Looking for an easy Grab the Gold Bar Recipe? This one is easy to make and much cheaper!
Watch how quick and easy these post-workout bars are to make in this recipe video and then I’ll walk you through everything, step by step.
My gym sells Grab the Gold bars for about $3. I made the mistake of trying them once and loving them. I say “mistake” because they were perfectly oaty and delicious.
A friend of mine said she made a similar pan-sized recipe but that they didn’t hold as well as the original. After a few tweaks, I am happy to say that my homemade Grab the Gold Bars are just as delicious as the expensive ones!
Round bars you ask? Well yes, that’s how the original bars are shaped. I used a round biscuit cutter to shape these. Although, you can also use the rim of a glass to shape them round. For consistency’s sake, I’m a purist at heart. What can I say?
How to Make Grab the Gold Bars
Unlike other no-bake recipes, these bars are made with simple ingredients like quick oats, almond flour, peanut butter (or any no nut butter), honey, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract, and almond milk- to keep it dairy-free.
So grab your supplies, and let’s get this recipe rolling.
1. Combine the oat flour with almond meal.
If you don’t have almond flour on hand, I use this one. It’s a great flour substitute and helps keep these bars, gluten-free.
2. Create the sauce.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the peanut butter, honey, cocoa powder, almond milk, and vanilla extract. Whisk slowly until smooth and cohesive.
3. Combine
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and use a large spoon or your hands to combine into a thick dough.
4. Press it down
Transfer the dough into a lined 9 x 9-inch pan, cover with plastic wrap, and press down into an even layer.
5. Refrigerate
Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm.
6. Slice and serve
Remove the bars from the refrigerator and use a biscuit cutter into even rounds. Optional- use your favorite cookie cutter to make these into different shapes.
Whatever you have leftover, you can store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or one month in the freezer.
Other Gluten-Free Snack Bars and Bites
If you love homemade no-bake snacks, you’re in the right place! While gluten-free storebought snacks are convenient, nothing beats homemade. They’re less expensive, and you have full control of what goes into the recipe. Here are more gluten-free snack bars and bites that are no-bake and better tasting than storebought!
- Chocolate Chip Blondies
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bars
- Healthy Brownie Energy Bites
- No-Bake Pumpkin Bites
- High Fiber Chocolate Bites
- 2 Ingredient Magic Cookies
But let’s get started today, with these Grab the Gold Bars!
PrintHomemade Grab the Gold Bars
Easy to make homemade grab the gold bars are naturally gluten free and so good! This is the perfect post-workout snack or bar to enjoy on the go!
- Yield: 10-12 rounds
Ingredients
- 2 cups quick oats
- 2 cups almond flour
- ½ cup peanut butter or nut-free butter
- ⅓ cup honey
- ¼ cup cocoa powder, optional
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
Instructions
- Line a 9×9-inch pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine quick oats and almond flour and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, combine the peanut butter, honey, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and almond milk. Whisk constantly until everything is melted into a cohesive mixture.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Using a large spoon, combine into a thick dough.
- Transfer dough into the lined pan, cover with plastic wrap and press down to spread into an even layer. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- With a biscuit cutter or upside-down glass, cut into round bars or simply slice into 9 squares.
- Refrigerate leftover bars for up to 5 days or wrap individually and freeze up to 1 month.
Notes
- Make this recipe nut-free by substituting the almond flour with oat flour and the peanut butter with a nut-free butter.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 257
- Sugar: 9.7g
- Sodium: 55.1mg
- Fat: 10.1g
- Saturated Fat: 1.4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 23.8g
- Fiber: 3.2g
- Protein: 7.3g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Bailey Brewer
I made this- but with original oats. The consistency isn’t gooey & it crumbles when I try to use the biscuit cutter. Is it because I used original oats instead of quick oats?
Laura Fuentes
Hi Bailey. I’m sorry these crumbled for you. The short answer: YES. I specifically mention in the video and directions to use quick oats. If you use regular oats, the recipe won’t hold. If you still have the batter, you can add a bit more peanut butter and roll it into balls. Hope this helps, Laura
Pamela
Very tasty and not overly sweet. I’ll add chia seeds the next time I make them for an extra boost of healthiness!
★★★★★
Kirti
Hi dear..
