No-Bake Caramel Squares (Vegan + Gluten Free!)
Craving easy and delicious no-bake caramel squares that could compete with Twix in taste?! You’re at the right place!
I have one of the sweetest, sweet tooths around!
So when I first discovered caramel squares I was hooked. However, the classic (store-bought) caramel squares are filled with refined sugar and unpronounceable ingredients.
So I have been working on my own healthy alternative and I am SO ecstatic to finally have a recipe I’m proud of.
I know a lot of girls in the Fab community love a sweet treat almost as much as I do and these delicious no-bake caramel squares taste like a vegan Snickers bar!
They are so yummy and easy to make.
All you need are the easy-to-find ingredients and a food processor to make these treats at home.
How To Make These Healthy No-Bake Caramel Squares At Home?
It is so easy to make these vegan healthy desserts, all you’ll need is:
Medjool Dates: Medjool dates is one of the not-so-secret ingredients in SO many healthy desserts. They are incredibly versatile and add a natural sweetness to recipes. Whether it’s a smoothie or a chocolate bar, you should always have a couple of them in your pantry.
Roasted Almonds: You can roast your own almonds or buy them at any grocery/health food store. I get the unsalted ones for this recipe!
Coconut Oil: You can opt for refined coconut oil if you don’t like the traditional coconut flavor.
Pure Maple Syrup: You can switch this for any other liquid sweetener, maple syrup is just my personal favorite. Agave and brown rice syrup work just as well!
Almond Butter: Try and find pure almond butter with no added sugar. Justins is a good option as it just has two-ingredients. You can also opt for regular peanut butter over almond butter if you want your treat to taste more like a snickers bar (yum!)
Dairy-Free Vanilla Yogurt: This is where it can get tricky! I try to find an unsweetened, dairy free vanilla yogurt so it doesn’t combat the sweetness of the maple syrup and dates. I found that this one from Silk works perfectly! If you can’t find an unsweetened one, it works just as well but it won’t be refined sugar-free and might be too sweet for your liking (depends on your taste of course!)
Dark Chocolate Chunks: Any dark chocolate works here. I used 85% Lindt Dark Chocolate and broke them up into pieces for this recipe. The darker the chocolate the better as it’ll balance the sweetness of the other ingredients.
How To Store My No Bake Caramel Bars?
Since these are vegan (meaning dairy and egg free!) they can be frozen for a loooooong time. You can keep them in the fridge for up to a week and frozen for up to 3 months.
Use an airtight container to help keep the caramel from drying. Also, if freezing, I recommend freezing individually (or using parchment paper between the treats) so they don’t cluster together when you want to defrost one.
If you make these delicious vegan treats, let me know how you like them!
No-Bake Vegan Caramel Squares
Equipment
- Food Processor
Ingredients
Base
- ½ cup Medjool dates – pitted & room temperature
- 1 cup Roasted almonds
- 1 ½ tablespoons Coconut oil – melted
Caramel
- ¼ cup Medjool dates – pitted
- ½ cup Pure maple syrup
- 1/3 cup almond butter
- ¾ cup dairy-free vanilla yogurt
Topping
- ¾ cup dark chocolate chunks
- 2 tablespoons Pure maple syrup
Instructions
BASE
- In the food processor, pulse the almond until you have a crumb texture, add the pitted dates, melted coconut oil. Mix until you have a wet texture.
- Line a small rectangle or square dish with baking paper. Press the base mixture at the base of the dish.
CARAMEL
- In a food processor, place all the ingredients and mix until all the ingredients are combined.
- Poor the caramel out over the base, place in the freezer for 4 hours
CHOCOLATE TOPPING
- In a bowl add chocolate chunks and maple syrup. Place in the microwave at high heat for 1 minute. Stir half way. Mix well
- Poor over the frozen caramel, place back in the freezer for 1 hour
- Let it sit at room temperature for 3- 5 minutes before serving
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Founder. Entrepreneur. Recovering Perfectionist. Not necessarily in that order.
I run on bad jokes and good food. Lover of life and experiences, I did the nomad thing for four years.
Semi-Based in Miami currently.
In my free time, you can find me reading, running my cats Tinder profile, or trying out a new fitness class. You can find me on Instagram
