These Vegan Pecan Pie Bars are truly delectable. With a buttery shortbread crust and date pecan filling. This healthier take on a classic dessert will be a hit amongst vegans and non vegans alike!
Pecan Pie Bars have to be one of my all time favorite desserts. Make them Vegan Pecan Pie Bars and I’m here for it! If you’ve never had the pleasure of indulging in one you are surely in for a treat. These boast all the flavor of pecan pie in bar form with a healthier twist.
The buttery shortbread adds that decadence while the date and coconut cream filling evens out the indulgence level. These treats are sinfully tasty yet “healthyish”.
The best part, they only requires 6 ingredients and 35 minutes to make!
Ingredient Notes:
- Flour – Regular All-Purpose works best for this recipe. If you need these gluten-free you can do a 1:1 ratio swap with gluten-free flour.
- Dates – You can buy pitted or unpitted dates. I generally buy pitted as they are a tad cheaper and the pits are easy to remove.
- Pecans – Make sure to go with a raw unsalted unflavored variety. I bought already chopped pecans however, you can buy them whole and chop them yourself.
- Vegan Butter – I like to use Country Crock’s Plant Butter but any brand will work.
- Coconut Cream – Coconut Cream yields the best result however if needed this can be swapped out for whole fat coconut milk (the kind in the can).
- Powdered Sugar – If you would like to make these refined sugar free there is a powdered Monk Fruit sweetener that could likely replace this ingredient. However, I have not tested this myself.
- Salt – I like to use a fine Sea Salt for all of my baked goods.
How To Make:
First Preheat the oven to 350˚F degrees and grease or line a 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper.
In a medium sized bowl add your flour, salt and powdered sugar. Stir until incorporated together.
Cut in your room temperature butter with a fork. It should look crumbly as pictured below.
Press your crust evenly into your pan. You can do so with your hands or use a rubber spatula.
Bake for 10-13 minutes until lightly golden brown.
While your crust is baking make your filling. To a food processor add your dates and coconut cream. Process until smooth and creamy and until there are no longer any thick date chunks.
Add your date mixture to a medium sized bowl and fold in the chopped pecans until well incorporated.
Once your crust is done take your date mixture and evenly spread it on top of your crust.
Place your bars into the oven and bake for an additional 10-13 minutes until the edges are lightly golden brown and the date mixture looks set (no longer wet).
Once cooled take the bars out of the pan and cut them into 9 equal squares. If you are making them for a party you could also cut them into smaller bite sized pieces.
Enjoy!
Tips For Success:
- Use soft fresh dates. If you are buying dates fresh at the store they will likely already be soft. If they are not soft I recommend soaking your dates in warm water for 10 minutes prior to making this recipe.
- Use room temperature butter. You will want your butter to be softened but not melted. If it is too hard it will be more difficult to cut into your flour mixture. If it is melted you wont get that flaky shortbread texture.
- Use an 8 x 8 inch pan. If you plan to double the recipe you could use a 13 x 9 inch pan if not use the appropriate sized pan for this recipe. The crust to filling ratio is perfect and any larger size will not yield the same results.
Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. These can be kept at room temperature or in the refrigerator. You could also freeze your bars. Make sure to keep them airtight in a freezer safe bag.
Other Desserts You May Like:
If you try this recipe make sure to let me know! Leave a comment, rate it and if you take a photo use #feeninforgreens on instagram. I love seeing photos of your recreations!
Vegan Pecan Pie Bars
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 cup pitted dates packed
- ⅔ cup coconut cream
- 1 ¼ cup chopped pecans
Shortbread Crust
- 1 cup flour
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 stick vegan butter (softened to room temperature)
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and lightly grease or line a 8×8 inch square pan with parchment paper.
- To a medium sized bowl add your flour, salt and powdered sugar. Stir until incorporated together.
- Now cut the softened butter into the flour mixture with a fork. The mixture should look crumbly.
- Now press your crust evenly into your prepared pan. I use my hands for this process although you could use a rubber spatula if you wish.
- Place into the oven and allow the crust to bake for 10-13 minutes until very lightly golden brown.
- While your crust is baking make your filling.
- To a food processor add your dates and coconut cream. Process until smooth and creamy and until there are no longer any thick date chunks.
- Add your date mixture to a medium sized bowl. Add your chopped pecans and mix until well incorporated.
- Once your crust is done take your date mixture and evenly spread it on top of your crust.
- Place your bars into the oven and bake for 10-13 minutes until the edges are lightly golden brown and the date mixture looks set (no longer wet).
- Allow the bars to cool completely before handling.
- Once cooled take the bars out of the pan and cut them into 9 equal squares. If making them for a party you could also cut them into smaller more bite sized pieces.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Coconut Cream can vary depending on your can. At times there will be a very thick layer at the top separated leaving a thin liquid below. If this is how your coconut cream is you can simply scoop out the thick layer. If not simply mix the coconut cream together while still in the can before measuring it out.
- Make sure to remove the pits from your dates if you did not buy pitted dates.