Nut-Free Energy Bars
on Oct 06, 2021, Updated Aug 17, 2024
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These vegan nut-free energy bars are perfect for a healthy and delicious that’s easy to make with 6 ingredients.
These bars are made with healthy ingredients that can be mixed and matched to create a delicious vegan snack works for you. They’re yummy enough for dessert but perfect for an energizing snack too.
For more like this, don’t miss these delicious Baked Cranberry Granola Bars, No-Bake Granola Bars and these Sunflower Seed Energy Balls.
Recipe Features
- Vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, oil-free and no added sugar.
- 239 calories per par with 6 grams of protein and 5 grams of fibre.
- Easy to make with just 6 simple ingredients.
- Customize as needed to suit your preference.
- Great for hiking, road trips, camping and otherwise taking on-the-go.
- Cut them into 28 mini bars for a kid-friendly snack or dessert.
- Yummy crumbled over smoothie bowls, yogurt and ice cream.
What You’ll Need
This list is not complete. Please see the recipe card at the end of the post for the complete ingredient list with measurements and detailed instructions.
The recipe calls for 2 cups of mixed seeds and coconut but the amounts and variety can be adjusted to suit your preference or dietary needs.
- Sesame Seeds: You can use hulled or unhulled, toasted or plain white or black sesame seeds.
- Hemp Seeds: May be labelled as hemp hearts. As they’re a little more expensive than other seeds, feel free to swap them for additional sunflower or sesame seeds.
- Sunflower Seeds: Use raw sunflower seeds with no added oil, salt or sugar.
- Coconut: Use unsweetened medium or fine shredded, or desiccated, coconut. This can be swapped for 1/2 cup additional seeds or nuts such as almonds, walnuts or pecans.
- Dates: I like sayer dates for recipes like this. They’re more affordable than medjool dates and have a soft texture that works well for no-bake recipes, though you can use any variety of date as long as they’re soft and moist and not overly dry.
- Nut or Seed Butter: Use tahini or sunflower seed butter for a nut-free recipe and delicious taste, or use almond butter, peanut butter or cashew butter.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Add the seeds and coconut to a food processor and mix until broken down into a flaky consistency.
Step 2: Add the dates and nut or seed butter and mix until you have a thick, sticky dough you can easily press between your fingers.
If the dough seems too crumbly, add 1-2 tbsp warm water and process again. That should do the trick.
Step 3: Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper so it sticks out over at least two sides of the pan.
Firmly press the dough into the pan, taking a few minutes to really press it down, especially along the sides and corners.
Step 4: Freeze the bars for 30-60 minutes to firm, then lift them out of the pan and slice into 14 bars.
Enjoy your homemade energy bars or stash ’em in the freezer for a yummy snack whenever you need it.
FAQs
This can happen if you use overly dry nut/seed butter or dates. It’s important to use soft, moist dates in no-bake recipes like this.
If you think your dates are too dry, soak them pitted in hot water for 15 minutes then drain well before using in the recipe.
If you blend unsoaked dates and the dough seems to crumbly, add 1-2 tbsp warm water and process again until you can squeeze the dough into a little ball.
I wouldn’t recommend these two in this particular recipe but if you’d like to try them in a similar recipe, here are some options:
• Hemp Chia Bars – with pepitas, oats and walnuts
• Chocolate Chip Chia Seed Bars – with oats and coconut oil
• Chocolate Superfood Bars – with flax, chia seeds and almonds
Recipe Notes
Serving Size: I like to cut my bars in to 14 portions, then cut each in half so I have 28 mini bars. That way I can have a small one for a treat or grab a couple if I want a bigger serving.
Feel free to cut them into as many portions as you’d like. 16 squares also works well.
Seeds & Coconut: Use any combination up to 2 cups of sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas), hemp seeds and coconut. You can also substitute nuts for any of the seeds. The coconut can be substituted with nuts, seeds or oats.
Additional Ingredients: Try up to 1/3 cup cacao nibs, dairy-free chocolate chips, chopped dark chocolate, dried cranberries or chopped dried fruit like apricots.
Storing
- These are best kept chilled but they’re okay to room temperature for a day or two if taking to-go (or longer but they’ll get a bit soft).
- Fridge: Store in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.
- Freezer (Recommended): Store in a sealed container for up to 3 months and can be enjoyed straight from the freezer as they do no freeze solid.
Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Scroll down to comment section below to leave your star rating and review.
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Nut-Free Energy Bars
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sesame seeds, 70 g
- 1/2 cup hemp seeds, 80 g
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, 75 g
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, 50 g
- 2 cups lightly packed, soft and pitted dates (400 g)
- 1/2 cup tahini, peanut butter or almond butter (120 g)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt, optional for a salted flavour, omit if nut/seed butter has added salt
Instructions
- Add the seeds and coconut to a food processor and process into a flaky consistency.
- Add the dates, peanut butter and sea salt, if using and process until you have a thick, sticky dough you can easily press together between your fingers. If it seems too crumbly, add 1-2 tbsp warm water and process again.
- Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper so it sticks out over at least 2 sides of the pan (this will help you easily lift the bars out once set). Firmly press the dough firmly into the pan, taking a few minutes to really work it in there until it's flat and firm.
- Place the pan in the fridge for 30-60 minutes to firm up. This is not totally necessary but help them firm into a more solid bar.
- Lift the bars out of the pan and cut into 14 bars, 16 squares or any other portion size you like.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published March 19, 2018.
I can eat dried fruit. Is there another substitute for the dates?
The only substitution I could suggest would be other dried fruit, sorry.
If I wanted to use raisins instead of dates, since I keep those in the pantry, would I use the same amount? Thanks
Yes, the same amount. You may need to soak them before use depending on how soft they are.
Thanks for the recipe. I tried a similar recipe using different nuts, honey and peanut butter but I can’t form a ball of dough. I heated the honey and peanut butter and added it to the nuts and dried fruits which have already been through a food processor and turned into a fine grain powder. It does not form a sticky dough, just a crumble. Not sure what to do. Maybe I should add heated brown sugar which does not crystallize. By the way I don’t add any oats or oat flour. How do I make it into a consistent dough??? Thanks.
I would recommend following one of my recipes for balls or bars as they all have the right ingredient amounts and instructions to create dough. Thanks!
I’ve been trying a bunch of stuff like this lately. I subbed in cashews for the hemp seeds because, well hemp seeds are 20 dollars a pound. WIth the cashews – this was addictively good.
Glad you enjoyed them! I sub in sunflower and pumpkin seeds a lot too since they’re less expensive than nuts and hemp seeds. The great thing about recipes like this is they’re so flexible 🙂 Thanks for the review!
Thank you very much for the recipe. I bought a bar of sesame and sunflower seeds today and the price was too much. That’s when I decided to look for a recipe to make my own bars!!!
What can i sub instead of dates? I’m keto and can’t have those die to insulin spike. What will be meaty enough to bind these? Thanks
Anything I can think of would be similar to dates…raisins, dried figs, soaked dried cherries etc. They make up the bulk of this recipe, giving flavour, binding and sweetness so I can’t really recommend a sub for that one. 🙂 Thanks.
Hello
I tried making the bars and they turned out beautifuly. My kids loved it. Thanks for sharing the post.
These are AWESOME!! I have made them at least 3 times – I bring them to work instead of Lara bars. OMG. I love that you can change up the type of seed or nut. They’re so delicious, the only problem is that it’s almost impossible to stop from eating them all in one sitting!
Haha, totally agree…these are so dang addictive!! I always eat too much of the dough when I’m making them. So happy you liked them!
Thanks for sharing. Keep it up.