Gluten-Free Granola Bars with Almonds & Seeds
These gluten-free granola bars are no-bake, naturally sweetened granola bars made with dates, almonds, chia, hemp, flax, and a touch of chocolate. Made with gluten-free or regular rolled oats, they're a meal-prep friendly snack that keeps in the fridge all week or the freezer for up to a month.
Servings: 16 bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup Gluten Free Rolled Oats or regular rolled oats
- 1 cup Almonds raw
- 15-18 Dates pitted
- 2 tablespoons Ground Flax Meal
- 1 tablespoon Hemp Seeds
- 2 tablespoons Chia Seeds
- ½ cup Shredded Coconut Flakes unsweetened
- ½ teaspoon Sea Salt
- ¼ cup Coconut Oil melted
- ½ teaspoon Almond Extract
- 2 tablespoons Mini Chocolate Chips or dairy free chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a food processor layer dates, almond and oats. Pulse the blender several times until finely chopped.
- To the mixture, add coconut oil, salt, almond extract, flax meal, hemp, chia and coconut flakes. Blend on high until a sticky mixture forms. If a sticky mixture doesn't form, add more dates, one at a time, until it does.
- Remove the mixture from the blender and transfer to a small mixing bowl. Add chocolate chips to the bowl and stir until dispersed throughout the batter.
- Prepare an 8-inch x 8-inch square baking dish by criss-crossing parchment paper allowing it to hang over the edges of the baking dish for easy removal.
- Transfer the mixture to the baking dish, pressing it firmly into the pan to flatten and even it out.
- Refrigerate the bars overnight. In the morning, remove the bars from the baking dish by lifting the sides of the parchment paper up. Cut into 16 bars with a pizza cutter or large sharp knife.
Video
Notes
- Use soft dates. Medjool dates are ideal. If yours are stiff, soak them in hot water for 10 minutes and drain well before adding to the food processor.
- Don't skip the overnight chill. The coconut oil needs time to solidify and bind the bars and cutting too early leads to crumbling.
- Press firmly into the pan. The more pressure you apply, the better the bars hold together. Use a flat-bottomed cup or your palm.
- Add chocolate chips by hand. Fold them in after blending, not before — the food processor generates enough heat to melt them.
- Storage. Store bars in the refrigerator up to a week or in the freezer up to one month.
Nutrition
Serving: 1bar | Calories: 163kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 0.3mg | Sodium: 76mg | Potassium: 155mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 11IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 1mg