Thank u for trying n being successful in making these bars…n ofcourse for sharing with all of us too
I have 2 doubts….i have almonds, can i make almond flour at home as it isn’t available where v stay (plz lemme knw hw to make it) n can i use normal butter than nut butter…..though v get peanut butter (only) here but i don’t like the taste n fear if my 2 yr old also doesn’t like I’ll have to finish it myself
Thanks once again
★★★★★
Laura Fuentes
You can make almond flour by grinding almonds to a very fine “flour texture” that becomes almond meal/flour. Use peanut butter, sunflower butter or almond butter, regular butter will not work. I hope this helps.
Allison
Can I use regular oats instead of quick ones and expect the same results?
Laura Fuentes
yes and no. the recipe will hold but the texture is very different. can you pulse the regular oats a bit in your blender or processor to break them up a bit?
Lara
Hi, would love to make these but would like to included some whey protein in them to make them more filling. Would you have any suggestions of how I would add this in without upsetting the binding properties and consistency of the bar?
Laura Fuentes
Great question, Lara. I’ve added 2 scoops of protein (the traditional/standard size scoop inside protein tubs) with an additional 2 tablespoons of nut butter. Of course it’s not an exact science since the texture of proteins can vary but you get the idea. Enjoy!
Lara
Thanks so much for the advice. I will try this out and let you know how it goes. I’m just using whey isolate protein so it’s finer than the almond flour.
Mary
The Grab the Gold original is dairy free. Any suggestions instead of milk?
★★★★★
Laura Fuentes
You can easily use any dairy free milk alternative or water. Enjoy!
Lyn Brown
Just made these. Used peanut butter, no cocoa powder and 1/2 of shredded coconut. Yum..
★★★★★
Shannon
I just discovered the “grab the gold” bars recently, and like you – I was hooked! But they are PRICEY. So, I was so excited to find this recipe!! I made it exactly as stated above. I made the same size batch; however, I used a shot glass instead of a drinking glass… I wanted them to be more “snack” size. It made about 20-22 bars instead! They are wonderful! I have a bag in my freezer, though my fridge bag is almost empty after 2 days… 🙁 Guess I need to make more soon!
Do you have any variation ideas for this recipe?
Cheers!
★★★★★
Laura Fuentes
I’m working on some variations… but you can add chopped nuts, raisins, dried pineapple chopped fine.. so so good. Glad you enjoyed it!
Shannon
PB, Oats, and Raisins – BRILLIANT!! 🙂 Thanks!
Bas
Hey there, I was wondering if you can use xylitol instead of honey?
Laura Fuentes
I have not tried it with xytol. others have and it’s not that sweet.
Margaret
They’re pretty tasty. But when I added up the calories, sugar, protein and fats my nutritional information came up much higher (assuming 10 bars with even using less honey). Calories as high as 282 and fat 18.9. Do I calculate something incorrectly? I’m thinking of substituting 1/2 the almond flour with oat flour to cut down calories and fat.
Laura Fuentes
You can definitely substitute the almond flour for oat. I never advertised these as low-cal and low-fat since I’m not worried about either. These are perfect for my husband who works out and needs the recovery fuel.
ck
Same here – I really enjoy the taste and don’t want to spend a fortune on grab the gold bars, but I use them as a nutritional meal substitute when watching my intake. When I add up the recipe is nutritional value adds up to Per Serving: calories 318 carbs 30 fat 19 protien 11 sodium 27 sugar 11 (I sub chocolate almond milk for the normal milk). I cut the almond flour in half today when I realized how off the calories listed are. I have made this a couple times and a little shocked and disappointed when I checked it over. An extra 91 calories and 10 grams of fat can really through off someone’s diet if they are watching their intake! It’s my fault for not double checking it sooner. I understand you aren’t advertising them as low-cal or low-fat, but you may want to update your calorie counter at the bottom of the recipe since it seems to be quite off for those that are looking at that for reference. 🙂
Laura Fuentes
The recipe has been updated with the nutritional calculator based on the ingredients in the recipes without substitutions.
Sara
I had to do half coconut half almond flour cuz I didn’t have quite enough- ended up adding more liquid I’m assuming due to the absorbent coconut flour but they turned out great! They kind of get better the. Longer they are in the fridge! Kids adore em, I loved em! They reminded me of a much healthier version of my beloved choco/peanut butter no bake cookies!
