Nut Free Granola Bars

Delicious chewy granola bars made with oats, rice krispies and seeds. Completely nut free and perfect to add to lunch boxes or as an afternoon snack

This year I am working as an ambassador for FareShare, a UK charity fighting hunger and food waste by redistributing surplus food from the food industry to local charities and communities projects.

FareShare supports over 10,000 frontline charities and community groups including homeless shelters, children’s breakfast clubs, lunch clubs for older people and domestic violence refuges.

At this time of year they also support holiday hunger clubs through their #ActivateAte campaign, supplying food to over 400 holiday projects, providing nutritious meals and snacks to 50,000 children.

They really are a fantastic charity that are doing all they can to relieve food poverty and reduce food waste in the United Kingdom, something that is especially prevalent as we enter these times of financial uncertainty.

As part of my work with FareShare I’ve been creating using some of their most commonly redistributed food items.

Today’s recipe is perfect for back-to-school; it’s a delicious and filling granola bar made from oats, rice krispies, dried fruit and seeds.

But it’s completely nut free so great for lunch boxes as well as an after school snack.

A lot of schools and pre-schools these days have a “No Nut Policy” in place in order to protect children with a peanut allergy.

So I’m always looking to come up with safe snacks to send to school!And these chewy bars are perfect.

As well as being nut free, they are packed full of wholesome ingredients and much cheaper than store-bought granola bars too!

What Ingredients Will I Need For The Nut-Free Granola Bars?

• honey or other liquid sweetener – you could use maple syrup or even brown rice syrup
• butter – you could use coconut oil as it is safe for those with tree nut allergies as long as they are not allergic to coconut itself.
• brown sugar
• oats – you could use whole grain oats
• Rice Krispies
• wholemeal flour
• dried fruit
• mixed seeds (such as sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and chia seeds)
• desiccated coconut
• chocolate chips

The chocolate chips, dried fruit and the mixed seeds in this ingredient list are optional so feel free to leave those out if you like.

How To Make These Homemade Granola Bars

STEP 1

Add the butter and honey to a microwave bowl and heat gently in the microwave until the ingredients have melted together. You can also do this in a saucepan on the hob.

STEP 2

Add the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl, pour in the wet ingredients of melted butter and honey and mix well.

STEP 3

Add the chocolate chips, mix again and then add the mixture to a large square baking dish that is lined with parchment paper. You will need to press down very firmly on the mixture to make it as compact as possible.

The mixture is then baked in the oven for 20 minutes.

STEP 4

The next step is super important. Leave the cooked mixture to cool in the dish and then transfer to the fridge (or freezer) to cool completely. We need the mixture to be cold before cutting into bars to stop it from falling apart.

Storage Instructions

Once cut, the bars will keep in an airtight container the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for 1 month.

Serve them as delicious and filling snack after school or pop them into lunch boxes too.

You could even serve them as breakfast bars on mornings that you are running short on time or you just want to give the kids something jam packed with natural ingredients!!

If you’d like to learn more about FareShare, their work tackling hunger and food waste and also details on how you can get involved with fundraising and volunteering, head on over to their website now.

And if you do try my nut-free granola bar recipe, please do leave me a comment and a star rating below. You can also share your pictures with me on Instagram.  I always love to see your creations!

Or come and follow us on Facebook where I also share all my latest recipe ideas as well as tips and tricks to get your kids eating better.

Why not join our closed Facebook Group where you can come to ask for help and advice or just share your experiences with other parents.

If you liked this recipe you may also enjoy:

Nut Free Packed Lunch Fillers for Kids

Or if you are looking for more healthy snacks then head on over to our Snacks For Kids Section. Here you will find heaps of snack recipes that the kids are sure to love.

You can even filter our recipes by other common allergens and not just nut-free options!

All our recipes are family friendly. And use easy to find ingredients that you’ll be able to source from your local grocery store.

Our recipes are easy to follow and don’t require you to be a whizz in the kitchen! So even if you have very little cooking experience, you are sure to find easy to follow recipes. And ones that are sure to become firm family favourites.