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Coconut Date Caramel Snack Bars

September 28, 2020 By Richa 11 Comments

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These easy no-bake vegan coconut date caramel snack bars are made with 8 simple ingredients and make for an amazingly delicious energy bar or on-the-go snack! Refined sugar-free, no added oil and grain-free option included. Jump to Recipe

a stack of vegan coconut caramel date bars
These Vegan Coconut Date Caramel Snack Bars are a wonderful thing. For anyone who hasn’t discovered the beauty of date caramel before, it’s just softened dates, pureed a little liquid like a splash of non-dairy milk and a bit of fat (in this case, I used almond butter). The rich, molasses-like notes of the blended dates is just so similar to cooked caramel, but way easier to achieve. I mean, blending dates is quite a bit easier than making caramel from scratch.

For this recipe, we use exactly that glorious combination of dates and almond butter to lend a gorgeous caramel note to these vegan date snack bars – no burnt pans, no endlessly waiting for sugar to melt.  There is still a tiny bit of stove-time involved as these vegan date caramel snack bars also involve toasting some shredded coconut. You will love the round nutty flavor the toasted coconut shreds add to these bars. Oats add a nice chew and make these more filling. These taste like a healthier samoa cookies! They can be made grainfree and Nutfree.

a stack of vegan coconut caramel date bars

If you love caramel, coconut and chocolate try these out you will not regret it!

Print Recipe
5 from 2 votes

Coconut Date Snack Bars.

These easy no-bake vegan coconut caramel date snack bars are made with simple ingredients and make for an amazingly delicious energy bar or on-the-go snack! Refined sugar-free, no added oil and grain-free option included.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time4 mins
Total Time14 mins
Course: Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: date bars, energy bars with coconut, homemade vegan snack bars
Servings: 8
Calories: 272kcal
Author: Vegan Richa

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (85 g) dried shredded coconut Use small shreds that are super fresh and white
  • 10 soft dates pitted
  • 1/2-1 cup (72 g) of nuts and seeds such as pecans, pumpkin, chia seeds, cashews, etc
  • 1 cup (81 g) old fashioned oats
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup (62.5 g) almond butter
  • 3-4 tsp maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup (59.15 g) chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Add the coconut to a skillet over medium heat, and toast until lightly golden. Once the pan is heated, the coconut toasts really quickly, so watch the pan closely for about 3-4 minutes. Cool for a few min s
  • Transfer the coconut and dates to a food processor, and process until dates have broken down consistently.
  • Add the seeds and nuts and process again until they are a coarse mixture and there are no large pieces. Add half of the oats and process again to break them down.
  • Add the rest of the oats, almond butter, maple syrup, and salt. Pulse a couple of times for the mixture to completely mix in. If the mixture isn't sticky enough, add another tsp of maple syrup, and pulse a couple of times again, then transfer this doughy mixture to a parchment-lined brownie pan. Press it down really well using a spatula or a spoon.
  • Melt the chocolate on a double boiler until completely melted, then drizzle all over. Let the brownie pan sit in the fridge for at least an hour to set, then slice.
    Store in the fridge for up to a week.

Notes

  • These can be made grain-free by omitting oats. Add more nuts and seeds instead.
  • to make these Nut-free, use seeds instead of nuts and sunflower seed butter instead of almond butter 
  • If you want, add some vanilla essence.
  • Any nuts and seeds work here. Pick your favorites.
  • You could use agave or brown rice syrup in lieu of maple syrup. 
  • Store these bars in the fridge for up to three weeks, or freeze for a few months

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Coconut Date Snack Bars.
Amount Per Serving
Calories 272 Calories from Fat 162
% Daily Value*
Fat 18g28%
Saturated Fat 8g50%
Cholesterol 1mg0%
Sodium 83mg4%
Potassium 276mg8%
Carbohydrates 25g8%
Fiber 5g21%
Sugar 12g13%
Protein 6g12%
Vitamin A 13IU0%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 55mg6%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Ingredients:

  •  dried shredded coconut. Go for the good stuff – you are looking for small shreds that are super fresh and white.
  •  soft dates – any soft dates are easiest to blend and have a wonderful caramelly taste.
  •  nuts and seeds, such as pecans, pumpkin, chia seeds, cashews, etc. Use your favorites. For extra flavor, toast them first. I like cashews and pecans in these. To make them without nuts, use pumpkin, sunflower and hemp seeds
  • old fashioned oats – quick oats would work too.
  • almond butter – or your favorite seed butter for a nut-free version
  • maple syrup is added for some sweetness. We don’t need much as the dates lend lots of sweetness to these bars.
  •  dark chocolate chips are my choice here but you can just chop up some vegan bar chocolate if you don’t have chips. Make sure your chocolate chips are vegan.

