Traditional pecan pie is old news.
This year, we’ll be enjoying these No-Bake Pecan Pie Bars instead!
With all the work involved to prepare Thanksgiving dinner, I figure we could all use a simple dessert recipe that doesn’t involve the oven, for a change. All you need to make these treats is a blender or food processor! Featuring nutrient-rich dates and buttery pecans, these bars are deceptively brimming with a variety of B vitamins, iron, and fiber, but all you will taste is the distinctive, rich flavor of pecan pie.
While preparing these bars, Austin mentioned they’d be even better with drizzled dark chocolate… so, of course, I had to make that happen. Whether you decide to add the extra dark chocolate or not, I hope you and your family will enjoy this healthier alternative!
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No-Bake Pecan Pie Bars (Vegan, Paleo)
makes one 8″ x 8″ pan
Ingredients:
For the crust
1 cup Medjool dates, pitted
1 cup raw pecans
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
For the filling
1 cup Medjool dates, pitted
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 cup raw pecans
1/4 cup water, or more as needed for blending
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup of additional pecans, for topping
Optional: 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips, divided for filling/topping
Directions:
Line an 8″ x 8″ baking dish with plastic wrap, for easy removal of the bars.
In a large food processor, combine the crust ingredients and blend until a sticky dough is formed. Press the crust into the lined baking sheet, using your hands or a spatula to smooth it out.
For dark chocolate pecan pie bars, melt 1 cup of dark chocolate chips and pour the melted chocolate over the crust, using a spatula to spread evenly.
Place the crust in the freezer to set, while you prepare the filling.
For the filling, combine all of the ingredients in a high-speed blender, or food processor, and blend until thoroughly combined. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides, or use a tamper, to keep everything blending smoothly. Adjust sweetness to taste, if necessary.
Remove the crust from the freezer, and pour in the filling, using a spatula to smooth the top. Sprinkle the additional cup of raw pecans over the top, and gently press them into the filling for easy serving. Drizzle an additional 1/2 cup of melted dark chocolate chips over the top, if desired.
Return the bars to the freezer, and allow them to set for at least 6 hours, or overnight, before cutting and serving.
No-Bake Pecan Pie Bars (Vegan, Paleo)
Ingredients
- For the Crust: 1 cup Medjool dates , pitted
- 1 cup raw pecans
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- For the filling: 1 cup Medjool dates , pitted
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 cup raw pecans
- 1/4 cup water , or more as needed for blending
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- For topping: 1 cup of additional pecans
- Optional: 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips , divided for filling/topping
Instructions
- Line an 8" x 8" baking dish with plastic wrap, for easy removal of the bars.
- In a large food processor, combine the crust ingredients and blend until a sticky dough is formed. Press the crust into the lined baking sheet, using your hands or a spatula to smooth it out. *For dark chocolate pecan pie bars, melt 1 cup of dark chocolate chips and pour the melted chocolate over the crust, using a spatula to spread evenly.
- Place the crust in the freezer to set, while you prepare the filling.
- For the filling, combine all of the ingredients in a high-speed blender, or food processor, and blend until thoroughly combined. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides, or use a tamper, to keep everything blending smoothly. Adjust sweetness to taste, if necessary.
- Remove the crust from the freezer, and pour in the filling, using a spatula to smooth the top. Sprinkle the additional cup of raw pecans over the top, and gently press them into the filling for easy serving. Drizzle an additional 1/2 cup of melted dark chocolate chips over the top, if desired.
- Return the bars to the freezer, and allow them to set for at least 6 hours, or overnight, before cutting and serving.
Nutrition
Per Serving: Calories: 297, Fat: 21g, Carbohydrates: 27g, Fiber: 6g, Protein: 3g
Enjoy!
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Reader Feedback: Are you a fan of Pecan Pie? Or do you prefer Pumpkin Pie? My family usually makes both! (This recipe makes it pretty quick and easy to prepare a pumpkin pie, too!)
Wow, these look delicious and I bet would be a real crowd pleaser!
Love these bars! They sound so amazing and I love that they are Paleo too! Your pictures always come out so perfect too! Makes me want to try everything even more!
wow! my dad LOVES pecan pie but it is so insanely sweet that it’s cloying! this might be the perfect compliment to compromise 🙂
Holy yum! I was planning on bringing your Grain Free Pumpkin Bars with Maple Pecan Glaze to Thanksgiving but now you have me re-thinking that with these No Bake Pecan Bars. Thanks for all the options!!!
