Hands down this is one of the best desserts I have made. It was so good that I made it back to back nights. It is completely vegan with a base of oats and nuts and it uses no milk at all (traditional seven layer bars used condensed milk). It takes a little over 30 minutes to make as you do need to let the dates soak, but it is worth the wait!
I based my recipe on the one from Minimalist Baker but made sure to include lots of seeds for added healthy fats. These bars are gooey and packed with so many different flavors that it is like a firework of flavor in your mouth. The bars are naturally sweetened by dates and maple syrup and packed with peanut butter, flax seeds, chia seeds, and lots of coconut and chocolate chips! So yummy and good they will be a genuine crowd pleaser.
My favorite brands to use in this are Runamok Maple Syrup (use code GIRLSWHOEAT for 20% off) and Spread The Love Peanut Butter. It is very important to use a peanut or nut butter that is liquidy and easy to spread. Otherwise it will clump and become kind of a mess and hard to spread across the base layer.
Vegan Seven Layer Bars
Cooking & Baking Supplies
- Baking Tray
- Parchment Paper
- Food Processor
Ingredients
Base
- 2 dates
- 1 cup oats
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- sprinkle of salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Second Layer
- 1 cup dates
- 3 tbsp water (add more as needed)
Additional Layers
- 1/4 cup flax seeds
- 1/8 cup chia seeds
- 1/3 cup peanut butter
- 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Soak dates (12 large dates) in warm water for 10-20 minutes so they can regain their moisture and give them a sweeter flavor.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9’’ baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, blend together pitted dates, oats, nuts, coconut oil, salt, and cinnamon to create a crumble. Add the crumble to the baking pan and use your hand to flatten it across the whole pan so that it is even. Cook in the oven for 10 minutes.
- While the base is cooking, clean out the food processor and add in one cup of dates and water. Blend until it becomes a paste (it can have chunks in it).
- Remove the base from the oven and let it cool for about 5 minutes. Then top the base with the blended dates, then add flax and chia seeds on top of the date spread, then add peanut butter on top (liquidy peanut butter is ideal), then coconut flakes, followed by chocolate chips.
- Bake the 7 layer bar for another 10 minutes. Once you remove from the oven, let cool, then ENJOY!
