It’s not hard to find vegan recipes of some of my favorite desserts, but I’ve noticed that healthier versions of candy bars are hard to come by. What’s even trickier is finding oil-free and refined-sugar-free desserts.

Since I’m not a huge fan of candy bars in the first place, that’s not the end of the world for me… except when it comes to Snickers bars. There’s something about that combination of saltiness and sweetness that I find irresistible, and after a lot of trial and error, I’m pleased to report that I’ve struck gold in my quest to create a vegan dessert that captures everything I love about the candy.

Whole Food Plant-Based, Vegan, Oil Free, Refined Sugar Free

Get your food processor ready because you’re about to remind yourself why it was worth every penny when you make these delectable Vegan No Bake Snickers Bars. In fact, it’s the only appliance you’re going to need for this recipe besides your freezer. You’ll be making the drool-worthy bottom layer in it, and then you’ll use it to make a date-based gooey caramel to go between the layers, and you can even use it to chop up some nuts to sprinkle on top. One thing you won’t need? The oven! So it’s perfect for a hot summer day.

When you make the bottom layer of these Snickers bars, you’ll notice the recipe calls for oat flour, almond flour, and sunflower seed flour. I realize these aren’t readily available in most grocery stores - - and when they are, there are usually added ingredients and not just the flour you want -- but you can put equivalent amounts of oats, almonds and/or sunflower seeds in the food processor and make your own in just seconds. You’ll also be doing that with coconut flakes, by the way. Yes, it’s an extra step, but it’s what makes this treat so good – and so guilt-free!

A word of warning: It can be hard to control yourself around these bars – I speak from experience! And while they’re a lot more filling than the candy bars that inspired them, I’m sure you don’t want to eat all 25 at once. Thankfully, these can easily be frozen and eaten later. Just put the cut bars on a freezer-safe tray, ensuring they’re not touching, so they freeze individually first. Then you can put them together in a container as they won’t stick to each other once frozen and will be ready to go the next time you need a pick-me-up.

Ingredients

Makes: 25 squares

Bottom Layer:

-100 g (3 ½ oz or 1 cup) oats or oat flour
-25 g (3 tablespoons) almonds or (4 tablespoons) almond flour
-25 g (3 tablespoons) sunflower seeds or (4 tablespoons) sunflower seed flour
-5 g (1 tablespoon) ground flaxseed
-10 g (2 tablespoons) raw coconut flakes, processed into flour
-6 g (1 tablespoon) raw cacao powder
-135 g (4 ¾ oz) homemade caramel (recipe below)

Caramel:

-380 g (19 dates) Medjool dates
-64 g (4 tablespoons) 100% peanut butter
-32 g (2 tablespoons) 100% hazelnut butter
-35 g (4 tablespoons) apple sauce
-90 ml (1/4 cup) maple syrup
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Other Ingredients:

-50 g (1/3 cup) hazelnuts to go over the caramel, chopped
-30 g (1/4 cup) hazelnuts to top chocolate coating (optional)
-180 g (6 1/3 oz) vegan chocolate (at least 70% cacao)

Method:

1. Soak your dates in hot water for 10 minutes. Then, remove their pits.
2. Line a 20 cm x 25 cm (8” x 10”) dish with parchment paper and set aside.
3. Process the oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds and coconut flakes into flour if you didn’t buy ready-made flours. Set aside.
4. Prepare the caramel by adding everything into a food processor and processing until thick and smooth.
5. Remove the caramel from the food processor and set aside.
6. Add the ingredients for the bottom layer and 135 grams (4 ¾ oz) of the caramel to the processor. Process until everything is combined into a sticky dough. This shouldn't take more than a minute.
7. Transfer the mixture to the dish lined with baking paper. Spread it evenly with a spatula or your fingers.
8. Spread the remaining caramel over the base. Top with 50 grams (1/3 cup) of hazelnuts. Freeze for 30 minutes.
9. Take the dish out of the freezer, melt the chocolate and spread it on the hazelnuts.

10. Top with 30 grams (1/4 cup) chopped hazelnuts (optional) and freeze for 2 more hours. Slice into squares and enjoy!

Nutritional Facts per 1 square:

Calories: 168
Carbs: 19.3 g
Protein: 3 g
Fats: 8.4 g
Fiber: 2.4 g