Simple, wholesome ingredients come together to form a delicious, healthy copycat version of larabars. Homemade Larabars will quickly become a staple at your house, and with eight different varieties, you will never tire of eating them!
Have you ever had a Larabar?
They are delicious!!
Larabars taste like an extremely decadent dessert, but they are typically made with just nuts and fruit--that is it!
However, they are very pricey--at least $1 a bar on sale. And with a family of 4, we could go through some serious $$ if we purchased the bars on a daily basis.
Thankfully for my wallet (and YOUR wallet), making larabars at home is extremely easy, and much more economical.
Key Ingredients
In my book, it doesn't get much healthier than larabars, as the base is made with two wholesome ingredients: nuts and dates.
Nuts contain fiber, protein, and healthy fats. Dates are a natural source of sweetness and contain many vitamins and minerals. My son refers to dates as God's candy. I agree--they are perfectly sweet, making these bars taste like a dessert or candy bar, while not containing any added sugars.
- Nuts: You can use any combination of nuts you like. Almonds are the most common nut found in larabars, but any variety of nuts you like or a combination of nuts will be delicious.
- Dates: It is really important to use whole, pitted dried dates. Chopped dates have been coated in sugar or cornstarch.
How to Make Larabars at Home
The base of larabars is simple--nuts, dried fruit, and a dash of salt. My perfect ratio for Larbars is 3 parts fruit to 2 parts nuts. I add in a dash of salt to bring out the flavor and if needed, a bit of the date soaking liquid to help bring the mixture together.
The ratio may sound complicated. But do NOT be overwhelmed, I have broken the recipe down for you in detail. But basically, this means for every 1 cup of nuts, use 1 and ½ cups of dried fruit.
Step One: Soften the Dates
In order for the dates to process easily into the bars, they need to be soft. Soften your dates by soaking in hot water for 10-15 minutes before making homemade larabars.
Once the dates are softened, drain off the soaking liquid, reserving the liquid to use in the bars if needed. Tip: Save what is left from the soaking liquid and use it to sweeten smoothies or oatmeal.
Step Two: Process the Ingredients
In a food processor fitted with an s-blade, process the nuts until small chunks are formed.
Add in the softened dates along with a dash of salt and pulse until a thick paste forms, adding in up to 1 tablespoon of the soaking liquid from the dates if needed to help the mixture come together. The dates and nuts should be broken down and a thick, sticky paste formed.
Step Three: Form
You can choose to press the Larabar mixture in a 7x11 pan lined with parchment paper or roll into 1-2 inch balls, for Larabar Bites.
I prefer to make Larabars into little "cookie" balls versus an actual bar. Something about making Larabar bites, make my children believe these bites are cookies. And hey, this mom is all for these healthy cookies and happy kids!
Each recipe will make 6 bars or between 24-30 "cookie" balls depending on the size, you like.
8 Varieties of Homemade Larabars
Once you master the basic recipe, let your imagination run wild! The variations of larabars are endless to make. These are 8 of my favorite varieties. Prepare any of these flavors by first pulsing the nuts until they break into small chunks and then adding the remaining ingredients and pulsing together until a thick paste forms.
- Cashew Cookie: 1 cup cashews combined with 1 ½ cups of pitted whole dates.
- Peanut Butter Cookie: 1 cup peanuts combined with 1 ½ cup of pitted whole dates
- Oatmeal Raisin: Combine 1 cup walnuts with 1 cup raisins, ¾ cup oatmeal, 1 tsp cinnamon, and ½ tsp vanilla extract.
- Cherry Pie: Combine 1 cup almonds with 1 cup dried unsweetened cherries, ½ cup dates, a dash of salt, and ¼ tsp cinnamon.
- Dark Chocolate: Combine ½ cup almonds and ½ cup walnuts with 1 ¼ cup pitted dates, 3 tablespoons bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate, and 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Apple Pie: Combine ½ cup almonds and ½ cup pecans or walnuts with 1 cup dried apples, ½ cup pitted dates, 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, and a dash of salt.
- Pecan Pie: Combine ¼ cup almonds and ¾ cup pecans with 1 ½ cups pitted dates and a dash of salt.
- PB & J: Process 1 cup peanuts with ½ cup packed dried cherries, 1 cup pitted dates, and a dash of salt.
Whole30 Compliant Larabars
A lot of people ask if Larbars are whole30 approved or paleo. The answer is not a simple yes or no.
In order to be whole30 compliant and paleo, larabars need to not have any added sugars and contain no legumes or grains.
Watch for the following:
- Be sure that you use dried fruit that has no added sugar.
- Do not add oats in Paleo or Whole30 Larabars, as I do in my Oatmeal Raisin Larabar Variety.
- And only walnuts or almonds as your choice for nuts. Peanuts are a legume and not allowed on whole30 or paleo diets. Cashews are highly debated. Some people say they are paleo, some say they are whole30 approved, and others say they are not either. Cashews are not a nut or a legume, but actually a seed--so it can be tricky to tell where they fall. To stay safe, I suggest just using a combination of almonds and/or walnuts for whole30 approved larabars.
- For any recipe that calls for peanuts, substitute them for almonds, walnuts, or cashews and your homemade bar will be whole30 approved.
- My recipe for Pecan Pie Larabars, Apple Pie Larabars, and Cherry Pie Larabars, and the base recipe are all whole30 compliant.
More Homemade Healthy Snacks
If you love these Larabars, I would love for you to leave a comment and a review below.
