These gluten-free copycat whenever bars are soft, chewy, moist, and taste just like the real thing. Plus, they are super easy to make!
We are always looking for on-the-go snacks or granola bars and these Copycat Whenever Bars are the perfect treat! They are soft, chewy, moist, and I think they taste just like the real thing. They even look like the real thing!
Can you tell which one is Pamela's brand and which one is Cassidy's brand? Mine is on the right and I promise, the one on the left is an actual Pamela's Whenever Bar... not just 2 of mine I sat side by side, lol!
The recipe below is for a copycat Oat Blueberry Lemon Bar. But you can use any add-ins you'd like... chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, various fresh or frozen fruits, etc.
Easy steps
Start by mixing together some fresh or frozen blueberries and starch in a small bowl.
Also, toast the almonds on a baking sheet at 350 degrees until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together some almond flour, oats, tapioca or arrowroot, salt, xanthan gum, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together non-hydrogenated shortening and brown sugar or coconut palm sugar.
In a separate bowl whisk together an egg, honey, lemon juice, and vanilla. Beat the wet ingredients into the dry. Then, slowly incorporate the dry ingredients.
Fold in the blueberries and almonds. Form into small rectangles and place them on a greased or lined baking sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes, or until nicely browned. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Expert tips
- The recipe below is for a copycat Oat Blueberry Lemon Bar. But you can use any add-ins you'd like... chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, various fresh or frozen fruits, etc.
- I add a Tbsp. of starch only when using fresh or frozen fruit to help soak up the excess liquid. If not using fresh or frozen fruit, you can omit the extra Tbsp. of starch.
- I have only tested this recipe with non-hydrogenated shortening. While I would imagine butter or coconut oil would work, I can't guarantee the results.
Looking for more recipes?
Or these Gluten-Free Granola Bars and Rice Krispy Rolls from Allergy Awesomeness look amazing too!
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📖 Recipe
Copycat Whenever Bars
Ingredients
- 2 Cup blanched almond flour - very finely ground
- ½ Cup tapioca or arrowroot flour
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. xanthan gum
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. nutmeg
- ½ tsp. lemon juice
- ½ Cup Spectrum non-hydrogenated shortening - coconut oil or room temperature Earth Balance butter may work
- ½ Cup agave nectar or honey
- ¾ Cup coconut palm sugar or brown sugar - Whenever bars are quite sweet-reduce to ½ C if desired
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla
- 1 Large egg - a "flax egg" may work
- 1 ½ Cup gluten free quick cooking oats
- 1 Cup Frozen or Fresh Blueberries - or any add-in desired
- ½ Cup Sliced Almonds - or any add-in desired
- 1 tablespoon Arrowroot, Tapioca, or Cornstarch - to coat fruit
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a small bowl, mix together the blueberries and 1 tablespoon arrowroot flour, tapioca flour, or cornstarch. Set aside.
- Place almonds on a large cookie sheet and toast until fragrant, around 5 minutes. Set aside
- In mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, tapioca, cinnamon, nutmeg, soda, oats, xanthan gum, and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the shortening and palm sugar until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, agave or honey, lemon juice, and vanilla.
- Add the egg mixture to the sugar/shortening mixture, and beat to thoroughly combine.
- Add the flour mixture and stir until well combined.
- Fold in the blueberries and almonds.
- On a well greased or parchment lined baking sheet, form batter into small rectangles and place at least 2 inches apart.
- Bake 9-12 minutes, or until browned.
- Cool completely on wire rack.
Add Your Own Notes
Notes
- The recipe below is for a copycat Oat Blueberry Lemon Bar. But you can use any add-ins you'd like... chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, various fresh or frozen fruits, etc.
- I add a Tbsp. of starch only when using fresh or frozen fruit to help soak up the excess liquid. If not using fresh or frozen fruit, you can omit the extra Tbsp. of starch.
- I have only tested this recipe with non-hydrogenated shortening. While I would imagine butter or coconut oil would work, I can't guarantee the results.
- Store leftovers covered at room temperature for 1 to 2 days or can be frozen.
Nutrition
NET CARBS = Total Carbs - Fiber - Allulose - Xylitol
Nutritional information is approximate and may vary. Sugar alcohols, xylitol, and allulose are included in the total carbs and fiber.
Looking for more information on the keto diet? Check out my
Kristine says
Can you tell me how you would try making the oat chocolate chip coconut bar? I'm terrible at just "trying" things in the kitchen and I'm so addicted to these that I really need to have it work out! LoL thanks for the help!
Cassidy Stauffer says
Hi Kristine, no problem! I would replace the blueberries with chocolate chips, leave out the 1 Tbsp of starch that I coated the berries with, and replace the sliced almonds with shredded coconut. If you try it let me know what you think!!
-Cassidy
Sara says
Do you have a substitution for almond flour? My son is allergic to nuts.
Lindaa says
Hi-
They have a peanut butter oat bar that my kids like. Any suggestions on how much pb to add? 1/2 c vs 1 cup? Thanks
Cassidy says
Hi Lindaa! I'm really not sure?? I almost think I would start by replacing the butter or shortening with the peanut butter and go from there. But again, I have no idea how they would turn out and I really don't know!!! If you give it a shot let me know how it goes!!!!
-Cassidy
Latif Tanner says
There’s no mention of where the lemon juice and xanthan gum go.
Cassidy says
So sorry! I fixed the recipe so it should be correct now!
-Cassidy
kim says
I'm confused step 3 says Place nuts on a large cookie sheet. However, I'm thinking this should say OATS. Please advise.
