Vegan Flapjacks (perfect texture, quick, easy! GF option)

These vegan flapjacks use coconut oil instead of butter, have the perfect chewy texture, and are sure to please even your non-vegan friends!

In the UK, flapjacks are an oat-based sweet bar made in a baking tray. Kind of like granola bars in the US!

When you google vegan flapjacks, all the top results just use vegan butter in place of regular butter to make their recipes vegan.

If you want to use vegan butter, you can check out my Chocolate Flapjacks recipe and simply use vegan butter in place of the regular butter.

But I’m not a fan of vegan butter, so here’s a recipe for anyone else with me!

They’re based on the chocolate flapjack recipe, but there are a few changes. First of all, as I’ve already mentioned, they use coconut oil.

At first, I couldn’t get the coconut oil to combine with the other wet ingredients. So I added some almond butter.

That helped! There was still a little bit of coconut oil that didn’t want to combine. But once you stir in the oats, it’s all absorbed.

Adding 1/4 cup of almond butter also makes the bars less sweet, which I thought was a nice thing.

Ingredients

  • Refined coconut oil – you can use extra-virgin coconut oil, if you prefer, but the coconut flavor will be very evident.

  • Natural almond butter – use one that’s just almonds. Or almonds and salt (but then reduce the amount of salt in the recipe).

  • Brown rice syrup or golden syrup – if you’re not vegan, you can use honey.

  • Quick oats – I think the texture is much better with quick oats than the bigger rolled oats. They’re easier to chew.

    Make sure to use gluten-free oats if you’re gluten-free. You can read more here → Are Oats Gluten-free?

  • Chocolate – you can use chocolate chips or chopped chocolate. Make sure to use vegan chocolate.

  • Vanilla extract + salt

How to make them

All you have to do is mix everything together in a small pot or saucepan until melted and well combined.

Pat into a pan and bake.

The edges will brown just a bit. It might bubble a little in the corners, but you don’t want them to bubble a lot or it “fries” the bars. That makes them too hard to chew.

When you take the flapjacks out of the oven and tilt the pan to a bit to the side, they should be firm enough so that they don’t move. They firm up as they cool, so don’t be worried that they’re soft right now.

What is golden syrup/light treacle?

Golden syrup or light treacle is an amber-colored, thick sweetener frequently used in the UK for baked goods. Treacle is a word used to describe the grade of syrup made from refining cane sugar.

But don’t confuse this product with light corn syrup because although they look similar, they don’t have the same uses. Also, corn syrup is made from corn and light treacle is made from cane sugar.

Black treacle can be subbed for molasses. But we’re not using black treacle in this recipe, so definitely don’t use molasses in today’s recipe!

Golden syrup is simply water, sugar and citric acid. It has a rich, buttery flavor and a hint of caramel. It’s not as sweet as corn syrup. Some people also use it on pancakes.

Where can I buy it in the US?

If you want to make your own syrup, I found a great tutorial on how to make golden syrup.

Like with anything these days, you can buy Golden Syrup online from Amazon easily enough.

World Market and Walmart both seem to stock it, so you shouldn’t have any problems locating it. I would recommend calling to make sure it’s in stock just to make sure before you make the trek. It’ll probably be in the international food aisle.

Can I use a different nut butter?

I’m always going on and on about this, but nut butter types aren’t interchangeable. I think people who say “use whatever nut butter you want” in every recipe haven’t actually tried it out. The result can vary hugely depending on what type you use.

This was especially true of my Gluten-free Granola Bars (which are also vegan!). I wrote about how the recipe uses peanut butter and after 9 attempts at converting them to use almond butter instead of peanut butter, I just gave up.

That recipe uses a bit of oat flour, making the recipe a bit more finicky, but I’m still hesitant to recommend using anything other than almond butter in these.

So. Please use almond butter. ;)

Chocolate drizzle

You can omit this if you want. But a bit of chocolate on top makes them totally irresistible!

If you don’t want to mess with melting chocolate, you could sprinkle some mini chocolate chips on top of the bars before baking.

Other vegan treats

If you like these Vegan Flapjacks, you might also like some other vegan sweet snacks.

  • I just posted this Vegan Mug Brownie and it’s perfect for when you need something sweet ASAP! It takes 1 minute in the microwave and is ultra gooey! Can be made gluten-free.

  • These Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are flourless and have the best texture! They’re super peanut buttery and quick and easy to make.

  • These Almond Flour Oatmeal Cookies are my favorite chewy cookie that tastes like the original but made without wheat. They’re naturally gluten-free with dairy-free and vegan options. They can even be made in the Air Fryer!

