Gluten-free Carmelita Bars

These Gluten-free Carmelita Bars are fudgey, delicious, oat based and topped and filled with a dreamy caramel, chocolate and nutty center. They’re also vegan, refined sugar-free and so easy to make.

I am SO excited to share this recipe with you guys. The dreamiest Carmelitas ever. I’m not sure why it took me 9 years to share a version of my absolute favorite dessert. These were a staple in my college years. They always had them in my food hall and they were so so good. Chocolatey, nutty with a cookie base and topping. 

I love Carmelitas and how satisfying they are. These ones are made with all gluten-free and vegan ingredients too. They’re lighter than the usual Carmelita bar and come together pretty easily.

These have been my go-to dessert recipe as of late to make for any occasion. Holidays, birthdays, girl’s nights, you name it. They’re a crowd pleaser and ones that you will want to make again and again. 

I love that thees are made with all pantry staples too here. So if you are a frequent baker of my blog, you are going to have these ingredients on hand. I do make my own caramel sauce to add into these but I also link to a great option if you don’t want to make caramel sauce.

I cannot wait to hear what you think of these! I hope you love them too.

What ingredients you need to make these gluten-free Carmelita Bars:

• Gluten-free flour – I have only used this flour with these. You could also try oat flour or regular all-purpose flour
• Coconut sugar – I haven’t tried another sugar. Maple syrup wouldn’t work because it is liquid sweetener
• Gluten-free rolled oats – or use regular rolled oats if not gluten-free
• Coconut oil – I haven’t tried this but melted butter is usually safe 1:1 sub or vegan butter
• Vanilla extract – always added for flavor especially int these
• Dark chocolate chips – you can use any chocolate chips you’d like
• Chopped pecans or walnuts – really any chopped nuts could work but pecans and walnuts are my two favorites to add here
• Caramel sauce – I made my sauce but you can use a store-bought one if you prefer

How to make the best oatmeal Carmelita Bars:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper and grease well
2. Mix together the oat base ingredients together until fully combined
3. Add mixture to baking dish and press down firmly to form base
4. Bake in oven for 12-14 minutes and mix together oat topping ingredients together and set aside
5. Remove bars from oven and sprinkle chocolate and nuts across when it comes out of oven
6. Drizzle caramel sauce on top then sprinkle the oat topping on the bars and bake in oven again for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown
7. Allow the bars to cool and serve (I recommend letting them cool completely before slicing!)