Coconut Granola Bars (No Dates or Oats)
on Mar 11, 2014, Updated May 05, 2026
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These no-bake hemp seed coconut granola bars without dates or oats are easy to make with just 4 ingredients and taste amazing!
About the Recipe
Enjoy these for an energy boost before a workout, as a mid-morning snack or for a sweet treat anytime of day. Here are a few reasons to love them:
- Just 4 simple ingredients needed.
- Include nutritious hemp seeds for a chewy texture, nutty flavour and source of nutrients.
- Naturally sweetened with maple syrup.
- No-baking required (aside from toasting the coconut, which is optional).
- Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, grain-free and suitable for a paleo diet.
- No blending needed.
- Great for hiking, camping and snacking on-the-go.
For a similar bar made with dates, try these 5-Ingredient No-Bake Paleo Energy Bars.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe and any possible substitutions. Please see the recipe card below for the complete ingredient list with measurements.
- Nut Butter: You can use cashew butter or almond butter or for nut-free bars, tahini or sunflower seed butter.
- Coconut: Use shredded unsweetened coconut. For extra flavour, try toasting it first!
- Maple Syrup: This can be swapped for soaked, pitted dates.
- Hemp Seeds: Hemp seeds are ideal for their fine consistency. If you want to substitute sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds or nuts, I’d recommend pulsing them in a food processor to break them down a bit before adding them to the bars.
Add-Ins
You can mix and match ingredients to customize this recipe. Here are some ideas:
- Add up to 1/2 cup raisins, unsweetened cranberries or cacao nibs for a treat.
- You can add chocolate chis but they’d no longer be paleo with the added sugar.
- For extra flavour, try a pinch of cinnamon, sea salt and/or vanilla.
How to Make Paleo Granola Bars
Step 1: Toast the coconut. This step is optional but adds a wonderful flavour to the bars. Preheat your oven to 325 F. Spread shredded coconut on a baking pan and bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes until nice and brown. Make sure you keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t burn.
Step 2: While the coconut is toasting, you can mix up the dough for the bars. You can mix everything up in a bowl or make easier work of it and toss everything in food processor and blend into a thick, sticky dough.
Step 3: After you’ve mixed up the dough, press it into a parchment paper-lined 7 or 8-inch square baking pan. Take a few minutes to really work the dough in and press it into all the corners.
Step 4: Place the bars in the freezer for 1 hour or refrigerate overnight. After they firm up, lift them out of the pan and cut into squares or bars.
I would recommend cutting these into 16 bars to keep the serving size on the smaller size, however you can also cut them into 8 larger bars.
FAQs
Paleo granola bars can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or freezer for up to 3 months. Store in an airtight container.
You can use any other nut or seed. If you want to substitute sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds or nuts, I’d recommend pulsing them in a food processor to break them down a bit before adding them to the bars to more closely resemble the consistency of hemp seeds.
Coconut Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted (95 g)
- 1 cup cashew butter or almond butter, 240 g
- 1 cup hemp seeds, 160 g
- 1/3 cup maple syrup or raw honey, 75 g
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 325°F.
- Spread the coconut on a baking pan and bake for approximately 5-10 minutes or until thoroughly browned and toasted. Watch carefully after 5 minutes as it can burn quickly.1 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- While the coconut is toasting, mix the other ingredients together in a bowl or food processor until it forms a thick dough.1 cup cashew butter or almond butter, 1 cup hemp seeds, 1/3 cup maple syrup or raw honey, 1 tsp cinnamon
- Add the toasted coconut and mix well.1 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- Press the mixture into an 8 x 8 inch baking dish lined with parchment paper. Make sure you spend some time really pressing it down into the pan.
- Freeze the bars for 1 hour or refrigerate overnight. Lift the bars out of the pan using the parchment paper and slice into 16 squares or 8 large bars.
Toasted coconut on everything! I could eat all these bars in one sitting.
Thankyou! These are awesome! So tasty. I’ve shared this recipe with 4 people already who all love it.
Absolutely delicious! And so easy.
Glad you enjoyed them!
I know this was started years ago, but I just stumbled upon it looking for a recipe with my new found love of Hemp Hearts, and something to replace the, unhealthy, chocolate chip, cookie at night.
I FOUND IT! These are perfect!
Love the toasted coconut. I actually bought it toasted but toasted it some more for that extra crunch.
I had a jar of coconut and almond butter mix already and combined with the cashew butter to make a cup, it’s absolutely wonderful.
Amazing! Thanks so much for sharing that with me.
Great work Awesome recipe. Came across it and tried. YUM.
These were fabulous – going to be a staple in my kitchen weekly! Yum.
Woohoo! So glad you liked them!!
The bars are in the fridge, but I had to leave about 1/3 of the batter out to eat by spoon. AMAZING!
Made these last week and love them! I added carrot pulp from my juicer to the recipe. Tasted like carrot cake!
That sounds amazing!! Glad you enjoyed them!
WOW, these are INCREDIBLE…I will go ahead and try oats first, since I have them on hand, but I ran out of almond butter, so I have to wait until I get to the store to make them for the husband… but WOW…what a GREAT recipe! THANKS!
Deryn, These sounds amazing!! I’ll have to try it out!!
Alex, I was thinking maybe sunflower seeds in place of hemp, extra coconut, or like Deryn mentioned oats..