Vegan 7-Layer Bars

These are amazing! Making my second batch today.
Thanks for the great recipes.

These were great! Super rich! I was worried about the coconut butter after reading some of the other comments. I used the smoothie carafe of my blender and only 2 cups of coconut (because that’s all that would fit). It took a while, but got smooth and I don’t think the reduced amount of coconut detracted from the bars.

Another winner! Thank you, Dana!
For once, I followed the recipe exactly (99% – I used coconut butter instead of coconut oil in the crust). Just in case this is useful information: my homemade peanut butter was not drippy and my homemade coconut butter (made a few days ago) was rock-hard, so I just dolloped the peanut butter onto the pecans/date caramel/crust base and sprinkled on the chopped coconut butter, put it in the oven for a few minutes until it softened, took it out and spread it easily, then added the rest. Delicious!

Very good! I will make again!

I followed the recipe precisely. Until I got to the step to add the coconut butter. I anticipated/ expected instructions on how to make coconut butter, but there weren’t any. I looked in the notes, but no notes on making coconut butter. Because I had already started the recipe, I didn’t have time to toggle over and research it, so I only ‘processed’ (blended) coconut and not for long enough. I used my blender, not food processor, (I had a chance to research it now that they are in oven baking) and it was finely processed, just not buttery. I hope it comes out ok! I am excited to try it, regardless.

Maybe add a hyperlink to the coconut butter recipe?

Thank you!!! They are baking, hoping for a yum dessert!!! :)

Also regarding the peanut butter – my homemade peanut butter is made with only peanuts (no added oil) and I refrigerate it so it’s like the thickest kind of peanut butter possible. It softened a bit after being microwaved but was still by no means easily spreadable. I just put down dollops and kind of distributed it with my hands while pressing it down to flatten everything. It was definitely not completely even by the end but this was a minor inconvenience/imperfection that I was ok with. I’m sure if people find their peanut butter not creamy enough and are bothered by it quickly mixing it up with some flavorless oil should just about fix it.

This came out really tasty (duh) but I did have some trouble with the coconut butter. I have the exact same model of food processor that you recommend and use it to make peanut butter all the time without issues, but today it just made sandy coconut flakes for me after at least 20 minutes of processing (I took breaks so I was on it for an hour). It didn’t seem like it was gonna go anywhere (it turned sandy after 5 min and there was no change in texture whatsoever that occurred in the next 15 min). So I toasted my sandy coconut a bit (it was refrigerated and maybe not the freshest) then tried to process it in my 9 cup 1000w ninja blender. Although the quantity was barely enough to reach the lowest blade, my sandy coconut did turn buttery pretty quickly and at which point the volume had contracted enough that I had to again transfer the content this time to my small 250w food processor because otherwise nothing touched the blade anymore. Luckily it was up to the task and was able to take it all the way. I ended up with something that looked like smooth butter but was definitely grainy to taste which I didn’t exactly mind. If I ever make it again hopefully it’ll go smoother and I’ll have enough patience to blend it for longer to see if the texture can be improved.

These take awhile to make, but oh so good!

Just made this. I’m an idiot and forgot to finish baking it but then re read it and baked and oh dear heavens. So good. I used 60% dairy free chocolate chips!!

Amazing!! Great recipe. Thank you x

I made this for Fathers Day today and it was a hit! Everyone (grandfather, fathers, husband, brothers, etc) loved it. I didn’t have any leftover because every family took extras home. I used walnuts instead of pecans since that was all I had on hand. Great recipe.

I’ve made this recipe many times and I have to say it is always a big hit! It’s extremely versatile to what you might have in the pantry. Modifications to the curst included … using water instead of coconut oil to bring my crust together and skipping the 2 TBS of maple syrup in the as my dates were very ripe and juicy!
Filling modifications included …subbing tahini for the peanut butter, using hemp hearts and a few rough chopped walnuts instead of pecans and sprinkling unsweetened coconut flakes instead of coconut butter. Finishing touch of chocolate chips!

Loveedddd it, these are quite dense and super delicious. Utterly indulgent.
I skipped the coconut butter and added shredded unsweetened coconut instead, turned out delicious:-)

We loved these! I made them without the oil and used 2 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce in lieu of oil and it was perfect!
I am making them again tomorrow for Father’s Day and I made my coconut butter a few days ago to save a step. Can’t wait to share these again!
We love your recipes.

