These easy and delicious nut free breakfast bars will help make your morning go smoothly. Plus. you’ll get the balanced nutrition you need to start your day off right. Pair these bars with yogurt, cheese, eggs, or a protein shake, and you’ve got a super blood sugar friendly breakfast. (Not that you have to have diabetes to eat this recipe!)
To be honest, today’s recipe is lot like a combination between nut-free granola bars and cake. (YUM, am I right?!) The kids will LOVE them. Also, they’re portable. Just stick it in an airtight container or a ziplock bag, and away you go! So get these ingredients on the grocery store list, friend. Tomorrow morning will be a breeze!

Why You’ll Love These Nut Free Breakfast Bars
Besides the taste of these flavorful breakfast bars, there are several reasons you will love this simple recipe.
- Make Ahead. These can easily be made ahead over the weekend for the week ahead. I’m a big fan of meal planning and also meal prepping! And these bars are super simple to pop in the oven on a Sunday afternoon to help your cause on a Monday morning.
- Not Just for Breakfast. Although these would make a good start to the day, these bars also make a wonderful and tasty snack for later in the day.
- Great for School! A lot of schools have nut restrictions these days. And it can be hard to find nut-free options. But these are perfect as nut-free snack ideas for school, or also for school lunches. Because there are no nuts, nut butters, or anything like that, they’re safe for kids with a peanut allergy or other nut allergies. This is one of my kids’ favorite recipes for a school snack or afternoon snack!
- Whole Grains. This recipe contains zero all-purpose flour. It’s all whole grains in the flour and in the oats. Wholesome ingredients for the win! (I’ve not tried this with oat flour, coconut flour, or almond flour, in case you deal with wheat food allergies. If you do, please let me know!)
- Limited Added Sugars. There is a bit of brown sugar in this recipe, but less than 1 cup. The recipe is further sweetened by applesauce and the chocolate chunks. What a healthy snack or breakfast!
Now then, let’s get on to how to make these nut free breakfast bars!
1. Prepare in Advance
The very first thing we need to do is melt the butter and allow it to start cooling. Once it’s melted, it’s time to preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Next, we will gather everything on the ingredient list together. In addition to the butter you’ve already melted, you will need whole grain flour, rolled oats, baking soda, salt, an egg, brown sugar, applesauce, and dark chocolate.

Then line an 8×8 or 9×9 square baking dish with parchment and grease with cooking spray to help the bars not stick when baking.

2. Make the Batter
To make the batter, we will first whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, and sea salt in a medium mixing bowl. Once combined, set that aside.

Then stir together the cooled butter, egg, brown sugar, and applesauce in a large mixing bowl. Next, add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients already in the large bowl. Mix only until combined. Do no over mix.

3. Fold in the Chocolate
If you haven’t already, chop your chocolate bar on a cutting board into small pieces. Then fold the chopped chocolate pieces into the batter. Spread the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth until even.

4. Bake The Breakfast Bars
Place the uncooked bars into the preheated oven to bake for approximately 30 minutes. Once the edges start to brown, remove the bars from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Then carefully lift the parchment out of the pan, and continue to rest the bars until fully cooled. Finally, cut the bars into 12 equal pieces to serve.

If you like the looks of these bars, hop on over and try my high protein chocolate peanut butter bars!
CARBS FOR Nut Free Breakfast Bars
There are definitely carbs in these breakfast bars. In this particular recipe, there are carbs in about half the ingredients.
With the specific brand of ingredients I used for this recipe, the entire total was 380g of carbs. With this recipe making 12 servings, that’s 31.5g of carbs per serving. Once you account for the fiber, you have 28g net carbs per serving. (Need help counting carbs for your recipes? Check out my blog post with step-by-step instructions!)
Be sure to work this into your diet how you best manage your diabetes. And be sure to count the total carbs (or net carbs when dealing with fiber) in the specific products you use. Different brands vary in ingredients, so be doubly sure of the nutritional information in what you’re eating.

