Need a quick grab-and-go breakfast for busy mornings? These gluten-free breakfast bars are soft, chewy, and lightly sweetened with maple syrup. Packed with oats, coconut, and protein-rich seeds, they make a wholesome breakfast or snack. They’re also dairy-free and can easily be made nut-free or egg-free making them perfect for the whole family.
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❤️ Sandi’s Recipe Summary
My gluten-free breakfast bar recipe is a kid-friendly snack bar that is insanely good. I loaded these bars with protein and wholesome ingredients…but don’t tell my kids! They would definitely not eat these breakfast bars if they knew!!
You can even put these oatmeal bars into their lunchbox for a mid-day snack. I put raisins in them, but you can use any dried fruit. Make a double batch and freeze the extras. They defrost quickly when you need something quick.
You will love that these breakfast bars are moist, delicious, and packed with delicious ingredients to keep you full! If you love easy breakfast recipe ideas as much as we do, check out all of my gluten-free breakfast recipes.
Ingredient Notes and Easy Swaps:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Gluten-Free Rolled Oats – IMPORTANT note about oats…if you are gluten-free, it is critical to make sure the oats you use are gluten-free! Oats are easily cross-contaminated with wheat, so really make sure, so you stay safe.
- Gluten-Free Flour Blend – I tested this recipe with Walmart Great Value 1:1 blend. The original version called for Tigernut Flour, which added more nutrition. Other blends will also work in this recipe.
- Xanthan Gum – Make sure the blend you use contains xanthan gum. If it doesn’t, add 3/4 teaspoon. Learn more about why binders matter in gluten-free baking.
- Almond Flour – I love to add almond flour, almond meal also works due to the texture of theese breakfast bars. I prefer Anthony’s brand is great because they test their blend to ensure it is gluten-free.
- Shredded Coconut – Use unsweetened coconut.
- Baking Powder – Use aluminum-free.
- Ground Flaxseed Meal – I tested ground flaxseeds to add to the texture and to help bind the bars.
- Chia Seeds – These little seeds add more protein and help hold these bars together.
- Coconut Oil – I used melted coconut oil, but any oil will work.
- Eggs – Use large eggs. To make this egg-free, swap an equal amount of applesauce for the eggs.
- Maple Syrup – I use maple syrup as the sweetener to keep these bars refined sugar-free. Use pure maple syrup. You can see which maple syrup brands are gluten-free.
A Note From My Kitchen
This gluten-free breakfast bar recipe is very forgiving, making it perfect for those who are new to gluten-free baking. I include lots of swaps to omit different allergens. You can omit other ingredients like chia seeds and flaxseed meal, preferably not omitting both because they help bind these bars to hold them together. If you do need to omit both, you need to add a 2-3 tablespoons of additional gluten-free flour blend.
I tested this recipe using two types of oil, and without chia or flaxseed meal. Each way still turned out very good. I can’t wait to hear what you think of this recipe! These bars are not super sweet, so if you want to make them a bit sweeter, add more maple syrup to taste. These bars benefit from resting the batter for 15 minutes so the oats and seeds can rehydrate.
How to Make Gluten-Free Breakfast Bars (Step-By-Step)
Step 1: Add all of your dry ingredients to a large
Step 2: Add your wet ingredients into a smaller bowl and whisk. I whisk everything except the melted coconut oil, then temper the oil by adding a little warm coconut oil at a time. This will prevent the oil from cooking the eggs.
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Step 3: Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix well. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes so the oats and seeds can absorb moisture.
Step 4: Line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper or use gluten-free baking spray. Scoop the breakfast bar batter into the baking dish. The batter will be bit thick due to the oats, so you will need to use a spoon to spread the mixture around. (This thickness is normal! If your batter is a lot wetter, add a bit more flour.
Step 5: Bake these oatmeal bars at 350º F for 25 minutes until they are slightly golden on top.
Step 6: Transfer the baked bars to a cooling rack to cool. If you used parchment paper, lift the bars out of the pan and place them on the cooling rack. Allow the bars to cool fully before slicing.
For more tips, ready my Gluten-Free Baking Tips guide.
Try these mix-ins for more flavor:
You can also use any kind of nuts you like.
- Pecans, walnuts, slivered almonds
- Dried cranberries and other fruit.
- Chocolate chips
Storage and Freezing Tips:
- These oatmeal bars will keep fresh for up to 4 days in an airtight container for up to 4 months in the freezer.
- Freeze the cooled oat breakfast bars in a freezer-safe zipper bag. (Freeze sliced bars between parchment layers to prevent them sticking together.)
Frequently Asked Questions:
You can easily substitute the flour blend I tested for an equal amount of your favorite gluten-free flour blend. You may also enjoy using my Gluten-Free Whole Grain Flour Blend.
To make these bars nut-free, swap the almond flour for 1/2 cup of additional flour. Omit the walnuts.
Yes, you can use a different oil if you don’t have coconut oil. I have also tested using avocado oil in this recipe.
Yes, my reader Jackie swaped an equal amount of applesauce for the eggs. She said it worked beautifully.
Regular oats are not safe for Celiac because they get cross-contaminated with wheat during processing. It is important to use gluten-free oats grown under the purity protocol. Unfortunately, one reader told me that gluten-free oats do not exist in Australia.
Yes, it is easy to make these breakfast bars vegan. Use my egg-free substitution.
