Curb your sweet tooth with these vegan snickers! With a chewy chocolate base and topped with homemade caramel sauce and peanuts, this gluten-free candy bar makes the perfect no-bake dessert!
Sweetened with only dates and maple syrup, these vegan snickers have all the classic flavor you’d expect but with a healthy twist!
As a Certified Nutrition Coach, these bars are a favorite because they're:
- Bite-sized to make the perfect dessert
- A hit with kids
- Only 137kcal per mini bar
- Indulgent but made with clean eating ingredients
- Gluten-free, paleo, and vegan
Ingredients You’ll Need
Just like energy balls, these bars are date-based. This not only gives them a creamy texture but also keeps them sweet with minimal sugars. Learn more about why dates are better than traditional sugar.
The bar: a combo of dates, peanut butter and sweetened with maple syrup. They’re soft, sweet, and easy to make.
The topping: is a homemade caramel sauce that consists of almond butter, vanilla, and coconut oil. Similar to caramel magic shell for ice cream. It’s that indulgent.
Finally, sprinkle some crushed peanuts onto the vegan snickers for a bit of crunch
How To Make Vegan Snickers
- Heat the peanut butter, syrup, and cacao butter until melted.
- Process the dates in a food processor and add the remaining bar ingredients (except the arrowroot powder).
- Process it all until smooth and transfer to a bowl.
- Stir in the arrowroot powder & let sit for five minutes.
- Portion the bar mixture into candy molds and sprinkle the tops with peanuts.
- Heat the coconut oil for the homemade caramel sauce over low heat and mix together all the ingredients.
- Place in a plastic baggie and drizzle over the bars.
- Pop into the freezer for 60 minutes to set.
How To Store The Gluten-Free Candy Bars
Store the bars in the fridge or freezer. As mentioned, dates don’t freeze solid. Thus, it depends on how quickly you need them.
In order for them to firm up, they must be placed in the freezer to set (otherwise they’re too soft and mush). Once they’re set though they can be placed in the fridge and eaten anytime or in the freezer.
If in the freezer, simply let them thaw for a few minutes before eating.
Important Teaching Tips
Because these healthy snickers bars are date-based, they don’t fully freeze! This means that they retain their texture even when stored.
To make the homemade snickers bars seem more like the real thing, I obviously went with mini rectangle silicone molds.
However, these bars will work with whichever molds and size you choose. That said, you may need to adjust the time in the freezer if the molds are larger.
Tip: heart-shaped homemade snickers bars for Valentine’s would be cute too!
When making the date paste, add as little water as possible. Sometimes the dates can be hard to process down into a paste. However, the more water you add, the more you’ll struggle to firm up the bars. And goopy bars are no good!
Instead of adding more water, simply wait until you melt the peanut butter mixture down and add that to the processor. It should make it easier.
Likewise, the chunkier you leave the dates the more texture the bars will have. If your child has texture preferences, make sure the paste/base is blended smooth.
For the homemade caramel.: make sure you use runny almond butter (not the hard part of the bottom of the container!).
You do need to melt the coconut oil and whisk in the almond butter to get a warm and thus runny texture. Simply whisking the ingredients together will make the mixture thick and a bit chunky.
Thus, it won’t pipe.
However, you don’t want the mixture hot when you portion it into the plastic bag! So, heat the oil minimally and over very low heat. Then, whisk in the almond butter and let it sit briefly, or use your finger to ensure it’s not hot.
Frequently Asked Questions About Vegan Snickers
While store-bought snickers bars don’t contain any gluten. If you have celiac disease you’ll want to confirm that they are processed in a gluten-free plant as cross-contamination can occur.
