No Bake Chocolate Coconut Oat Bars are a perfect recipe to make during a heat wave. But don’t limit yourself, these can be made year round and by varying the ingredients slightly you can make them look different. If you keep chocolate chips, peanut butter and honey in your kitchen all the time then you can make them without an extra trip to the grocery store.

You don’t need a heat wave to think of making a no-bake treat. Even die-hard bakers need options and since recipes like this don’t use flour they’re ideal for anyone new to gluten free. They’re also perfect for families with only one person eating gluten free since everyone will love them and everyone can learn to make them.

Tips To Vary Chocolate Coconut Oat Bars

It’s easy to vary simple recipes like this and people with food restrictions get better at it over time. I find it a little hard to follow recipes listing two or three options for every ingredient. I prefer to write my recipes with one ingredient per line, or sometimes two, and talk about substitution possibilities in the recipe description.

Obviously you can substitute walnuts for pecans or dried cranberries for cherries and it won’t affect the recipe. When it comes to sweeteners it takes a little practise and can affect the structure of whatever you’re making. I always suggest making only one substitution at a time and keeping notes.

Here are some ideas to make these Chocolate Coconut Oat Bars a little different every time.

• Peanut butter – Cashew butter or almond butter are obvious substitutes but for a nut-free version try seed butters. These are made from sunflower, sesame or pumpkin seeds as well as others.
• Honey – Try maple syrup, agave syrup or other sweeteners you’re interested in.
• Butter – Experiment with coconut oil or vegan butter substitutes.
• Chocolate chips – A staple in many kitchens but use up any chocolate pieces you have or dairy free chocolate chips.
• Dried fruit and nuts – I won’t list all the dried fruits and nuts you can buy but here are some of the combinations I use; cranberries and pistachios, apricots and walnuts, raisins and peanuts, cherries and almonds and any combination you can think of.
• Ground flaxseed – Seeds all have fibre with chia and flax seeds being the highest so add seeds wherever you can!
• Oats – Many people with celiac can’t tolerate oats, even safe gluten free oats. Quinoa flakes and buckwheat flakes are both common substitutes and they all have fibre.

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Fibre And The Gluten Free Diet

Fibre is important when you’re on a gluten free diet and these Chocolate Coconut Oat Bars have plenty. The best plan is to try and get fibre whenever you eat. If you’re looking for ways to do that increase the variety of nuts and seeds in your pantry. I keep a drawer with jars of different nuts and seeds and sprinkle them on anything.

Get The Tools – Chocolate Coconut Oat Bars

Every kitchen needs some tools and a workhorse in my kitchen is the pair of 8-inch square baking pans. Along with a sturdy cutting board, a large chef’s knife and some parchment paper you’re set. Buy decent quality and good tools will last decades.

• A pair of 8-inch square baking pans
• Sturdy cutting board
• Large chef’s knife
• A roll of parchment paper or parchment sheets

Let me know in the comments below if you tried these and what you thought of them.

More Recipes – No Bake Treats!

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