No-Bake Pecan Brittle Bars

I can’t say no to oats lately. No matter what form they come in. Intervention, please?

These are a little bit crunchy, a little bit chewy, a little bit crumbly too, and a lot easy to grab from the fridge when you’re in a rush in the morning. They’re also way open to variations, which I always like in a recipe.

No-Bake Pecan Brittle Bars


4 cups (320 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup (109 g) chopped pecans
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 tablespoons (45 ml) melted coconut oil
1/3 cup (64 g) raw sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons (63 g) agave nectar or (63 g) brown rice syrup
1 tablespoon (22 g) blackstrap or regular molasses

Line an 8 x 4-inch (20 x 10-cm) loaf pan with parchment paper.
Toast oats, pecans and salt in a large saucepan on medium heat, stirring constantly, until lightly browned and fragrant.
Place in a large bowl.
In the same saucepan, combine oil, sugar, cinnamon, agave, and molasses. Cook on medium heat until it bubbles and the sugar is melted: it will take about 2 minutes.
Fold wet ingredients into dry, until coated.
Place the mixture into the prepared pan, pressing down firmly with an extra piece of parchment to avoid a sticky mess.
Chill in fridge for a few hours or overnight to let it set before slicing.

Yield: 4 bars

51 Comments »

  1. JohnP said,

    October 28, 2008 at 9:40 am

    Oh my oh my!

    Reply

  2. mihl said,

    October 28, 2008 at 9:47 am

    I can’t say no to oats and brittle. Awesome!

    Reply

  3. VeggieGirl said,

    October 28, 2008 at 10:31 am

    I can never say no to oats!! Looooove yo bars, girl.

    Reply

  4. Kelly said,

    October 28, 2008 at 2:35 pm

    Mmmm. Those look both wholesome and delicious. I’ve never tried cooking with coconut oil so perhaps I should giev it a try.

    Reply

  5. Virginia said,

    October 28, 2008 at 2:37 pm

    i am always looking for easy recipes for quick breakfast grab and go items! thanks!

    Reply

  6. kittee said,

    October 28, 2008 at 3:01 pm

    oh!
    this is what i’m using my molasses for. i knew if i held out, something would fall in my lap.

    i have love for the lot of you and martha.
    xo
    kittee

    Reply

  7. veganview said,

    October 28, 2008 at 3:40 pm

    Ooooh so delish! I am all about the oats as well. Beautiful photo :)

    Reply

  8. Jessica said,

    October 28, 2008 at 3:48 pm

    I work for bass pecan company we are having a pecan recipe contest. Enter in a chance to win $1000 at our website http://www.basspecan.com

    Reply

  9. allularpunk said,

    October 28, 2008 at 3:56 pm

    yeaaahhh oats are awesome. the meat eaters tell us that they will lower cholesterol..oh wait, that doesn’t matter to you or i mwahahaha!

    Reply

  10. Aimee said,

    October 28, 2008 at 4:05 pm

    Mmmm, yummy. Love oat bars in amy form. I’ve never used coconut oil before. Does one measure before or after liquifying?

    Reply

  11. Meagan said,

    October 28, 2008 at 4:21 pm

    These look wonderful. I will have to try these sometime soon.

    Reply

  12. Bianca- Vegan Crunk said,

    October 28, 2008 at 4:37 pm

    Celine, that’s it. I’m moving in with you…whether you like it or not. Then I can sample all your delicious baked goods. This oat bar thing sounds especially good to me right now because I’m munching on granola (with oats in it) at my desk at work…and I’m in that granola/oat state of mind.

    Reply

  13. maya said,

    October 28, 2008 at 5:18 pm

    the pecan brittle bars look so good and easy defiently up my ally. i will be sure to make a variation on those bars. thanks.

    Reply

  14. River (Wing-It Vegan) said,

    October 28, 2008 at 5:22 pm

    Oat lover! Oat lover!! So much better than the store bought crap!

