Homemade Larabars: Simple, wholesome ingredients come together to form a delicious, healthy copycat version of larabars. These simple bites 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 made from just nuts and fruit and typically 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.
So, why not make homemade larabars?
Homemade Larabars
DIY larabars are seriously easier to make than running out to the store to buy–not to mention so much affordable.
I prefer to make Larabars into little “cookie” balls verses an actual bar. Something about making larabar bites, make my children believe these bites truly are cookies. And hey, this mom is all for these healthy cookies!
Are Larabars healthy?
Everyone has a different idea of what healthy really means. However, in my book, it doesn’t get much healthier than larabars.
Nuts and dates–two natural ingredients that are perfectly wholesome. Nuts contain fiber, protein and healthy fats. And 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 diy larabars taste like a dessert or candy bar, while not containing any added sugars.
How to Make Larabars at Home
The variations of larabars are endless to make. Today I am sharing 8 varieties with you.
Start with the Dates
It is really important to use whole, pitted dates. Chopped dates have been coated in sugar or cornstarch. You also want to be sure that your dates are soft. I soak my raw dates in hot water for 10-15 minutes before making homemade larabars. Tip–save the soaking liquid to use to sweeten smoothies or oatmeal.
Process the Ingredients
In a food processor, process together the dates and nuts with a dash of salt to form the base of these natural energy bars.
Form the Larabars
You can choose to press the larabar mixture in a 7×11 pan lined with parchment paper or roll into 1-2 inch balls, for DIY Larabar Bites.
Each recipe will make 6 bars or between 24-30 “cookie” balls depending on size you like.
Larabar Recipes
The base of larabars is simple–nuts, dried fruit, and a dash of salt. My perfect ratio for Larbars is 3:2 fruit to 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. DON’T be overwhelmed, I have broken the recipes down for you in detail. But basically this means for every 1 cup nuts I use 1 1/2 cups dried fruit.
Once you master the basic recipe, let your imagination run wild!
8 Varieties of Homemade Larabars
- Cashew Cookie: Process 1 cup cashews in food processor until they are in small chunks. Add 1 1/2 cups of pitted whole dates and process until paste forms. Add up to 1 TBS water if needed to bring mixture together. Press mixture out flat onto wax paper and divide into 6 bars or just grab a 1 tablespoon and roll into a ball. Store in container lined with wax paper (do not stack on top of each other without separating with more wax paper.
- Peanut Butter Cookie: Process 1 cup peanuts with a pinch of salt until small chunks. Add 1 1/2 cup of pitted whole dates and process until paste forms. Add up to 1 TBS water if needed and form into balls by rolling 1 tablespoon of mixture together. Store in container lined with wax paper.
- Oatmeal Raisin: Process 1 cup raisins, 1 cup walnuts, 3/4 cup oatmeal, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract together. Form into bars or “cookie” balls as desired.
- Cherry Pie: Process 1 cup dried, unsweetened cherries, 1/2 cup dates, 1 cup almonds, dash of salt and 1/4 tsp cinnamon until paste forms in food processor. Shape into 6 bars or “cookie” bars.
- Dark Chocolate: Process 1 1/4 cup pitted dates, 1/2 cup almonds, 1/2 cup walnuts, 3 tablespoons bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate, 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder together until paste forms and form into bars or balls.
- Apple Pie: Process 1 cup dried apples, 1/2 cup pitted dates, 1 cup pecans or walnuts, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, and dash of salt until paste forms and form into balls or bars.
- Pecan Pie: Process 1 1/2 cups pitted dates, 1/4 cup almonds, 3/4 cup pecans, dash of salt until paste forms and form into balls or bars.
- PB & J: Process 1/2 cup packed dried cherries, 1 cup pitted dates, 1 cup peanuts, and a dash of salt until paste forms and form into bars or balls.
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 complaint 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.
Homemade Whole30 Compliant Larabar Varieties
The following varieties are whole30 (and paleo)
- Pecan Pie Larabars
- Apple Pie Larabars
- Cherry Pie Larabars
Tips for making Larabars
- Do not use chopped dates. They are coated in sugar.
- Store homemade larabars in refrigerator for up to 7 days, or in the pantry for 2-3 days.
- I do not recommend freezing larabars, as the texture will greatly change when defrosted.
- If your dates or dried fruit is at all hard and not soft, soak in hot water for 15 to 30 minutes before you process the larabar balls.
- Be creative. If you have pecans and raisins–go for it. Who knows, you may find the best combination out there.
Basic Larabar Base Recipe
Homemade Larabars
Ingredients
- 1 cup nuts any combination
- 1 1/2 cups dried fruit combination of dates and another variety or all dates
- dash of salt
Instructions
- Process ingredients in a food processor until paste forms and form into balls or bars.
