These no-bake Piña Colada Oat Bars are a satisfying snack, full of chewy tropical goodness, and are even gluten-free and nut-free! Skip the granola bar aisle and make these my friends!
Why Make Your Own Granola Bars?
I know it’s tempting, but the control over ingredients and quality by making them yourself, can’t be beat. These bars are packed with 5 grams of protein and over 3 grams of fiber, keeping you feeling satisfied for longer. The perfect way to take a mini-vacation to start your day, or as a pick-me-up snack.
Homemade granola bars aren’t hard to make once you have all the right ingredients, and they’ll certainly save you money in the long run. Making these bars is as simple as it gets: you literally throw everything in a food processor and press the mixture into a pan. That’s it.
The Best Binder for Granola Bars
My favourite binding agent for homemade bars is BY FAR: brown rice syrup. When added to your homemade granola bars, the syrup acts as glue that sticks all the pieces together. Honey works as well! But brown rice syrup truly is the best: I buy mine at Nature’s Fare Markets (natural food store) in the same aisle you find maple syrup.
Dry Fruit to Use for Granola Bars
This recipe, as the name suggests, packs some tropical punch. I did that through the addition of shredded coconut and dried pineapple (unsweetened). I’ve grown to love a number of different brands of dried pineapple including Laid Back Snacks and Level Ground. But other dried fruits do the trick including: dried cranberries, apricots, apple, and cherries. These Lunchbox Apple Oat Bars use dried apple and are equally delicious!
More Simple Baking Recipes
The “bar” is set pretty high around here! I have so many more similar recipes for you to try:
- Almond Berry Breakfast Bars
- Strawberry Rhubarb Bars
- Lunchbox Apple Bars
- Cherry Oat Bars
- Healthier Date Bars
- Peanut Butter & Jam Bars
Piña Colada Oat Bars
Piña Colada Oat Bars
These Piña Colada Oat Bars are a satisfying snack, full of chewy tropical goodness, and are even nut-free! Skip the granola bar aisle: I promise!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups large flake oats
- 1/2 cup oat flour
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- 1 cup dried pineapple roughly chopped
- ½ cup hemp hearts
- 1/2 cup ground flax seed
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/3 cup coconut oil melted
- 1/2 cup brown rice syrup or honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
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Line a 9×9” baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some paper hanging off the sides so that you can easily remove the bars from the pan.
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In a food processor, add all of the ingredients and pulse until combined: the mixture will stick together when pressed between your fingers.
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Firmly press the mixture into the prepared pan with your hands: you want to make sure that it is firmly pressed to ensure that the bars will stick together.
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Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight before removing from the pan and cutting into bars. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Jen says
Hi Tori – can’t wait to try these! Would they freeze well?
Tori Wesszer says
Hi Jen yes they would!
Karen Vader says
Can I use a vitamix? Do not have a food processor. Thank you
Erin says
This look delicious. Can you post all of the nutritional value pls?
Tori Wesszer says
Hi Erin I haven’t gotten to that but there are many calculators that you can find online that will do that!
Patricia says
Can you use regular flour instead of oat flour? Is there any substitute for coconut oil? These look delicious! thanks for the recipe Tori!
Tori Wesszer says
Hi Patricia, unfortunately you can’t use regular (all purpose) flour as it isn’t safe to consume without cooking it due to bacterial contamination risk but you could blend oats to make your own oat flour if you don’t have it on hand! You could use butter instead (melted) – I haven’t tried it but it should work! Take care, Tori
Tanisha says
I made the mistake of using honey instead of brown rice syrup… the bars are WAY too sweet when using honey. That aside, I can tell they would be delicious if appropriately sweet. I’m guessing brown rice syrup is less sweet? I’ll be looking for this harder before making these again. Pretty bummed they are too sweet since they actually cost quite a bit to make