No Bake Energy Bars
Today we are making Lime Coconut No Bake Energy Bars! This energy bar recipe is a great option as a ten minute recipe that requires one blender, a baking pan and four natural ingredients – super easy! Walk down the aisles of any grocery store and you’ll see tons of different energy bar varieties on every shelf, in every flavor, shape, size and color. But pick up these energy bars and for the most part, they’ll be full of sugar and extra ingredients. Over the years, I really enjoyed making energy bars at home for the sole reason that I can control exactly what goes into the recipe – and I can customize the flavor! Dare I say no bake energy bites are the perfect snack?!
Why You’ll Love These No Bake Energy Bars
Four Ingredients!: I love these no bake bars because they only use the key ingredients, similar to Larabars which contain only 4-5 ingredients per bar. We use dates and almond meal as two ingredients that form the dough base here. Then coconut and limes are added in for flavor!
With a raw base of nuts and dates, it’s easy to customize these delicious bars to make them even more nutritious and in a range of flavors. This can mean adding wholesome ingredients like flax seed, hemp seed or chia seeds for added healthy fats, to adding creamy peanut butter, cashew butter or almond butter and cocoa powder for a nutty, decadent chocolate healthy dessert bar.
Substitutions
Medjool Dates: These provide all the sugar content for the recipe. No added sugar required! They also provide an energy boost because of the natural sugars and carbohydrates. Make sure to use the large, super soft, caramel-type dates that are either Medjool dates or a similar type.
If your dates are not soft enough, try to soak them in warm water for 30 minutes, then drain and pat the water out of the dates before using in the recipe.
Another dried fruit, such as plump black raisins, may work as a substitute. However, they should be large and soft enough to mimic the caramel-like texture that dates provide to bind the dough.
Pure, 100% maple syrup may also substitute for part of the sweetener instead of all dates, but I haven’t tried any replacement.
Almond Flour: Substitute with ground walnuts or almond meal. For a nut-free option, go with oat flour made by grinding quick oats or old-fashioned oat in a spice grinder. For a gluten-free option if using oats, look for certified gluten-free oats.
Coconut: I used unsweetened coconut, because the dates already provided enough sweetness. Feel free to use sweetened coconut, although there is usually refined sugar added to sugary shredded coconut. There may be brands that provide sweetened coconut made with alternative sugars, but I haven’t tried one.
No Bake Energy Bars Recipe Notes
- Make energy balls with this recipe by rolling each bar into a ball shape, and covering it with desiccated coconut instead of bars!
More Recipes You’ll Love
No Bake Cherry Chocolate Espresso Brownies
Almond Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt Kind Bars
If you make these No Bake Energy Bars, then leave a comment and star rating! Don’t forget to tag your photos @peanut_palate on Instagram. Enjoy!
No Bake Energy Bars (Lime Coconut)
Equipment
- High-speed blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 1 cup soft Medjool dates pitted
- ¾ cup almond flour
- 1 to 1½ medium limes finely grated // start with 1 and add more as desired once tasting the dough
- 3 tbsp desiccated coconut
- dash vanilla extract optional
- pinch pink salt optional
Instructions
- Add all ingredients into a high speed blender until a thick dough forms.
- Press mixture down medium-thick, into a brownie tray lined with parchment paper.
- Top with additional grated lime and coconut, if desired.
- Cut into 9 servings. Enjoy!
Notes
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Storage
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or at room temperature for up to a week.