Notes
TO DIY LARABARS YOU MAY NEED
The following are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Thanks so much for being a part of A Mind Full Mom!
Hello Newbie here. One of things that I didn’t care about of Lara bar’s was the dates and the other ingredients in them. I like strawberries, blueberries, apples, almonds, and cashews. What can I substitute for the dates? I am looking at saving money and making things I enjoy at home.
Hi Rhonda. Unfortunately, dates are what hold the larabars together. You can try prunes or raisins, but the texture will not be the same.
Hi Kristen!
I’ve been enjoying reading your recipes and am also following you on Instagram. I wanted to make these but I wanted to know which type of dates to use; Medjool and Deglet Noor. I’m anxious to order the dates and give this a try!
So happy to have a fan John! I use Medjool dates. I hope you enjoy!
OK. Newbie alert! I tried to make the basic recipe. I soaked the dates and put them in the food processor with the nuts. Everything glopped together and the blade spun beneath it all. My food processor is apparently smaller than yours, based on the picture, so I took half out with the same result. Should I have done more to drain the dates? Should I just add more nuts to get the consistency drier? It’s late here, so I put everything in the fridge and will try again tomorrow. I assume I should nuke it a little to get it to room temperature before I start. Thanks for your help!
Hi John. I would let your mixture come to room temperature–don’t microwave as that could potentially harden your dates. I would then put 1 tablespoon water in your food processor and break up the mixture and place into your food processor as well. Then pulse until the mixture begins to come together, opening the food processor to scrape down the sides as needed. I hope that helps.
I’m excited to try this recipe, but I don’t have a food processor. Would a Vitamix blender work the same? Other suggestions?
Hi Jen! So yes you can use your Vitamix, with a few modifications. First, if you have a larger Vitamix you will need to double the recipe to get the mixture to combine. Secondly, make sure your dates are soaked and pitted and that you place those in blender first. To Make Larabars: mix together at highest speed, while using the tamper tool to scrape down sides, just until a paste is formed (20-30 seconds) Turn machine off, scrape down sides and give one more quick pulse if needed. If you let the mixture go to long, the bars will become super sticky. And just a word of caution for those reading this comment–making larabars in a blender is only an option in blenders like Vitamix or Blendtec 🙂
Hi there!
I’m excited to try this recipe. Can you tell me roughly how big each 184 calorie serving is, please?
Hi Brittney! This makes 8 bars–or 24 balls. So each serving would be 1/8 of the recipe–one bar or 3 balls 🙂 Enjoy!
Mine are very soft, how would i get them to firm up?
Hi Sean, Larabars are pretty soft in general, but especially soft after processing as dates have been warmed up. Place in fridge for a few hours and you will be good to go 🙂 Enjoy!
The pecan are my favorite so far. Do you have any recommendations for coatings to make these less sticky to pickup?
I love pecan as well. I wrap each bar in wax/parchment paper which helps. I don’t think there is any whole food coating that would keep these bars less sticky unless you rolled them in nuts or chia seeds.
Larabars can be so pricey when I do W30. I love this recipe! It saves so much money to just make my own.
Absolutely! Homemade is so much cheaper and just as tasty.
I love how easy and versatile these are! The mix-in possibilities are endless!
They are truly my all time favorite snacks!
I love your recipe Kristin! We are big fans of Larabars, any flavor, any time! Making them into bite sized balls of deliciousness is a great idea. Can’t wait to try some of your variations!
Thanks Tricia! I love your coconut cream recipe as well
This will be our first year at a school that is nut free. Do you think that sun flower seeds and sun butter would work in place of the usual nuts and peanut butter?
Hey Robyn,
Sun butter works great in baked recipes in place of nut butter (It is great in my PJ Oatmeal muffins or Gluten Free Granola Bars). As far as using sun butter and sunflower seeds for lara bars, I am not sure. It is worth trying. If you do, please let me know how it turns out. If I purchase sunflower seeds soon, I will try myself.
I tried the Larabars and it worked with equal substitutions! Yea!! I hope that helps you (just be sure to use unsalted sunflower seeds!!!)
Hi, just tried the cashew cookie recipe and tastes great, but it’s so super sticky that it’s not retaining its bar shape and not as convenient a snack as I was hoping. Could the reason be that I used fresh dates instead of dried?
Hi Mareenez, dried and fresh dates are completely different and fresh dates would GREATLY change the consistency of these bars. It would be like using grapes in place of raisins–that extra moisture that is evaporated when fruits are dried change the consistency and sweetness. I am sorry about your mistake.
Ok, makes sense. And I made it worse by soaking them, too. I’ll try again.
Yay! Perfect timing! I had a box of Larabars in hand today, did the math, and didn’t want to spend $1/bar, so I told myself I’d wait for your recipe. Thank you! Can’t wait to try these. Gotta go buy some pitted dates and nuts. Thank you so much!
So happy to help!!