This is irrelevant to those delicious looking bars above, but Trader Joe’s has raised their prices on all raw almond butters! Such a smart move on their part, since their inventory goes so fast. But a sad day for me 🙁 and you!
That is sad! I hope they haven’t raised the prices on their raw organic almonds– I’ve been making my own almond butter using those! That definitely seems to be the cheaper option now!
Not sure about that, but I did notice they have raw hazelnuts now. What are your sentiments on hazelnuts? Have never seen them on your blog…
Now that they are offering hazelnuts, you’ll probably see them on my blog soon! 😉
I want to try so many of your recipes, it’s not even funny! So enticing! I just found your website and am in love already with what I see here! I have a question, I hope it’s not too intrusive!, but how much do you weigh?!? lol 🙂 Your profile pic is gorgeous and you look very thin, but most of these recipes are so high in fat and calories. I know “everything in moderation” and that good fat doesn’t make you fat if you eat a balanced diet, yadda yadda! But I am over 40 years old, work-out daily and am able to keep a size 4 ONLY by limiting the amount of fat I eat and CAREFULLY watching my sugar too (even “healthier sugars” can be a problem if too much of it daily). So, I was just so curious how you can maintain a trim figure while eating high calorie/high fat ingredients? Do you exercise like a maniac? Maybe my metabolism is just slower than yours because of my advanced age …;( I eat a ton of veggies and always include good fats, but use them VERY sparingly, much less than your recipes call for most of the time. So, while I want very much to delve in and start making everything you share, I am a bit hesitant about changing up my diet, and to start including so many nuts especially, because I work so hard at keeping my weight where it is already. Can you reassure me with any advice?
I’m sure Megan will have a lot to say about this, but for the most part it’s all about calories. If you want to eat a lot of nuts and not get fat, you have to cut out some other thing to balance it. When you cut out grains, bread, junk food and beans you get a big calorie deficit that you can fill with lots of nuts, fat and chocolate. Then when you only have juice for breakfast, you get an extra calorie deficit and can eat even more later. It’s kind of awesome because you can eat these high fat sweets and still be in a calorie range where you stay skinny. Win!
Hi Michelle! I do agree with Cara that it’s partly about calories– by focusing on LOTS of vegetables and cutting out grains, I have plenty of room in my days to indulge in nuts, seeds and healthy fats. I also think that weight has a lot to do with our hormones! Working out too much, eating processed foods (especially “diet” foods), under-eating, and stress can all affect our weight, despite our best efforts at calorie-counting. If it was just about calories in vs. calories out, we’d have a planet full of super-models! The human body is much more complicated than that. When I lost the majority of my “freshman 15” college weight, I was actually eating closer to 1800-2000 calories a day– much more than I was eating while calorie-counting in college! Go figure. Other than walking my dog daily, I try to workout maybe 3-4 times a week for 30 minutes. Nothing crazy!
If you haven’t tried food combining, I’d recommend giving it a shot! I think it naturally balances the food choices I make, because if I’m eating dense nuts and seeds during a meal, I’m not going to ALSO eat cheese or bread with that. It’s a great way to enjoy all the things you love– just not all in the same meal. 😉
Megan,
Gaining weight has nothing to do with eating grains or working out to much. It is important that you consume whole plant based foods (which does not include oil). I teach whole plant based food nutrition, and it is not about how much you eat but what you are consuming. Also, I am an avid athlete and I eat whole grains all the time. I also workout 6 days a week including running 4-6 miles a day. I would not consider myself to be gaining weight but gaining endurance and health. Thanks for your thoughts.
Jessica
oh my these look so good, and i already have all the ingredients which make it a plus! 🙂
I’m going to try these out on my family this weekend. HOW can I go wrong with pecans, coconut and maple syrup, I just don’t know. I’m also going to make the grain-free stuffing with the parsnips.
Detoxinista – your recipes are an inspiration for me to continue my healthy lifestyle. Thank you SO much!!!
These are so delicious! I wanted to make them before Thanksgiving and store them in my freezer, but now I’m afraid they won’t last that long!
