Five ingredient Gluten Free Flapjacks – This recipe has been tested in a number of ways to ensure that it’s suitable for gluten free, vegan and low fodmap diets depending on which ingredients you use. No matter which way you make it these bars are simple, moreish and incredibly easy to make!
How to Make Gluten Free Flapjacks
There are a lot of reasons to love flapjacks – the speed and ease with very little hard work is definitely one! The making of process broken down into a few simple steps:
- Melt the butter (or oil) in a sauce pot along with the sugar, sweetener of your choice and salt. Melt and mix until the sugar has dissolved and the butter (or oil) has completely melted.
- Stir in the oats into the butter mixture. Turn off the heat and stir in the oats until fully mixed in the syrup mixture.
- Transfer and press in a lined baking tin. Line an 8x8inch baking tin with baking paper. I recommend leaving an inch of paper hanging over the sides so that you can easily lift the bars out of your tin later.
- Bake. For a chewier flapjack, bake in the preheated oven about 22-25 minutes. For crunchier bars leave them in the oven 25-28 minutes. Once done, cool, slice and enjoy!
Are Oats Gluten Free?
Yes and no.
While they are naturally gluten free you need to make sure to look for certified gluten free oats – especially if you have celiac disease or a gluten intolerance!
Some people with gluten allergies will still react poorly even when using gluten free oats. It’s important to be aware of your body and what it can tolerate.
Check out my post, Are Oats Gluten Free if you want to learn a little more about whether or not you should include them in your diet.
Make Vegan Flapjacks
- Use vegan butter or coconut oil ✔️
- Use golden syrup or maple syrup instead of honey
Make it Low FODMAP
- Use maple syrup instead of honey or golden syrup ✔️
- I have not tested these bars with brown rice syrup but I do think that it would also work here as a low FODMAP option ✔️
Additional Ingredients & Variations
Flapjacks really lend themselves well to sprucing up with a few simple additions. While they’re delicious and addicting enough as is – feel free to play around with the ingredients to make these bars your own!
- Chocolate Flapjacks– Add a handful of chocolate chips over the top of the bars right after they come out of the oven. The residual heat of the bars will melt the chocolate that you can spread to create a thin chocolate later on top. You can also melt and drizzle extra chocolate as they cool at the end.
- Nuts & Seeds – Replace 1/4 cup of oats with any combination of chopped nuts and seeds for an additional punch of protein and crunch.
- Dried fruit – Replace 1/4 cup of oats with raisins, dried apricots, cranberries or other dried fruits. Fruit with increase the chewiness and add another element of sweetness to your bars.
- Lemon Ginger Flapjacks – Try zesty twist on these flapjacks! They’re made with fresh lemon zest and ginger powder.
More Gluten Free Bars & Bites
- Peanut Butter Cookie Bars With Oats (GF + Vegan Option)
- Healthy Oatmeal Cookies (Vegan!)
- Gluten Free Blueberry Crumb Bars
- No Bake Vegan Snickers Bars
- Gluten Free Apple Crumble Bars
- Healthier No Bake Samoas Cookie Bars
Enjoy!
Let me know if you try this gluten free flapjack recipe! Leave a comment and review with your thoughts. I always appreciate the feedback and serving suggestions that you come up with!
Gluten Free Flapjacks
Five ingredient Gluten Free Flapjacks - This recipe has been tested in a number of ways to ensure that it's suitable for gluten free, vegan and low fodmap diets depending on which ingredients you use. No matter which way you make it these bars are simple, moreish and incredibly easy to make!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (113 g) butter or coconut oil (104 g)
- 1/4 cup (85 g) honey or maple syrup (103 g)
- 1/3 cup (73 g) light brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt (optional - omit if using salted butter)
- 2 1/2 cups (225 g) certified gluten free oats
Instructions
- Preheat oven the 325°F/160°C. Line an 8x8 inch square baking tin with greaseproof paper. Leave an inch of paper hanging over the sides so that you can easily remove the bars from the pan later. Set aside.
- In a medium sized pot combine the butter, honey, light brown sugar and salt. Warm over a medium low heat. Stir until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.
- Turn off the heat. Add the oats to the melted butter and mix until fully combined.
- Transfer the flapjack mixture to the lined baking tray. Press evenly into the tin.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 25-28 minutes.
- Let cool on a wire rack then cut into slices and enjoy.
Notes
- Maple Syrup Note: Increase the bake time to 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, turn off the heat and open the door. Leave the pan inside the oven (with the door still open) and leave for 15-20 minutes to fully set. Then remove from the oven and set aside until fully cool. Since maple isn't as sticky as honey it needs a bit more time to set.
- Store leftover homemade flapjacks in an airtight container.
Fred says
These were really good! Found with one batch that adding peanut butter was also great both for taste and for the consistency, so would recommend that too
Sarah Nevins says
Thanks Fred! So glad you enjoyed! Good to know about the peanut butter too – I’ve been meaning to try it with peanut butter for ages!
Ayaan says
These are delicious. Far too sweet so I halved the sugar and honey. Yummy. Ww make these regularly. Thanks for sharing.
Sarah Nevins says
Thanks, Ayaan! So glad you enjoyed them 🙂
Kirsty says
Didn’t rate this recipe unfortunately they just crumbled and fell apart
Sarah Nevins says
Sorry to hear that, Kirsty!
This may not have been the case for you, but there are two possible things that could lead to crumbly flapjacks:
1. The mixture isn’t pressed firmly enough into the pan – the oats really need to really pack in together so that the sugars caramelise and stick together while baking.
2. The flapjacks aren’t cooled enough before cutting. If they’re cut while still warm, the flapjacks will be quite fragile making them fall apart easily.
Kez says
This flapjack recipe is not good, the flapjacks fall apart and taste far too syrupy. Nothing to do with how well you press them into the pan etc. they just have to much moisture and don’t taste nice
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Kez! Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy these flapkjacks as much as others – to each their own 🙂
Karam says
I made these for my husband with honey he loved them xx
Sarah Nevins says
Yay! I’m so glad to hear he enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know how it went 🙂
Pamela says
Would you describe these flapjacks as chewy, crunchy, or…?
I like the ingredients, looking for chewy not crumbly bar for the little ones.
Thank you
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Pamela! These flapjacks are more crunchy around the edges and chewy towards the middle. That being said, you can decrease the cook time to keep them more chewy. I recommend baking for about 20 minutes and then checking out soft they feel at that point. You might need to let them rest a little bit longer so they fully set with a shorter cook time, but you should end up with chewier flapjacks this way. Hope that helps!