Tips & Substitutions:

  • These can be made grain-free by omitting oats. Add more nuts and seeds instead.
  • If you want, add some vanilla essence.
  • Any nuts and seeds work here. Pick your favorites.
  • Agave syrup or brown rice syrup can be used in lieu of maple syrup.

 

How to make Coconut Caramel Date Bars:

-Add the coconut to a skillet over medium heat, and toast until lightly golden. Once the pan is heated, the coconut toasts really quickly, so stand around the pan for about 3-4 minutes.

Transfer the coconut and dates to a food processor, and process until dates have broken down consistently.

shredded coconut and dates in a food processor

shredded coconut being blended with dates

Now, add the seeds and nuts and process again until they are a coarse mixture and there are no large pieces.

shredded coconuts, nuts, seeds and dates in a food processor

Add half of the oats and process again to break them down.

blended nuts and dates in a food processor

Add the rest of the oats, almond butter, maple syrup, and salt.

almond butter being added to blended dates, nuts and oats to make vegan date bars

Pulse a couple of times for the mixture to completely mix in. If the mixture isn’t sticky enough, then add another tsp of maple syrup, and pulse a couple of times again.

vegan date bar mixture ready to be pressed into a mold

Transfer this doughy mixture to a parchment-lined brownie pan. Press it down really well using a spatula or a spoon.

Melt the chocolate on a double boiler until completely melted, then drizzle all over. Let the brownie pan sit in the fridge for at least an hour to set, then slice.

overhead shot of a casserole dish with vegan coconut caramel date bars drizzled with melted chocolate

How to store Caramel Date Bars

Store these bars in the fridge for up to three weeks, or freeze for a few months.

a hand reaching for a vegan date bar on top of a stack of vegan snack bars

MORE SNACK BARS AND BITES FROM THE BLOG

  • Carrot Cake Bites – They taste like Carrot Cake! you all have been loving them. GF
  • Peanut Butter Chocolate Balls with Rice Krispies/Oats– Cannot get any better than pb and chocolate. GF
  • Seedy Chocolate Snack Bars – no dates! GF
  • Golden Sesame Balls – Because turmeric GF
  • Mojito Energy Balls – so fresh and zesty! GF
  • Blueberry Muffin Energy Bites – these snack balls Taste like blueberry muffins. GF
  • Vegan Snickers Bars 

Filed Under: Breakfast Recipes, dessert, fall, gluten free, kid approved, nut-free option, palm oil free, refined oil free, refined sugar free, snack, soy free Tagged With: chia seeds, chocolate chips, coconut, maple syrup, nuts, oats



⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you Love the Recipe, Please consider rating it using stars in comments! It helps readers and helps more people find the recipe online! I love hearing from you all! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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  1. Jacquie says

    September 28, 2020 at 4:46 pm

    those look wonderful but sadly i don’t have a food processor. Would it be possible to make them without one? thanks.

    Reply
    • Richa says

      September 28, 2020 at 4:59 pm

      Yes you’d have to chop the dated and nuts and mix. Chop the dates small. They’ll become a sticky mess, but that’s what we want to keep the bars together. Then add the nut butter etc and press and mix and somewhat knead into a dough and press then into a pan

      Reply
      • Jacquie astemborski says

        September 28, 2020 at 5:54 pm

        Thanks i appreciate the help and can’t wait to try them.

        Reply
  2. Alexis Lamb says

    September 28, 2020 at 11:26 pm

    These look delicious! Do you think I could substitute tahini or peanut butter for the almond butter? Thank you for sharing such amazing recipes!!

    Reply
    • Richa says

      September 29, 2020 at 8:40 am

      Yes

      Reply
  3. Nancy says

    September 29, 2020 at 7:38 pm

    5 stars
    Outstanding just like all of your recipes. I toasted pecans and sunflower seeds and followed recipe as written. I was worried it wouldn’t stick together but it did after refrigerated. My husband just ate one large piece, then cut himself a second piece. Guess I’ll be making them again in a few days. Thanks, Richa!

    Reply
    • Richa says

      September 30, 2020 at 12:13 pm

      Awesome!

      Reply
  4. Erik says

    September 30, 2020 at 3:10 pm

    Excited to try these! Can you give me a rough idea of the amount of dates? The recipe says ten, but there are so many different sizes of dates out there and the ones I usually get are on the small side. Any idea in terms of either grams or cups?

    Reply
    • Vegan Richa Support says

      September 30, 2020 at 10:09 pm

      sure thing – about 240 grams

      Reply
  5. Nancy Jain says

    October 2, 2020 at 11:35 pm

    Very nice recipes

    Reply
  6. Emily says

    October 21, 2020 at 11:25 pm

    5 stars
    These taste exactly like healthy Samoa cookies! So good! Making another batch tomorrow!

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Richa! I create flavorful plant based recipes that are inspired by my Indian upbringing, including many gluten-free, soy-free, and oil-free options. Read more about me and the blog...

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