Thanks for another great recipe!
YUMMY! mom loves pecans! she would love this
These look amazing! I have so many Paleo friends right now, always looking for something sweet to serve them. Pinning these now and into the recipe box. Looks fantastic!
Love the sound of these! Just one question, would the chocolate chips be normal ones you buy at supermarket? ie they would have sugar so I don’t know if that makes it paleo, or do you have a recipe with paleo chocolate I could use instead? I”m trying to avoid refined sugar altogether. Thanks for this.
I use 70% dark chocolate chips, so they do have a bit of sugar– that’s why I noted that the melted chocolate is optional. I do have a raw chocolate recipe posted here that you could use instead: https://detoxinista.com/2012/06/easy-raw-chocolate-bark/
Easy to make, and delicious! I’m going to have to take them to work like an old-fashioned sugar filled dessert as I will eat the whole pan if I keep them home. Thanks for developing this wonderful treat!
Hi!
I notice you use a lot of dark chocolate. Doesn’t it contain refined sugars? Do you use a certain kind?
Thanks,
Desiree
Hi Desiree! For my chocolate recipes, I usually opt for 70% or darker chocolate, because it’s lower in sugar content than standard chocolates. For many of my visitors, upgrading to dark chocolate over semi-sweet chocolate is a huge step in the right direction. I try to buy organic dark chocolate that is sweetened with beet sugar, but I’m not sure that it makes much of a difference. The key is using it in moderation!
For those on strict diets, such as GAPS or SCD, dark chocolate can always be omitted, or they can opt to use my homemade chocolate recipe: https://detoxinista.com/2012/06/easy-raw-chocolate-bark/
Made these!!! Not as “pretty” as yours…but they taste wonderful 🙂
I made these for thanksgiving ad they were a hit!! Thanks. You are my new favorite blog!
I tried these with walnuts instead of pecans and they turned out amazing!!!!!! well done on the recipe! it was a big hit in my house!
I made these for Thanksgiving and they were a HUGE hit. It was especially exciting because I was sharing with a group of people who were very unfamiliar with raw, low/no-sugar “baking.” They were super impressed. : )
Made these a few days ago (no chocolate) and they were great! I added a splash of vanilla to the filling for a bit more flavor.
Whoa! I made these for a party and have had tons of requests for the recipe. Thank you! I also added some vanilla and found that the 1 cup of pecans on top was too much for me, so just used the remaining melted chocolate. Finally, as rich as these are, cutting them into 16 squares & then 32 triangles was perfect!
These look AWESOME! I am going to give them a try. I have made the cookies, but these look so much better
These squares are so incredible, the only concern is making sure I don’t eat the whole tray before company comes tomorrow. I can’t wait to make them again! I can’t imagine anyone not
Loving them. I actually had a pecan, praline flavored maple syrup on hand and I added a bit of lemon zest to the filling. This dessert is perfection!
I’m so dying to try these but I do have a question about the crust before I dive in. I don’t have a food processor (unless you consider the Magic Bullet workable). I do however have the Vitamix blender (a worthwhile investment) with the regular container. Would it work in getting the sticky texture needed for the crust? If so, I don’t know which setting to use to get it to that consistency. Suggestions anyone??
I’ve never tried it in my Vitamix, but I imagine it could work, as long as you don’t over-blend it! I’d just start on low and “pulse” it to make sure it gets crumbly, rather than blended. Hope you enjoy them!
Thanks for the tip. You’re awesome! This recipe just went on my “to do” list this weekend! Can’t wait!
These look amazing! Do they need to stay in the fridge or will they be fine in the pantry?
I’d recommend keeping them chilled for best shelf life.
I made this today. So delicious with a cuppa on this cold rainy day. The sweetness is just perfect. My new favourite slice.
Can I use date sugar instead of dates in this recipe? I have a ton of date sugar, but have not been successful using it. . .
Dates add texture and moisture to this recipe, so the date sugar wouldn’t work without a lot of experimentation!
I made these when visiting my parents and we all enjoyed them very much. I’m thinking about making them for Thanksgiving this year; OR the mini pumpkin tarts. So many delicious options.
Thanks!
Hi, I made this, and while they are very tasty, mine came out pretty ugly looking – not good enough to serve to guests. Everything was sticking to each other – it was impossible to spread the chocolate and then the filling. What am I doing wrong…?
