You will love these Nut Free Apricot and Chia Muesli Bars. They are a delicious dairy and egg free lunchbox snack. This recipe does not require baking and comes together quickly. These muesli bars store well in the fridge or freezer. These Apricot and Chia Muesli Bars are made from quick oats, wheat germ, coconut, coconut oil, honey, brown sugar, apricots and chia seeds.

Have you made muesli bars before? There are a few tricks but when you have mastered them they are quick and simple and soo tasty. The combinations are pretty endless and these Nut Free Apricot and Chia Muesli Bars are seriously good. #forreals 😋😋😋. This is a no bake recipe and quick to make ahead and store in your fridge for school lunches. And better yet, homemade means no packaging so you can truly embrace nude food in those school lunchboxes!

You will need:

Quick Oats – these oats are smaller in size than traditional rolled oats however they are cut into smaller pieces before they are rolled. They absorb liquid quicker and because they are smaller it makes it neater when you cut these Apricot and Chia Muesli Bars. You can substitute regular rolled oats if this is what you have and you may wish to blitz these a little in a food processor to break them down.
Wheat Germ – will help bind the muesli bars together. Wheat germ is the centre of the wheat seed and is packed with fibre. You can find wheat germ in the cereal section of your supermarket. Substitutions for wheat germ are oat flour or ground flaxseeds. You could also use almond flour however this would not be suitable for taking in the lunchbox for a lot of schools and daycares who have nut free policies.
Desiccated Coconut – this is finely ground dried coconut and normally found in the baking section. You can use shredded coconut but I would recommend blitzing in your food processor to create a finer consistency to ensure that the muesli bars hold together
Coconut Oil – will help keep the muesli bars solid and held together when cooled. It is important to store the muesli bars in the fridge and send in the lunchbox with a well insulated lunch bag to ensure that the muesli bars hold together. You can substitute the coconut oil for butter in this recipe as it also has a solid state.
Honey – honey is an important binding ingredient in this recipe and together with the brown sugar makes the glue that helps stick the bars together.
Brown Sugar – as with the honey this is important to glue the Apricot and Chia Seed Muesli Bars together.
Dried Apricots – are dehydrated apricots. They are great source of fibre and potassium. Make sure that you finely dice the apricots to ensure the muesli bars hold together.
Chia Seeds – these are tiny seeds for the chia plant. They are high in omega-3 and protein.

To make the Nut Free Apricot and Chia Muesli Bars

In a bowl add the oats, wheat germ, desiccated coconut, chia seeds and the apricots and stir through to combine. Prepare a slice pan by greasing and lining with baking paper.

Then in a saucepan over a medium heat bring the coconut oil, honey and brown sugar to a slow boil. Reduce to a medium low heat and continue to simmer for around 5 minutes, stirring the mixture slowly.

When the mixture has combined into a thick syrup, mix into the oat mixture ensuring that it is well combined. You will need to ensure you work quickly as the honey syrup will solidify into a loose toffee consistency.

Once the mixture has been combined, quickly spread into the prepared slice pan and press down with the back of a spatula until it is evenly spread and compacted.

Chill for around 4 hours or until completely set then with a sharp knife slice into bars or squares.

Tips for making the Nut Free Apricot Chia Muesli Bars

It is important to combine the coconut oil, honey and brown sugar mixture until is it syrupy. This is the glue that will hold the muesli bars together. Be patient with this step and over a medium low heat, stir the mixture for around 5 minutes. I found I have had the best results by stirring throughout the process over a lower heat.

Also you will need make sure that the apricots are not too big and finely dice them for this recipe. This is so that the muesli bars hold together once cut.

If you love this recipe you will love these No Bake Chocolate Chip Muesli Bars. You will also love these no bake Nut Free Chocolate Bliss Balls. And for more nut free and no bake lunchbox snacks you can’t go past these Apple Pie Bliss Balls.