    Reply

  15. Celine said,

    October 28, 2008 at 5:32 pm

    move in with me Maya!
    Aimee: it’s still so hot here that I measured the coconut in its liquid form, but it shouldn’t really make that big a difference anyway. I was thinking of playing around with the recipe anyway, and trying it with less oil. or with vegan margarine. it’s fairly forgiving, so have fun and experiment!
    Kittee: I cannot be placed in the same sentence as Martha! she’s too good for that. she’s a good thing. she’s grrrrrrrrrreat.
    I have this vision of pecans playing bass right now…

    Reply

  16. Jes said,

    October 28, 2008 at 6:07 pm

    I’m a sucker for a recipe with old fashioned oats and pecan bits in it!

    Reply

  17. kickpleat said,

    October 28, 2008 at 7:04 pm

    oooh, these look so good! however, i have horrible luck with granola bar type things. i’ve never gotten them to stay as a bar. i will try this out tho. wish me luck!

    Reply

  18. Celine said,

    October 28, 2008 at 7:16 pm

    I think the trick is to press the sucker like it’s never been pressed before, kickpleat, that’s why using an extra piece of parchment instead of a spatula or what-have-you does the trick for me: I get to use all my weight centered on the whole surface of my hand(s) to work on the stuff. fingers crossed! (although not while pressing, ouch.)

    also: the syrup mixture is so sticky that worst comes to worst, you can always press it together again and reshape it once it’s been cut into bars.

    Reply

  19. shellyfish said,

    October 28, 2008 at 7:29 pm

    I am so excited about this! You are so cool Celine! I just need to go get me some pecans, bassists, drummers, even guitarists…

    Reply

  20. Shari said,

    October 28, 2008 at 7:30 pm

    Thanks for linking to me! I love your photos and your blog!

    Reply

  21. Rosa said,

    October 28, 2008 at 8:56 pm

    That’s really yummy! I love your picture…

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    Reply

  22. Erin said,

    October 28, 2008 at 9:08 pm

    Mercy. Those sound amazing. If you didn’t have coconut oil, what would you use?

    Reply

  23. Celine said,

    October 28, 2008 at 9:13 pm

    Earth Balance would be nice, Erin. the original recipe called for butter.

    Shellyfish: ♥

    thank you Rosa and Shari!

    Reply

  24. Sanja said,

    October 28, 2008 at 10:04 pm

    People who say NO to oats need an intervention, you don’t! Those bars look amazing!

    Reply

  25. Shelby said,

    October 28, 2008 at 11:52 pm

    Your my hero.

    Reply

  26. Ricki said,

    October 29, 2008 at 2:01 am

    Oooh, yum. But then again, why would anyone say “no” to oats?? ;)

    Reply

  27. lisa (show me vegan) said,

    October 29, 2008 at 2:52 am

    No bake? I could probably handle these. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

  28. Celine said,

    October 29, 2008 at 3:41 am

    you can totally handle far more than this, Lisa.

    actually Ricki…you’re right, I don’t know anyone who would say no to them. I’m sure it’s possible to find them, though. in order to tickle them into liking oats, that is!

    Reply

  29. Vegetation said,

    October 29, 2008 at 8:14 am

    Oh YUM! I’m seeing a sunflower seed rice syrup sweetened variation for the kids for school (no nuts :( ). But definitely your variation for home!! (I just know I’m going to be naughty and add chocolate to these somehow though).

    Reply

  30. Celine said,

    October 29, 2008 at 8:28 am

    ha, Amy, I just added brown rice syrup as a great alternative to agave before reading your comment, great minds think alike! and chocolate goes well with everything. unfortunately?
    have you checked out the gf sites linked on the right for help with your bread? I’ve seen a lot of successful gf bread loaves around, but I don’t know if they’d fit all the criteria that you have to go for.

    Reply

  31. Vegannifer said,

    October 29, 2008 at 4:32 pm

    I love no bake recipes! This looks delicious!

    Reply

  32. Veggie Wedgie said,

    October 29, 2008 at 5:43 pm

    I don’t think anyone can turn down oats.Specially organic jumbo oats…just had some this morning!Haha. This picture looks really nice. I love the colors![and the bar, of course]

    Reply

  33. The Little Mama said,

    October 29, 2008 at 5:47 pm

    Lovely. These are such a perfect on-the-go snack… hard to come by. Thank you!