  • This Chocolate Avocado Smoothie makes a terrific sweet snack that is super healthy! The avocado makes it thick and creamy. It’s naturally gluten-free with paleo and vegan options.

  • No need to preheat the oven with these No Bake Cookies without Peanut Butter. They’re super easy to make and chewy and chocolaty!

  • These Coconut Chocolate Balls are quick and easy and as elegant as truffles! They’re bite-sized healthy treats that are naturally vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free.

What sweet snack is your favorite? Enjoy these Vegan Flapjacks! I’d love to hear your feedback! Leave a comment below or post to social media and tag #texanerin so I can be sure to find it!

Vegan Flapjacks

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Rated 5.0 by 8 readers
Vegan Flapjacks (perfect texture, quick, easy! GF option)
  • Prep Time:
  • Cook Time:
  • Ready in:
  • Yield: 16 flapjacks

Ingredients

    For the bars:

  • 7 tablespoons (98 grams) refined coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup (64 grams) natural almond butter
  • 2/3 cup (133 grams) light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup (80 grams) brown rice syrup or golden syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 1/3 cups (300 grams) quick oats (use GF oats if you're GF)
  • Topping:

  • 1/3 cup (57 grams) vegan semi-sweet chocolate, melted
  • flaky sea salt - optional

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F (175C) and line an 8"x8" pan with parchment paper.
  2. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt together everything except for the oats. It’s okay if some coconut oil floats to the top. Once you add the oats, it’ll be absorbed.
  3. Once it's totally melted, remove from the heat and stir in the oats until combined.
  4. Scoop into the pan, firmly pat it down with a spoon or silicone spatula, and bake for 15 minutes.
  5. The edges will have browned just a little. It might be bubbling a little in a corner but you don’t want them to bubble a lot or it "fries" the bars and makes them too hard to chew. When you take them out of the oven and tilt the pan to the side, they should be firm enough so that they don't move. They firm up as they cool.
  6. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
  7. Let cool completely, about 2 hours, or put into the fridge or freezer to speed it up.
  8. Cut into bars. Drizzle the chocolate over the top.
  9. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, if using. Place in the fridge for the chocolate to harden.
  10. Store in an airtight container at room temp for 1 week, refrigerate for 2 weeks or freeze for 3 months.

Recipe by  | www.texanerin.com

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10 comments on “Vegan Flapjacks (perfect texture, quick, easy! GF option)” — Add one!

2 comments are awaiting moderation!

  • Moop Brown
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    says
    June 6, 2022 @ 8:22 am

    These flapjacks seem like such a tasty treat and I love that they’re vegan as well. Thank you for sharing

    Reply
  • LaKita
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    says
    June 6, 2022 @ 3:50 am

    These vegan flapjacks are so so good! I made them for my family this weekend and they came together perfectly, will definitely be making them again.

    Reply
  • Mikayla
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    June 5, 2022 @ 11:16 pm

    These ‘flapjacks’ were great, I chose to eat them more as a bar and did not need the drizzled syrup. I was able to find golden syrup at a local organic store. What a great meal or snack!@

    Reply
  • Jenny
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    says
    June 5, 2022 @ 1:38 pm

    I love oats. Can’t wait to try this recipe!

    Reply
  • Jamie
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    June 5, 2022 @ 3:13 am

    I made these for a friend and she loved it! The almond butter added lots of nutty flavor and it was perfectly sweet! Thank you!

    Reply
  • Jere Cassidy
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    June 4, 2022 @ 9:48 pm

    I was searching for a recipe to use golden syrup and your recipe popped up. I love you call these bars flapjacks because it wasn’t what I thought they would be. But one look at the pictures and your recipe made me want to make these tasty bars. Love the simple recipe.

    Reply
  • Allyssa
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    says
    June 4, 2022 @ 3:38 pm

    Really loved that texture and how it turned out really tasty! Fam really loved it and will surely make this again! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  • Cathleen
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    June 3, 2022 @ 5:04 pm

    I used to make flapjacks all the time, I have no idea why I stopped. Thanks for the reminder, I need to try this vegan version now!!

    Reply
  • Patricia @ Grab a Plate says
    June 3, 2022 @ 4:08 pm

    These looks so good! What a fun treat for the family! Easy to make with ingredients that I usually have on hand!

    Reply
  • Charlotte Moore says
    February 28, 2022 @ 1:24 pm

    These look pretty tasty. I thought it was going to be a pancake recipe. Haha!! Some people call them flapjacks instead of pancakes.

    Reply

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