These clean eating, energy packed Gluten-Free Vegan Almond Chocolate Energy Bars are not only a nutrient-dense snack, but are made even more irresistible with a thick, healthy chocolate topping and are super easy to make!

Here's Why This Recipe Works

It's Kid-Friendly Recipe
Only Needs a Food Processor to Make
Made with Clean, Real Food Ingredients

It's a simple recipe made with a nut combination of almonds, sunflower seeds and hazelnuts and can be ready in less than 10 minutes.

Most store-bough granola bars are highly processed and can contain lots of unhealthy ingredients like these:

S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) Planter's Big Nut Bars, Chewy Triple Nuts Ingredients:

Ingredients: Peanuts, Corn Syrup, Crisped Rice [Rice Flour, Sugar, Malt Extract, Salt, Caramel Color, Mixed Tocopherols (To Help Protect Flavor)], Peanut Butter (Roasted Ground Peanuts), Evaporated Cane Juice Invert Syrup, Sugar, Whole Grain Rolled Oats, Almonds, Cashews, Contains Less than 1.5% of Whey (from milk), Soy Lecithin, Honey, Vegetable Oil (Peanut and/or Cottonseed Oil), Resistant Corn Dextrins, Granola (Whole Grain Rolled Oats, Brown Sugar, Whole Grain Rolled Wheat, Coconut, Canola Oil, Wheat Bran), Xanthan Gum, TBHQ (Preserves Freshness)

Many of the ingredients are not vegan and contain GMO ingredients (corn syrup, soy lecithin, canola oil), artificial coloring, preservatives and refined salt and sugar.

This healthier version is made with clean, real food ingredients and is raw, vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, no-bake, paleo-friend and contains no refined sugar.

**5 Fast Facts About the Ingredients in This Almond Chocolate Energy Bars Recipe*:**

Almonds:

helps to regulate cholesterol and blood pressure
energy booster
loaded with calcium and fiber
¼ cup contains 8 grams of vegan protein
high in antioxidants

Hazelnuts:

one cup contains 86% RDA of vitamin E
rich in heart healthy unsaturated fats
super high in B-vitamins: B1, B3, B5, B6 and B9
one ounce has 2.7 g of dietary fiber
one serving contains 90% RDA of manganese and 65% RDA of copper

Sunflower Seeds:

rich source of vitamin E
finest source of B complex group vitamins
incredible source of folic acid
rich in magnesium
provides anti-inflammatory benefits

Coconut Oil:

super high in lauric acid
rich in antioxidants
contains natural microbial and anti-bacterial agents
helps to improve metabolism
improves cholesterol levels

Maple Syrup:

contains manganese and zinc
super high in antioxidants
helps with inflammation
¼ cup contains more calcium than the same amount of milk
¼ cup contains more potassium than a banana

Raw Cacao Powder:

contains over 300 compounds including protein, calcium, copper, zinc and iron
super high in antioxidants
promotes cardiovascular health
contains essential fats
can help to decrease blood pressure

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How Can I Make This Recipe Medical Medium® Compliant?

All the ingredients for the bars are Medical Medium® Compliant, so you would only need to omit the chocolate topping to make it 100% Medical Medium® Compliant!

Are these Almond Chocolate Energy Bars Healthy?

In my opinion, yes! Most non-organic store-bought granola bars are made with GMO grains and/or glyphosate, refined sugar and seed oils. This gluten-free vegan version is made with nuts and uses maple sugar as a natural sweetener making it a healthier choice.

Karielyn's Expert Tips and Ingredient Substitutions

Here are some of my expert tips to make this recipe perfectly:

Almond Butter: This would be an excellent recipe to use homemade almond butter made with your Vitamix! Additionally, you could also substitute the almond butter with organic peanut butter or organic sunflower butter.

Nuts: You can use many different variations with this recipe. For example, you could substitute pecans, pumpkins seeds, or walnuts.

Maple Syrup: If you want to reduce the amount of sweetener in the recipe, just use 2 tablespoons of sweetener for the nut mixture instead of 3. For example, I only used 2 tablespoons but if you want a sweeter bar, just increase it to 3 tablespoons. In addition, you can substitute the maple syrup with organic honey or organic date syrup.

Coconut Oil: There are two types of coconut oil - unrefined and refined. If you don't like the taste or smell of coconut, make sure to use refined coconut oil which has zero coconut taste or smell.

Nutrition Tip: If you need to watch the calories and carbs for this recipe, just cut the squares into smaller bite-size pieces to enjoy guilt-free!

Want More Healthy Gluten-Free Vegan Dessert Recipes?

Check out these:

Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies
Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies
Flourless Chocolate Fudge Mint Cookies
or my Clean Eating Cookbook with an entire chapter of 20 healthy, clean eating dessert recipes just like this one that you will love!

Did You Make My Gluten-Free Vegan Almond Chocolate Energy Bars Recipe?

I'd love to hear about it! Please give it a rating and leave a comment below...it would make my day! 🙂