Vegan Almond Joy Bars

Vegan Almond Joy Bars

Sharing is caring!

I’ve been doing some group food events the last two months and while I enjoy trying new products and collaborating with fellow bloggers, it’s definitely time consuming and challenging! Especially when you’re given products that you normally wouldn’t eat. I’m kind of glad that both events are over and I’m taking time off from any other event through the summer. Focusing on the core of what Frugal & Fit is all about is going to be my new goal for the next few months!

So, let’s get back to the truly Paleo recipes, shall we? I brought in these Vegan Almond Joy Bars to work a couple of weeks ago. They all went nuts over them! We have a work study who’s vegetarian and he was so excited to try a dessert with no animal products in it! I had brought in homemade rice krispie treats earlier in the month and he couldn’t eat them. Marshmallows have gelatin in them, an animal product, so they weren’t vegetarian. 

Vegan Almond Joy Bars

Vegan (and Paleo!) Almond Joy Bars

These vegan almond joy bars are a great summer dessert idea because they’re no bake! Completely raw, they’re also Paleo friendly! With three scrumptious layers, I know they’ll quickly become a favorite in no time. Because they’re raw though, you can’t store them on the counter. They need to be stored in the refrigerator until you want to eat them or they start to melt.  I left them out for a few hours and came back to them spreading across my serving dish! LOL.

I ended up drizzling melted Enjoy Life chocolate chips over the top of these but if you would prefer, you could cut these into bars and dip each one into chocolate. That would make them look a little more like a traditional Almond Joy bar! That sounded like way too much work for me (I also don’t think I had enough chocolate on hand!). It would be a fun alternative if you had the time and patience, though! 

Vegan Almond Joy Bars

Ingredients

  • 1 cup almond butter
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2/3 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp salt

For the coconut layer

  • 2 cups unsweetened dried coconut
  • 2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
  • 2/3 cup coconut butter
  • 1 tsp almond extract

Top Layer

  • 1/2 cup almonds finely chopped
  • 1 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips melted

Instructions

  1. Spray a 9x9 square cake pan with coconut cooking spray.

  2. In a mixing bowl, stir almond butter, cocoa powder, coconut oil, vanilla, and salt together. Press into the bottom of the cake pan and place in freezer for 15-20 minutes while you make the next layer.

  3. In a food processor, combine coconut, honey, coconut butter, and almond extract together. Pulse a few times to combine. Layer on top of almond butter layer.

  4. Chop almonds finely and melt chocolate. Sprinkle almonds on top of coconut layer. Drizzle with chocolate. Put back in refrigerator to harden.

  5. Cut into 2 inch squares and serve. Any leftovers? Place back in frig until ready to eat.

Need more dessert inspiration besides these Vegan Almond Joy Bars? How about Flourless Trail Mix cookies or Paleo Chocolate Cinnamon Scones