You're going to love these vegan bars! They are made with almond flour and almond butter and filled with chocolate chips in every bite. Top with Dairy Free Frozen Dessert for a decadent gluten-free and vegan dessert everyone can enjoy
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
With everything going on in the world, one of the silver linings I've recently observed is that more and more people are going plant-based. It is wonderful to see people make big and lasting changes; changes that have a HUGE impact on the health and wellness of our planet and all of us who call it home.
Along with the rise of veganism, I've seen a rise in people choosing to eat gluten free. As people start to make healthier choices, it is important that they can still find delicious and decadent comfort food to indulge in every once in a while.
And so, I introduce to you these Chocolate Almond Bars.
Recommended Ingredients & Equipment
These vegan bars are so rich, chewy, sweet, and salty that NO ONE will believe they are both vegan and gluten free! Made with the finest ingredients and baked to perfection, they will make you realize that you can have a wholesome and well-balanced diet without sacrifice.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Open Nature® Almond Flour
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Brown Sugar - For a healthier sugar alternative, I recommend brown coconut sugar.
- Open Nature® Almond Butter
- Coconut Oil
- Applesauce - This is the binder of the recipe. You could replace it with an equal amount of mashed banana or pumpkin puree.
- Vanilla Extract
- Raw Almonds
- Vegan Chocolate Chips
Recommended Equipment
For this recipe you will need an 8x8 baking pan, measuring cups, mixing bowls, and basic kitchen utensils such as a whisk and wooden mixing spoon.
Best Almond Flour and Almond Butter
What makes these gluten free bars so good? They are made with the finest ingredients.
For these delicious vegan bars, I use Open Nature® Almond Flour and Almond Butter (as well as their Cashewmilk Scandaless Ice Cream Vanilla Bean Frozen Dessert to top it off). Open Nature is my go-to brand for natural and wholesome products. The almond flour and almond butter are made with no additives; simply with high quality almonds for a flour that is light and airy and a nut butter that is rich, smooth, and creamy. Seriously the best I've tried!
Open Nature is a brand that believes good food is made without artificial flavors, preservatives, and common food additives. Their products are clean and minimally processed. And the best part? Open Nature offers a huge selection of plant based and gluten free options.
In addition to Open Nature, Safeway offers another awesome brand, O Organics®. This exclusive line of products are high quality, USDA certified organic, and affordable for all. When I'm shopping at Safeway Open Nature and O Organics are the brands I buy.
Where to Find Open Nature Products
Open Nature is sold exclusively at Safeway and Albertsons in my local area. Safeway, my favorite place to shop, is dedicated to providing innovative products to help you and your family live healthier and happier in 2020.
I shop at Safeway because I know that I am getting top brands at a great value. And I get extra savings through my Safeway club card and the Safeway app. Great products and even better value? Why wouldn’t I shop at Safeway?
Safeway’s exclusive lines offer a variety of healthy alternatives such as plant based, protein rich, and gluten free options. They believe so much in these brands that they guaranteed quality and satisfaction or your money back.
Visit Safeway.com/exclusivebrands to find a store near you and discover meal prep tips and recipe ideas.
How to Make Gluten-Free Almond Chocolate Bars
Making these vegan bars are as simple as making chocolate chip cookies. It's simply a matter of mixing, folding, and baking. Let’s take a closer look.
Step One - Make the Dough
Mix together your almond flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
Pro Tip: Sometimes almond flour can be a bit lumpy. If that's the case, sift your dry ingredients through a fine mesh strainer first.
In a large bowl whisk together the melted coconut oil, brown sugar, almond butter, applesauce, and vanilla extract until it's smooth and creamy.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix together. Fold in the almonds and chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed.
Step Two - Bake the Bars
Press the dough into a parchment-lined 8x8 baking dish and bake at 350F for 20-22 minutes.
Baking the bars just right is essential for getting that perfect fudgy and chewy texture. Because these bars are gluten-free, they are a bit more finicky. Here are my tips for getting that perfect vegan bar.
Serving and Storing
Serving - Let these bars cool 20 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Once the bars are completely cool, cut them into 16 even squares. Serve these bars with Open Nature® Cashewmilk Scandaless Ice Cream Vanilla Bean.
For a salty finish, sprinkle some quality coarse salt on the bars while they are still warm so that the salt adheres to the top. The combination of chocolate and salt is perfection.
Storing – Store leftover bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 2 months.
Tips and Tricks
- Line your baking dish with parchment paper. This not only prevents the bars from sticking, but it will also encourage the bars to bake faster on the outside giving you that soft and chewy middle.
- Bake for less time. I always recommend taking your bars out when they are slightly underdone. The gluten-free bars will continue to set up as they cool. You can tell they are ready to come out when they are golden brown on top but still have a bit of wobble.
- Remove from the oven and let the bars cool at least 20 minutes in the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire cooling rack
Head over to your local Safeway and pick up your premium ingredients from Open Nature and whip up a batch of these decadent gluten-free and vegan Chocolate Chip Almond Bars today!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
Almond Chocolate Gluten Free Bars
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup Open Nature Almond Flour
- 1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup + 1 tbsp Open Nature Creamy Almond Butter
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
- ¼ cup applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup toasted almonds, chopped
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
- Open-Nature Cashewmilk Vanilla Bean Frozen Dessert, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
- Stir together the almond flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Set aside. In a separate bowl, stir together the brown sugar, almond butter, coconut oil, applesauce, and vanilla extract until the wet ingredients are well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix them together with a wooden spoon. Fold in the almonds and chocolate chips.
- Press the dough into the prepared baking dish and bake for 20-24 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the center is set. It's okay if it feels a little underdone inside; the bars will continue setting as they cool.
- Let the bars cool in the baking sheet for 20 minutes before removing them from the pan to cool completely. Serve with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.
- Store leftover Bars an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
You can find Open Nature and O Organics® exclusively at the Albertsons Companies family of stores, including ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Shaw’s, Star Market, United Supermarkets and Carrs/Safeway.
Visit Safeway.com to find a store near you and discover meal prep tips and recipe ideas.
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the
Natasha says
Such an amazing recipe! On the second day of eating them, they got softer and tasted like a soft chocolate chip cookie with a hint of almond. So so so good 🙂
Sangeeta says
Also used date sugar instead of brown sugar. Still came out great! This is a hit in the family! It has become a regular in our home.
Sangeeta says
Great recipe! Made it with half the oil and half the chocoloate chips - still came out great.
Marcia says
These are great! I used pumpkin instead of applesauce, as I was out, and they are yummy.. Although I dont think my almond flour was fine enough. Next time I will use my food processor to make the flour a bit finer.. Other then that, I will make these again as they are super easy!
Crystal Elston says
Just made it, just eating it! I had this recipe up in my browser since the day you posted it. So delicious! I swear you wouldn't know there wasn't AP in it. I don't think that will assuage my guilt when I eat half the pan though. Super easy recipe! Came together lickety split. I just happened to have everything in the pantry. Gonna try and save myself and freeze at least half. I have serious Covid pounds as it is. AND I am in the middle of making your Fettucine Alfredo for dinner. ( I ate dessert first 🙂 ).