These Vegan Peanut Butter Granola Bars are gluten-free, dairy-free, oil-free and just 8 ingredients. They are moist, chewy and have the most amazing texture thanks to oats and rice crisp cereal.
VEGAN PEANUT BUTTER GRANOLA BARS
Quaker peanut butter granola bars used to be my weakness. They are sweet, moist, chewy and delicious! So, as I was strolling down the cereal isle at the grocery store, I decided to look at the ridiculous list of ingredients on the box. I lost count…there must have been 20+ ingredients, which of course included corn syrup solids, oils and the worst…artificial sweeteners! I will not buy or eat a single thing with artificial ingredients. They are terrible and caused me terrible stomach pains and migraines in the past.
Vegan gluten-free AND oil-free peanut butter granola bars to the rescue. Those words just make me weak in the knees. Mine contain no butter, no oil, no weird ingredients and have a smaller list of ingredients! Just 8 ingredients for these amazingly, delicious vegan and gluten-free peanut butter bars. The batter honestly was so delicious, I debated just eating it without bothering to bake it at all.
Topped with a dairy-free chocolate drizzle, you can’t go wrong!
Let me know if you make these beauties! Leave me feedback below, I love hearing it! You can also tag me on Instagram using my hashtag #thevegan8, so I surely won’t miss it!
Vegan Peanut Butter Granola Bars (Gluten-free and Oil-free)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 cup brown rice crisp cereal (non-sweetened if possible)
- 1 cup QUICK cooking oats (you must quick oats and NOT regular or they'll fall apart)
- 1 tablespoon tapioca starch (helps to bind the bars well)
- 1/4 cup mini vegan chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup all natural creamy peanut butter with no additives
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup or agave
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional Peanut Butter Chocolate Drizzle
- 2 tablespoons vegan chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon peanut butter
Note
- If your peanut butter doesn't have any added salt (mine does), then add 1/8 teaspoon salt to the recipe.
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 350 degrees and line a 9X5 loaf pan with parchment paper hanging over the sides.
- In a small bowl, combine the warm water (I warmed mine for 20 seconds in the microwave) and flaxseed and whisk with a fork and set aside for 5-10 minutes, until thickened.
- In a separate bowl, mix the koala crisp cereal, oats, tapioca starch and chocolate chips together. Set aside.
- Add the peanut butter, syrup, vanilla to the flaxseed mixture and whisk really well, it should be smooth before adding to the dry ingredients. Combine the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until it is sticky and well incorporated. Use a spoon or rubber spatula to help press the mixture together.
- Spread the batter evenly with a rubber spatula into the lined pan and smooth out to the corners.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until firm and a firm top and very golden brown. Mine took right around 35 minutes, watch closely. Important: Let sit 20 minutes, then slice them carefully with a very sharp knife while they are still mildly warm and in the pan. Leave them IN THE PAN to cool at least another 30 minutes, then drizzle the chocolate sauce (if using) over them. They will firm up considerably while cooling, so don't remove while warm or they will fall apart. After they have completely cooled, then remove them with the parchment paper. Wrap individually if desired. These must be stored in the fridge to retain their firmness, they will become too delicate at room temperature but are perfect texture to eat straight out of the fridge.
- To make the Peanut Butter Chocolate Drizzle, combine all ingredients in a coffee mug, microwave for 30 seconds, stir, microwave again for 20-30 seconds, being careful not to burn. Microwave a few more seconds if necessary. Stir until melted and smooth and drizzle with a spoon over the completely cooled bars. Let chocolate harden by room temperature or in the fridge. Store bars in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
My kids would love them!
Since there is a double dog dare on the table, I have to try these. Have everything but the Koala cereal. Love granola bars these look great and like you won’t eat something with all the artificial stuff. Very nice!
Brandi, yours look SO much better than the quaker variety!
Thank you Somer!! Honestly, I think they taste better too…much more moist and full of REAL flavor! 🙂
Omg!! These are so delicious!! Brandi you so rock!!!
I’m so glad you loved them girl, now save some for your hubby and son, lol! 🙂
Thank you so much Nicole!! I hope you do and let me know if you try them! 🙂
I just did them!!! And it was in danger not even to get the oven!!! They are great. I even managed to find out what tapioca starch is and find my my local bio shop :))) I did them with Goji berries and they taste so good that I can not believe they are not popped up with sugar and other they put into these kind of bars 😉
Thank you for sharing your recepies ;))
Thank you so much Marija!! I’m so happy you loved them so much and that you found the tapioca, since I use it in so many recipes, you will now have it for many more! 😉 Thanks so much for your feedback, I really love hearing it 🙂
I made these today. Didn’t have choc chips so put in sunflower seeds and left off the chocolate topping glaze.
