Larabars are a blend of heart-healthy nuts and fiber rich dried fruits. The nuts are processed into crumbs almost like a flour and dates act as the sweet sticky glue to hold them together. Store bought bars are pretty good, but fresh ones made at home are even better.
They are a great healthy snack since they contain no flour, refined sugar, dairy, soy isolates, or preservatives, perfect for before or after workouts, after school snacks, and to have on the go. Here is a photo tutorial of how you can make larabars at home.
Process nuts and salt in a food processor until they are coarse crumbs. Place in a large bowl:
(If using chocolate chips, add them to the bowl too.)
Next blend dates and dried fruits in the food processor until smooth and sticky:
Add the date mixture to the nuts and coat the date mixture with nuts to make it less sticky. Use your hands to mix the nuts and date paste together:
It may seem like you don’t have enough dates but keep working the mix until everything is combined:
(Time for a taste test!)
Press into a plastic lined 8×8″ pan, cover with the plastic, and refrigerate. Use plastic handles to remove mixture from pan. Cut into even bars. I place 2 each in plastic bags for easy storage. Or be super fancy and wrap them in parchment paper and decorative twine. Makes a nice gift.
These are my three favorite flavors. I went to the larabar website to look at the list of ingredients and came up with my own measurements from there. I add organic dark chocolate to all the recipes but you could leave the chocolate out. If you can’t find dark chocolate chips, you may also buy a dark chocolate bar and cut it into small pieces.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
(for Cashew Cookie flavor leave out the chocolate chips)
2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts (or more cashews)
2 cup soft fresh medjool dates
1/2 cup organic mini chocolate chips
pinch sea salt
Process nuts and salt until the nuts become coarse crumbs, 10-15 1 second pulses. Remove to large bowl. Add optional chocolate chips. Place the pitted dates in the food processor and turn the machine on. They will begin to come together and form a sticky ball after 30 seconds or so. Scrape all the date mixture from the processor and add it to the nuts. Use your hands to combine thoroughly. Press into plastic lined 8×8 pan. Refrigerate until set, a few hours. Remove from pan and cut into 12 bars. Store tightly covered in the refrigerator.
Coconut Cream Pie
My personal favorite. Tastes like a candy bar! I like these directly from the fridge.
2 cups raw cashews
1 cup organic unsweetened coconut
1 cup pitted fresh medjool dates,
1 tablespoons melted coconut oil
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)
pinch of salt
Follow recipe above, processing coconut with nuts and melted coconut oil with dates.
Chocolate Cherry Pie Torte
(for Cherry Pie flavor leave out chocolate chips)
1 1/2 cups raw cashews
1/2 cup almonds or pecans
1 cup soft fresh medjool dates
1 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup organic dark chocolate chips
Proceed as directed above, adding cherries with dates and processing until all fruit is sticky and cohesive.
15 Comments
Sally
July 30, 2012I want to dive into that bowl!!!!
Jessie
August 12, 2012haha, ya girl!
Nathaniel
August 1, 2012YUM!! I only eat 5 of these a day
Jessie
August 12, 2012Haha, we fight for the last one
Kathy Monds
August 3, 2012There’s no “if” when it comes to dark chocolate! These look great & are going onto the must make list! Thanks!
Jessie
August 12, 2012You are welcome. Hope you like them!
Maggie
August 12, 2012These look amazing! Looks like the perfect snack
Adam
January 29, 2013Just made my first batch. Great recipes, thanks! One question now that they’re made. How long do you think they will last in the fridge, tightly covered? I’m thinking they’ll be gone within the week but just in case, was wondering how long I could let them sit. Thanks!
Jessie
January 29, 2013Hi Adam, Around here they usually do not last more than a week either so I’m not certain how long they do last but as long as they are tightly covered in the refrigerator, I would suspect they will be fine for up to two weeks. Thanks for making the recipe, glad you like them!
Frances Dewell
January 30, 2013I made the coconut cream pie bars tonight. You mention raisins blended with the dates, but could not find how much. Would that be just a cup? Thank you.
Jessie
January 30, 2013Hi Frances! I used to use raisins in the bars but found the results to be inconsistent depending on what raisins were available at the store (some are smaller and much more dry than others) so removed it from the recipe. Guess I forgot to remove raisins from the description but it but have just updated it. Thank you for noticing and bringing to my attention. If you like raisins and have some nice plump ones, you can process 1/2 cup with the dates then blend into crushed cashews. Thank you!
Nicole
January 31, 2013Hi I was just wondering what kind of organic coconut to use for the coconut bars do you use flakes or how do I buy the organic coconut?
Jessie
January 31, 2013Hi Nicole,
I use the brand “Let’s Do… Organic” coconut (here is the website: http://www.edwardandsons.com/ldo_shop_coconut.itml) and I choose the flaked coconut. You can also use shredded coconut if it is all you can find, I know Whole Foods sells shredded coconut in the bulk section if you only want to purchase a smaller amount, but since it is being blended up in the food processor it doesn’t really matter too much which you choose but I prefer the flaked if given the choice. Hope this helps!
Lizzie
April 21, 2013Hi there,
I made the coconut cream pie variation. I found that I needed 2 cups of dates to get the mixture to bind, but the flavour is incredible.
Jessie
April 22, 2013Thanks for letting me know. Were your dates a little dry? That will usually have an impact on how many dates I have to use. I generally use 10-12 large, moist, sticky medjool dates, packing them so tightly they come out holding the shape of the cup. Glad you had the extra dates and everything worked out! Thanks!