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No-Bake Lemon Energy Bars

By Deryn Macey

4.95 from 17 votes

on Apr 10, 2020, Updated Sep 11, 2024

These fresh and flavorful no-bake lemon energy bars are easy to make in minutes with just 4 everyday ingredients. Perfect for a quick, tasty snack or healthy dessert that tastes just like a lemon Larabar.

About the Recipe

• Quick and Easy: Blend these up in minutes in your food processor with just 4 simple ingredients.
• Healthier Snacking: Skip the vending machine and snack aisle and enjoy your own healthier homemade treat.
• Energy To-Go: These bars make a great snack for hiking, long runs, road trips, and travel days.
• Dietary Restriction-Friendly: These bars are vegan, gluten-free, oil-free and have no added sugar. They do, however, contain nuts but I have these Nut-Free Energy Bars, No-Bake Chocolate Protein Bars and No-Bake Granola Bars for nut-free options.

Ingredients

• Almonds: Look for plain, “raw” almonds that have no added oil or salt, blanched almonds would also be suitable.
• Cashews: Same as the almonds, plain cashews are best, they’ll most likely be labeled “raw cashews”. The recipe calls for both almonds and cashews but you can use all cashews or all almonds if you like. If choosing one, I would go with cashews for their mild flavor and softer texture.
• Dates: Soft, moist dates are important for this recipe as they bind everything together, medjool, deglect noor or sayer dates are all suitable. If your dates are hard or dry, you’ll need to soak them first in hot water for 15 minutes.
• Lemon: 1 whole lemon should do the trick, you’ll need some of the juice and a bit of zest…lime works here too or try these Lime Coconut Energy Bites for a variation.

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.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1. Add the almonds and cashews to your food processor and blend into a coarse, grainy flour. If there are a few larger chunks left behind, that’s ok.

Step 2. Add the dates, lemon juice, lemon zest, optional sea salt and blend it all up into a thick, sticky dough.

How do I make lemon zest? Use a citrus planer or even just a regular box or hand held grater to grate off some of the lemon peel. You’ll need about 2 tbsp of zest.

Step 3. Press the dough into a square baking dish. Pop the whole pan into the fridge or freezer until they firm up a bit then slice and enjoy!

For easy removal, I’d suggest lining the baking dish or pan with parchment paper. This will allow you to lift the finished bars out of the pan and easily slice.

Feel free to follow the recipe to make bars or you can also roll the dough into no-bake lemon energy balls.

FAQs

More Energy Bars

• Chocolate Chip No-Bake Granola Bars
• No-Bake Vegan Hemp Protein Bars
• No-Bake Oatmeal Bars
• No-Bake Apricot Granola Bars
• Baked Cranberry Granola Bars

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.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

4.95 from 17 votes

No-Bake Lemon Energy Bars

By: Deryn Macey

Simple, whole food, nutritious ingredients make up these fresh and flavourful lemon pie energy bars. Grab one anytime you need a boost in natural energy!

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Total: 15 minutes mins

Servings: 16 squares

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 cup raw almonds, 140 g
• ▢ 1 cup raw cashews, 140 g
• ▢ 2 cups packed pitted soft dates, 400 g
• ▢ 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• ▢ 2 tsp fresh lemon zest
• ▢ 1/4 tsp salt, optional

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Instructions 

• Place the nuts in a food processor process until broken down. They should resembled a coarse, grainy flour but a few larger chunks left behind are ok.
• Add dates, lemon and sea salt and blend into a thick, sticky dough you can press between your fingers. If it's not sticking together, add 1 tbsp of warm water and blend again.
• Line a 7-8 inch square baking dish or pan with two strips of parchment paper so they hang out the sides of the pan. This will help you easily lift the bars out once they're done.
• Firmly press the dough into the pan, taking time to really work it in and flatten it into all the corners. Alternatively, roll the dough into balls.
• Optional to place the bars or balls into the freezer for 30 minutes so they're firmer and easier to slice. Lift out of the pan and slice into 8 large bars or 16 squares.

Notes

The almonds can be replaced with an additional cup of cashews or shredded coconut.

Nutrition facts are for making 16 squares, double it for 8 large bars.

It’s important to use soft, moist dates in this recipe. If your dates are on the dry side, soak them in a bowl of hot water for 15 minutes then drain well before using in the recipe.

Store in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks or freezer for up to 3 months. I recommend storing them in the freezer.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bar, Calories: 152kcal, Carbohydrates: 23g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 7g, Sodium: 2mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 173g

Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

Originally published on January 8, 2014.