These granola bars are truly delicious. Everybody that taste them loved them. Really. I’m not kidding. They’re amazing. They taste a bit like the middle-eastern dessert called Halva, which is made with tahini and honey. It’s definitely not the same but the taste reminded me a bit that dessert.

The bars are not baked so they are super easy to make. You mix all the ingredients together and spread the batter into a square baking pan until firm. Then you slice and make bars. You need to keep the bars in the refrigerator but they are easily transportable and good for the lunch box. If you like no-bake granola bars, you may also want to check out this other no-bake granola bar recipe I posted recently. It’s really yummy.

Talking lunch box, this is why I originally made these bars. It was to be able to give to my preschooler to bring to school for his morning snack. Thing is.. There is sunflower seeds in them and there was a new allergy in his class with sunflower seeds so I wasn’t able to give it to my son for his snack. If your children can bring seeds but not nuts, then they can bring those bars at school.

What’s in them?

Quick cooking oats, mini vegan dark chocolate chips, sunflower seeds, tahini, maple syrup, coconut flakes, coconut oil, cinnamon and pink salt. Only nutritious ingredients you actually want to eat, all combined in a bar. Yum.

The bars are vegan and gluten-free if using gluten-free labeled oats. They take about 15 minutes to make. It’s also a fun and easy cooking activity with your little ones. Plus, they will love to eat the batter, especially with chocolate chips in them!

Look at the batter here. Just missing a spoon.

You then need to press the batter firmly into the prepared pan. Looks like this once it’s done. Then you refrigerate for a couple hours so it holds together. If you cut too early they may crumble a bit.

Then you cut into bars. (I just said to NOT cut too early as they may crumble a bit but I did cut mine too early because I wanted to take the picture before the sun goes down lol – it still worked but was a bit crumbly)

The amount of bars will vary depending how you cut them. I made small bars but you could make larger ones.

They’re so good. Really. I hope you enjoy them too. Let me know if you make them!

Print Recipe

Nut-free Granola Bars

These nut-free granola bars are easy to make and require no baking. They are made with ingredients like tahini, maple syrup and coconut oil, and are vegan and gluten-free. They are perfect for the lunch box.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Total Time15 minutes mins

Servings: 18

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups quick cooking oats
• ½ cup mini dark chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/3 cup coconut flakes
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch unrefined salt
• ¾ cup tahini
• ½ cup pure maple syrup
• ¼ cup melted or softened coconut oil

Instructions

• Lightly oil a 9x9 baking pan with coconut oil and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, chocolate chips, sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, cinnamon and salt and stir to combine.
• Add in tahini, maple syrup and coconut oil, and mix with a wooden spatula or your clean hands until well incorporated.
• Put the batter into the prepared pan and press firmly with your hands.
• Place in the refrigerator until set.
• Slice into bars and put bars into a glass container. Store in the refrigerator.