No-Bake Lactation Granola Bars
No-Bake Lactation Granola Bars- made with nourishing ingredients like oatmeal, ground flax seed, almond butter and brewers yeast, these granola bars are a delicious way for mamas to help boost their milk supply! (gluten-free)
Well you can officially mark this down as recipes that I never thought I’d be sharing on the blog. When I first started this site I never imagined I would be concerned with food to help boost lactation but here we are.
The truth is, anyone can eat these bars, whether you’re lactating or not. The only unusual ingredient in them is brewers yeast which can be easily left out or substituted with more ground flax. Either way, they make for a healthy and delicious snack that’s super quick to whip up!
No-Bake Lactation Granola Bars Ingredients
- Puffed Rice Cereal- I’m obsessed with using puffed rice cereal in my no-bake recipes but they remind me of rice crispy treats. I usually use this sprouted brown rice crisp cereal because I like that it’s whole grain and easier to digest since it’s sprouted.
- Quick Cooking Oatmeal- Oatmeal is a great source of iron which is thought to boost milk supply. I typically go for quick cooking oatmeal because it has a finely chopped texture that’s a little easier to chew in no-bake recipes. That said rolled oats would work just fine if you can’t find the quick cooking kind.
- Almond Butter- I prefer to use natural almond butter (with just roasted almonds and maybe salt in the ingredient list) but almond butter with oil also works in this recipe. If you’re averse to almonds, any kind of nut or sunflower seed butter will work in its place.
- Honey- I find that honey works best here because of it’s thick and sticky consistency which helps bind the ingredients together. That said, if you want to make them vegan you could use a mix of brown rice syrup and maple syrup instead.
- Ground Flax Seed- Flaxseed provides omega-3 fatty acids which are crucial for hormonal health. Just make sure it is ground flaxseed for proper absorption as the whole seeds are not digested well.
- Brewers Yeast- A byproduct of the fermentation process for beer and bread, brewers yeast is packed full of nutrients like B vitamins, iron, zinc, magnesium and potassium. It’s also a good source of protein offering 8 grams of protein in 1/4 cup. I personally find the flavor to be a little strong for my tastebuds so I only used a few tablespoons in the recipe. As I said above, you can replace this with more ground flax if desired.
- Salt- Depending on how salty your nut butter is, you may want to add a pinch of salt to balance out the sweetness in the recipe.
- Chocolate Chips- Using dark chocolate boosts the iron in these bars but really we’re just adding them because they taste good. :)
How to Make No-Bake Lactation Granola Bars
Even though you can prep and freeze these bars ahead of time (like I did), you don’t really need to because they are so quick and easy to make!
- First, melt the honey and almond butter together in a saucepan.
- Combine the remaining ingredients (minus the chocolate) in a large bowl. Pour the honey mixture over top and stir to combine. Add the chocolate chips last (I recommend freezing them for 10-15 minutes prior to prevent melting) and stir together.
- Transfer the mixture to a lined 8 x 8″ dish and press down until an even layer is formed. Refrigerate for a few hours to set, then slice into bars and enjoy!
Even if you’re not pregnant or lactating, I promise you will love these! They won’t cause you to lactate either. They’re simply meant to be a nutritious snack for anyone to enjoy.
Looking for more no-bake recipes?
- Healthy No-Bake Brownie Bites
- Dark Chocolate Pistachio Bliss Bites
- Strawberry Lemon Cake Bites
- Blueberry Muffin Energy Bites
No-Bake Lactation Granola Bars
Made with nourishing ingredients like oatmeal, ground flax seed, and brewers yeast, these granola bars are a delicious way for mamas to help boost their milk supply!
Servings: 14 bars
Ingredients
- 1½ cups puffed brown rice cereal
- 1½ cups quick cooking oats
- 3/4 cup natural almond butter
- 1/3 cup honey
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons ground flax seed
- 2 tablespoons brewers yeast, optional
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips, see notes
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine rice cereal, oats, ground flax seed, brewers yeast and salt. Stir together then set aside.
