Healthy Snack Bars

I have an easy Healthy Snack Bar that is healthy to eat, tastes delicious and travels great too!

These healthy snack bars are vegan, raw, gluten-free, dairy free, egg free, Paleo and Whole30 compliant, and just pretty dang good for you. Don't let all the health labels scare you, they taste great!

cutting squares out of the healthy date and nut snack bars on parchment

Healthy Snack Bars

I love a snack that is filling and fuels your body. Healthy snack bars are full of fiber, protein, healthy fats and natural sugars. A guilt free snack that people of all ages devour.

My favorite way to eat these bars is right out of the fridge or freezer. They taste a whole lot like a candy bar without the guilt. I might eat one or two small pieces for breakfast with a big glass of water when I'm in a hurry and I'll be fine until morning snacks.

Don’t let the dates scare you. They are kind of an odd ingredient but very easy to find (I get Medjool dates at Costco) and are a great natural sugar. I promise you’ll never know that you are eating dates once they are all mixed in with the rest of the ingredients.

dates peanut butter coconut and nuts in a food processor ready to make the healthy snack bars

Ingredients:

Pitted dates: these are the star of the show. New to dates? They are amazing! They don't have a lot of flavor besides sweetness and their texture helps everything to stick together.
Raw nuts: you can use whatever nuts you'd like here. I often use raw almonds as I often have those on hand
Nut butter: use what you like or have on hand, I normally use natural peanut butter. I like to use the drippy kind, it helps everything in this recipe come together
Unsweetened shredded coconut: this adds texture and flavor to this recipe, you can skip it if you don't love coconut
Cocoa powder: a little touch of chocolate flavor, my favorite
Salt: just a bit helps to balance the flavors of these snack bars

How to make snack bars:

They are so easy! Toss everything in the food processor and let it blend.
Once the mixture comes together remove it from the food processor and pat it into a parchment lined pan.
Chill then slice and store in the fridge or freezer.

How to store snack bars:

Keep these in the fridge or the freezer in an air-tight container. You can use the parchment paper that you lined the pan with in-between the layers of your cut bars in your container so that they don't stick together.

ingredients for the date and nut snack bars

Frequently Asked Questions:

Do you take the pits out of the date?

The first time I used dates I forgot to take out the pit and almost ruined my food processor! Date pits are hard as rocks. Oops. So don't forget to take them out.

Should dates be refrigerated?

Dates are preserved best when stored in the fridge. They will last for about 6 weeks when stored in an airtight container.

Can you freeze these snack bars?

Yes! I highly recommend making them and keeping them in the freezer. It's so nice to have healthy snack bars ready when you need them.

Basically a homemade Lara Bar!

holding out date and nut snack cubes POV in hand

More recipes you'll love:

If you’ve tried this healthy snack bar recipe or any other recipe on Bless this Mess, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some pictures of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories.

Healthy No-Bake Snack Bars

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

Author: Melissa Griffiths - Bless This Mess
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 20 1x

Print Recipe

Description

These Easy Homemade Snack Bars are healthy and taste amazing! They taste like Almond Joy bars and are perfect for school lunches or afternoon snacking.

Ingredients

Scale

2 cups pitted dates
¾ cup raw cashews or almonds
¼ cup nut butter (I used natural peanut butter)
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 pinch salt

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Instructions

Toss everything into a food processor and process until the mixture starts to go smooth and clump into a ball. The dates will be all chopped up but you'll still have bits of nut.
Turn the mixture out into an 8 or 9 inch square dish lined with parchment paper. Use your hands to firmly press the mixture into the bottom of the dish. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Remove the bars from the pan and cut into pieces using a sharp knife.
Store in an air-tight container in the fridge or freezer.
Enjoy these bars cold or frozen.

Notes

I think a high power blender could be used to make these, but I haven't tried it myself.
If your dates are very dry or starting to turn a little white (happens when they dry out) let them soak in warm water for 10 minutes before using, strain well and then use.

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Category: Snacks
Method: Food Processor
Cuisine: American

Keywords: homemade snack bars, healthy snack bars recipe, lara bars recipe, healthy school snacks, after school snacks, healthy snack ideas

pin that reads "date + nut snack bars" with an image of he finished product in a coco colored square that is peppered with chunks of nuts and coconut that a chef knife has sectioned into tiny squares

Healthy Snack Bars are chuck full of fiber, healthy fats and make the perfect treat that are incredibly simple to make. They taste great, freeze fabulously and are easy to pack for the road. Whip up a batch or two today!

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