are so tasty and filled with chewy dried cranberries and dark chocolate chips. They make for a healthy school safe snack that's fully plant-based and gluten-free.

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Total Time35

Course: Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Vegan

Servings: bars

Calories: 276kcal

Author: Jessica laroche

Ingredients

¾ cup vegan milk soy or oat, choose nut-free
½ cup pumpkin seed butter
½ cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups rolled oats
2 tbsp chia seeds
⅓ cup dried cranberries or raisins
⅓ cup chocolate chips
⅓ cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 350º. Line a 8 x 8 square pan with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine the vegan milk, pumpkin seed butter, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Whisk well so there are no pumpkin seed butter clumps anymore. Then, add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine.
Transfer to the prepared pan, press using a spatula or the bottom of a glass (it needs to be super tight and make sure to press the edges too!) and bake for 25 minutes.
Let cool completely in the fridge before cutting (and cut while still in the mold, they will keep their shape better).

Video

Notes

The secret to make these bars hold well is: 1- press tightly before baking, 2- cool completely in the fridge before slicing and 3- slice right into the baking dish to contain them when pressing with your knife. Don't skip on these tips!
I love to make my own pumpkin seed butter when making this granola bar recipe. You can use sunflower seed butter too, although I found the overall taste better when using pumpkin seed butter (personal preference).
Store the bars in the fridge so they stay fresh longer (4-5 days). You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
Feel free to swap the dried cranberries for other dried fruits such as blueberries, raisins, apricots or cherries. Chop them if too large so they are about the same size as the chocolate chips.
Nutrition: please note that the nutritional information is an estimate per serving provided for informational purposes only (calculated by software) and accuracy is not guaranteed. Consult with your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if you need precise nutrition calculations for health reasons.

Nutrition