Valentine’s Day is a great excuse to whip up something sweet, don’t you think?
While chocolate desserts usually dominate this particular holiday, these raspberry bars are the perfect solution for any non-chocolate lovers in your life. They are downright addictive!
Featuring protein-rich almond flour and metabolism-boosting coconut oil, these treats are something you can feel good about serving to your loved ones. Sweet and tart homemade raspberry sauce pairs perfectly with this buttery crumb topping, creating a moist and crumbly bar that’s truly hard to resist.
I may never need another chocolate dessert again.
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Raspberry Almond Bars (Grain-free, Dairy-free)
makes one 8″ x 8″ pan
Adapted from Elana’s Pantry
Ingredients:
Crust:
2 cups almond flour or almond meal
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Filling:
10 oz. bag of frozen raspberries
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Crumb Topping:
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Directions:
Prepare the raspberry filling by heating the 1/2 cup maple syrup in a 1 1/2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Bring the maple syrup to a boil, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Add the frozen raspberries and vanilla extract, and bring to a simmer again, allowing the mixture to cook for 15 minutes, until thick.
(Do not cook for longer than 15 minutes, or the pectin will break down and the sauce will not thicken properly.)
Remove from the heat, and transfer to a glass jar to chill in the fridge while you prepare the crust. (For best results, allow the raspberry filling to chill completely before adding to the crust. If you can make it the day before, it will become more thick and jam-like!)
*Note: Fresh raspberries may be used if you prefer, I simply chose frozen because they are more affordable. You may also substitute 1 cup of prepared raspberry jam, to make things easier!
For the crust, preheat the oven to 350F and line an 8″ x 8″ baking dish with parchment paper, to prevent sticking. Combine all of the crust ingredients in a food processor, and process until the dough sticks together. Press the dough into the bottom of the baking sheet, and bake for 12 minutes at 350F. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes.
Prepare the crumbly topping by combining the walnuts, coconut, maple syrup, coconut oil, sea salt and almond extract in a food processor, and process until sticky and crumbly, but still coarse in texture.
Arrange the bars by spreading the raspberry filling over the crust, then spreading the crumbly topping over the raspberry layer.
Return to the oven for 15 minutes at 350F, or until the topping is lightly golden.
Allow to cool completely before cutting and serving. For best shelf life, store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to a week.
- 2 cups almond flour or almond meal
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon water
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 10 oz. bag of frozen raspberries
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup walnuts
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- Prepare the raspberry filling by heating the ½ cup maple syrup in a 1½-quart saucepan over medium heat. Bring the maple syrup to a boil, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the frozen raspberries and vanilla extract, and bring to a simmer again, allowing the mixture to cook for 15 minutes, until thick. (Do not cook for longer than 15 minutes, or the pectin will break down and the sauce will not thicken properly.) Remove from the heat, and transfer to a glass jar to chill in the fridge while you prepare the crust.
- For the crust, preheat the oven to 350F and line an 8″ x 8″ baking dish with parchment paper, to prevent sticking. Combine all of the crust ingredients in a food processor, and process until the dough sticks together. Press the dough into the bottom of the baking sheet, and bake for 12 minutes at 350F. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes.
- Prepare the crumbly topping by combining the walnuts, coconut, maple syrup, coconut oil, sea salt and almond extract in a food processor, and process until sticky and crumbly, but still coarse in texture.
- Arrange the bars by spreading the raspberry filling over the crust, then spreading the crumbly topping over the raspberry layer. Return to the oven for 15 minutes at 350F, or until the topping is lightly golden.
- Allow to cool completely before cutting and serving. For best shelf life, store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to a week.
Hope you enjoy them!
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Reader Feedback: Do you prefer chocolate or non-chocolate sweets?
Love this recipe! Such a different twist from a standard recipe with almond flour! These look amazing.
sounds great, I bet it’d be good with blueberries?
They do look amazing— and I am usually drawn to the chocolate treats! I just printed out your recipe and am going to make these. Thank you! BTW, just recently found your site and love it. Corinne
These look sooo good! I may have to try this with frozen blueberries or strawberries since I that’s what I have on hand. Yum!!
Amazing! I will be trying these this week for sure!
I have tons of frozen cranberries in the freezer…..I bet they would be a great sub for the raspberries, may have to try it!
Sorry, I can’t get off the coconut macaroons enough to try this. Maybe in another month or so;)
I completely understand.
This looks amazing!!I am so exited to try it.
This was delicious, but mine came out the consistency of cooked oatmeal, fine for eating with a spoon, but not at all bar-like. No way could I cut it into squares. Still tastes good! I may use it to top some Greek yogurt…
I’m sorry to hear the consistency was wrong! Perhaps the raspberry filling hadn’t “set” long enough in the fridge. The first time I made these, my crust got a little soggy, too. I think the key is making sure the filling is really cold and jam-like before adding it on top of the baked crust. Maybe try making the jam the night before, so it can set overnight.
