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!
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.
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
📖 Recipe
Nut Free Granola Bars
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
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Kay says
These turned out great! We took them on a camping trip and they were a satisfying snack on our hikes!