I love magic bars, I whipped these up before we walked the dogs tonight. These are so good and better for you too! Thank you 😊

WOW! These are just so perfectly delicious! And kind of healthy! will definitely make these over and over again… also I cant help but think a slightly unhealthier version of these would be replacing the dates paste with dulce de leche mmm so tempting to make!
Thanks for this amazing desert, it makes my pregnancy a bit easier :D

I made this for thanksgiving lunch and it was a hit! We have df and gf people and people who can eat anything. EVERYONE loved it.

Soooo delicious!! Super easy to make. I followed the recipe almost exactly except for the coconut butter. Must not have the right food processor. Brought these to a girls night and everyone loved. Will definitely make again!!

These ?? Are ?? Le-git ??. Seriously delicious and so easy to make. Make them immediately and fool your non-vegan friends and family

I made this recipe and it turned out amazing! I used raw coconut rather than coconut flakes and didn’t use any coconut oil. Next time I’d use fewer dates. Otherwise, it came out great. Thanks for the recipe!

These are very delicious! Next time I make them I will add the peanut butter after the date paste because it was hard to spread on top of the pecans. Thanks for another winner!

Hey! These bars taste so good, they are sweet but not overbareing. I do want to note that the yield says 24 bars but I have made the recipe twice now and they only come out to 10-11 bars and pretty small at that fact.

Anways! Make them they are so good:)

One word… DELICIOUS!

oh, I forgot! Sorry! Here is my rating ;)

These were INCREDIBLE. I doubled the recipe and put it in a 13×9 pan with no problems. It left a little thicker crust, but we didn’t mind…it was worth having twice as much for the same amount of work. I also melted the nut butter before spreading and that seemed to help. I used cashew butter instead of peanut. We ate these for breakfast, dessert, snacks, etc. Thank you for such a great recipe!!

Really good and really rich. I made this recipe as written–except for no coconut butter. Thank you for the recipe, Dana!

Hi, I made this today and it has 5* from me, my husband, my daughter and granddaughters. I made it raw by adding more dates/sultanas to the crust. Best yet

I love all of your recipes. ALL of them. I have made so many and all but one have turned out better than I thought and with the most amazing flavor. My husband is a respectful and avid public lands hunter. We eat a lot of wild game, gathered nuts, herbs, berries and mushrooms. I make your recipes for meatless options on some dinners for the week. Wonderful and wholesome choices my family really appreciates. I agree with another previous comment, you should create an app. I would download it! Thank you for creating these fabulous recipes. Oh, the one that didn’t work, was the chocolate chia pudding. I think I should have added more almond milk? It was too thick, and the chia seeds globbed together. I know it was me. Not you. Haha. Well done, Dana. Keep it up! ♡

I was excited to make these for Christmas. Unfortunately they didn’t work out. I couldn’t get the coconut to become coconut butter despite 10 minutes of processing in my Kitchenaid food processor. The peanut butter was difficult to spread over the pecans and after baking they wouldn’t stay together.

Oh my goodness! Dana, this is simply delicious and SO GOOD! All of my non-vegan friends are raving about it. I have made it twice and will definitely be making it again. Thank you for the wonderful recipe and love your blog!
Shanthi
Toronto

These were amazing. Well worth the steps involved.

These are amazing!!!!! I’ve made them 3 times and they are perfect every time! They are such a crowd pleaser! I’ve switched up the nuts depending on what I have on hand and used almond butter instead of peanut butter!

I made these for my husband’s nurses and they devoured them! But…. I made the coconut butter and I really did not care for the taste of it (I like coconut too!) So I actually just skipped putting it on … and sprinkled extra huge flakes of coconut on top… It was a hit! and I loved it! Added lots of peanut butter :)

My new fave dessert! So yummy, sweet-tooth-satisfying and healthy that i feel happy after eating it. I added pumpkin seeds as well and still turned out yummy! Thanks for sharing this! So far, all the desserts i’ve made from your recipes are delicious, and i feel good that they have healthier twists in them! Thanks so much!

i made this for the first time about 3 months ago and seriously, i have made a batch almost every single week since! i love taking it on camping trips as a reward for all the hiking and as an after dinner treat. also mighty fine with morning coffee, hehe. these are so so so seriously delicious. it takes time to make but it is worth the effort!! highly recommend! :)

Honestly, these vegan and gluten-free seven layer bars are the first seven layer bars I’ve eaten, to my memory! I followed the recipe this morning and emerged from the kitchen with sweet, nutty, rich bars that supremely satisfied the girls in the family. (I can’t speak for the guys, who preferred their death by chocolate cake over these delicious bars.)