Hope you’ll enjoy this batch over the yogurt anyway!
Made these last night and mmmmmmmmm!!!! They came out perfect and made an awesome sweet mid morning snack. Can’t wait to try it with blueberries. Thank you!
+1 on Abbie’s comment. Mine came out more like raspberry crumble. But I could tell it was because I hadn’t let the jam reduce enough, and so it made the bottom crust a bit soggy. Nevertheless totally delish! I find with grain free baking, it takes me a couple of tries to get it perfect.
[...] For Valentine’s Day, here is another tried and true recipe from Kayla! She said these are amazing! Grain free and dairy free of course. Check out the recipe [here] [...]
These look fantastic! But how do these work with food combining? Fruit and nuts?
This definitely falls into the “treat” category, so it’s not perfectly combined. Fruit does combine with nuts if you remove their moisture content, so by cooking the raspberries down for 15 minutes, you are removing quite a bit of the moisture. For a more properly combined version, try using the jam recipe in my Cherry Almond Thumbprint cookies– it uses dried fruit as the base!
Ok thanks! Your recipes are great
I’m curious… what do you think about the blood type diet? What is your blood type and do you think it is relevant to how you eat/feel?
Thanks!
Wow! Made these this week and my husband is still raving about them! VERY VERY good! Thanks for the recipe!
[...] Detoxinsita~ Raspberry Almond Bars [...]
I just made these and wow, they taste great! The raspberry filling didn’t thicken up for me, so I added 1 tbsp of agar agar flakes and it turned out perfect. Even my very particular 5 year old loves them. I was amazed at how “buttery” the crust tastes-thanks!
[...] berry dessert bars are something I originally saw on detoxinista.com. Go check it out, there are so many great recipes! I had to make a few changes in this recipe due [...]
Is this dessert gluten free?
Yes, almost all of my recipes are gluten-free.
The topping alone is heavenly! My toddler loves it, which is perfect b/c it is loaded with healthy fats!
I’m gonna try the crust again, but with ground oatmeal to give it a lighter taste.
(For non-detox folks. Otherwise, it tastes great the way it is!)
Made these this week and they were great! I didn’t have maple syrup so used raw honey instead, and turned out sooo yummy! My husband and I both enjoyed these best warmed up in the oven with a little coconut milk vanilla ice cream on the side. Thanks for another great recipe Megan!
Thank you so much for your help with the Almond Butter! Mine turned out great& you gave me the patience I needed! Love,love your recipes!
Thanks again!!
[...] Raspberry Almond Bars (taken from The Detoxinista) Makes one 8×8″ pan. Total time: about 1 [...]
Made these last night and they are amazing! I made a few alterations by adding lemon zest to the topping. Also, I’m allergic to walnuts so I used my homemade granola and almond chunks for the topping.
Mine turned out a bit more gooey than I think they should have been. I made my own almond flour so I may have pulsed too long and released more oils than there would have been from store bought. Next time I may put a little less coconut oil in the crust and a little bit less maple syrup in the filling.
omg goodness this are amazing! They didn’t last more than three days in our house. I used fresh strawberries, so so good!
Yum, we just made these- they are delicious. I was out of maple syrup so I substituted brown rice syrup for sweetener in the filling, and honey for the sweetener in the topping. We used raw sliced almonds instead of pecans. Thanks for a great recipe
Just had to tell you how awesome these turned out! I’m going to try them with dates for the filling next! Thanks!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Made these for my Easter dessert. Seriously had to hide the little bit that was left from my family of boys. Amazing, and feels like you are so totally cheating and UR not!
These were really easy to make and taste fantastic! Mine were a bit soft, so we ate them with a fork….but I’ll definitely make these again!
[...] This recipe is adapted from The Detoxinista [...]
[...] La ricetta d’ispirazione l’ho presa dal bellissimo blog Detoxinista, solo che vi ho apportato alcune modifiche per rendere questa ricetta perfetta per la raccolta di Salutiamoci di questo mese! …ho quindi sostituito lo sciroppo d’acero con del malto di riso …e credo che un’altra differenza stia nelle mandorle usate, poichè dalle foto del blog si intuisce che lei ha usato mandorle intere in polvere, mentre la farina di mandorle che ho usato io era chiara, quindi da mandorle spellate! [...]
Hi, I made these bars in a slightly different version and anyway they were fantastic! …thanks for this recipe and my compliments for your beautiful and interesting blog!
Here is the link to my post
http://crumpetsandco.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/quadrotti-ai-lamponi-mandorle-e-cocco-raspberry-almond-and-coconut-squares/
Thanks
Terry