The other change I made: heated the peanut butter and maple syrup until melty.
They are awesome and they will become a staple in my kitchen. Exactly what I’ve been looking for in a granola bar.
Thank you. All the photos are awesome too.
Yay Anne, I’m so happy to hear you loved these so much! Thank you so much for the feedback and thank you for your sweet comment on my photos! 🙂
I made these bars earlier this week and could not believe how delicious they are! One taste of the batter & they almost didn’t make it into the oven! I did cook them, though, and they were everything that I’d hoped they would be! Delicious with or without the chocolate/peanut butter drizzle! Sadly, I only made one batch and now they’re gone! Time to make more, I guess!
Thank you so much Bridget for the wonderful feedback! I’m so happy to hear you loved them!! 🙂
As a new vegan I was excited to find a way to enjoy some chocolate. I made double batches of these bars twice this week, and they are delicious! My first batch looked/tasted like brownies because my chocolate chips melted after I subbed hot brown sugar syrup with the maple syrup. (I know my brown sugar is not technically “vegan”, but I already bought it previously.) I used Mom’s Best Crispy Cocoa Rice Cereal. My calorie count was 335 each, same size as original recipe but with about half the chocolate drizzle. I doubled recipe but didn’t double the drizzle, except for the peanut butter portion of drizzle — I used 2 tsp instead of one. (Note that the brown sugar syrup did not increase the calorie content, rather, it slightly reduced it.) I also did not listen to the oatmeal suggestion or refrigerate them and they hold together very well except for a few crumbs here and there. I used old fashioned oatmeal instead but blended it slightly in blender. However, I did follow the recipe regarding when to cut/rest before eating, used tapioca starch and ground flax seed/warm water as a binder. Thanks so much for this recipe!
So glad you loved them Beverly, thank you so much for the feedback!!
Could you use potato starch instead of tapioca?
Hi Kendra, I don’t think they would hold as well, but you can try it. Perhaps arrowroot would work better. Not sure though since I’ve only tested with tapioca.
Yes, adding more oats I wouldn’t have done. Since you changed the recipe and added more oats, that will definitely make them more crumbly. The directions aren’t to press the mixture in the pan, but rather press the mixture together into the bowl until it all comes together and is wet/sticky, which happens from the syrup and flaxseed gel mixture. It is not supposed to be a thick/stiff batter. Did you set aside the flaxseed and warm water until it got sticky?
The moisture from the batter is what makes the bars hold. I make them often and they hold together well. Did you use QUICK cooking oats as well and not regular??
Hi Brandi, I did the flaxseed as instructed. Ohhh, I misread your directions. When I saw “press,” I assumed to press in the pan. The batter was still very loose because I could even it out by shaking the pan a bit. I didn’t use quick oats; I blended regular oats in my Vitamix, probably close to instant oat texture (got carried away). My bad for not perfectly following your instructions:) My husband didn’t care for the texture of the crispies once refrigerated. Any sub ideas?
Ok, based on the blending of oats and adding extra, that definitely changed the texture of the bars and their structure. As far as subbing the crispies, I really don’t know without testing it. I love the added texture they provide, but I would this recipe below instead, there is a much smaller amount of crisp cereal and after the chilling instructions, they can be kept at room temp and they are not detectable like in these peanut butter bars.
These have been really popular with readers, so I would give them a shot instead! 🙂
https://thevegan8.com/2016/05/10/chocolate-pecan-granola-bars/
It’s like you wrote this recipe for me, the most avid peanut butter lover. These look amazing and the flavors sound unreal. Optional drizzle? I think not. I am in for the full drizzle variety please! And the texture looks awesome!
Thank you so much Sophia! Yes, big peanut butter lover here too. The texture is awesome, nice and chewy!
Second time making them. I doubled the recipe and plan to wrap them individually and keep in the freezer. Do you think putting them in the freezer will work? I will report back.
Thank you so much Linda! I’ve never tried freezing them personally, but would think they’d be ok!
Can I use date syrup instead?
I haven’t tried that but think it should work! Let me know!