More Gluten-Free Recipes with Oats:
Gluten-free oats bake beautifully in so many of my recipes. Here are some of my favorite gluten-free recipes with oats on the blog:
- Gluten-Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gluten-Free Oatmeal Muffins
- Giant Skillet Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookie (pizookie)
- Easy Gluten-Free Baked Oatmeal
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Please include which flour blend you used. This will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Easy Gluten-Free Breakfast Bars
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup gluten free rolled oats * see note
- ¼ cup gluten free flour blend * see note
- 3 tablespoons flaxseed meal
- ½ cup almond flour * see note
- 1 teaspoon baking powder aluminum-free
- ½ cup coconut oil
- ⅓ cup maple syrup If you like it sweeter, add 1 tablespoon more.
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F. Use the bake and not the convection bake setting.
- Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper or use gluten-free baking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 1/4 cup gluten free rolled oats, 1/4 cup gluten free flour blend, 3 tablespoons flaxseed meal, 2 tablespoons chia seeds, 1/2 cup almond flour, and 1 teaspoon baking powder. Mix well.
- In a medium bowl, add 1/2 cup coconut oil (melted), 1/3 cup maple syrup, and 2 large eggs. Whisk to blend. Do not make the coconut oil too hot when melting it. You don't want it to cook your eggs. Melt it for just 20-25 seconds so it is liquid enough to mix into the wet ingredients without clumps.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and add the 1/2 cup raisins, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, and1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut and mix well into a thick batter. The batter should resemble cookie dough and be fairly thick.
- Scoop the breakfast bar batter into the prepared 8×8 pan and press down lightly with the back of a wooden spoon to pack it down.
- Bake 25 minutes or until done. Remove to a cooling rack. Cut when the breakfast bars are fully cooled.
Notes
- It is critical to use gluten-free rolled oats if you are Celiac. Cross-contamination runs high in regular oats.
- I tested this recipe with Walmart Great Value gluten-free flour blend and using just tigernut flour. All blends should work in this recipe.
- If your gluten-free flour blend doesn’t contain a binder, please add 3/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum.
- To make this recipe nut-free, omit the almond flour and substitute an additional 1/3 cup gluten free flour blend.
- To make this recipe egg-free, swap applesauce for the eggs in an equal amount.
- To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the oatmeal bars. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the bars need to bake longer.
- These breakfast bars will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, my rule of thumb is to add more flour if your dough or batter is wet and add more liquid if the dough or batter is too dry!
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
This post was updated from an older post from 2/2015.
I truly hope you enjoy this recipe. I have been testing and creating gluten-free recipes for over 15 years. Creating gluten-free recipes that do not taste gluten-free is my goal for every recipe. Sometimes I only have to test a new recipe a couple of times, and others it takes multiple times. I do this so you get reliable, delicious results every time!
I was planning on making these but I see several references to GF flour blend but then it’s not listed in the ingredients. Is it only used for people not wanting to use almond and tigernut flours or should it be used in addition to those flours? Thanks for clarifying.
Hi April, In the notes in the recipe card, I said if you can’t find Tigernut flour to use a regular gluten free flour blend. You would use the same amount at 1/4 cup. I hope this helps.
I make these in my snack bar maker instead of a pan. They come out great and easy to grab and go!
I am so glad you like these Ana 🙂
I don’t have the xanthan gum or coconut flour, could i use more almond flour opposed to the coconut flour. What’s the xanthan gum do? Any substitutions?
Thanks
Melanie
Hi Melanie, almond flour and coconut flour behave very differently. Coconut flour needs a ton of moisture where almond flour doesn’t absorb much moisture. I haven’t tested what you ask about…I would say to try using just gluten free flour blend.
I recommend these with 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp vanilla! They are perfect bars to satisfy my sweet tooth while not being tempting enough to eat the whole pan! Thanks for the recipe!
That sounds delicious!
We just made a double batch of this wonderful healthy treat! I am on an egg free diet, so used 1/3c applesauce for each egg and all went well! The coconut, raisins and walnuts (just roughly chopped at this house!) all added to our enjoyment! Breakfasts always give me pause wondering what quick and healthy could fill me up and this is a delicious option.
We thank you, Sandi 🙂
Wow, I love your idea to make this egg free too. Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let me know you liked this recipe :-).
Oooh! These sound really good! – Except for the flaxseed. I don’t “do” flaxseed. Is there anything I could substitute for that? I would love to try your recipe!
I would just omit the flaxseed and use more almond flour in the same quantity.
Yes! I think my daughter would like these for breakfast but I think these would especially be good for my mid morning snack. I’m going to try these tomorrow. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
You are very welcome Dionne 🙂
The only strategy that really works for me is the hardest one – make them go to bed so they get the necessary sleep for their age. When DD gets enough sleep she is able to wake up on her own – and when she does the strategy is to make sure she is dressed before she eats breakfast (that motivates her). If she goes to bed too late, I have to wake her up and it’s next to impossible to get her out on time.
Kids need a lot more sleep than they are getting so it requires tough work to prioritize, Sleep comes before screen time and extra curricular activities so if she can’t get to bed on time on day 1, she loses the privilege of screen time on day 2.
Good luck!
I hear you Jean…we used to do this when our kids were a lot younger. Now that the kids are teenagers, it is really hard because of all of the homework. We enforce a pretty strict 9:30 bedtime here.