These Gluten-Free Vegan No-Bake Caramel Apple Bars are an easy and healthy recipe to make. It's the perfect plant-based no-bake dessert that gives you all the flavors of a caramel apple and can be prepared in about 15 minutes!

Here's Why This Recipe Works

My top 3 favorite reasons:

It's A 3-Layer Vegan And Gluten-Free No-Bake Dessert
Can Be Prepared In About 15 Minutes
Made With Clean, Real Food Ingredients

These Gluten-Free Vegan No-Bake Caramel Apple Bars are super easy to make and need no butter, white sugar, white flour, or eggs.

And best of all...you don't have to bake them!

If you love the taste of a caramel apple but wished you could enjoy it in a bar instead of on a stick, then this recipe is for you!

I adapted it slightly from my Gluten-Free Vegan Flourless No-Bake Peanut Butter Apple Pie Bars recipe, which was mainly centered around peanut butter.

Like my other recipe, this one is also made with three delicious layers:

Bottom Layer - a flourless, vegan shortbread-type crust
Middle Layer - chopped apples and Medjool dates with just the right amount of vanilla bean and cinnamon spices
Top Layer - a nice thick layer of my Vegan Caramel Sauce naturally sweetened with date nectar instead of a measly drizzle of caramel

You can make these in three quick and easy steps and only need a food processor. They can be ready in about 10-15 minutes, then need another 15 minutes or so to allow it to firm in the refrigerator.

My healthy plant-based recipe is made with clean, real food ingredients and is raw, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, lectin-free, egg-free, flourless, grain-free, no-bake, paleo-friendly, contains no refined sugar, and is Medical Medium® compliant.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is This Recipe Healthy?

In my opinion, yes!

Homemade baked versions have the typical S.A.D (Standard American Diet) ingredients like these:

S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) Homemade Caramel Apple Bars Typical Ingredients: ½ cup butter, 1 ½ cups white flour, ⅓ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup white flour
S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) Homemade Caramel Typical Ingredients: 1 cup white sugar, 6 tablespoons butter, ½ cup heavy cream

And, they aren't vegan, gluten-free, paleo and you have to bake them!

Karielyn's Expert Tips + Ingredient Substitutions

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

Apples: I like to use red apples because they are sweeter than green apples, so any variety of red apples will work. You don't need to dice them because they will be added to a food processor, but cutting them into quartered pieces before adding them will help them process easier.

Maple Syrup: Can be substituted with organic date syrup or organic coconut nectar.

Coconut Oil: If you don't like the taste or flavor of coconut oil, you can use organic refined coconut oil which has zero coconut taste or flavor.

Coconut Flour: You will need just a small amount to firm up the crust mixture.

Vanilla Bean Powder: This can be substituted with organic vanilla extract or alcohol-free vanilla extract to keep the recipe 100% Medical Medium® compliant.

Medjool Dates: Make sure they are pitted before adding them to your food processor and process them only long enough to break them down into tiny pieces.

Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice will give you the best flavor and nutrients since it hasn't been pasteurized, but store-bought organic lemon juice can be substituted.

Almond Butter: Almond butter will give the closest flavor to real caramel, but you could try to substitute it with another neutral-flavored nut butter such as cashew butter or sunflower seed butter. However, I can't guarantee the flavor with a substitution.

Himalayan Pink Salt: This is my salt of preference, however, it can always be substituted with sea salt.

Serving Size: This recipe will make approximately (9) squares. Nutritional information is for (1) square which is (1) serving.

Want More Healthy Plant-Based No-Bake Desserts?

Check out these:

Chewy Nut and Seed Bars
Raw Apple Pie Tart
Cinnamon Vanilla Apple Chips
or my CLEAN DESSERTS Cookbook with 72 plant-based vegan no-bake desserts made with clean, real food ingredients just like this one that you will love!