Homemade Larabars
Ingredients
- 1 cup nuts any combination
- 1 ½ cups dates or a combination of dates and another variety of dried fruit
- dash of salt
Instructions
- Place dates into a small heat-safe bowl. Pour hot water over the dates and allow to soak for 10-15 minutes to soften the dates.
- Once the dates have soaked, drain the liquid off the dates, reserving the liquid to use if needed.
- Fit a food processor with an s-blade. Place nuts in the food processor and pulse until the nuts break down into small pieces.
- Add in the dates and dash of salt, and pulse the mixture together until the dates have broken down and a thick paste forms, scraping the sides down if needed. Add in 1 to 2 tablespoons of the soaking liquid if needed to help bring the mixture together.
- To shape larabars press mixture into a 7×11 pan lined with parchment paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes before slicing int0 6 bars.
- Alternatively, you can shape the mixture into 1-2 inch balls for a bite-size treat.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- Do not use chopped dates, as they are coated in sugar and/or cornstarch.
- Store homemade larabars in refrigerator for up to 7 days, or in the pantry for 2-3 days. Store in a container lined with wax or parchment paper, adding wax or parchment paper in between layers of bars.
- I do not recommend freezing larabars, as the texture will greatly change when defrosted.
- Larabar Flavor Options:
- Cashew Cookie: 1 cup cashews combined with 1 ½ cups of pitted whole dates.
- Peanut Butter Cookie: 1 cup peanuts combined with 1 ½ cup of pitted whole dates
- Oatmeal Raisin: Combine 1 cup walnuts with 1 cup raisins, ¾ cup oatmeal, 1 tsp cinnamon, and ½ tsp vanilla extract.
- Cherry Pie: Combine 1 cup almonds with 1 cup dried unsweetened cherries, ½ cup dates, a dash of salt, and ¼ tsp cinnamon.
- Dark Chocolate: Combine ½ cup almonds and ½ cup walnuts with 1 ¼ cup pitted dates, 3 tablespoons bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate, and 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Apple Pie: Combine ½ cup almonds and ½ cup pecans or walnuts with 1 cup dried apples, ½ cup pitted dates, 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, and a dash of salt.
- Pecan Pie: Combine ¼ cup almonds and ¾ cup pecans with 1 ½ cups pitted dates and a dash of salt.
- PB & J: Process 1 cup peanuts with ½ cup packed dried cherries, 1 cup pitted dates, and a dash of salt.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in 2016 but was updated in 2020 with new pictures.
Christina
How do you make the banana version? That is my favorite kind; it takes like dehydrated banana chips. And what about the coconut kind? I also really like that one as it tastes like coconut cream concentrate.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Chrisina! For the banana bread version, I would combine 1 cup of banana chips with 1 1/4 cup of dates and 1 cup of almonds. For the coconut bar, combine 1/4 cashews, 3/4 cup of almonds, 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil, 1 1/4 cups dates, and 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut.
Oona
I made the oatmeal raisin version yesterday and its delicious!! I really wanted a healthyish bar recipe and this one hit the spot! It really does taste like an oatmeal raisin cookie!!
Kristen Chidsey
So happy to hear this satisfied your sweet tooth!
Amanda
I made mine with 1 cup of Pistachios, 1 cup of Dates and 1/2 cup of Dried Cranberries… SOOO good!! I want the try the lemon version next. Since I’m not needing these for an on-the-go snack, I used my Pampered Chef Bar Maker. It made 10 bars and I love that it has a lid, so I just kept them in there and removed them as needed. Thanks for the great recipe!
Cait
Where are you buying your ingredients? Based off of my local (west MI) Costco prices on dates & almonds, these would still end up being over a dollar per bar. That's why I haven't tried making them yet.
My boys do love Larabars. They're both gf, so snack options are always more limited and costly. I'm doing my best to make healthy options from scratch when it's more economical. The older they get, the less I can keep up with their appetites. They're constantly hungry! Which leads to hangry... But I digress.
Great recipe, though. Very cool to see how simple it is to DIY these.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Cait! The cost of ingredients are going up since I first wrote this post, however, by purchasing nuts at Trader Joe's and dates at Costco, I am still able to keep the cost at under a dollar per bar.
Julie Handy
The recipe says to cut into 6 bars but it serves 8. I’m really trying to watch portion sizes. Which is correct? Thanks!
Kristen Chidsey
If you want to match the nutritional info, cut into 8 bars. Sorry for that confusion.
Kitty
Almond/dates/cocao/dried coconut was the clear winner at my house. Thanks for the recipe!
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks for sharing Kitty! My son LOVES that combo himself.
Pat Clancey
Greetings, I occasionally make up some of these bars; they are very good. I don't use single-use plastic wrap, so am wondering if you have found a way to package them either as a bar or in balls for carrying on hikes, vehicle trips and to gatherings. Also am wondering if there is a way to reduce their 'stickiness', which would make them easier to remove from any wrapping. Thanks.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Pat! To reduce stickiness, add in a couple more tablespoons of nuts when processing or dust with some ground wheat germ, toasted almond flour, or ground flaxseed. I would recommend preparing in balls and placing in a reusable container--that's what I do for school lunches! Enjoy!
Pat Clancey
Thanks for the tips Kristen
Kristen Chidsey
Happy to Help!
Judy C Myers
Do you have a recipe for Lemon Lara Bars? I'm going to try to make the peanutbutter Lara bars today.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Judy! Yes! I need to update to include the lemon variety (it is my son's favorite) Combine 1/2 cup almonds, 1/2 cup cashews cup, 1 & 1/2 cup dates, with 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon lemon zest. Enjoy!