    Reply

  34. Big Boys Oven said,

    October 30, 2008 at 2:13 am

    gosh you have such a touch as your photo is so well captured and the pecan bar looks so simple and yet so delicious!

    Reply

  35. Celine said,

    October 30, 2008 at 7:28 am

    thanks, you guys! all oats everywhere are shaking in their boots now. yay?

    Reply

  36. joana said,

    October 30, 2008 at 12:07 pm

    it’s okay. i love oats, too. oat flour in particular- can’t get enough of the stuff.

    and celine, i need your opinion. i’ve been dying to try these 3 muffin recipes i have… pumpkin raisin pecan, lemon poppyseed, or gingerbread. which do you think sounds the best for today?

    Reply

  37. Celine said,

    October 30, 2008 at 12:14 pm

    I’d be partial to the pumpkin ones, Joana. mostly because of the nuts: as is the case with anything oat-y, I can’t say no to them. (get your minds out of the gutter, people!)

    Reply

  38. sharon said,

    October 30, 2008 at 3:34 pm

    Looks amazing like usual!!! I, also ironically used blackstrap this morning for my breakfast…must be a cold-weather thing ;)

    Reply

  39. Amy said,

    October 30, 2008 at 7:31 pm

    you deserve an award for creating these… no bake recipe from celine + a snappy fast lunch = a super happy as heck vegan addict

    Reply

  40. sarchan said,

    October 30, 2008 at 10:34 pm

    Oooh.

    Reply

  41. Nick said,

    October 31, 2008 at 1:56 am

    No bake? I wouldn’t think they would hold together. I’m always on the lookout for a good nutritious breakfast on the go, one that closely mimics my morning designer oatmeal. I’ll have to play around with this a bit.

    Reply

  42. Celine said,

    October 31, 2008 at 4:30 am

    a super happy vegan addict is what I want for Christmas.
    we’re defini-diddly-tely strapping our blackstrap boots on right now, Sharon. oh my god. did I just type that?
    have fun playing, Nick.

    Reply

  43. Ashley said,

    October 31, 2008 at 2:16 pm

    Yummm that looks delicious.

    Reply

  44. Sophie said,

    November 1, 2008 at 12:44 am

    Gluten-free oats are so darn expensive, I haven’t had anything with oats in months and this is making the craving even more intense :P. I love healthy on-the-go snacks that double as a tasty sweet treat :).

    Reply

  45. Celine said,

    November 1, 2008 at 6:18 am

    I hope that someday soon, someone in the marketplace wakes up and decides to make GF items a bit cheaper than they appear to be right now, considering that the number of people who actually have to go for that type of diet is constantly increasing. sorry you’re not getting to partake at the moment, Sophie.

    Reply

  46. Jay said,

    November 2, 2008 at 1:40 pm

    These look so cook! Your blog totally rocks!

    Reply

  47. Becka said,

    November 2, 2008 at 10:50 pm

    Hmm, I have all these things….a baking project for tomorrow perhaps! Oh, I made your pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (you can see them in my latest post) and they were amazing! Thanks :)

    Reply

  48. Celine said,

    November 3, 2008 at 1:46 am

    thanks Jay, and Becka, I’m happy your liked the cookies!

    Reply

  49. Anonymous said,

    November 8, 2008 at 9:26 am

    These sound yummy, I love anything oats too! But I am an even bigger sucker for anything with nuts.

    Reply

  50. Vegirlie said,

    December 8, 2008 at 10:58 pm

    Oat oats yummm! Would these work with honey? I feel like a bad vegan, but I don’t really care about bees and the fructose in agave is scary. D:

    Can’t wait for your cookbook!

    Reply

  51. Angela (Oh She Glows) said,

    May 20, 2009 at 11:01 am

    Do you know if these crumble and fall apart when left at room temperature?

    if you could email me back your response I would greatly appreciate it! :)

    Reply

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