No Bake Nut-Free Paleo Bars

My family loves these nut free paleo snack bars! They’re made with a combination of seeds, dried fruit, sunbutter and honey. They’re no bake bites of sweet n’salty awesome with a satisfying crunch and pop.

So. Something a little different today. A few weeks ago, we were asked by one of our stock agencies if we had any images of a nut-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free snack bar. We didn’t have anything that even slightly resembled the request…but I surprised myself when I said that I was up to the challenge of creating something.

Typically this sort of recipe development isn’t in my wheelhouse. While I love savory paleo meals, I don’t really do paleo sweets. They tend to disappoint me, so I’d just rather have the sugar every once in awhile. That’s why it’s called a treat, yes?

But I love a good challenge so I got my butt into the kitchen and a few hours later these no bake nut-free paleo bars were born. And you know what y’all? They are crazy delicious. So I surprised myself twice in one day.

These nut-free paleo bars are made with a combination of dried fruit, seeds, sunbutter, and honey and sprinkled with maldon sea salt. Bonus – they are NO BAKE! I tested two final versions and much preferred the texture of the no-bake bars. These bars are slightly sweet and surprisingly nutty given the lack of nuts. They are close in texture to Larabars, but coarsely ground nuts and sesame seeds gives them a satisfying crunch and pop.

No Bake Nut-Free Paleo Bars Recipe Notes

Typically this is where I tell you about all of the ways you can customize this recipe. I hesitate to do that in this case as I haven’t kitchen tested these bad boys beyond this specific recipe.

That being said, Cameron posted a sneak-peek of these bars on his Instagram last week and I had a conversation with a friend about how to make them keto-friendly. It was an interesting chat, so I did some thinking (and even a little research) on substitutions.

I’m going to make an educated guess that you can substitute the honey for additional sunbutter to make this technically Whole 30 compliant and reduce the carb load from the honey. This should maintain the consistency needed to keep the bars together without sacrificing too much flavor. You could also swap out the dried figs and cherries for dried apricots if you’d like a lower carb fruit option. Other than that…I got nothing. If you do play around with this recipe, please let me know how your experiments go! I’d love to see your creations.

One final note – you really need a food processor to get the texture just right. I tried finely dicing the dried fruit and seeds and while it was okay, the texture was just a bit too mealy for my preference. The food processor nails the final texture.

Nut Free Paleo Bars

Print Recipe Rate This Recipe

These nut free paleo bars are slightly sweet and surprisingly nutty, with a texture that is both chewy and crunchy. Made with seeds, dried fruit, sunbutter and honey, they take 15 minutes to prepare plus about an hour to chill.

Course: Snack

Cuisine: Gluten Free, Grain Free, Paleo, Vegetarian

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings: 9

Author: Our Salty Kitchen

Ingredients

• 6 large dried turkish figs
• 1/2 c. dried cherries
• 1/2 c. roasted unsalted sunflower seeds
• 1/2 c. roasted unsalted pepitas
• 1/4 c. hemp seeds
• 1/4 c. sesame seeds
• 1/4 c. ground flax
• 1/2 c. sunbutter
• 1/4 c. honey (substitute date syrup for Whole30)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

• Line a 9x9 baking dish with parchment paper.
• Slice the figs into 1/2" pieces and then place the figs, cherries, sunflower seeds and pepitas into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the fruit and seeds are minced and start to come together (mine took about 9 pulses).
• Scrape the nut and seed mixture into a mixing bowl and add the hemp, sesame and flax. Using a wooden spoon, gently mix the ingredients together.
• Prepare the wet ingredients. Place the sunbutter and honey in a small bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Whisk the sunbutter and honey until incorporated, then whisk in the vanilla and cinnamon.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together thoroughly. The best tool to to use is your (clean) hands, but you can also use a spatula. Pour the bar mixture into the prepared baking dish, and press firmly to fill to the edges, then smooth out the top. Dust with 1/2 - 1 tsp. maldon sea salt and chill for 1 hour. Cut into 9 equal squares and enjoy! These can be store layered in parchment paper for at least 2 weeks in the fridge.

Notes

Total recipe time does not include 1-hour chilling. 

Did you make this recipe? Mention @oursaltykitchen or tag #oursaltykitchen!