If you love magic bars, these caramel gluten free magic bars will be a treat for you! These creamy, gooey magic bars have a gluten free graham cracker crust and many layers of yumminess. I also include a dairy-free version!
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Don’t these gluten free magic bars look good? You may recognize these as 7 Layer Bars, but many call them magic bars, too. If sweet desserts are your thing, grab a pan because you will want to eat these gluten free bars!
We are crazy for cookies in the Fearless Dining household. If you are a gluten free cookie fanatic, please check out all of my delicious gluten free cookie recipes.
Why I love these gluten free magic bars:
- This recipe yields gooey magic cookie bars. Your family will love them!
- They are made with simple, easy-to-find ingredients.
- This recipe is easy to customize with different nuts and types of chocolate and mix-ins.
- There is a dairy-free option! If you are looking for gluten free dairy-free magic bars, you will love using these simple recipe substitutions (see the FAQ below for specific product recommendations to make them dairy-free.)
These bars are AWESOME! We made them for a family gathering and one person has celiac
cathy b., blog comment
disease. EVERYONE loved them and we got lots of requests for the recipe.
(I shared your site with them). Very easy to make.”
If you love chocolate and coconut, try my easy Gluten Free Coconut Macaroon recipe!
Allergen Information:
This recipe is gluten-free, soy-free, and vegetarian. There are dairy-free and nut-free options. See the FAQ for directions.
Ingredient Notes:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Gluten Free Graham Crackers – I love using Pamela’s Honey Graham’s best as they crumble better than some other brands.
- Condensed Milk – Use the regular dairy version, or for dairy-free, use coconut condensed milk.
- Chocolate Chips – Use any flavor you like. I love using dark chocolate and bittersweet to offset some of the sweetness.
- Shredded Coconut – Make sure to use unsweetened. Shredded coconut comes in many sizes of shreds. Any will work fine, but the super fine may not have the same texture.
Are you ready to give this easy magic bars recipe a try?
Step-By-Step Photos and Directions:
Step 1: Add your gluten free graham crackers to a large plastic Ziplock bag. Use a rolling pin to crush the crackers into little crumbs. You can also buy gluten free graham cracker crumbs.
🔑 Sandi says: I also like to use a food processor to crush the graham crackers. It makes more evenly sized bits.
Step 2: Add melted butter to the graham cracker crumbs in a large
Step 3: Dump the graham cracker crumbs mixture into a prepared greased 8×8 pan and spread them out evenly with a spoon to cover the bottom. I use a coconut oil spray to grease my pan. You can also use parchment paper to line the bottom of the pan.
Press the crumb mixture flat on the back of the spoon or flat bottom glass. Try to get it really compacted down so that your magic bar crust is solid and can support the layers on top.
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Step 4: Next, add your condensed milk layer. You can use either regular or dairy-free milk made from coconut. Both have the same level of sweetness.
Step 5: Add a layer of caramel chips. You will love the flavor that the caramel adds! I used these gluten free caramel chips by Hershey. There are other brands as well. Always check the label to verify the brand you use is gluten free.
Step 6: Sprinkle the shredded coconut over the caramel chips. Use a large spoon to spread the shredded coconut layer. If you love coconut as much as we do, you should check out these Gluten Free Almond Joy Cookie Bars!!
Step 7: Add lots of chocolate chips or chocolate chunks!
Step 8: Add sliced almonds, chopped pecans, or another nut type you love. Feel free to substitute walnuts, pecans, or any nuts you like!
Step 9: Bake the gluten free magic bars at 350º F for 25 minutes. You will notice the top is slightly golden when they are finished baking.
Allow these cookie bars to cool completely before cutting. Use caution when taking them out of the oven. They are HOT. These will be very soft when hot, and they will firm up as they cool.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Yes, condensed milk is gluten free. You always want to read the label if a manufacturer changes its ingredients.
This recipe works really well with both regular condensed milk and dairy-free coconut condensed milk. I chose to use coconut condensed milk because I am a coconut fanatic.
If you want these bars to be dairy-free too, use the coconut condensed milk I mentioned above, and use Enjoy Life dairy-free chips (skip the caramel chips) and dairy-free butter!
To make this recipe nut-free, omit the almond slivers on top.
These magic bars freeze really well. In fact, I recommend freezing them to help the gooey ingredients mesh together. It also makes cutting them a LOT easier!
In the refrigerator, these magic bars will keep fresh for up to 5 days. I also love to freeze them. To freeze, add them to a freezer-safe zip-style bag. Lay them single file and freeze flat.
More Gluten Free Cookie Bar Recipes:
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!
Gluten Free Magic Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups crushed gluten free graham crackers * see note
- 6 tablesoons butter
- 1 can condensed milk * see note
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- ½ cup caramel chips
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ½ cup slivered almonds
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F. Put graham crackers in a bag and smash to crumbs.
- Add the crumbs to a bowl and mix with melted butter.
- Pour into an 8×8 greased baking dish.
- Pour in the crumb mixture.
- Pour 3/4 of a can of condensed milk on top and spread to cover the crumbs.
- Add chips and coconut.
- Drizzle remaining condensed milk on top of coconut. Add almonds.
- Bake for 22 minutes until done.
- Cool completely before cutting.
Video
Notes
- I like to use gluten free Pamala’s Honey Grahams best because they crumble really well. You can also buy gluten free graham cracker crumbs.
- To make this recipe dairy-free, use vegan butter, coconut condensed milk, and dairy-free chocolate chips by Enjoy Life.
- These gluten free magic bars will keep up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
- You can freeze these bars in zip-style freezer bags. Make sure to freeze single file and lay the bag flat until the bars are frozen.
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 blog post was updated from an older 7/2017 post with more information and a video.)
This recipe has become my go to recipe! So easy and delicious!
I am so glad you loved the magic bars, Jane. Thank you.
I tried making this recipe with let’s do organic sweetened condensed coconut milk and it was a pan of grease! Just a waste of money.
I haven’t heard of this happening, Anne. Can you give me a little more information? What gluten-free graham cracker brand did you use?
what size can of sweetened condensed coconut milk are you using?
Hi Anne, I have a can here and it is 11.25 ounces.
thank you
Is there a way to use sweetened coconut in this recipe? I already have two bags on hand.
Thank you.
Hi Chris, you can use sweetened coconut, but it will make things a bit sweet.
These bars are AWESOME! We made them for a family gathering and one person has celiac disease. EVERYONE loved them and we got lots of requests for the recipe. (I shared your site with them). Very easy to make. Since one person is allergic to almonds, we supplemented finely chopped pecans — they were also great! Question – I’ve never seen recipes with 4/5 or 2/5 or 1/5 — ?? We changed the 5 to a 4 and it worked fine. Just curious why the fifths??
Thanks for sharing this!! We will definitely make these again!