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Whip up a big batch of these tasty nut free breakfast bars – perfect for packing into your kiddo’s lunchbox or enjoying as a wholesome pick-me-up! Crafted with love and packed with healthy ingredients, they’re a nut-free option for snacking and safe for nut-free school lunches. Save the extras in your freezer for an instant afternoon snack!
Best Nut Free Granola Bars
Whether your child has a nut allergy or you simply need nut-free granola bars for school, this recipe is the perfect choice! The bars are made with sunflower seed butter to keep them nut-free, and they’re baked in the oven instead of served raw. This give them a more soft and chewy texture and allows you to add extra protein from the eggs!
Since one batch makes a dozen full-size bars (or 24 mini ones), you can easily make your own homemade granola bars on the weekend and serve them all week long!
For more nutritious and easy homemade bars, try these 3-ingredient banana oatmeal bars, strawberry banana oat bars or pressed fruit bars.
Save the recipe for later!
Why We Love These Peanut Free Granola Bars
- Healthier alternative: It’s hard to find store-bought granola bars that are actually nutritious! They often contain so much sugar that they’re more like a dessert than a snack. This nut-free granola bar recipe is made with simple ingredients that are genuinely good for you, like fiber-rich oats, eggs, and more. You’ll feel good about serving these to your kids!
- Minimally sweetened: Many “healthy” granola bars are loaded with sugar! These bars have just enough sweetness from the honey and the mini chocolate chips. You can even use stevia-sweetened chips to lower the sugar even more or use add-ins like seeds or unsweetened coconut.
- Safely nut-free: Sunbutter is my go-to alternative to peanut butter or almond butter since it’s made in a nut-free dedicated facility. Your kids will still get the healthy fats and delicious flavor, but you won’t have to worry about triggering any food allergies.
Ingredient Notes
- Old-fashioned rolled oats: These are a better choice than quick oats, which won’t have the same texture after baking.
- Whole eggs: To bind the bars together and give them a crispy, chewy bite. Also adds extra protein.
- Sun butter: This is a paste made from sunflower seeds. Feel free to use pumpkin seed butter instead.
- Hemp seeds: These are packed with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and essential vitamins and minerals, like Vitamin E, phosphorous, magnesium, and more (source). Chia seeds or ground flax seeds will work, too.
- Honey: For a little sweetness. Honey should only be given to kids over the age of one. You can also use maple syrup as an alternative, although the bars might not bind together as well.
- Vanilla extract: This will add a sweet aroma and extra flavor.
- Salt: To draw out flavor. Skip this for babies or toddlers.
- Mini chocolate chips: I use these all the time because they add a crunch and a little chocolate flavor without too much sugar.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the oats, eggs, sun butter, hemp seeds, honey, vanilla and salt. Fold in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
- Line a 9×9 inch baking dish or pan with parchment paper. Transfer the oat mixture to the prepared pan. With the back of a rubber spatula, firmly press the mixture into the pan in an even layer. If desired, press additional chocolate chips into the top.
- Bake granola bars for 15-17 minutes or until the center is baked through and the edges are just starting to become golden brown. Start checking at 14 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire cooling rack.
- Allow the bars to cool completely before using a sharp knife to cut mixture into 24 smaller bars or 12 larger bars.
Keep scrolling to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
RECIPE TIPS
- Seed butter can be expensive! Make your own using roasted sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds and a food processor. Blend the seeds in the food processor until they turn into a thick, glossy paste. If you go this route, just be sure that the seeds are made in a nut-free facility to ensure that there’s no cross-contamination.
- I recommend transferring the block of granola bars to a cutting board to cut them evenly. For easy storage, wrap them each individually in a small piece of parchment, wax paper or plastic wrap.
- The mixture can be sticky. If you have trouble pressing down the bars, run the spatula under water first. It’s also really important to line the pan with parchment for easier removal.
- If you have two 9-inch square pans, try making a double batch! Freeze the extra bars to have them on hand at all times.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! There are many different granola bar recipes out there, and you certainly do not have to use peanuts. These easy nut-free bars are made with sunflower seed butter, which is a very easy swap for peanut butter.
It’s wild how sugary the granola bars from the grocery store can be, even the nut-free ones! This entire recipe uses 1/3 cup of honey, which is enough to sweeten 12 full-sized bars or 24 mini ones. That’s not a lot at all!
You can also use maple syrup or brown rice syrup if you prefer. Just mix the ingredients together, press them into a lined square baking dish, bake, and cut! It’s that easy.
In addition to these nut-free snack bars, I recommend focusing on snacks that offer protein (i.e. hard-boiled eggs, cheese sticks, etc.) and fiber (i.e. fresh fruit, veggies, and hummus).
For a grab-and-go option, try simple nut-free recipes like these Banana Pumpkin Bars or ABC Muffins. Just like the granola bars, they can be frozen for months at a time. Pop ’em in the lunch bag, and they’ll be thawed by lunchtime!
Storage Guidelines
- The leftover bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 5-7 days.
- You can also wrap them individually and freeze them in a bag for several months for an easy snack.
Serving Suggestions
These homemade granola bars without nuts can be served any time of the day! They’re a great on-the-go alternative to oatmeal or granola for breakfast and are especially great as a school snack since they’re free from nuts.
For an easy breakfast, pair them with fresh fruit, yogurt or a fruit smoothie to make them even more filling! Try them with any of these options:
Recipe Variations
- Change the mix-ins: Instead of chocolate chips, use dried cranberries, raisins, pepitas, coconut shreds, etc.
- For more crunch: Sub in 1 cup of crispy brown rice cereal for 1 cup of the oats.
- Use a different liquid sweetener: Honey can generally be replaced with maple syrup and brown rice syrup.
- To make egg-free: Use flax eggs instead of whole eggs.
- Blueberry vanilla bars: Use dried blueberries and add twice as much vanilla extract.
- Don’t require nut-free? These bars are also delicious with peanut butter or almond butter, or try out this Heavenly Hunks recipe!
More Nut-Free Recipes
- 3-Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Waffles
- 3-Ingredient Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies
- 3-Ingredient Cookies {No Egg, No Butter}
- Mini Chocolate Cupcakes
- Healthy Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? SCROLL DOWN TO LEAVE A STAR RATING AND REVIEW!
Best Nut Free Breakfast Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 3 whole eggs (or use flax eggs)
- 3/4 cup Sunbutter
- 1/3 cup hemp seeds
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips, plus extra for sprinkling on top (or a mixture of other desired add-ins like dried cranberries, pepitas, coconut, etc.)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the oats, eggs, sun butter, hemp seeds, honey, vanilla and salt. Fold in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
- Line a 9×9 inch baking dish or pan with parchment paper. Transfer the oat mixture to the prepared pan. With the back of a rubber spatula, firmly press the mixture into the pan in an even layer. If desired, press additional chocolate chips into the top.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the center is baked through and the edges are just starting to become golden brown. Start checking at 14 minutes. Remove from the oven and place pan on a wire cooling rack.
- Allow the bars to cool completely before using a sharp knife to cut mixture into 24 smaller bars or 12 larger bars.
Notes
- The mixture can be sticky. If you have trouble pressing down the bars, run the spatula under water first. It’s also really important to line the pan with parchment for easier removal.
- If you have two 9-inch square pans, try making a double batch! Freeze the extra bars to have them on hand at all times.
