This recipe has been adapted from my book, Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook. I like my granola bars thick, so these are generously sized. You can press them into a larger pan for thinner, more traditionally-sized bars, if desired. Please note that the Prep time doesn't include chilling.
Author: Alisa Fleming
Serves: 20 bars
Ingredients
3 cups crispy rice cereal
2¼ cups quick oats (certified gluten free, if needed)
½ cup sliced almonds (see Nut-Free Option below)
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup agave nectar or honey
¼ to ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar (can sub coconut sugar for less sweet; see Sweetener Note below)
1 cup creamy almond butter or peanut butter
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt (can reduce to ¼ teaspoon if using salty nut butter)
⅔ cup dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips (mini chips if available; optional)
Instructions
Grease a 9 × 13-inch baking dish. (See note in intro above.)
In a large bowl, stir together the rice cereal, oats, almonds, and coconut.
Put the liquid sweetener and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and then immediately remove the saucepan from the heat. Whisk in the nut butter, vanilla, and salt until smooth.
Pour the hot, gooey mixture into the cereal mix and stir until well combined. Let cool for 2 minutes. Stir in the chocolate chips, if using.
Press the mixture very firmly into your prepared baking dish with a piece of plastic wrap, parchment paper, or wax paper to avoid sticking.
Place the bars in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Cut the mixture into fourths horizontally, and then fifths vertically to create long bars.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or in plastic freezer bags in the freezer to enjoy later.
Notes
Nut-Free Option: Substitute ½ cup more oats, shredded coconut, seeds, or chopped dried fruit for the almonds and use sunflower seed butter in place of the nut butter.
Sweetener Note: The full amount of brown sugar yields the stickiest, most cohesive results. But you can safely reduce that sweetener to ¼ cup for bars that are still pretty cohesive. If using coconut sugar, make sure it fully dissolves in the liquid sweetener. It will cause the bars to be a little less cohesive.