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This vegan snickers recipe is THE BOMB – rich and decadent with a creamy layer of homemade date caramel and crunchy peanuts! These healthy snack bars taste just like the ‘real thing’! They’re also super easy and fun to make. No added refined sugar or oil. Gluten-free option included. Jump to Recipe
I got some homemade Vegan Snickers over here! Is anyone interested? I thought so! Now, these are completely made from scratch – vegan date caramel and all. But don’t you worry, making your own candy snack bars is actually pretty dang easy.
Not only is this peanut snickers Bars recipe easy, but making your own vegan candy bars is also a guarantee that there are no preservatives, artificial colors, or any questionable ingredients in your and your kids’ sweet treats. The shortbread peanut cookie layer instead of nougat has a few ingredients and is customizable, topped with date caramel and chocolate.
And who wouldn’t want a homemade Snickers Bar that is actually good for you?
Ingredients:
Oh yeah, and did I mention you only need basic vegan pantry staples – all-natural plant-based ingredients, to make these gems?
This vegan snickers bar recipe also only requires about 20 minutes of work on your end, and if you use chocolate that’s sweetened with coconut sugar (like I did), they are also refined sugar-free!
- Smooth peanut butter – the good stuff, all-natural without added nasties. Check if your peanut butter is already salted or not. If it is, you can skip the salt in the recipe.
- Maple syrup – for adding sweetness without having to load up on refined sugar.
- Dates – Medjool or regular pitted dates, soaked in water. We need these to make our vegan date caramel layer. Snickers without caramel? I don’t think so!
- Flour – all-purpose will do the trick just fine. You can use gluten-free all purpose or oat flour.
- Plant-based milk – coconut, oat, or almond milk for thinning out the batter for the crust and get the desired smoothness for the caramel layer. Depending on the initial texture of your nut butter, you might need slightly less or more.
- Baking soda – your raising agent.
- Chocolate chips – because it would not be a snickers bar without chocolate right? Make sure your chocolate chips are vegan.
Tips and Substitutions:
- If you are allergic to peanuts, you can use other nut butters such as almond butter, sun butter, cashew butter, or mixed nut/seed butters as well. Same goes for the whole peanuts in the bars. Obviously the final result will taste different, but it will still be delicious.
- These bars are actually fine at room temperature and will not melt or anything. For long-term storage, I would recommend placing them in the fridge or freezer so they last longer. If you store them in the freezer, let them defrost for a few minutes before serving.
- Note that not all peanut butter is created equal. Plenty of brands you’ll find on grocery store shelves are loaded with unnecessary oils and sugars, driving up the calorie count of these babies unnecessarily. Check the ingredient list.
How to make this Vegan Snickers Snack Bars recipe:
Prep: Preheat the oven to 350F (176C) and line a 9×9 inch pan with parchment.
In a bowl add the peanut butter, maple syrup, and non-dairy milk and warm in a microwave for half a minute.
Whisk well to combine. Add the rest of the dry ingredients, so flour, baking soda and salt, and mix well
Press this mixture into the parchment-lined pan and even it out.
Soak the dates in hot water for 15 minutes. Drain the dates and blend them with the rest of the ingredients listed under caramel until smooth. You can use any high-speed blender or a food processor.
Press the peanuts into the cookie layer
then top it with the blended caramel mixture and bake the base for 30 minutes.
Top with the chocolate chips and bake for another 5 minutes, then spread out the melted chocolate chips with a spatula to cover the caramel evenly. You can also use the double-boiler to melt the chocolate and drizzle all over instead.
Cool completely and freeze for a few hours and slice, then store refrigerated for up to a week or freeze for up to a month.
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 Snack Bars Recipe
Ingredients
Cookie Layer
- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, Or use almond butter or cashew butter for peanutfree
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 2 tbsp non-dairy milk such as almond, soy, oat or coconut milk
- 3/4 cup of flour, ,I use all-purpose. Use gf flour blend of choice or oat flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/3 tsp salt, adjust based on peanut butter is already salted or not
Caramel Layer:
- 1 heaping cup of soft dates
- 2 tbsp of peanut butter or almond butter
- 1/8 tsp Salt
- 1/3 cup nondairy milk
- 1 tbsp of shredded coconut optional
Topping
- 3 to 4 tbsp roasted peanuts
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F (176C) and line a 9x9 inch pan with parchment.
- In a bowl add the peanut butter, maple syrup, and non-dairy milk and warm in a microwave for half a minute. Whisk well to combine. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix well
- Press this cookie layer mixture into the parchment-lined pan and even it out. Soak the dates in hot water for 15 minutes. Drain the dates and blend them with the rest of the ingredients under caramel until smooth, you can use a blender or a food processor.
- Press the peanuts into the cookie layer then top it with the blended caramel mixture and bake for 30 minutes. Top with the chocolate chips and bake for another 5 minutes, then spread out the melted chocolate chips with a spatula to cover the caramel evenly. Alternatively, use the double boiler to melt the chocolate , mix in 1 teaspoon coconut oil , and drizzle all over instead.
- Cool completely and freeze for 1-2 hours and slice and then store refrigerated for up to a week or freeze for up to a month.
Video
Notes
- If you are allergic to peanuts, you can use other nut butters such as almond butter, sun butter, cashew butter, or mixed nut/seed butters as well. Same goes for the whole peanuts in the bars. Obviously the final result will taste different, but still, it will be delicious!
- These bars are actually fine at room temperature and will not melt or anything. For long-term storage, I would recommend placing them in the fridge or freezer so they last longer. If you store them in the freezer, let them defrost for a few minutes before serving.
- Note that not all peanut butter is created equal. Plenty of brands you’ll find on grocery store shelves are loaded with unnecessary oils and sugars, driving up the calorie count of these babies unnecessarily. Check the ingredient list.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I think it tasted good, but for me the cookie layer was dry and crumbly, and my chocolate layer cracked horribly. I did put some extra chocolate in there, so maybe that’s why. I can’t figure out why the cookie layer didn’t work out though. Thanks for the idea and making it sugar free.
Oh no. You def need a thinner chocolate layer as it’s just chocolate and it will crack if it’s thick as you’ll need to apply more pressure to slice. For using more chocolate add in 2 tablespoons of non dairy milk while melting so that it doesn’t harden into too solid and stays slightly soft,
The bottom maybe have gotten over baked if the oven was running hotter or maybe the nut butter wasn’t moist enough. Add in more nut butter and a tablespoon applesauce to help
I made these yesterday they are excellent. Definitely will be making them again.
Yay
Amazing ! Thanks for the recipe. Some bites felt a bit too dry and some not, maybe I didn’t make my layers even. Everybody liked it! I am also considering using the delicious peanut-dates caramel for other things !
OMG! Amazing! This will be on a regular rotation. I need to make a second batch and freeze them because this batch definitely won’t last long! Thank you, Richa!
Yay
It was very good! I will definitely make again with some kind of variation. I would either replace the peanuts with pretzels or insert a layer of raspberry jam.
Awesome ! mmmmmm sounds yummy
Is it possible to use buckwheat or almond flour instead of gf all purpose or oat?
almond flour will work