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Home » Recipes

Nut Free Granola Bars

Published: Feb 3, 2015 · Updated: Sep 6, 2020 by Kristi Winkels, RDN, LD · This post may contain affiliate links · 1 Comment

Packaged nut free granola bars can be hard to find so why not make your own? These granola bars are free of the top 8 allergens, easy to make, nutritious, and delicious!

Overhead view of three nut free granola bars
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  • Ingredients
  • Nutrition notes
  • More allergy friendly snack ideas
  • 📖 Recipe
  • 💬 Comments

Granola bars are convenient, portable, and can be very nutritious, too! While there are some allergy friendly packaged granola bars available, many bars have common allergens or cross contact with common allergens.

Bars that are allergy friendly can be hard to find at the regular grocery store. I also found that my son could eat two or three of them before he would feel full making them fairly expensive.

So, why not make your own?

Ingredients

To make these granola bars, you'll need a few special ingredients but they are usually easy to find at the regular grocery store or online.

Protein powder

You can choose whichever protein powder works for you - there are so many to choose from these days! Rice, hemp, and pea proteins are the one I see the most that are dairy free.

Read my guide all about allergy free protein powders for suggestions.

Sunflower butter

I try to use the natural varieties without added sugar for these bars because there's already sugar in the recipe. If you only have a variety that has sugar added, you can reduce the amount of brown sugar to ⅓ cup instead of ½ cup.

Sunflower seeds

These add a nice "nutty" texture to the bars without actually adding nuts. With that said, seeds might be susceptible to cross-contact with peanuts and tree nuts during processing. Be sure to choose a sunflower seed variety that does not have cross contact with peanuts and tree nuts.

If you can't have sunflower seeds or don't like them, you could also try pumpkin seeds!

And if you just don't want seeds at all, you can omit the seeds and the bars will still be delicious!

Ground flaxseed (aka flaxseed meal)

Ground flax adds fiber and essential fatty acids (omega-3's) to the mix. It also works as a binder (I use flax eggs often in baking for that reason).

You can find ground flaxseed at most grocery stores. Be sure to store ground flax in the refrigerator to retain the omega-3's in them.

Oats

Oats are naturally free of the top 8 allergens but may be susceptible to cross-contact with wheat and other grains containing gluten (barley and rye). If you are very sensitive to wheat/gluten, be sure to find certified gluten free oats.

Nut free granola bar

Nutrition notes

These nut free granola bars have a bit more protein than many of the "allergy friendly" granola bars out there.  To boost the protein content, I used sunflower butter, sunflower seeds (also great sources of healthy fats!), and protein powder.

The rolled oats and flax seed meal add some healthy carbohydrates for quick energy as well as some fiber. This is a snack that is free of the top 8 allergens and is nutritious, too!

More allergy friendly snack ideas

  • Allergy Friendly No Bake Snack Bites
  • Silly Monkey Smoothie
  • Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies {Top 9 Allergen Free!}
  • Allergy Free Snacks That Kids (And Adults) Love

📖 Recipe

Nut free granola bars

Nut Free Granola Bars

Kristi Winkels, RDN, LD
These granola bars are a good source of protein, fiber, and complex carbohydrates. They are free of dairy, egg, soy, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish. For a gluten free bar, be sure to use gluten free oats.
5 from 4 votes
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Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 35 mins
Course Snack
Servings 24 bars
Calories 157 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup oil canola, vegetable, grapeseed, etc
  • 2 tablespoons molasses
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • ¼ cup water
  • ⅓ cup flax seed meal
  • ⅔ cup sunflower butter
  • ⅓ cup allergy friendly protein powder (for example, rice, hemp, or pea)
  • ⅓ cup sunflower seeds
  • 3 cups rolled oats gluten free

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with safe cooking spray.
  • In a mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, oil and molasses; mix well. Add the salt, vanilla, water, sunflower butter, protein powder and flax seed meal; mix well. Mix in the oats and sunflower seeds. Pour mixture into prepared baking pan and press firmly into the bottom of the pan. Tip: I find that hands that have a little water on them work well for pressing the mixture into the pan (no sticking!)
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. When completely cooled, cut into squares and serve or keep in an airtight container (they'll keep for 5-7 days).

Notes

Nutrition Facts: Serving size: 1 bar, calories: 157, Total fat:9 grams, saturated fat: 0.8 g, sodium: 60 mg, carbohydrates: 15, fiber: 2.5, sugar: 6, protein: 5 grams

Nutrition

Calories: 157kcal
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Kristi Winkels, RDN, LD
Kristi Winkels, RDN, LD
Kristi Winkels is a Registered Dietitian and food allergy mom who helps people navigate dietary restrictions due to food allergies and intolerances. Read more about Kristi and get in touch here.
Kristi Winkels, RDN, LD
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About Kristi Winkels, RDN, LD

Kristi Winkels is a Registered Dietitian and food allergy mom who helps people navigate dietary restrictions due to food allergies and intolerances. Read more about Kristi and get in touch here.

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  1. Kay says

    September 06, 2020 at 2:30 pm

    These turned out great! We took them on a camping trip and they were a satisfying snack on our hikes!5 stars

    Reply

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