Vegan Pecan Pie Bars
on Sep 11, 2021, Updated Jul 17, 2024
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These gluten-free and vegan pecan pie bars feature a delicious caramel brown sugar pecan filling and golden shortbread crust.
Pecan pie bars are the ultimate holiday dessert, don’t you think? They’re decadent, gooey and full of pecan pie flavour without the actual pecan pie. Perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas dessert spreads.
This vegan pecan bar recipe is made with just 8 ingredients plus some baking basics like cinnamon and vanilla. You’ll love how easy they are…oh, and no corn syrup needed!
They also happen to be gluten-free, so they work well for those with special dietary needs.
Recipe Features
- Dietary Features: These bars are completely vegan and gluten-free.
- Amazingly rich and decadent but made without corn syrup, heavy cream or butter.
- Perfect dessert for holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
- Great for serving a crowd since they come in the perfect bite-size serving, instead of large slices of pie. No cutlery required!
- They transport well so you can take them to share or gift them.
Ingredient & Substitution Notes
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.
- Flour: This recipe is gluten-free so uses almond flour and tapioca flour to create the shortbread base. It has not been tested with other flours. I recommend using a kitchen scale for accurate measurements and best results.
- Maple Syrup: You’ll need maple syrup for both the crust and filling. It cannot be substituted with dry sweetener but you can use agave syrup or liquid monk fruit sweetener if you prefer.
- Coconut Oil: Can be substituted with vegan butter if needed.
- Cornstarch: You’ll need this to thicken the pecan filling. You should be able to swap it for arrowroot powder but I haven’t tried it.
- Brown Sugar: Can be substituted for cane sugar or coconut sugar but brown sugar works best.
- Almond Butter: Can be substituted for peanut butter, cashew butter or even tahini.
- Pecans: Use plain, raw pecans with no added oil, sugar or salt.
How to Make Pecan Bars
Scroll down to find the complete written recipe. This section shows step-by-step photos for visual reference. Have a peek before you begin!
Before You Start: Gather all your ingredients and line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper so it sticks out over the edges of the pan. When you’re ready, preheat the oven to 365 F.
Step 1: Mix the shortbread crust ingredients together until it forms a soft dough.
Step 2: Firmly press the dough into the lined baking pan until you have an even layer. Poke 15-20 small holes into the dough using a fork.
Step 3: Bake the dough for 13-15 minutes until lightly golden brown on top. Remove from the oven.
Tip: While the crust is baking you can begin preparing the pecan caramel filling
Step 4: Mix the cornstarch and water together in a small dish and set aside.
Add the coconut oil, maple syrup, sugar, almond butter, vanilla and cinnamon to a small saucepan.
Heat over low to medium heat until everything is melted and combined into a smooth mixture.
Stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook for another 20-30 seconds, stirring, until starting to thicken. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the pecans.
Pour the pecan filling over the base layer and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Let cool at room temperature until you can place the pan in the fridge. Cool in the fridge for at least 1 hour to set before slicing and serving.
Enjoy your delicious pecan pie bars!
FAQs
Yes! Pecan pie bars freeze well so you can go ahead and make them in advance to prepare for the holidays.
To freeze, I recommend slicing into squares then freezing in a freezer-safe ziplock bag, removing as much air as you can.
You can store them in the fridge for up to 3 months and simply pull from the freezer, thaw at room temperature or in the fridge and enjoy.
Storing
Store the bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. If storing longer than 2 days, they’ll keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
They can also be frozen in a freezer-safe bag or wrapped and stored in airtight container for up to 3 months.
Be sure to let them cool completely before storing.
Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Scroll down to the comment section to leave a star rating and review.
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Vegan Pecan Pie Bars
Ingredients
For the Shortbread Base
- 2 ⅓ cups almond flour, 230 g
- ½ cup tapioca flour, 80 g
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup, 65 g
- ⅓ cup coconut oil, 70 g
For the Pecan Caramel Filling
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch + 3 tablespoons water
- ⅓ cup coconut oil, 70 g
- ¼ cup maple syrup, 85 g
- ½ cup brown sugar, 80 g
- 3 tablespoons almond butter, 45 g
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp sea salt, optional
- 1 heaping cup roughly chopped pecans, 200 g
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 365 F and line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper so it sticks out over the edges of the pan on at least two sides (this will help you lift the bars from the pan after baking).
- Add all the ingredients for the shortbread base to a bowl and mix until you get a soft dough.
- Place the dough in the prepared pan and press down firmly with your hands until you have an even layer. Poke approximately 15-20 evenly spaced out little holes in the crust using a fork.
- Bake the crust for 13-15 minutes, then remove from the oven and set aside. While the crust is baking, begin preparing the pecan filling.
- In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and water into a paste and set aside.
- Add all of the filling ingredients except for the pecans to a small pot on the stovetop and cook over low to medium heat until thick, smooth and fully combined.
- Add the cornstarch mixture and cook for a few more seconds, stirring until fully incorporated and starting to thicken.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the pecans until they’re fully coated.
- Pour the mixture over the crust and and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Let cool at room temperature until you can safely place in the fridge. Cool in the fridge for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving.
How can you tell when they are done cooking? When I checked them at 25 minutes, the filling was bubbling but not set.
That should be done as long as the recipe was followed. It will firm as it chills in the fridge, thanks.
Absolutely delicious! Made these for a get-together with friends to have something sweet along with veggies and dip, popcorn etc to snack on. Everyone LOVED them and we thrilled that they were vegan. Looking forward to trying more recipes from you!
Thank you very much! I’m so glad they were enjoyed. Thanks for they were enjoyed.
Family wanted sweet potato pie for thanksgiving and I had to improvise. Found this recipe in a web search and used regular flour instead of almond and tapioca, arrowroot instead of cornstarch, and pecans instead of walnuts. For the middle sweet potato layer, I mashed candied yams (sweet potatoes cooked in water, maple syrup, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground ginger) with 2 flax eggs and smoothed it on top of the crust before adding the walnut caramel. We all really enjoyed it!
That’s amazing! I love how you made it work for you. Thanks for trying it and leaving such a great review!
Loved this dish so much, nice sneaky treat x keep them coming!
So happy you liked then! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!