Gluten Free Nut Free Cereal Squares

Gluten Free Nut Free Cereal Squares Recipe

This Gluten Free Nut Free Cereal Squares recipe is basically the love child of a rice crispy treat and a granola bar. These bars are gluten free, refined sugar free and a whole lot healthier. They are also nut and dairy free. And they happen to be crazy good!

With the temperatures already starting to soar here in Florida I also love the fact that these bars require no baking! I would much rather put my fridge to use than my oven when the thermometer is already flirting around the 90 degree mark.

I am going on a road trip with the family next month and as we all know, snacking on a road trip is an essential element to the whole experience. While I do like to have a couple naughty little treats on hand, it is also nice to have something to munch on that feels naughty but isn’t. I think these bars will be a perfect addition to our on-the-road stock of munchies.

These are fun to make with the kiddos – you do the chopping and heating and they can mix and press. You may have a tiny bit of trouble keeping them occupied while the mixture chills in the fridge for an hour but then again, patience is a much needed virtue (or so I am told).

Gluten Free Nut Free Cereal Bars

This recipe is loosely based on one I saw in Sunset magazine, they used puffed rice cereal, almond butter, dried cherries, nuts, and chopped dark chocolate. I decided to give my recipe a nut free make over by using Sunbutter and seeds and instead of puffed rice I used Rice Twice, a gluten free cereal that contains a combination of puffed and crispy rice. I added things, took out things and played around with quantities of ingredients to get big fat squares.

The beauty of these bars is that you can customize them anyway you see fit. I like the combination of apricots, tart cherries, dark chocolate and salty, roasted pumpkin seeds but you can use any dried fruit or seed you love. Not a fan of dark chocolate? Use dairy free semi-sweet chocolate chips instead. And if you want to make this recipe vegan just swap out the honey with brown rice syrup or agave.

I looked at someone’s recipe, changed it up the way I wanted and made it my own. How would you take this recipe and make it YOUR own?

Gluten Free Cereal Bars

5 from 1 vote
Gluten Free Nut Free Cereal Squares
Print Recipe

Gluten Free Nut Free Cereal Squares Recipe

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 16 Servings
Calories: 230kcal
Author: Gluten Free & More

Ingredients

  • Gluten free non-stick cooking spray
  • 1/3 cup Sunbutter – any variety
  • ½ cup honey (use agave or brown rice syrup for vegan)
  • 2 tablespoons Earth Balance (or other dairy free butter)
  • 3 cups Rice Twice Cereal (or other gluten free puffed or crispy rice cereal)
  • 1 cup dried tart cherries
  • 1 cup dried apricots , chopped
  • 1 ¼ cups roasted and salted pumpkin seeds
  • ¼ cup sunflower seeds
  • 3.5 ounces (about ½ cup when chopped) dark chocolate, chopped or use chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Spray an 8 inch by 8 inch baking dish with gluten free non-stick cooking spray. Line the dish with two pieces of plastic wrap making sure the wrap hangs over the edges by a couple inches.
  • In a small sauce pan combine the Sunbutter, honey and Earth balance and heat, stirring occasionally, until melted and fully combined.
  • In a large mixing bowl combine the cereal, cherries, apricots, seeds, and chocolate. Add the Sunbutter mixture and stir until well coated. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top with another piece of plastic wrap and press the mixture down really firmly. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
  • Remove the top layer of plastic wrap and using the overhanging pieces, remove the mixture from the dish and place on a cutting board. With a sharp knife cut the mixture into quarters and then cut each quarter into quarters.
  • The cereal squares can be made up to a week ahead, store in the refrigerator between sheets of waxed paper.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Gluten Free Nut Free Cereal Squares Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 230 Calories from Fat 99
% Daily Value*
Fat 11g17%
Saturated Fat 2g10%
Cholesterol 1mg0%
Sodium 47mg2%
Potassium 194mg6%
Carbohydrates 30g10%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 21g23%
Protein 6g12%
Vitamin A 638IU13%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 32mg3%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

 

Disclaimer: All nutrition facts on Gluten Free & More are meant only as a guide and may differ depending on product brands used or ingredient substitutions. Some errors may occur, so you are encouraged to confirm the recipe’s ingredient and nutrition suitability for your own diet.
Have you tried this recipe? Give it a star rating and let us know your thoughts in the Ratings & Reviews section below.
Tags: Bars Cereal Cherries Chocolate Dairy Free Dried Apricots Gluten-Free Recipes Pumpkin Seeds SunButter Sunflower Seed Butter
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  1. May 8, 2012

    I was thinking about making granola bars this week, but couldn’t decide what to put in them….what I was in the mood for:-) I am in love with this recipe, and they would be fantastic when I travel! Take care, Terra

    1. Gluten Free & More
      May 9, 2012

      Thank you Terra – you take care too and enjoy!