I stumbled across your ‘snickers bars’ & then found your pecan pie bars. Both sound like great ideas, except for 2 things: 1) How can I make them coconut free (no coconut nor coconut oil)? 2) What can i replace the dates with?
Thanks for your help!
Rikki
Hi! I just made these tonight to have for Thanksgiving. They look & smell delicious!! I was wondering if I should keep them in the freezer until it’s time to serve, or if it’s okay to freeze them overnight and then just keep them in the fridge under Thurs night? Thanks!
I just made these to take along to our Thanksgiving feast tomorrow. They smelled so good while I was making them I had to try one. They were amazing! Thanks for posting!
I made these to take to Thanksgiving, and they turned out AMAZING! the dates and pecan combination is to die for!
Found this when trying different approaches to finding some thanksgiving-themed treats for my birthday. Thank you so much for this recipie! It is the best sweets I have ever tasted!
I will probably make this entire menu for Christmas.
Hi Megan,
It was my husband’s birthday yesterday. Having recently moved to the U.S from India, I neither have a microwave nor the bakeware needed to make dessert. I stumbled across your website and decided to give the no bake pecan pie a shot. I made a few modifications to the recipe based on what was stocked in my kitchen- used pecan and walnuts, substituted dates with raisins and also threw in nutella instead of the dark chocolate. It tasted heavenly. It was a big hit with my hubby 🙂 Thanks for the inspiration!
I intend to add your website to my “favorite” page!!
Have a great day! 🙂
Oh my, This is absolutely delicious! I will have a hard time staying on my new way of healthy eating with these in my fridge. I am glad it is all healthy. My family loves them. Thank you for your wonderful recipes!
Will you make a special for Christmas?? Recipes to give as a gift?? I’m looking for yummy homemade treats but with a healthy twist to give to my family and friends!!!
Hi Megan. I have the same question as Rikki….. Is there a substitution that would work for the coconut in the crust? I don’t particularly enjoy the taste of coconut, but would love to try these.
Thanks for your help, and thanks a million for all the great recipes. I tell everyone about your site!
How far in advance can these be made or should/can I store them in the freezer for a few days? Thanks so much!
Do you think any type of other nut would work? I have walnuts and almonds but no pecans!
I never come back and leave reviews of recipes I’ve tried, but this time I had to. I made these last night to take to Thanksgiving Dinner today and while cutting them up I (of course) had to try one. AMAZING! I made them exactly as directed, including the chocolate. I can’t wait to see what my family thinks. For those that don’t like the coconut taste… The LouAna brand of coconut oil doesn’t actually taste like coconut and you can find it at Walmart. It also doesn’t have all of the awesome health benefits of the other coconut oils, but it would work. I’m guessing that some sort of vegan shortening would also work? But I haven’t it tried it that way. Happy Thanksgiving!
yummmm………..
Can you make any recommendations about what the dates could be replaced with that don’t involve using any dried fruit? I have to follow a strict benzoate & cinnamon-free diet to control a form of crohns and dates are strictly out of the question! Can you suggest any alternatives, even non-paleo or cooked/processed ones, that might make these taste roughly similar?
These are amazing! The are incredibly delicious and the healthy fats and protein make then very filling. The only thing I did differently is instead of using chocolate chips I mixed together 1/4 cup melted coconut oil, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, and 2-3 tablespoons maple syrup and then divided it in half for the two chocolate portions. I will definitely make these again.
I’m wondering if figs can be used in place of dates?
Hello,
Just wanted to let you know that I made these for Thanksgiving and were they ever a hit! Overwhelmingly declared ‘so delicious’ by every person there. This is a keep recipe for sure. Thank you!
Do you have the calories for this dessert?
HELP! I made this two nights ago and was supposed to serve it last night but FORGOT to get it out of the freezer!!! How long will it be good for in the freezer? And should I move it to the fridge at all before serving? Thank you!
These are really good. You got the filling just right — taste just like the pecan pies I remember. I don’t use plastic in my pan. I find it doesn’t stick to the glass at all. The first bar out is a little messy, but the rest come out perfectly. Thanks for the recipe.
What a treat! Easy to make and healthy, too! Everyone who I have served them to–vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores has loved them! Thanks for another wonderful recipe!