Cassidy says
Hi Kim! For my add-in's I used blueberries and almonds, so the nuts I'm referring to are the almonds. Thanks for bringing this to my attention, I can see how this is confusing and I will update the recipe to be more clear. Sorry about that!!!
Anna says
I made these today and they were super delicious! Thanks so much for the recipe- I really enjoy the Pamela's coconut almond chocolate variety but they are so expensive! Making them yourself is much more cost savvy.
Jan says
Thank you Cassidy for this recipe. We are new to gluten-free, milk-free and soy free diets, and enjoy the Whenever Bars but they are too expensive. I was able to get 27 bars for the cost of 2 boxes of the pre-made version. I'm still tinkering with the ingredients, but I am grateful to you for the starting point.
Sara says
Thank you for a great recipe!! Made these tonight and am excited for my kids to try them out tomorrow. So far my husband thinks they are great!! I am not a big fan of spending $5 on a box of these at the store but with kids you need quick grab snacks they will eat so I buy them. Now we can make them at home!
Cassidy says
Thanks Sara!!! I hope your kids like them too 🙂
-Cassidy
Darren says
Hi Cassidy,
About how many bars does this recipe make? Also, do you have a rough cost for ingredients? Thanks!
Cassidy says
Hi Darren!
This makes approximately 7 or 8 bars. I don't know how much the ingredients cost, most of the ingredients are things I keep on hand. For the cost of the almond flour I use, see my 'Pantry Essentials' page (I get mine about $5 a pound). I hope this helps!!!
-Cassidy
Jennie says
I am so excited to make these, I was just going to come up with a recipe myself and you saved me a lot of time. The chocolate coconut is our favorite. I will be make a tripe batch of these tomorrow! I'm going to do the reduced sugar amount and add some chia seeds in as well. Also, just a note... flax and water soaked chia seeds can be subbed for xanthan gum. Thanks for the recipe!!
Cassidy says
I hope you like them Jennie! And thanks for the info on the xanthan gum substitute 🙂
-Cassidy
Eroc says
Thanks a lot! These are my favorite low in sugar "snack" out there, but a bit pricey. We're headed out now to pick-up the ingredients, looking SOOOOO forward to making these tonight! I'm going to tone down the added sugar, and throw in some fun add-ins!
PS: Any update on using the Psyllium husks? as we already have these at home. Thanks again for making & sharing!
Cassidy says
Hi Eroc - so sorry it's taken me this long to get back with you!!! For some reason I'm just now seeing your comment - I don't know how I missed it!!!
I hope they turned out good for you, and I haven't made these in awhile so I haven't experimented with using psyllium husks yet, sorry.
-Cassidy
Lea says
Yay!!! I am going to try these since I love the Pamela's version, but they are just a touch too sweet for me, thanks for the recipe:)
Cassidy says
I hope you like them! Let me know what you think 🙂
Cassidy says
Hi Lisa,
I'm not sure, but you could try cornstarch because it is very similar to arrowroot and tapioca... but I haven't tried it and can't guarantee the results. Hope this helps. Thanks
Cassidy
Lisa says
Is there a substitute for the tapioca or arrowroot flour?? My daughter loves these whenever bars but would love to try to make my own. Thanks for the recipe.
Cassidy says
Hi Karen!
I use the Bob's Red Mill quick cooking oats. I've never tried the old-fashioned oats, I don't know how they would turn out.
Hope this helps & let me know what you think!
Cassidy
Karen says
Is there a brand of gluten-free quick-cooking oats you would recommend? I've only seen the GF old-fashioned oats
Amber says
Hi There Cassidy,
I featured your awesome recipe this week on Allergy-Free Wednesdays. Your recipe and other highlights can be seen here:
http://www.thetastyalternative.com/2012/04/allergy-free-wednesdays-week-13-april.html
Please join us again this week for more allergy-free fun and inspiration.
Be Well,
--Amber
Nancy @Real Food, Allergy Free says
Yum! These look wonderful! I wish we could use almond flour. Thanks so much for sharing at Allergy-Free Wednesday! I hope you'll come back again this week.
CassidyS says
Thank you for all the nice comments 🙂
Anonymous- I don't think a pre-made flour mix would work as a 1:1 replacement for the 2 flours. But if you try it, I would start with about 1 or 1/2 C and add more flour til you reach the right consistency. Let me know how it goes if you try it!
nopeandnada- I don't know if quinoa would work or not, but I don't know why it wouldn't! Let me know if it works!
Thanks again,
Cassidy
nopeandnada says
I wonder if quinoa flakes could be substituted for the oats. My son has oat allergy but momma really needs to make these stat!!
-jen
Amber says
Thank you sooo much for this! I've been wanting to make my own for sometime now. My son LOVES these bars. So thank you for this recipe. I'll be making these this weekend, all ready for the week. No waste! And fresh ingredients.
I also think these bars are very sweet (too sweet for me), so I'll be cutting down the sugar. I might even use Stevia. We'll see. I'll let you know how it goes! 🙂
--Amber
Anonymous says
Could you use Pamela's baking and pancake mix in place of the two flours? I haven't tried Whenever bars but do love the mix for all of my baking, plus the convenience of not having to buy or mix other flours is great.
Jamie says
These look really fantastic, I will have to try them, great for take alongside for snacking!!
I may try the frozen blueberry or maybe frozen cranberries and chocolate chips, endless possibilities!
CassidyS says
r. mcnatt and Shirley from GFE-
Thanks so much! Hope you like them as much as we did!
Cassidy
gfe--gluten free easily says
Very nice job! These look delish!
Shirley
r.mcnatt says
Those look so good and they look just alike!