No Bake Peanut Butter & Jelly Granola Bars (Vegan)
by: claire cary
Need something to get you through the mid day slump?! These peanut butter and jelly no bake granola bars are an easy snack to have on hand for whenever hunger strikes. They're naturally gluten free and vegan and perfect for both kids and adults.
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12
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups quick oats
- 1 cup puffed rice or rice crisps
- 2 tbsp oat flour arrowroot or tapioca starch, or any neutral flour
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup peanut butter
- 2 tbsp peanuts
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt omit if peanut butter is already salted
- ½ batch chia jam I like raspberry for this recipe
Instructions
- Prep the chia jam and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the maple syrup and peanut butter.
- Microwave for 15-20 seconds, or until it is soft enough to work with.*
- Add in all remaining ingredients and stir together. Try to make sure everything is well coated.
- Take half of the mixture (it doesn't need to be exact, but try to be as close as possible) and add it to an 8x8 baking pan lined with parchment paper.
- Press down firmly, I suggest using a heavy object such as a jar, water bottle etc to make sure it is very firmly pressed.
- Add a thin layer of chia jam to the top (about 1/2 cup). You don't want too much, but spread it out evenly over the first layer.
- Take the second half of the granola mixture and press it on top using the cup, jar etc. Make sure it is all very well packed in there.
- Place in the freezer for 1 hour to set.
- Cut into 12 bars and transfer to the fridge.
Notes
You don't want the peanut butter/maple syrup mixture to be too thick because this will make it hard to stir in all the other ingredients. 15 seconds in the microwave should do the trick!
At room temperature, these bars get somewhat soft, so I suggest storing them in the fridge.
These bars will keep in the fridge for 1 week or in the freezer for 1 month wrapped tightly or in an air tight container.
The peanut butter can be subbed for any type of nut butter such as almond or sunflower seed butter.
The peanuts can be omitted if you don't want the peanut crunch, or use crunchy PB if you want extra crunch!
This recipe calls for quick oats, not rolled oats. If you only have rolled oats, you can pulse them a few times in a food processor or blender until they are roughly chopped. Careful not to turn them into flour though! A few quick pulses should do the trick.
Serving: 1bar / Calories: 179kcal / Carbohydrates: 24g / Protein: 5.3g / Fat: 7.5g / Fiber: 2.3g / Sugar: 9.4g
