As we continually get busier and busier with “life”, IE:
1. Teaching a teenage bible study
2. Preparing the beds for spring
3. Planting and caring for seeds
4. Sending in teaching applications for next year
5. Work
6. Play
…and everything in between, my kitchen time has become far less experimental and much more structural. For example, I know that to meet our crusty, delicious bread demand I need two loaves per week and thus, have scheduled to make it accordingly. I also know that to meet our snack and lunch demand, I need to have premade goodies prepared. I need homemade larabars.
There is a reason people grab for chips, fruit snacks, and candy bars. They're convenient.
Today, I want to share a recipe with you that easily met our “snack” demand for two full weeks. Having pre-made snacks is essential to not falling off the whole-food bandwagon. You simply have to have the options available when time is of the essence!
And the best part? It took me (literally) fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes from pulling the ingredients out to finishing up the last of the dishes. I swear.
And the second best part? I made these for less than 20% of the retail cost.
Oh yea, baby. It's all about the homemade larabars.
These three varieties were my favorite:
Homemade Larabars
Coconut Cream Larabars
You will need:
– 1 cup almonds (or any nut of your choice)
– 1 cup pitted dates
– 1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
– 1 teaspoon coconut oil
Chocolate Larabars
You will need:
– 1 cup of almonds (or other nut)
– 1 cup pitted dates
– 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
– 2 tablespoons cacoa chips or chocolate chips, optional
Peanut Butter & Jelly Larabars
You will need:
– 1 cup of roasted peanuts
– 1 cup pitted dates
– 1/2 cup dried cherries
To make, all you have to do is throw the nuts in your blender until they're a nice, fine texture. Then, throw in the dates and remaining ingredients. Blend until well combined. If it doesn't stick together when you pinch the mixture in between your fingers, add a few more dates to help make it more “sticky”.
Once it's all chopped up, simply press the mixture down into a pan (I lined mine with parchment paper for easy removal). Stick in the fridge for a few minutes to help it set, remove, and slice or shape into bars.
The possibilities of nuts and flavorings are endless. You can easily sub in dried cherries, dried mango, dried banana, peanut butter, etc. It's just a matter of finding your family's favorite flavor of homemade larabar!
And did I mention they are very inexpensive compared to their commercial-sold twin? Larabars usually sell for $2 a piece, people! Yikes!
The only super important part of this recipe is adhering to the correct ratio: 1 cup nut to 1 cup date to 1/2-1 cup “extra”. And like I said, if it's not sticking together correctly, throw in a few more dates and you'll be good to go.
Some fancy people individually wrap homemade larabars in wax paper and tie them in twine. Oh-so-lovely but oh-so-time consuming. I was on a mission, and thus, I sliced mine into bars and shoved them into a big tupperware bound for the fridge. When we're packing our lunches, we simply grab a bar out. Easy peasy.
As life gets busier (and more fun!), having a kitchen system set into place and having wonderful “go-to” recipes for snacks makes a big difference. There's not always time to play in the kitchen, but that doesn't mean that I still can't whip out some delicious whole-food goodness for the family.
Booya.
For other great meal ideas, no matter what your dietary restrictions, check out the meal planning service I use: Real Plans.
Homemade Larabars
Ingredients
Coconut Cream Larabars
- 1 cup almonds (or any nut of your choice)
- 1 cup pitted dates
- 1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
- 1 tsp coconut oil
Chocolate Larabars
- 1 cup almonds (or other nut)
- 1 cup pitted dates
- 4 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp cacoa chips or chocolate chips, optional
Peanut Butter & Jelly Larabars
- 1 cup roasted peanuts
- 1 cup pitted dates
- ½ cup dried cherries
Instructions
- To make, all you have to do is throw the nuts in your blender until they're a nice, fine texture. Then, throw in the dates and remaining ingredients. Blend until well combined. If it doesn't stick together when you pinch the mixture in between your fingers, add a few more dates to help make it more “sticky”.
- Once it's all chopped up, simply press the mixture down into a pan (I lined mine with parchment paper for easy removal). Stick in the fridge for a few minutes to help it set, remove, and slice or shape into bars.
I pit the dates by pulling the top off, opening it up the long way, and pulling out the seed. Is there a faster/easier way to do it?
I use a kabob skewer. I use two bowls, one for pits and one for the freshly pitted date. Using the bottom of a wooden kabob skewer, I push the pit up from the bottom of the date and out the top. It takes a little practice, but once you get used to it, it goes pretty fast. :0)
Those bars look delicious. I recently made the cashew cookie and coconut cream pie type and shared them on my blog, but I want to try your chocolate version, possibly using carob powder.
We do balls and hubs calls them “Lara-balls”. I just have the kids use the one tablespoon measure as a scoop. Great ideas! I am linking this to my blog FB and FB group. Thanks!
Is there anything other than dates to make them stick together? My husband does not like dates
Prunes or apricots would work
I’ve also used dried figs, dried apricots, and raisins depending upon what we had in the house.
A cheaper way to make the coconut is to add oats instead of nutes. (Oh, and a dash of cinnamon) There is less fat that way, not that I care. I roll them up in little bite size balls and serve them as dessert. They are always a hit with the sugar-free crowd.
I just wanted to stop by and say that I LOVE your versions and appreciate you converting the measurements to make more than 2 bars. We are a family of five and these go VERY quickly. I like your ratios better than other sites I have researched! Again, thank you! I have never actually had a Larabar and I’m pretty sure I never have to now! 😉 (By the way, we call ours Fliver Bars!)