- In a small saucepan, melt together the almond butter and honey over medium-low heat. Stir together until smooth and evenly combined. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.
- Pour the melted honey and almond butter mixture into the large bowl with the dry ingredients. Fold together until evenly combined. Allow to cool for a few minutes before adding chocolate chips (so that they don't melt). Fold in chocolate chips.
- Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper. Transfer the mixture from the large bowl to the baking dish. Using a spatula, smooth the mixture down along the edges until the top is evenly flat. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight, until set.
- Once they are completely cooled and set, use a sharp knife to cut into bars. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container (with parchment paper in between to prevent sticking) for up to 4 days at room temperature or up to 3 months frozen.
Notes
I recommend freezing the chocolate chips for 10-15 minutes prior to adding to the recipe to help prevent melting since the honey and almond butter will still be slightly warm.
Nutrition
Calories: 195kcal, Carbohydrates: 23g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 1mg, Sodium: 53mg, Potassium: 204mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 14IU, Calcium: 64mg, Iron: 2mg
Did you try this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out by leaving a comment below or sharing a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #makingthymeforhealth. I love hearing your feedback!
Totally going to make a batch of these to freeze come March!! Where do you find your brewer’s yeast??
I usually get it at my local health food store. If you have a Whole Foods near you they should carry it!
Bahaha same girl, I never thought I’d be sharing lactation recipes! And I agree with you about brewers yeast. The first lactation recipe I made with it, it called for 1/2 of a cup… and I thought it tasted gross! But, I can deal with 1/4 cup or less.
Yeah that’s way too much!
Spent today prepping freezer meals/snacks before our baby comes and made these granola bars – I snuck a taste and they are so good! I’m planning to pack some in my hospital bag :) Thank you for this recipe!
I have made lactation cookies but wanted a healthier treat. Stumbled upon your recipe and gave it a try. Well, I don’t have puffed rice only rice krispies, but I do have quick oats. Just the oats would be too bland and I don’t have craisins like I did for the cookies. What I did have was whole grain muesli. I used 3 cups of muesli and some shredded coconut. The bars are cooling in the fridge. Can’t wait to try!
Super tasty! But finding that they are super crumbly when cut – any ideas on what to add to help them stick together? More honey or more nut butter? Maybe dates?
You could use more honey but it’s likely an issue of how well they are packed down into the dish before you refrigerate them. I like to use a pastry roller to get them super flat on top and that compresses everything together which helps them bind better. This is the one I use: https://amzn.to/33jV6Vf Hopefully that helps!
Planning on making these today. I’m due my first baby in 9 days :-) Just wondering how long they take to defrost?
Congratulations! :)
The length of time to defrost depends on the temp of your home but generally within 3-5hrs. Wishing you a healthy delivery! <3
These are amazing! My supply is great currently but I plan to use these as in between meal snacks to hopefully help keep my supply up while I add exercise and cleaner eating back into my routine postpartum. I’m so excited to see how they work. Only problem is I’m going to have to stop myself from eating them all in one shot!
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Hi there! If subbing dates as the sweetener (rather than honey), what do you suggest? Is there a good conversion? Thanks!
It would change the recipe quite a bit as you would need a food processor to break down the dates. In that case you would want to add all of the ingredients to the processor.
If you don’t have a food processor you could add them chopped up with bigger pieces in the bars. But the honey provides moisture which dates won’t do if they are in bigger chunks.
The easiest conversion would be to use date syrup in place of the honey!
I made these and I absolutely love them! I did use peanut butter because I didn’t have almond butter, not sure if that matters as far as lactation, but they did not stay together; It came out like loose granola but still taste amazing. I’ll have to get some almond butter and then maybe they’ll stay together as bars?
Hey Lisa! That shouldn’t effect how well they hold together unless your peanut butter has added oils. Using a natural (meaning ingredients are only nuts + salt) nut butter and assuring they are firmly pressed down will help them hold together better. I’m glad you still enjoyed the flavor though!