3-Ingredient Cashew Date Bars
Published 8/23/2020
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With just 3 simple ingredients you can make these Copycat Cashew Cookie Larabars that are grain-free, refined-sugar-free, vegan, and kid-friendly!
Perfect On-the-Go Snack
These 3 Ingredient Cashew Date Bars AKA Copycat Cashew Cookie Larabars bring me back to college. I always had a Larabar in my backpack because they’re made with simple, whole ingredients and are the perfect energizer snack!
Cashew Cookie Larabars were my all time fav –> sweet, chewy, with a pinch of salt. I can taste these through the screen right now!
check it out!
For more snack ideas, check out our healthy snack recipes page!
What You Need
Like I shared above, this recipe calls for 3 super simple ingredients!
- Medjool dates: Dates are sweet and sticky and the base of these bars. The biggest tip I have for your dates is to make sure they are fresh and SOFT.
- Cashews: Cashews are packed with healthy fats and my favorite nut!
- Coarse salt: You’re going to love the sweet and salty aspect that coarse salt brings to these bars.
Easy Swaps + Add-Ins
Nuts – you can use pretty much any kind of raw nut for this recipe. Try peanuts, walnuts, pecans, etc.!
Add-Ins – Since there are only 3 ingredients in this recipe, add-ins are going to be your BFF. Here are some ideas:
- Chocolate Chips
- Chia Seeds
- Sunflower Seeds
- Sprinkles
Easy Assembly
- The best part about this recipe is that you literally pop everything into a high-speed food processor and mix on high until the dough pulverizes together.
- Then, add a few more cashews, pulse them into the dough so they are coarsely chopped and BOOM. Now, you’re ready to transfer the dough into a pan.
- Transfer dough into a square pan and use your fingers or a spatula to press it into the pan. Freeze for 30 minutes then remove dough from pan, slice, and enjoy!
dough not sticking?
If your dough is having trouble sticking or if your dates won’t puree it’s probably because your dates weren’t fresh/soft enough.
To make your dough stick, simply add water by the teaspoon until things soften up. It’s as easy as pie.
Storage
Fridge: We recommend storing your no-bake bars in the refrigerator. After slicing, place them in an airtight container and then into the fridge. They will last up to 2 weeks.
Freezer: Option to freeze these bars for later. You can either slice them into single-serve bars and wrap them in tin foil or wait to slice them and wrap the entire recipe to thaw and slice later. Will last up to 3 months.
Copycat Cashew Cookie Larabar Recipe
Ingredients
- 30 pitted Medjool dates
- 1.5 cups raw cashews, divided
- 1/8 teaspoon coarse salt
Instructions
- First, line an 8×8-inch pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Place 1 cup of the cashews into a high speed food processor and pulse on high until the cashews are ground up into crumbs.
- Then, add the pitted medjool dates to the food processor and blend for 3 to 4 minutes on high until the dates become pureed and your dough is formed. You may need to stop the food processor a couple of times to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a spatula.
- Add the last 1/2 cup of cashews and the salt to the food processor and pulse until the cashews are broken up into small pieces. After everything is blended up the dough should look and feel like cookie dough.*
- Next, make a big ball out of the dough and place the dough ball into the lined 8×8-inch pan.
- Press the ball down into the pan with your hands or a spatula until the dough is evenly spread on the bottom of the pan.
- Place the pan in the freezer to set for 20-30 minutes to set.
- Remove from the freezer and remove the bars from the pan by lifting two ends of the parchment paper up and place the bars on a cutting board.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the bars into 10 bars.
- Enjoy bars and place the remaining bars into an airtight container and place them in the freezer.
Tips & Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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What I usually do with homemade Lärabars is store them in the freezer. I actually do this with most of the treats I make like my Grain-Free Protein Peanut Butter Cookies and Brownie Cookie Dough Swirl Protein Balls since they last longer this way.
Plus I actually think they taste good frozen. Is that weird?
What’s your favorite Lärabar flavor?
Funny I just stumbled upon these. I tried to make this version a few weeks ago because I’ve been into making my own lara bars recently. I soaked my cashews to make them easier to blend but I think that backfired because they were too moist! Wouldn’t really form into bars after refrigerating. Still delicious though. I’ll try em again without the soaking the next time I can afford to buy more cashews…
Love your blog btw. Keep up the great work!
I’m so sorry it didn’t work out for you! Yes, soaking your cashew probably made the batter too wet! Bummed they are so dang expensive. Try Trader Joe’s! Cheapest I’ve found 🙂
Ah, no biggie – this is how we learn things right? I actually find cashews the cheapest at Aldi (which TJ’s owns)…TJ’s might be comparable though, I haven’t checked their prices lately. But hey I just splurged for some more today! Time to make more Lara Bars…
How long do they last in the frig? How long do they last in the freezer? Can they be stored in the pantry?
I would say 2 weeks in the fridge, 3 months in the freezer, and a week in the pantry!
Ok 🙂 Thank you!
How long do they last in the fridge?
Bish you broke my food processor. Any savings from making it myself are totally cancelled out by the wear and tear on my kitchen equipment.
Um. Cashews are like the softest nuts on Earth, along with… dates?
Sounds like you had a bish-azz food processor, “Rude-y.”
Some people…
The dates tend to freeze the processor blade because of their chewiness. That burns out the motor. You have to pulse and watch carefully. Katie wasn’t being rude; she was just telling her very real story. Chill out, Blue.
Would you consider doing an update where you show the calculations of whether it is actually more cost-effective to make these?
Hi! Love this idea. Would this work in my Ninja? I don’t own a food processor. Also, do you know how much per bar your version is? I LOVE my daily cashew cookie but is the cost per bar cheaper this way? Thanks!
Hey Lady! I have not done any calculations of the cost on these guys. If you buy in bulk (both the dates and cashews), I bet for sure you could get the bars under $1.
Nope. You’d have to buy them wholesale to make them cheaper. I love the recipe, but the blog post is misleading and sells you on a cost savings that does not exist. It’s great if you want to know exactly what is in your snack, and for that, it may be worth the premium price. It’s just not a budget saver.
I priced out bulk (11 lbs of Dates & 5 lbs of cashews) and can make them for $0.45 ea. Not factoring in cost of salt, parchment or plastic wrap to freeze them individually. Sure beats $2 ea. But you and spouse have to eat one a day to use them up in a reasonable time. Also I don’t calculate the same nutrition content listed above which doesn’t show calories. I get 230 cxals which is same as real thing.
But great idea and helpful tips on making so THANKS!
These are so delicious. Myprocessor had a hard time with the dates but overall this was really easy. Will def do this again and pass this link on to friends.
So glad you loved it! The best thing I ever did was buy a Ninja. The food processor attachment ROCKS.
These are my absolute favorite larabars! I’m definitely going to have to try making these.
I just made these and I would definitely say you need to at least DOUBLE the recipe to make 10 bars in the size shown. I counted out the dates and everything.
They are pretty good though.
Help! How do I get rid of the annoying wholenewmom sidebard that’s covering 1/4 of my page? I can’t even see to type this wholw mwaaFW SO there’s probably mistakes. I hate these pop-ups.
Try going on Pinterest. That is where I found this recipe. I did not see the sideboard you mentioned. If you still need the recipe because that didn’t work,here it is: (in my own words):
In your food processor, combine 30 medjool dates until they form a paste. Add in a pinch of salt and 1 1/2 cups raw cashews until cashews are chopped. {This info was not added, but you can add in some dairy free chocolate chips, by hand.} Roll out with the rolling pin and slice. {it doesn’t say where or how to store them.} Good luck. I think these will be good.