I stumbled upon your blog this morning…and a few hours later I am encouraged and empowered. We have been eating whole foods for the last 3 months (even though I had the knowledge years ago, the will-power was not so forthcoming) and I have been on the search for easy great recipes. I made these this morning after reading how quick and easy they are (and that could not be more true) and my girls and I LOVE them! YUM! I did the Coconut Cream and used soaked-dehydrated cashews. Thank you for sharing your wisdom. I will be sharing your blog and pinning things to pinterest so I can come back and make more homemade goodness! Thank you!
Hey!! Love your blog, it really inspires me to try out new stuff. Do you think the recipe would work with dry figs?? I have some intolerance issues, so dates are not so great for me. Greets from Europe! Mili
Might as well give it a try and see! I bet prunes would be good, too!
never mind just seen this thank you!! i love your whole wheat soaked bread. i make it weekly and i NEVER buy bread anymore my toddlers LOVE the smell of fresh baked bread (and taste)
how long do they last in the fridge?
Just made these bars with Sunflower Seeds instead of nuts and they turned out delicious! We added mini dairy free chocolate chips too. My son loved them, and since he can’t have nuts this was a great alternative. Will probably lower the coconut oil to 1 tsp next time as they turned out oily. It is more than likely because the sunflower seeds are oily by themselves. There is no limit to the different types you can make with these bars! Thank you for sharing this great recipe. LOVE your site.
These look yummy! We made the cookies you posted recently and they were divine. We shared this with our readers at homesteadlady.com.
Does it matter if the dates are organic or not? I followed your link to the dates. Do you still buy those same dates from Amazon? Thanks!!
I buy them from wherever I can get the best deal. I usually opt for organic.
These look fantastic!! Just what I have been looking for! Thank you! I am off to make them now 🙂
I just got my From SCRATCH cookbook! I Absolutely LOVE it! I just made this recipe and my hubby and boys ALL LOVED it! They devoured them! I LOVE larabars but I thought these were even better! I am loving reading your blog, you remind me so much of ME! I think we could be best friends if we lived close, is that weird??? My all time favorite cookbook has always been Nourishing Traditions, But Man I LOVE your Cookbook, it goes perfectly with Nourishing Traditions, it’s the perfect companion! I am so excited about it, I got it Friday and read every single page by Saturday evening! Your Family is so cute! Thank you for writing your cookbook! I am horrible at organizing but your book makes it look so much easier!
could i use prunes instead of dates?
Possibly? I’ve never tried it!
These are really good, but had to use 2 cups of dates rather than 1. They still crumbled apart even after putting them in the freezer for awhile? Not trying to complain, just wondering if you had any advice? Also wondering if they are actually more expensive than just buying Larabars-especially since it was 6 dollars for just 2 cups of dates (plus the other ingredients). I live in Mississippi right now and there are no health food stores around so the only option for dates is at Walmart-$3 for an 8 oz bag. Any thoughts?
Lauren, it sounds to me like the dates that you used were probably old… and thus, didn’t have a lot of moisture left in them. Perhaps try ordering from Amazon? That may be a better way to find a good deal on better dates!
I always wonder what to use instead of dates when I see recipes like this. The recipe always sounds so good, but I am allergic to dates! ugh!
I just made these with prunes and there were delish! I have never had a lara bar so I cannot compare but these were great!
I have made these larabars several times and love them! Recently my dates have not been breaking up in the food processor. The bars come out with clumps of dates mixed in. Are the dates old? Or does my food processor blade need sharpening? Any ideas? Thanks!
Soak your dates in hot water foe 10-15 minutes. Drain the water then add to food processor
We don’t have Lara bars in Australia but I keep hearing about them, so this will solve the problem for me – I’ll make them!! THANK YOU!
I made the coconut cream bars and cannot stop eating them! Delicious and easy recipe – thanks for sharing 🙂
Do these come out moist? Have tried others and always dry. Hate wasting ingredients!”
Although my favorites are BIG soft Medjool dates, I’ve also successfully substituted dried figs, raisins, and dried apricots (check out Nuts.com for a high quality product shipped über fast with incredible customer service).
Current fav flavor combo is to use dates, pecans and cinnamon… reminds me of pecan pie.
Second fav would be dates, walnuts, and cocoa powder – really taste like a brownie the 2nd day (if you can wait that long) and if you really wanna take them up a notch, mix up a ripe banana (or avocado if you’re feeling adventurous) and some cocoa powder and frost them.
I’ve been looking for a snack that is simple, easy to make with simple ingredients, and is delicious. And these hit the spot. I made the chocolate ones (chocoholic here), and cannot wait to make them again. Love the recipe! Honestly, I could not believe how easy they are to prepare. Thanks for sharing!!!
I love the # one hing on the list that you have. I teach my grandchildren the Bible now days. Not many do these days! thanks for sharing going to try your recipes they sound so good!
I will be making these as soon as I can get to the store thru the snow!
I love larabars, but am allergic to dates- any suggestions for a substitute?
These are wonderful and so easy to make! I made the coconut cream version today, adding a scoop of vanilla Sunwarrior protein powder. Yum! The chocolate version is next. . .
I knew I would love these bars but I sure messed up… I tried to chop my dates in my Kitchen Aid Chef’s chopper and broke it… They gummed up in it and I guess I destroyed it because I can’t get the blade or cup off now… Beware chopping such ingredients…
I usually roll mine into balls.
Soak your dates in hot water for 10-15 minutes to soften them up first. Drain water, then add to food processor
I will definitely be making these this week for my fam. Can’t wait. I would like to post these to my FB page if that is ok with you.
Just made the chocolate ones, they are divine! Mine also seemed a bit dry at first but the more i pulsed them in the food processor the stickier they became. Thanks!