Other Easy, Healthy Dessert Recipes You’ll Love
- 4 Ingredient Candy Cane Fudge
- Healthy keto fudge
- White chocolate fudge
- Dark chocolate crunch bars
- Hot chocolate bombs
- Cashew cookies with chocolate frosting
- Chocolate coconut drop cookies
- Chocolate magic shell
- Healthier dessert recipes
Homemade Snickers Bars (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup dates soaked in warm water for 20 minutes
- ¼ cup peanut butter natural
- ¼ cup cacao butter
- ⅛ cup maple syrup
- 1 tbs cacao powder
- 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- For The Caramel Sauce
- ⅛ cup almond butter
- 2 teaspoon coconut oil measured solid
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- For The Topping
- 2 tbs peanuts crushed or chopped
Instructions
- In a small pot, heat the peanut butter, cacao butter, and maple syrup over low heat.
- While heating, drain the dates and process in a food processor to make date paste. You may need to scrape down the sides. If they’re not processing, add one tablespoon of water but no more.
- Once the peanut butter mixture is melted, whisk together to combine and pour into the food processor along with the sea salt and cacao powder Process until smooth.
- Pour mixture into a bowl and mix in the arrowroot powder. Mix well.
- Let sit for five full minutes.
- Using a silicone spatula, portion the mixture into a candy mold. Press down so no bubbles remain and scrape the surface so that all bars are even.
- Sprinkle the peanuts over the bars and press down slightly so they stick.
- Make the caramel topping by heating the coconut oil over very low heat until just melted. Mix in the almond butter, vanilla, and maple syrup until smooth.
- Let the mixture cool slightly but no harden and portion it into a plastic baggie.
- Cut the tip off the baggie and begin to drizzle the caramel over the bars.
- Pop into the freezer and let sit for sixty minutes. Then, carefully pop the homemade snickers bars out of the molds and store them!
Video
Notes
- The recipe makes 20 minibars. Each serving is two bars
- When making the date paste, add as little water as possible.
- The chunkier you leave the dates the more texture the bars will have. If your child has texture preferences, make sure the paste/base is blended smooth.
- Make sure you use runny almond butter for the homemade caramel sauce (not the hard part of the bottom of the container!).
- You do need to melt the coconut oil and whisk in the almond butter to get a warm and thus runny texture. Simply whisking the ingredients together will make the mixture thick and a bit chunky.
- Grab all the ingredients you need from my pantry staples.
Disclaimer:
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data"
Nutrition
Indulge in a classic flavor combo without the guilt with these raw snickers bars! These homemade candy bars are soft, decadent, and topped with a healthy homemade caramel sauce.
They’re a tasty way to curb a craving or a wonderful healthy dessert for kiddos!
Loren
These are the perfect paleo no bake treat!
fitasamamabear
They're super tasty!
Jean Choi
These look amazing, and so much healthier than the original! Can't wait to make this.
fitasamamabear
Definitely a bit healthier, they're a treat I don't mind my kiddos having!
Donny
Snickers used to be my favorite so I'm so excited to try these!
Megan Stevens
I always love egg-free treats, and these look amazing! Thanks for the step-by-step photos! I need to get that candy mold.
fitasamamabear
The candy mold makes it look real!!
ChihYu
Yum!! So fun and delicious!
fitasamamabear
My kiddos LOVE them!
Yang
What a creative way to make caramel sauce! The snickers bars look yummy, I can't wait to make them.
fitasamamabear
Haha we use that caramel sauce for everything!
Erin
Anything with dates and peanut butter in it has to be good! I love the other ingredients, too. I can't wait to try this!
fitasamamabear
Haha right?! Best combo of life.
jennifer
ermagawd, YES! I'm making these this week and am so exited -- that caramel sauce is the perfect touch!
fitasamamabear
The caramel sauce is our favorite! Tasty on ice cream too 😉
Glenda
Dates are my number 1 favorite sugar replacement when baking! They're extraordinary in these mock Snickers bars. They help create that caramely flavor and mouth-feel I want from candy. Delicious! Thanks for sharing!
fitasamamabear
Right?! Dates work so beautifully for a sweetener replacement!