Homemade gluten-free vegan granola bars are easy to make and much healthier than store-bought varieties.
I’ve been experimenting over the past several months with gluten-free baking, and it’s more complicated than I anticipated. The flours are all very particular and yield quite different results. Because I’m stubborn, I keep trying to create my own recipes instead of adapting from others. There have been many failed muffin attempts. It’s very frustrating, but I do like a challenge.
One recipe that I’ve successfully adapted is my vegan granola bars. Gluten-free oats are technically the same as regular oats, but they’re processed in a gluten-free facility. These gluten-free vegan granola bars are delicious and if you’re trying to follow a gluten-free diet, they’re a great snack or breakfast option. I swapped out a lot of other ingredients in this version and added some fun extras. The figs and dates are chewy and sweet. The cacao nibs add a touch of chocolate flavor and crunch. You can easily swap out the Earth Balance for regular butter if you just want a vegetarian bar. Enjoy!
Gluten-Free Vegan Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 cups gluten-free rolled oats (I use Bob's Red Mill)
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar (depends how sweet you want them)
- 1/3 cup oat flour (or gluten free flour of your choice)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 cup dried figs
- 1/2 cup medjool dates
- 1/2 cup unsalted cashews
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup cacao nibs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 6 tablespoons melted Earth Balance or coconut oil
- 1/4 cup agave nectar
- 1/2 cup almond butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9×9 brownie pan with parchment paper (allow two sides to hang over the edges for easy removal) and lightly grease with either cooking spray or Earth Balance.
- Coarsely chop the cashews, figs and dates. Keep in mind that the bars hold together better and are easier to cut when the pieces are smaller.
- In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
- In a smaller bowl, combine wet ingredients except for the almond butter.
- Combine the wet ingredients into the dry along with the almond butter. Stir well to make sure everything is evenly combined.
- Move the ingredients into the greased pan. Use plastic wrap to very firmly press the mixture down evenly so that it’s in the corners and flat on top.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes. Look for browning around the edges.
- After removing from the oven, allow to cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes on a cooling rack, then finish cooling in the refrigerator until chilled.
- Use a knife or bench scraper to make 8 rectangle or 9 square bars. Wrap individually and chill.
Notes
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Recipe Troubleshooting
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Yum and yum! These are healthy, delicious and with whole ingredients – we love it all! Wonderful job with this creation and best of luck continuing with your gluten free baking experiments :)
These sound really good! So healthy and delicious! Saves on all that packaging from store bought granola bars too.
Could you chop the figs, dates, and nuts in a food processor? Or would that make them like a paste? I like to “cut corners” wherever I can ;)
Of course! Just pulse them.
Love the picture and the recipe! I’ve been wanting to make healthy granola bars and I like everything about this recipe, can’t wait to give it a try;-)
These look fantastic! I just love a good granola bar. Thanks for the recipe. :)
i’m glad the only claim was that they are gluten free…these are a bad as the store…added sugar,on top of very sweet fruits and the sweeter nuts and then a high frutious syrup
I didn’t call them healthy!
These look wonderful. I think I’ll be making these for a breakfast with my neighbor gals!
Do you have another granola bar that you can share ? I am not into gluten free, I can eat it but don’t need it. can I use this recipe and use regular oats, etc that you have in your recipe ? Also what can I substitute for the cacao nibs as I cannot have caffeine? Thank you so much, and I love most all your recipes today……
Hey Mona! This recipe is super easy to customize which is one of the reasons I really love it. You can use regular oats, regular flour, regular butter, etc. You can also omit the cacao nibs entirely and use whatever nuts and dried fruit you prefer. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Thank you so much, now I can make it :)
Mona
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