These fudgy chocolate paleo bars are a wholesome and filling snack that tastes like dessert!
5 ingredients
No added sugars
No eggs or flour
No baking required
The best part about these completely vegan paleo snack bars is that they don’t need to be refrigerated, making them a great “on the go” healthy option.
If you’ve ever tried a store-bought Larabar, this is the same basic concept.
The bars are made up of healthy ingredients, including dates, nuts, and antioxidant-rich cacao powder; and you can customize the recipe by varying the add-ins each time to make different flavors.
Custom Flavor Ideas
Chocolate Almond Joy Bars: Use raw almonds instead of walnuts, and add a handful of shredded coconut or 2-3 tbsp melted coconut butter before processing.
Nutella Paleo Bars: Use hazelnuts as your nuts of choice, and you can also add 1-2 tbsp of my Healthy Nutella Recipe if desired.
Chocolate Orange Paleo Bars: Use cashews or walnuts, and add 1 1/2 tsp orange zest before processing.
Super Chia Paleo Bars: Use any nuts you wish, and throw in 2 tbsp chia seeds before processing.
I first made this recipe almost eight years ago… and it is still one of my favorites today!
If you make the plain chocolate version or any of the variations, please feel free to rate the recipe or leave a comment below.
Chocolate Paleo Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw nuts, such as walnuts or pecans (100g)
- 1 1/3 cup pitted dates (220g)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3-4 tbsp cocoa or cacao powder
- optional heaping 1/8 tsp salt (I always add this)
- optional chocolate chips or broken-up chocolate bar
- optional chia seeds, shredded coconut, etc.
Instructions
- *Medjool dates tend to be softer. If your dates are hard or dry, soak them in boiling water for a few minutes to soften them.Process all the ingredients in a high-quality food processor until fine crumbles form. (A blender technically works, but texture will be stickier and tougher.) Smush into bars – I like to transfer the crumbles to a ziploc bag and roll out the dough from inside the bag. Chocolate chips can be added before or after processing, and feel free to experiment with different nut combinations.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
More Healthy Chocolate Recipes:
Chia Pudding Recipe – 5 Flavors
Katie, in my gluten-free brownie bites, I use walnuts, like you suggest in your recipe. From the photo, I see you used almonds. So you probably tried a few varieties. What works best?
Depends on the flavor you’re going for and your personal taste preference – both work well!
Hi Katie,
How do you think these would freeze?
These look amazing! I will have to try them with some orange, that sounds good! Thanks for sharing, I always love paleo recipes.
Kaitlyn xx
lilacandstyle.com
Dear Katie,
These look incredible! I was wondering which online recipe nutrition calculator you use? I used to use CalorieCount.com, but they shut down, and I can’t find any other online nutrition calculator that gives me the nutrition facts PER GRAM or per WEIGHT rather than per serving. I was wondering what site you used to calculate this, as I would like to know the nutrition of my foo per weight, rather than “per serving”, as it is much more accurate!
I can’t wait to try these out!!! 🙂
Awesome job Katie! Your step by step videos are a really great addition too. Thanks! Rich 🙂
These tasted awesome! The only trouble I had was forming them into bars. They stayed crumbly. Should I have soaked the dates?
I’ve never had that issue, but it sounds like either maybe the dates weren’t medjool? Or just process longer and the nuts will release their natural oils.
Thanks for the tips! I will buy Medjool dates next time.
These are so good. Seriously , they taste extremely brownie-like. I want to eat the whole pan. By myself, Right now. My kids are hounding me for more lol.
Hey! Mine turned out to be very sticky and did not harden. I used fresh and soft dates, so what could have gone wrong?
Delicious! Made the almond joy version this morning. Wow, I love them. 7 smartpoints for those of us counting. Way better than some of the energy bars out there. Thanks, Katie!
Everything looks fab, Katie! I can imagine that these would indeed become my favorite bars!