Raw Chocolate Mint Date & Nut Bars. Sugar-, Oil-, & Gluten-Free.

Raw Chocolate Mint Nut & Date Bars by Unrefined Vegan

Raw Chocolate Mint Nut & Date Bars by Unrefined Vegan

2020 RECIPE & PHOTO UPDATE.

Among the many fun things about receiving a Vegan Cuts Snack Box each month is that it’s a treasure trove of inspiration. A lot of the goodies inside are not readily available to me if I want repeat snacking, so if I like something, I try to recreate my own version.

One such treat, an Earnest Eats Dark Choco Mint bar, was tucked inside the June box. Theirs is a baked bar packed with nuts, chocolate, and mint, but also contains brown rice syrup and cane syrup. The flavor was fantastic with a nice hit of real mint and a subtle chocolate taste, but I wasn’t thrilled about the sugar content. In recreating their bar, I decided to go raw and to bump up the mint flavor with a small amount of alcohol-free extract alongside a handful of fresh mint straight from the garden. Dates give these bars their sweetness. I also use a nut flour instead of going 100% whole nuts. This lightens the load on my food processor and helps the bars come together quickly.

A word of caution: these are not light in calories!

Recipe note: Instead of using a 9-inch x 9-inch pan, try making them in a silicone mold like this one as I did for these photos.

 

Raw Chocolate Mint Nut & Date Bars by Unrefined Vegan

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Raw Chocolate Mint Nut & Date Bars by Unrefined Vegan

Raw Chocolate Mint Date & Nut Bars

  • Author: Annie
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 9 Bars 1x
  • Category: Snack
  • Cuisine: Raw
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Description

Great for breakfast-on-the-go, a mid-hike energy boost, or as a post-workout snack, these raw Double Chocolate Mint Bars are sugar-, oil-, and gluten-free. But they aren’t calorie-free! Go easy on these bad boys!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 1/2 cups pitted & chopped dates
  • generous 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
  • 1/3 cup nut butter, creamy or crunchy
  • 1 1/2 cups nut flour blend (I use Nature’s Earthly Choice Almond, Coconut, Pecan & Walnut Blend)
  • 3 Tbsp. cacao powder
  • 1/4 cup whole raw almonds
  • 1/4 cup raw pecan halves
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 tsp. pure peppermint oil
  • 1/4 cup cacao nibs

Instructions

  1. Line a 9-inch x 9-inch pan with parchment. Or use a silicone mold like this one.
  2. In the bowl of a food processor, grind the dates, mint leaves, and nut butter until finely chopped.
  3. Add the nut flour and cacao powder and process again. The mixture will be dry and crumbly at this stage.
  4. Now add the whole nuts and water and pulse to break down the nuts. You want to be able to see bits and pieces of nuts. Add the cacao nibs and pulse just enough times to incorporate them into the mix.
  5. If you are using silicone molds as I did, put the date mixture into a bowl to make it easier to work with. Divide the mixture between 9 molds and using wet fingers, press mixture into the molds. Place in the refrigerator for a few hours to set and the flavors meld. Gently remove the bars from the molds and store in an air-tight container.
  6. If you’re using a pan, dump the mixture straight from the food processor bowl into the pan. Using wet fingers, press the mixture firmly into the pan. Place in the refrigerator for a few hours to set and the flavors meld. Slice and store in an airtight container.

Notes

If you can’t find a nut flour blend, use your favorite nut flour instead.

Keywords: raw, chocolate, mint, gluten-free, sugar-free, oil-free, dessert, snacking, raw bars, cacao

Raw Chocolate Mint Nut & Date Bars by Unrefined Vegan

Raw Chocolate Mint Nut & Date Bars by Unrefined Vegan

Raw Chocolate Mint Nut & Date Bars by Unrefined Vegan

 

 

 

 

 

37 thoughts on “Raw Chocolate Mint Date & Nut Bars. Sugar-, Oil-, & Gluten-Free.

  1. Shira

    These sound so fresh & beautiful Annie! I am already scheming about how I could make these sans food processor 🙂 I am all for the bumped up mint!

    Reply
  2. Pingback: Raw Double Chocolate Mint Bars. Sugar-, Oil-, & Gluten-Free. | Vegan Today

  3. Ally

    Yum! Chocolate and mint is a great combo. I am thrilled that I have all of those ingredients on hand! I know what I’m making tomorrow. 🙂

    Reply
  4. tearoomdelights

    What’s natural nut butter, is that made from a mixture of different nuts? I like the fact that these have fresh mint leaves in them, I would never have thought of putting mint leaves into something of this sort. It looks very interesting, not to say tasty and delicious!

    Reply
  5. veedine10

    These look fantastic! I am considering trying them out, but without the mint (sadly I have never been the biggest fan of mint). Do you think normal cocoa powder would work as well though? I do not have any raw cacao powder on hand and it isn’t that easy to source it in my town.

    Reply
  6. Sophie33

    Waw, we get that tasty lovely bar recipe! Yippieeeeeee! I am so happy now! You are so right! I know that your home-made raw oat-date-nut bars are going to be way more tasty & fabuliscious too! I happento have all the ingredients in the house so I will make these beauties tomorrow! 🙂 yeah! xxx

    Reply
  7. celestedimilla

    I would never have thought of putting fresh mint in a chocolate bar – how interesting! These are so healthy Annie, but they look delicious too. Thanks for this creation! Celeste 🙂

    Reply
  8. RG

    Every vegan friend I know has subscribed to Vegan Cuts, perhaps that’s a good sign it’s a good deal to try. Plus, like you, I also love getting inspired and recreating dishes and treats… Ok ok you convinced me 😉

    Reply
  9. heathergfc

    Oooh, this sounds so yummy! Double chocolate was enough, but adding mint? Divine! Thanks for sharing this at Raw Foods Thursdays. Pinning this!

    Reply
  10. gfhomemaker

    I especially love the use of mint in this recipe. I’m sure I would love these bars! Thanks for sharing at Raw Foods Thursdays.

    Reply
  11. Bobbi

    I wanted to tell you that these have become part of our life sans mint. Just a couple changes. The 2nd time I made these I had half the dates so I used small black figs to make up the difference. Then the person I was making them 4 didn’t care 4the mint so I skipped that & upped the cacao powder to 4 T. They are now the family snack! We keep them in the freezer. Really good. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
    1. An Unrefined Vegan

      Oh wow! I’m so happy to hear that you like these and that they’ve become a part of your life ;-)! I think it’s great that you put your own personal touch on them, too – it’s what cooking and eating are all about. I really appreciate you letting me know, too!

      Reply
  12. Pingback: Mint Gone Wild: Cocoa-Coconut-Mint Smoothie | anunrefinedvegan

      1. An Unrefined Vegan

        Good catch, Sarah – and sorry for the omission. I’ll get the recipe fixed up. Both the 1 cup of soaked oats and the 1 cup of dry oats should get mixed in with the date mixture and the remaining ingredients. Apologies for that error. Amazing how I can read something over and over again and not see the mistake!

  13. Pingback: An Unrefined Vegan | Cocoa-Coconut-Mint Smoothie—ReciPress

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.