  2. you know carol, it’s scary how close these are to the bars I just made last weekend only my were using peanut butter – they’re so tasty with the dried fruit in. Perfect as a kind of naughty breakfast on the go when you realise at 9.30 that you haven’t eaten anything yet!

    1. Gluten Free & More
      May 9, 2012

      Kind of naughty and nice at the same time and I know what you mean, it happens to me all the time (but usually I don’t realize I haven’t eaten until later than that!).

  3. May 8, 2012

    I think it sounds delicious just the way it is! Fantastic combination of fruits w/ chocolates…I can almost taste it now!

    1. Gluten Free & More
      May 9, 2012

      Aww, thanks Stephanie! Thery are pretty delish as is :)

  4. These sound wonderful and so simple. I love the idea of the dark chocolate added in there. Yum!

    1. Gluten Free & More
      May 9, 2012

      Thanks Nancy!

  5. May 9, 2012

    Delicious looking recipe Carol! Love Rice Twice – I wish they had it at my local store. I’ll pick up some of their regular brown rice crispies and give this a go though.

    1. Gluten Free & More
      May 10, 2012

      Thanks Alisa – I don’t see any reason this recipe wouldn’t work with whatever rice cereal you can find, but let me know!

  6. May 9, 2012

    These sound so yummy! My kids just started eating cereal bars (store-bought) and I would love to try making them myself! Thanks for the recipe Carol. I am a HUGE fan of the apricots in this recipe. xo

    1. Gluten Free & More
      May 10, 2012

      Thank you Maggie!

  7. Chewy and indulgent Recipe! Pics you added looking spunky :)

    1. Gluten Free & More
      May 10, 2012

      Thank you Wanda!

  8. May 10, 2012

    Wow, these look so good and so pretty! I’m definitely thinking I need to give a version a try!

    1. Gluten Free & More
      May 10, 2012

      Thanks Alta, they were pretty darn tasty if I do say so myself :)

  9. May 11, 2012

    These look so tasty, light and lovely!

    1. Gluten Free & More
      May 12, 2012

      Thank you! Must say, they were pretty darn tasty!

  10. Yes! You are talking my language here, girlfriend. We might hit 100 this weekend and I just cannot turn the oven on for too long when it is that hot. It raises the temps in the kitchen like 10 degrees immediately! I am totally going to make these-my boys will devour them!

    1. Gluten Free & More
      May 12, 2012

      Well Kim, at least Arizona has a dry heat :) Thank you and enjoy!!!

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  15. melissa
    January 11, 2013

    These look great! I’m going to make them this weekend. I was thinking about using cocoa nibs instead of the chocolate so that I can avoid any sugar in the chocolate. Any thoughts on that? I have a bag, but have never used them. I tasted one and found it a little…..odd, but maybe mixed into something like this they would be good.

    1. Gluten Free & More
      January 12, 2013

      Hi Melissa. I am like you and find them a little odd tasting but my thoughts are with so much else going on in these they should be fine. You can always just leave the chocolate out all together. Enjoy and if you do make them with the cocoa nibs, let me know how they turn out.

  16. melissa
    January 12, 2013

    I made these today and while I switched up a few ingredients (the cocoa nibs were fine, by the way) I didn’t have Sunbutter so I used raw almond butter, honey and EarthBalance for the wet ingredients. But even after several hours in the fridge, mine never hardened up so I could cut it into squares. Any ideas?

    1. Gluten Free & More
      January 14, 2013

      Hmm, the only thing I can think of is that the liquid content of the almond butter is higher than that of the Sunbutter. The other thing is that you really have to press the mixture into the pan VERY firmly or it will just fall apart. Maybe try repressing?

  17. Mary
    May 1, 2013

    These look great, but two worries/questions: my son is very allergic to sesame, and I’m scared to try other seeds, from Sunbutter to pumpkin seeds. Not sure how to get over this. Don’t want to put him through blood work and skin tests again. Hmm. Also, how do you find dried fruit (cherries, etc.) that is not cross-contaminated with nuts? I haven’t been able to find much of anything. That goes for dates, cherries, etc. Thanks for any thoughts on these two things…

    1. Gluten Free & More
      May 3, 2013

      Hi Mary. I find that it is always helpful to ask questions. Ask your grocer if products are gluten free or not. If he/she doesn’t know then the internet is your friend. Search for specific answers. I hope this helps and good luck! I do know that Sunbutter is gluten free and free of contamination from other nuts.

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