No Bake Coconut Bars with Dates

This healthy coconut bars recipe is incredibly delicious and made with 5 ingredients. The no-bake bars take less than 10 minutes to prepare and are naturally sweet from the coconut, nuts, and dates with a chewy texture.

🌟 Why this recipe works

Magic coconut date bars are so easy to make - they're great! There's no baking involved, it takes minutes to prepare them, and they are 100% vegan, dairy, and gluten-free.

From a storage point of view, they keep fresher for longer because the recipe uses healthy ingredients. Which is perfect for making kids packed lunches during the week.

The magic bars have an irresistible chewy texture and lots of sweet flavors from the coconut, almonds, and dates. There are no added sweeteners with these magic bars, just natural ingredients, unlike other recipes with a long list of ingredients that contain added sugars.

Coconut bars are also known as magic coconut bars and come in many different flavors because they are so versatile. You can make them with various nuts, dried fruits, and unsweetened coconut for the base, then just add in some fillers like chocolate chips.

No-bake bars are the best snack any home cook can make in a hurry with 10 minutes of your time required and minimal ingredients and cooking equipment.

🍽 Key Ingredients

Coconut, dates, and nuts help these magic coconut bars stay firm and moist.

Almonds - Almonds are naturally sweet and give these bars a deliciously soft texture. Make sure they're soaked and dried before using.

Coconut - Shredded coconut flakes help bind everything together and keep the bars nice and moist.

Dates - You can use any type of dried fruit for making magic bars, and for this recipe, we use dates for sweetness and texture.

Vanilla -All you need is a teaspoon of vanilla extract to give the flavor of the bars.

🔪 How to make

These coconut bars are absolutely delicious, perfect for snacking on, and you can learn how to make them in 10 minutes by following these 4 simple prep steps.

Preparations

1. Place all the ingredients into a food processor or high-powered blender.
2. Blend until solid and slightly sticky. It will become a large lump with most of it stuck together.
3. Remove the mixture and press it firmly into a prepared pan or baking dish lined with a sheet of wax paper.
4. Place another piece of wax paper on top and do your best to flatten the mixture.
5. Place in a fridge for a few hours to make it easier to cut.
6. Once it's firm, cut into squares or rectangles and store in the fridge, in between sheets of parchment paper.

💭 Cooking tips

Flatten the bars

Place something heavy on top of the mixture to keep it firm. I use a packed milk carton because it perfectly fits my dish and is heavy enough to flatten the mixture. You can use anything in your cupboards that's heavy enough to put some weight on top.

Resting period

It's essential to let the bars chill entirely to firm up before cutting and eating them. A minimum of 2 hours is necessary and refrigerated overnight for best results.

📖 Recipe Variations

No-bake coconut vanilla bars are versatile. Mix up the ingredients to create different flavors, like these delicious variations.

Larabars

Larabars are similar to coconut bars but without coconut and with chocolate instead. They taste fantastic with Just a handful of milk chocolate chips and a few spoons of chocolate powder thrown into the mixture to make it super chocolatey. 

Coconut & date bars with graham crackers

Give the delicious bars a crunchy base by mixing graham crackers and melted butter together. 

Mix 2 cups of crushed graham crackers, 2 tablespoons of light brown sugar, and ½ cup butter, then press it into your pan, bake it for 15 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, then let it cool before adding the coconut mixture on top. 

Coconut bars with sweetened condensed milk

This variation is slightly sweeter with the addition of unsweetened or sweetened condensed milk mixed into the mixture. It adds extra indulgence and keeps the bars from drying out after a few days in the fridge. Use half a cup for slightly sweet or 1 cup for a sweeter taste.

🙋 Frequently Asked Questions

🧊Storage 

Enjoy this coconut bars recipe for days, weeks, and months with these easy storage instructions.

Fridge - You can either leave the bars in the dish wrapped with plastic wrap or transfer the bars to an airtight container. They will last up to 2 weeks refrigerated.

Freezer - Once you have cut the bars, place them in an airtight container with wax paper on the bottom, and stack the bars with parchment paper in-between so they don't stick together. Thaw the bars overnight in the fridge.

At room temperature - Store the bars in an airtight container in a dark, dry cupboard for up to 1 week.

👪 Serving Size

You'll get approximately 16 coconut bars with this recipe, which is enough for a small family to enjoy for a week. You could also double the quantity to make two trays for freezing or sharing with your neighbors and friends.

They're easy to make and perfect for a quick healthy snack. My kids love to eat them with their packed lunch, and there are so many variations and flavors of these healthy snack bars to make - it's exciting! Try the best no-bake coconut, date, and nut bars, and let me know what you think in the comments.

📋 Recipe

No Bake Coconut Bars with Dates

This healthy coconut bars recipe is incredibly delicious and made with 5 ingredients. The no-bake bars take less than 10 minutes to prepare and are naturally sweet from the coconut, nuts, and dates with a chewy texture.

4.67 from 3 votes

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Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 2 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 16

Calories: 101kcal

Author: Kim Grabinski

Ingredients

 

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• 1 cup raw almonds - soaked and dried
• 1 ⅓ cups pitted dates
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup shredded coconut
• ⅛ teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Place all the ingredients into food processor or high powered blender.
• Blend until solid and slightly sticky. It will become a large lump with most of it stuck together.
• Remove lump and press any loose pieces into it and place on a sheet of wax paper.
• Place another piece of wax paper on top of the lump and do your best to flatten and form into a square or rectangle.
• Place in a fridge for a few hours to make it easier to cut.
• Cut into squares or rectangles and store in fridge in between sheets of wax or parchment paper, or you can wrap each one individually in wax paper for putting in lunches or for on the go. You can use a cute sticker to seal them for kids lunches!

Notes

Flatten the bars

Place something heavy on top of the mixture to keep it firm. I use a packed milk carton because it perfectly fits my dish and is heavy enough to flatten the mixture. You can use anything in your cupboards that's heavy enough to put some weight on top.

Resting period

It's essential to let the bars chill entirely to firm up before cutting and eating them. A minimum of 2 hours is necessary and refrigerated overnight for best results.

Nutrition

Calories: 101kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 26mg | Potassium: 153mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg