Today’s Gluten-Free Magic Quinoa Bars are the oat-free quinoa flakes version of my Gluten-Free Magic Oat Bars, which are my gluten-free graham cracker-free version of the classic Magic Cookie Bars. You may know them as simply Magic Bars.
Gluten-Free Magic Quinoa Bar Ready To Eat. (They’re exceptionally chewy and amazing after cooling for an hour.)
They’re also known as 7-Layer Bars by many, although technically that recipe contains two kinds of chips—usually semi-sweet chocolate chips and butterscotch chips—and Magic Bars do not.
If you don’t want to wait for the Magic Quinoa Bars to cool all the way, you can use a fork as I did!
To explain, years ago necessity turned out to be the mother of invention when I wanted to make gluten-free Magic Bars but had no gluten-free graham crackers on hand. I’ve only rarely purchased gluten-free graham crackers because they’re a treat and can be pricey, especially as part of a recipe with several pricey items. All the ingredients can add up quickly in that case—and that’s true even for a recipe such as Magic Bars when they’re not gluten-free specialty ingredients.
So, I decided to substitute gluten-free rolled oats for the gluten-free graham crackers crumbs. And guess what? It worked perfectly! It’s been a popular gfe recipe for a long time.
However, as I’ve shared previously in Over 10 Gluten-Free Recipes To Try for National Quinoa Day, I’ve been skipping oats for a good while now since so many oat products labeled gluten free, including some made from certified gluten-free purity protocol oats and others—including most recently Trader Joe’s Rolled Oats—started testing gluten full. If you want to read more on this subject to stay safe, please follow Gluten-Free Watchdog and its testing efforts.
Gluten-Free Magic Quinoa Bars. First, melted butter and quinoa flakes.
Gluten-Free Magic Quinoa Bars. Melted butter, quinoa flakes, and then sweetened condensed milk.
Gluten-Free Magic Quinoa Bars. Melted butter, quinoa flakes, sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, and shredded/flaked coconut
Gluten-Free Magic Quinoa Bars. Melted butter, quinoa flakes, sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, shredded/flaked coconut, and chopped nuts.
How could I make these bars without either gluten-free graham crackers crumbs or “gluten-free” oats? The answer is quinoa flakes. I’ve been slowly but surely trying them in all my recipes in which I previously used oats.
As you can see, I use Ancient Harvest Quinoa Flakes, which I personally order from Vitacost. (I love using Vitacost. The prices are good, the selection of items is good, and the items arrive quickly.) Quinoa flakes are made by flattening whole quinoa seeds into thin, flakes. That actually makes them very similar to quick oats in looks, texture, and results.
By the way, quinoa flakes actually rank a bit higher in nutrition than oats per my understanding but do your own research of course.
In this recipe, I simply subbed in quinoa flakes for the oats and the results were every bit as wonderful as when I used oats. Quinoa flakes have a bit of a stronger smell and taste than oats in my opinion but I don’t mind either.
In combination with the other magic bar ingredients, these Gluten-Free Quinoa Magic Bars are wonderful. They’re a healthier gluten-free version of the Magic Bars you probably remember from back in the day. They have that satisfying mixture of ingredients, flavors, and textures but perhaps not that same off-the-charts sugar rush that the original ones deliver. I think that’s a good thing.
I actually made my Gluten-Free Magic Quinoa Bars using sweetened condensed coconut milk, dairy-free chocolate chips, and a dairy-free butter equivalent.
Because I’m not entertaining and therefore in need of desserts most of the time, I also halved the recipe, using an 8 x 8 baking pan versus the 9 x 13 baking pan. So, please know if you want to serve many with this recipe, you’ll want to double the ingredients and use the 9 x 13 pan.
As you can see from my photos, I was a bit lazy when it came to chopping the nuts when I made this recipe. I used pecan halves and just semi-crumbled them with my hands before adding them as the top layer before baking the bars. For a prettier presentation (and no nuts falling off when you eat your bars!), you’ll want more evenly chopped nuts.
More Gluten-Free Bar Recipes You Should Check Out
~ Gluten-Free Black Magic Bars
~ Gluten-Free Chewy Granola Bars
~ Gluten-Free Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Shortbread Bars
~ Gluten-Free Homemade Eatmore Bars
~ Gluten-Free Key Lime Cheesecake Bars
Gluten-Free Magic Quinoa Bars Recipe
Gluten-Free Magic Quinoa Bars
These Gluten-Free Magic Quinoa Bars are also known as "New and Improved" Magic Cookie Bars. No oats and no graham crackers. Or you might recognize these as a gluten-free graham cracker-free oat-free version of 7-Layer Bars. Whatever you call them, I think you'll love them!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup quinoa flakes
- 1/4 cup butter (dairy or non-dairy), melted
- half of a can of sweetened condensed milk (if using sweetened condensed coconut milk, use about 2/3 of a can because the cans are smaller)
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (regular) or [minis)
- 2/3 cups shredded/flaked coconut
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts (your choice)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 8 x 8 baking dish.
- In small bowl, combine quinoa flakes and butter; mix well. Press mixture into bottom of baking dish. The results will still be somewhat "loose" and may not seem like a crust at all, but have faith.
- Pour half of a can of sweetened condensed milk over quinoa flake mixture.
- Sprinkle semi-sweet chocolate chips evenly over all.
- Sprinkle flaked coconut evenly over all.
- Sprinkle chopped nuts evenly over all.
- Press down firmly with a spatula across entire surface.
- Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool.
- Cut into bars. Store at room temperature.
Originally published March 9, 2025; updated March 11, 2025.
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