Any milk substitution ideas? Would soy or almond milk work?
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! Will be making a double batch next time and freeze em. I froze half of this one but they didn’t last very long 😉 they really curb ur appetite (great mid-work snack!!)
★★★★★
Laura Fuentes
Hi Sara!
Yes, you can use non-dairy milk as well. That’s the easiest swap. I’m thrilled you were able to fix the flour quantities on your own! It really makes me happy you were able to use this bar recipe for your family.
Amy G
Hi Laura, I’m so excited that you’ve come up with a GTG bar we can make at home! Our whole family loves them and the originals we’re too pricy to enjoy daily. Thanks for the nutrition info– any idea about the fiber amount? Just curious:)
Thanks!
Elizabeth H, blogger for SunButter
Wonderful creation! Of course I appreciate the variation that uses SunButter since I blog for the product and am always looking for new recipes. But as a fellow mom who works out, I can’t wait to try these cleaner, more nutritous bars. Thanks for the inspiration!
Laura Fuentes
Thank you Elizabeth! I LOVE using peanut-butter alternatives in a lot of my recipes. I like Sunbutter because it’s easy to find and has a similar consistency… and great taste!
Debbie
How many should I expect to get out of a batch?
Laura Fuentes
depending on the size cutter you use ( i used a standard biscuit cutter) you can expect 9 full circles and the 10th one i assemble with my hands from the cuttings.
Molly @ NatureBox
These look SO good!
Raine
What would you suggest as a substitution for the quick oats for a more paleo-friendly version? I expect the oats have a binding effect, so subbing in crushed nuts wouldn’t necessarily do the job.
Laura Fuentes
Hi! I’ve received emails of people substituting coconut flour and flax meal (ground flax seed). Optimally 1/2 & 1/2. They still come out delicious. Nuts won’t bind 🙁
Kate Davis
I added more liquid and used coconut flour (since that’s what I had:) ) in the fridge now, but the batter was yummy!!
Laura Fuentes
great idea! coconut flour will work too. i just love almond flour but great adaptation!
Lisa Browning
Any more suggestions on a substitution for the almond or coconut flour? My son is highly allergic to peanuts and tree nuts (coconut is a tree nut, bummer). I could use SunButter (sunflower seed butter) to replace the peanut butter. Thanks!
Laura Fuentes
Lisa, definitely use sunbutter to replace the pb. Can he have flax? do 1/4 flax seed, 1/4 chia flour, 1/2 tapioca flour. If you decide to use “regular” flour you need to “toast” the flour otherwise it will taste “raw.” flax, chia and tapioca do not need to be toasted. Toasting regular flour is EASY. check out this link how to toast flour http://www.bonappetit.com/blogsandforums/blogs/badaily/2011/05/inside-the-test-kitchen-how-to-1.html
Lisa Browning
Thank you so much Laura! I have no idea about the flax seed. I guess I could ask the allergist. I will give it a try if I can! I love the bars and would love to be able to make a safe version for my kiddo. Thanks again!
Marla
These sound great! I would love to know the nutritional info ~ is it possible to post? Thanks 🙂
Laura Fuentes
I can try to find out. I am more concerned with real ingredients than calories. i’ll do some calculations.
Nina Reeves
I am trying to find out what the calorie and sugar content are in your homemade gold bars. I tried sending an email and it kept kicking it back. Can you help
Laura Fuentes
Hi Nina! so sorry you couldn’t get through! I’ve edited the recipe with nutritional information. It’s +/- since ingredients will vary.
Cristi
mmm, those sound so good!
Corey @ Family Fresh Meals
YUM! And really easy to do 🙂 Love this!
Laura Fuentes
doesn’t get any better! 🙂
Brenda
What all natural ingredient can we add to give it a much longer shelve life like the grab a gold bar, do you have any idea?:)
Laura Fuentes
Nothing you can add, but you can refrigerate them for up to 10 days!
Cassie
Can i use coconut butter instead of Peanut Butter?
Laura Fuentes
Hi Cassie, unfortunately, coconut butter will not bind the ingredients for these bars. You can use almond butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter. I hope this helps!