What Makes this Nut Free Breakfast Bars Recipe Diabetic Friendly?
The term “diabetic friendly” is considered differently by different people. We all have unique diets and preferences and ways to manage our diabetes. And although many people with type 2 diabetes may limit carbs and sugar intake for more of a low carb lifestyle, some people with type 1 diabetes will tell you they can eat literally whatever they want as long as they dose for it.
For me, after living with type 1 for 30+ years, I consider something to be diabetic friendly if it is either:
- a recipe that combines far, fiber, and protein to stabilize blood sugar levels to avoid a blood sugar spike, or
- a more diabetes-friendly alternative to the ingredients you would normally find in a traditional version of that recipe.
This recipe is the second option for sure. With the addition of whole grain flour over white flour, and the applesauce to help sweeten the recipe instead of more straight sugar, this will be easier on blood sugar levels than a more traditional bar or store-bought granola bars.
But it could be the first option also — if you wanted to combine this breakfast bar with a good source of protein. Think eggs, cheese, yogurt, or a protein shake on the go. That would provide us with the fat, fiber, protein combination needed for more stable blood sugars once you’re done eating.
VARIATIONS ON These Breakfast Bars
These bars are delicious enough that I don’t want to do much to change them. But if you do, here are a few ideas:
- Add in some nuts to the batter before baking, either along with the chocolate chips (half and half would work well), or in place of them.
- If you wanted the nutty taste, but without adding nuts, you could always try adding peanut butter or sunflower seed butter.
- For added crunch, try including some seeds like pepitas (pumpkin seeds), chia seeds, or sunflower seeds.
- Lower the sugar by opting to cut the amount of chocolate in half.
- Instead of folding in the chocolate chunks, melt the chocolate and pour it over top of the bars once they’ve cooled a bit.
- To add more depth of flavor, try some maple syrup. But watch the carbs in that one!
- Another idea would be to add in some almond or vanilla extract for additional flavor.
MAKE AHEAD INSTRUCTIONS
This is the perfect type of recipe to make ahead! Just prepare and bake as usual, and also allow to fully cool. Then, place the bars in an airtight container to keep at room temperature for a few days.

STORING FOR LATER
These breakfast bars can easily be stored for later. Just be sure to let them fully cool after cooking. Then place the bars in an airtight container or in plastic wrap for a few days. These can also be frozen. Be sure to wrap them in parchment paper and then place in a freezer safe container or ziplock.
And now for the ingredients list and instructions for your free recipe:

Easy Nut Free Breakfast Bars with Oats and Chocolate
Ingredients
- 6 T. butter melted and cooled
- 1 c. whole grain flour
- 3/4 c. rolled oats
- 1/2 t. baking soda
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 egg
- 3/4 c. brown sugar
- 1/2 c. applesauce
- 1 c. dark chocolate chunks
Instructions
- Melt the butter and allow to start cooling.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line an 8×8 or 9×9 square baking dish with parchment paper and grease with non-stick cooking spray.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl: flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Combine wet ingredients in a large bowl: butter, egg, brown sugar, and applesauce. Add dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix only until combined
- Fold in the chocolate chunks.
- Spread the batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake for approximately 30 minutes.
- Once the edges start to brown, remove from the oven and let cool on a rack for 15 minutes.
- Carefully lift the parchment and bars from the pan and allow to fully cool on the wire rack.
- Once cooled, cut into 12 equal pieces and serve.
Notes

DID YOU MAKE THIS Nut Free Breakfast Bars RECIPE?
If you’ve made this recipe, would you please let me know? I would love to hear from you!
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NOTE: I am not a certified nutritionist or registered dietician. Nothing here should be taken as professional medical advice. Any nutritional information provided should be used as a general guideline and estimate only. For the most accurate information, please calculate based on the specific ingredients and brands you use, as well as any changes you make to the recipe.
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COUNT CARBS and Nutrition Facts EASILY
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