Over the last couple of years I’ve made my share of homemade Lara Bars or little energy bites filled with nuts sweet medjool dates and other flavor specific additions. I’m not sure why I haven’t posted about them until now. They’ve literally been a staple in my kitchen for a couple of years. Maybe its because they aren’t the most beautiful little bars to photograph or that there so essential that I forget to highlight them on here. It also, could be that they disappear quickly after we make them.
We take these little bars with us for quick energy on hikes, while running errands, to curb the constant pregnancy hunger pangs, or just as a little after lunch guilt-free treat. And the recipe is simple but you will need a food processor. If you don’t have one (as I didn’t for many years) just make these with a friend who does. Cooking with friends is always better anyways!
Though I’ve made many versions of lara bars over the years, I think these are my favorite. The addition of coconut flakes and coconut oil add a depth of flavor that some of the other bars don’t have. Though we do make them into bars that look similar to the actual Lara Bars, most often I roll them up into little bites, which are easy to grab on the go and nice for a lighter snack when you don’t need a whole bar. They keep well in a airtight container in the fridge, as I often just put the bites in a large jar with a tight lid.
What healthy snacks do you like to take with you on-the-go?
Homemade Coconut Cream Pie Lara Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 6 medjool dates, pitted and quartered
- 2 tablespoons honey, use agave for vegan
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a food processor, process the almonds and cashews until they resemble a course flour-like meal. Add in coconut and pulse a few times, then add in dates (pitted). After this is well combined add in the honey and coconut oil, adding more of either as needed. The dough should stick together if you pinch it between your fingers and it will likely form a ball in the food processor when you've added enough of the oil and honey.
- Remove the dough from the processor and make into a ball. Place it on a flat cutting surface with a layer of parchment on top of the dough. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into bars 1 3/4 inch by 4 1/2 inches, saving the jagged edges to form into little energy bite balls. Wrap the bars in parchment paper and store in an airtight container in the fridge. Store energy bites also in an air tight container in the fridge (I use a jar for these).
More Lara Bar and Energy Bite Recipes:
Raw Cookie Dough Bites with Cashews, Oats and Honey
Apricot Almond Lara-like Bars by Cookie and Kate
Chocolate Almond Cherry Bars by Delightful Delicacies
Fig Newton Pecan Balls by Heather’s Dish
Carrot Cake Granola Bites by Cookin’ Canuck
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Lara Bars by Oh She Glows
Chocolate Lara Bars by Chocolate and Zucchini
Just pinned these bad boys – I’m always a fan of all easy snacks that I can grab and go with!
Great pictures!!!
These sound delicious and pretty easy too.
Debra, they are super easy!!
This looks great, Becky! Pinned it!
Thanks Carrian! It’s nice to have some healthy treats around the house!
I make a version of these every now and again… It’s funny, I go through spurts where I make them every week and then I realize I am totally cracked-out addicted and have to go off cold turkey and don’t make them for another 3-4 months. No self–control with anything involving dates. I need to shoot you an email soon and ask about you are feeling (physically, emotionally, spiritually, etc). ! I think of you often 🙂
I LOVE dates too!! Look forward to catching up with you via email soon!!
Hello! I just came across this on Pinterest. I am sorry if you mentioned this somewhere already, but how long do these keep typically?
Thanks1
They should keep in the fridge in an air tight container for a month or so! Thanks for stopping by the blog!!
I love coconut and dates, so I know I would love these bars!
Have you made these with anything besides cashews? I am allergic and wondering if there is another nut you liked as well.
The cashews help to make the texture more creamy but you can just use straight up almonds. I use purely almonds in my chocolate version of these here – https://www.thevintagemixer.com/2011/02/raw-truffles-with-ghirardelli-chocolate-nuts-and-medjool-dates/
I have been craving coconut lately and have not found anything in the store to give me my “fix”. I made these this morning and wow, they are amazing! I didn’t have time to make them into bars because my husband scooped them up in a tuppaware and took them to work armed only with a spoon! Needless to say… I am off to the store because I used up all my honey but when I return I will be making more of these for me! Oh thank you thank you for this yummy recipe!
So glad you are enjoying them as much as we do 🙂
These are delicious. Will be making again. Yum!
Lara bars are my favorite being gluten and dairy free person..recently add sugar to the list for health reasons..wondering if you can omit the honey as it is not an orginal Ingredient…or if it is used for texture or just extra sweetness..
Thank you for the recipe!!
You just need something to bind the ingredients together so agave could work too or you could just try adding more dates. Let me know how they turn out!
i have been looking for a recipe for lara bars!!! for joy!! these look so yummy.
Enjoy! And the other varieties are super easy to make – just look at the ingredient list and follow similar measurements to this recipe.
I just made a batch of these but did all balls. It totally hit the spot for what I wanted to do with coconut. I also rolled them in shredded coconut to add a little more flavor & texture 🙂
love the idea of rolling them in coconut afterwards! I mostly do balls also – they are less like lara bars that way but all I want is a little sweet bite sometimes!! enjoy!
These look delicious! Could I use almond meal flour in place of almonds? If so, would I use less?
That should work fine. Just use as much as it takes for the dough to come together. Enjoy!
These bars are sooooo yummy! I’ve lost count of how many batches I’ve made since I found the recipe! The almond meal flour works great!
Dianne, thanks so much for reporting back! I’m so thrilled to hear that you’ve been enjoying the recipe! Take care, Becky
omg these are awesome just made a batch and rolled them all into balls thanks for the recipe
So glad you enjoyed them Heidi! That’s how we like them too. I make all kinds of different versions – just check the label of the lara bars for ingredients and follow the quantity levels from this recipe. Enjoy!
I’m doing a Whole30 and can’t have the honey, so I used a tablespoon of coconut butter instead. They held together fine rolled into balls and are sweet enough (for Whole30!). Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed them and best of luck on your whole 30 challenge!
I just made these for the first time! They are delicious, however, when I went to roll them out, it seemed to me that they wouldn’t stick together, like they were too loose. I feel that I added too much oil. I added some more nuts to see if I could counter-act the oil and then I put them in the fridge to cool down before I try to roll out again.
Any tips?
Try adding more dates and less oil. The oil makes them fall apart sometimes. Also, use your fingers to smash all the ingredients together before you roll them. Hope that helps!
I just made these the other day and it was so nice to have a sweet, chewy treat again! The honey flavor was a little strong for me though, do you think it would work as well using pure maple syrup? Also, am i the only one whose bars leaked oil like crazy?
Yes, you can definitely use maple syrup! I do that also. And use less honey or maple syrup for a less oily finish.
Can you tell me what kind of cashews and almonds you are using? Raw? Toasted? Salted? Plain?
Or does it not really make too much difference?
I can’t wait to try these!
I think you could use any but I use raw unsalted then you can adjust the salt to your preference. If you want a more toasty taste then you might try them with roasted cashews. Enjoy!
Hi these look really good 🙂 I was wondering if you had any suggestion that i could replace the dates with anything else, since i really dislike dates. Thanks 🙂
You could try dried figs! Let me know how it turns out!
These sound really good, but is there a substitute for the almonds? Possible nut allergies here at home.
that’s a great question! You could try substituting some toasted seeds of different kinds. I haven’t tried these without nuts before. Let me know if you end up trying them and how it turns out.
I see salt as one of the ingredients, but don’t see it included in the Instructions section. Can it be omitted? I’m making them right now, as I’ve been wanting to try these since I last tasted and LOVED them (the Larabars Coconut Cream Pie) during a 5K walk.
Sorry about that Gina. Yes, just add in the salt whenever or if you prefer it to be low salt then you can omit it. Enjoy!