This recipe was originally posted on April 2, 2019 and updated on March 9, 2021.Â
As a gluten free person, I feel like my life revolves around snacks. That makes these gluten free oats and honey granola bars a staple in my kitchen. The addition of CBD infused honey is an added bonus here, but can easily be replaced with regular honey if you don’t want to use CBD. These gluten free granola bars are not only easy to make but they can also be customized with your favorite mix-ins to create a treat the whole family will enjoy!
What ingredients go into gluten free granola bars?
Oats & Oat Flour – If you’re gluten free, it is important to use certified gluten free oats here. I normally use Bob’s Red Mill brand. While they also sell oat flour, this recipe doesn’t require a finely milled flour. I usually just throw some oats in the food processor and make my own.Â
Puffed Rice Cereal – Again you want to make sure you’re using a certified gluten free cereal as some contain malted barley. The puffed rice cereal is going to give a little extra light texture to the bars.Â
Brown Sugar – A little sugar is necessary to create the stickiness that holds the bars together. However, if you find this a little too sweet, you can definitely reduce the amount to 1 or 2 Tbsp without much trouble. I have also made this recipe with coconut sugar and had great results. If you want your bars to come out more on the crunchy side, use white sugar here.Â
Coconut Oil – You need an oil that is solid at room temperature, so there isn’t a really good substitution here. Use refined coconut oil if you are worried about coconut flavor. Â
Honey – Honey is a key ingredient in these granola bars. It provides the sticky element that holds everything together, plus it’s delicious! I use Colorado Hemp Honey, which contains CBD. You can substitute regular honey with the same results.
Baking Soda – Since we aren’t looking for any leavening in these bars, why would we use baking soda? Well, in this case we mainly included it for the browning properties. It will provide a little leavening, since baking soda will react with honey, but we will smoosh all of that out when we press the cooked bars down.Â
Salt & Vanilla – Just gives balance to the flavors.
Mix-ins – Go crazy here with whatever your heart desires. I used chopped pistachios, dried cherries and cranberries. Â
Other combinations that would be delicious – chocolate chips and peanuts, raisins with a little cinnamon mixed in, lemon zest and dried blueberries. Just aim for about 1 1/4 C to 1 1/2 C of mix ins total and try to chop the ingredients so they are roughly the same size for even distribution.Â
How do you make homemade granola bars?
Why do you use CBD honey in this recipe?
Honey on it’s own has great health benefits: anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-fungal and antioxidants, plus it is known to help with allergies which I have plenty of. Adding CBD to the equation just takes things to the next level. CBD also has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, but is known to help with anxiety, pain, sleep and more. Overall it has a calming effect on me and who can’t use a little more calm in the stresses of day to day life.Â
How do you store these granola bars?
Once your granola bars have cooled, you will notice they are still a little sticky to the touch. I place mine into an airtight container and divide each level with a sheet of wax paper. I store them in the refrigerator in hotter months to keep them solid, but in the colder months you can keep the container right on the countertop at room temperature. Â
If you love granola, check out these other great recipes!
Gluten Free Carrot Cake Granola
Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie Granola
Gluten Free Blueberry Coconut Granola
Gluten Free Orange Pistachio Cocoa Nib Granola
To pin this recipe for later, click the save button on any image in this post or the recipe card. Please tag me @wellfedbaker on Instagram if you make this recipe!Â
Gluten Free CBD Oats & Honey Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 2 C Gluten Free Oats
- ½ C Gluten Free Oat Flour
- ¼ tsp Baking Soda
- ½ C Puffed Rice Cereal
- ½ C Chopped Nuts
- ¾ C Chopped Dried Fruit
- ¼ C Light Brown Sugar or coconut sugar
- ½ tsp Salt
- â…“ C Coconut Oil melted
- â…“ C CBD Infused Honey or regular honey
- 1 tsp Vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a 9x9 square pan with parchment paper.
- Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir well.
- Add the coconut oil, honey and vanilla. Stir until everything is evenly coated.
- Pour mixture into prepared pan.
- Using the bottom of a smaller pan, press down on the oat mixture to compress it as tightly as possible.
- Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and again use the small pan to press down on the oat bars.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Cut into 12 bars. Cool completely before wrapping.
- Store in an airtight container up to 1 week