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These Vegan Pecan Pie Bars are super easy to make thanks to a quick gluten-free pastry and no-cook date caramel layer made in the food processor! Gluten-free and naturally sweetened.
Looking for another Thanksgiving dessert? These Vegan Pecan Pie Bars have a lot going for them: Not only are they ridiculously easy to make. They are also way easier to eat after a rich Thanksgiving meal as they can be cut as small or big as you want them to. In addition, they are naturally sweetened with maple syrup and coconut sugar and gluten-free.
The pastry comes together in just minutes, you can make it by hand in a bowl or blitz everything together in the food processor. The middle layer is made from a quick date caramel and the topping is pecans. These have an incredible, addictive texture. The date caramel is gooey, the pecans are crunchy, and the cookie crust is crumbly, buttery and delicious
More Thanksgiving desserts:
- Pumpkin Pie Tarts
- Chocolate Pecan Pie
- Sweet Potato Bars
- Gluten-free Pumpkin BreadÂ
- Pumpkin pie bars
- 1 Bowl Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
- Pumpkin Chocolate Marble Cake
Vegan Pecan Pie Bars – Date Sweetened Glutenfree
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 cup almond flour
- 3 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 2 tablespoons oat flour, certified Glutenfree if needed , or use white rice flour
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon refined coconut oil, semi-solid
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
For the date caramel layer:
- 9 soft Medjool dates
- 2 tablespoons almond butter
- 1/2 cup non-dairy milk such as almond milk or oat milk
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
For the pecan topping:
- 1 cup pecans halves and chopped, I use and 1/2 cup of halves and 1/2 cup chopped
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons coconut sugar, or brown sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Make the crust: In a bowl, add the almond flour, tapioca starch, oat flour, baking soda, and salt and mix well.
- Then add in the wet ingredients – vanilla extract, melted coconut oil, maple syrup and mix and make a dough. Press and mix to combine.
- Line a 9×9 or 8×8 inch brownie pan with parchment. Then press this dough into the pan and even it out with a spatula.
- Preheat the oven to 345 degrees Fahrenheit (170c) and bake the crust for 11 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the date caramel: Blend dates, almond butter, 1/4 cup of milk, 1/8 teaspoon salt. Then add the milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture is a smooth thick cream. Depending on your dates, you might need all of the half cup or a tablespoon less non dairy milk.
- In another bowl, add the pecans and maple syrup and toss well. Then sprinkle in the coconut sugar and cinnamon and toss again.
- Remove the crust from the oven then spread out the date caramel and even it out.
- Top the date caramel with the pecan mixture and even it out and then place this pan back in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.
- Once the top is not liquidy anymore, take the pan out. Let it cool for 15 minutes then carefully remove the bars from the pan and let it cool for another 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients:
- the crust is made using a gluten-free blend of almond flour, tapioca starch, and oat flour
- baking soda is added for rise
- Â salt helps bring out the sweetness
- vanilla extract
- to get that crumbly rich texture we use coconut oil for the crust
- the date caramel is made from Medjool dates blended with almond butter and non-dairy milk such as almond milk
- the bars are topped with pecans halves tossed with maple syrup, coconut sugar and cinnamon
Tips & Substitutions:
- For best results, I recommend Medjool dates. They blend easily
- You can use store-bought oat flour or you just grind your own oats into on flour in a blender . Or use all purpose flour or rice flour
- Refined coconut oil is best if you don’t want your crust to taste a bit coconutty
How to make Vegan Pecan Pie Bars:
Make the crust: In a bowl, add the almond flour, tapioca starch, oat flour, baking soda, and salt and mix well.
Then add in the wet ingredients – vanilla extract, melted coconut oil, maple syrup and mix and make a dough. Press and mix to combine.
Line a 9×9 or 8×8 inch brownie pan with parchment. Then press this dough into the pan and even it out with a spatula.
Preheat the oven to 345 degrees Fahrenheit (170c) and bake the crust for 11 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the date caramel: Blend dates, almond butter, 1/4 cup of non dairy milk, 1/8 teaspoon salt. Then add the milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture is a smooth thick cream. Depending on your dates, you might need all of the half cup or a tablespoon less non dairy milk.
In another bowl, add the pecans and maple syrup and toss well. Then sprinkle in the coconut sugar and cinnamon in the pecans and toss again.
Remove the crust from the oven then spread out the date caramel and even it out.
Top the date caramel with the pecan mixture and even it out and then place this pan back in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.
Once the top is not liquid anymore, take the pan out. Let it cool for 15 minutes then carefully remove from the pan and let it cool for another 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Storage: store in the counter for the day. Refrigerate for upto 7 days. Freeze for upto 2 months
Just made these and they are delicious!!
Yay!!
I made these last year for Thanksgiving. Drove them from Tucson to Albuquerque. They were a giant hit with the whole family. They are a bit of a project, but worth every minute. They are quite rich and super tasty.
Awesome! So glad you liked them!
These are out of this world amazing. But then again you can’t go wrong with dates and nuts. I didn’t have pecans though, so I made a mix of walnuts and almonds, still super delicious.
Thank you so much for sharing, Richa.
Oh! I’ll have to try with dates and nuts!
These bars are so delicious! They are even better than old fashioned pecan pie. My husband loves them too. The filling with the dates is pure magic. Go make a double batch so there are some left for the rest of the family.
Awesome! So good to hear!
What can I sub for the coconut oil? Can I just use almond butter or tahini instead?
Almond butter would work.
Made this and it turned out amazing! Simple and easy and most importantly delicious!
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Great recipe, my colleagues loved it.
Not sure if it was my oven or bottom of the jar almond butter or what, but these were a little dry but otherwise delicious (even for my omnivore dessert-a-holic hubby). When I make it next time, I will probably double the date caramel sauce. I also added a few more pecans for complete coverage. Cuz there’s never too much of a good thing!
Hmm maybe it got a bit overbaked
The next day, they became moist and even more delicious!! So maybe a little over baked at first.
Could arrowroot starch work in place of tapioca?
Yes
Can I admit the tapioca starch or is there a substitute I can use?
Any other starch like cornstarch or arrowroot