To avoid excess dishes and unnecessary cleanings of the food processor, I made the base “dough” first, substituting an extra two Medjool dates for the two tablespoons of maple syrup. While that baked, I chopped the pecans in the uncleaned processor and set them aside in a bowl, then prepared the coconut butter and set that aside too. After the coconut butter I blended the date paste together, which I spread right from the processor once the base was set.

I accidentally used much less coconut flake quantity than called for (3/4 pureed and 1/4 left whole), but this mistake did not take away from the end product. I found the peanut butter a little hard to spread over the chopped pecans, so I ended up just mixing them together and making a crunchy peanut butter layer. After sprinkling the coconut flakes on top, I chopped some Trader Joe’s dark chocolate in the then-clear food processor and distributed that over the flakes.

In the future, I think I’ll melt the chocolate instead of chopping it. After the bars baked and I cut them into pieces (I yielded 16 squares), the chocolate just rolled off. Altogether, though, these bars fulfilled all of the expectations I had for a healthy “indulgence” – easy, texturally interesting, and made with whole foods. Thanks, Dana!

omg i’ve missed these SO much. genius. thank yoU!!

I don’t usually comment on threads but this recipe was sooooo good. I didnt use the proper kitchen equipment so my coconut “butter” was more like coconut crumbles and the dates were like a date paste. But this was a winner. My husband has been plant based for 6 days now. So I showed him how great plant based could be. This is a treat and I wont make them too often as we have very little self control haha.
These are a winner and were eaten in one day, ugh!!

Made this in a pinch. Super easy.

Another winner! I made these for a potluck and they were devoured. Thanks again for your consistently terrific recipes!!

Hi Dana
I made the vegan bars last night and they are scrumptious!!!

These turned out delicious! I especially liked the crust. My only tip would be if your peanut butter is a little too thick, whisk with some warm water so it will drizzle more easily!

So good. Amazing flavor and so decadent tasting. I made it almost exactly as written, although I subbed the maple syrup for a few extra dates +water in the crust, and used unsweetened carob chips to make it completely refined sugar free. I tried making the coconut butter in my ninja blender and it failed, and I moved it to the food processor and it worked right away. I heated up my peanut butter before spreading which made it a lot easier. Thanks for the great recipe!

What a great recipe! So much better than regular layer bars since they’re so healthy and full of all-natural ingredients. I made them tonight for a work party and they got eaten up so quickly. The date caramel was my favorite layer…great texture and nice kick of sweetness. I layered the peanut butter on top of the date caramel, then added the pecans, because I thought it might be hard to spread the PB on top of the chopped nuts. They were very crumbly and messy but that’s part of the fun. Thanks for this keeper recipe, Dana!

So so so so YUMMY! I made these last night and have nearly eaten the whole batch myself! I used less of the coconut butter as I only have a little of my homemade batch left but they are still super delicious! Thanks for the fabulous recipe!

Who would have thought that I could make coconut butter in a cheaper food processor than the mighty magic mix

So I made these with no adjustments (and it took about 2 hours, mostly because homemade coconut butter is a persnickety thing and not all equipment is created equal but a WHOLE BAG of Bob’s Unsweetened Coconut Flakes + Vitamix with pluger was finally the key), and because I’ve been following a nutritarian diet (oil free, no added sugar or salt), these were SO rich and sweet to me that i basically fell off the wagon for a couple days, and when I popped my head back up, they were all gone WHOOPS WHAT WAS I THINKING. I’m no quitter, so I’m now interested in scaling back to an oil-free crust and cocoa nibs version, and also maybe somehow diluting the coconut butter, or making sure it’s very warm and can be applied in skinny little drizzles, or at least mixing it with either the date caramel or the PB in order to keep it softer. My coconut butter blobs stayed hard and squished the layers below with each bite (it’s not coconut oil melting point weather her in Seattle just yet). If you’re reading this and you’ve had success with an oil-free crust or thinner/softer/more dilute coconut butter or sell safety nets for wagons, please let me know and THANKS.

This looks so great! Thanks for such delicious photos and recipe

Really good and I enjoyed all the different components that I learned to make. I feel like I can use the crust, caramel, and the coconut butter all in other ways. Thanks so much Dana .

So I saw you post this on Instagram and I decided I had to have it, immediately. So I ran to the store, got the few ingredients I was missing, and headed home to make these. I just finished eating my first one, and I can say that they are just as delicious as they look in the photo. Thank you so much for sharing!

I’ve been on an anti-inflammation diet for over a month-getting bored with it, and here you come on a lazy Saturday morning with this recipe loaded with anti-inflammatory ingredients! I couldn’t get to the kitchen fast enough-these are amazing! You guys are my heroes!