Are you looking for a healthy snack that doesn’t taste like, well, a healthy snack? Then these mouthwatering chocolate hazelnut Larabars are a great option for you. These tasty treats have a delicious flavor that is reminiscent of Nutella but they are made without any added sugars or fats. These hazelnut treats are a great option no matter whether you are looking for breakfast bars, dessert bars, or just a healthy snack!
These homemade Larabars are also super easy to make! You just throw the ingredients into a food processor (this is the one we use), lay them out on a tray, and cut them into individual bars. In addition to being tasty, healthy, and easy to make these homemade Larabars are also suitable for people with a wide variety of dietary issues. They are gluten free, vegan, dairy free, egg free, vegetarian, and paleo friendly.
What are the ingredients in Larabars?
What are the ingredients in Larabars? The ingredient lists for homemade and store bought Larabars are very simple. The base of a Larabar is made of dates and chopped nuts in roughly equal proportions. There are generally 2 or 3 different types of nuts used. Additional fruits, nut butters, or flavorings are added to the Larabars depending on the flavor of the bar. In this recipe we use cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and hazelnuts to give our Larabars a flavor that is almost similar to Nutella.
There are no added sugars in my homemade Larabars. Instead, the sweet taste of the bars comes from the dates. The natural fruit sugar of the dates is healthier than many sweeteners.
Are Larabars actually good for you?
Are Larabars actually good for you? Yes, Larabars are good for you. This is true of both homemade Larabars and store bought Larabars. Larabars are made of whole ingredients that are paleo friendly. The base of a Larabar is generally made up of dried fruits and chopped vegetables, both of which are very healthy.
Are Larabars made with raw or roasted nuts?
Should homemade Larabars be made with raw or roasted nuts? You can make these homemade Larabars with either raw nuts or roasted nuts. In general, roasted nuts are going to be a little dryer and have a nuttier flavor and raw nuts are going to be smoother with a more mild flavor. For these chocolate hazelnut Larabars where the hazelnut flavor is the star of the show I tend to use roasted nuts but for other flavors like carrot cake where the nutty flavor is more secondary I tend to use raw nuts.
One more tip to keep in mind is that since you are blending the nuts in a food processor you do not necessarily need to start out from full nuts. I often buy nut pieces to make my Larabars because they are sold for cheaper.
What kind of dates are in homemade Larabars?
What kind of dates are in homemade Larabars? There are a few kinds of dried dates out there that you can choose from but I generally make my homemade Larabars with Medjool dates. If you are buying dates with the intent of making homemade Larabars, I would recommend buying pitted dates. This is especially true if you are making large batches of Larabars
How many dates are in one Larabar?
How many dates are in one Larabar? In general there are 1-2 dates per bar. The exact number of dates in a Larabar depends on whether the dates are the only fruit components in the Larabar or whether there are other fruits or vegetables in the Larabar. For flavors like chocolate hazelnut where the date is the only fruit component, there are closer to 2 dates per bar. For flavors like carrot cake where there shredded carrots and potentially dried pineapple in the Larabars, there is probably closer to one date per Larabar.
Can you freeze homemade Larabars?
Can you freeze homemade Larabars? Yes, you can freeze homemade Larabars. In fact, you can even eat homemade Larabars straight out of the freezer. I generally freeze all of my homemade Larabars right after I eat them. There is not much difference in eating a Larabar out of the refrigerator or out of the freezer so I figure that I might as well freeze the Larabars in case I do not end up finishing them within a few days.
Homemade chocolate hazelnut larabar
Ingredients
- 1 cup hazelnuts
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1 1/4 cup dried dates
- 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp water (as needed to make the dough clump together, add half tbsp at a time)
Instructions
- Put the almonds and hazelnuts in a food processor and pulse a few times.
- Add all of the other ingredients other than the water to the food processor and blend on high for 90 seconds.
- Check the consistency of the larabar mixture. It should start to clump together into a ball. If the consistency of the mixture is still loose start adding water 1/2 a tbsp at a time then blending for 10 seconds. Add up to 2 tbsp water, as much as is necessary to get the mixture to clump together.
- Line a 8 inch x 6 inch food storage container with saran wrap then pour the larabar mixture into the container. Press the mixture down into the container until it is in a compact, flat layer. If you do not have this exact size, any container with similar dimensions will work.
- Put the container with the larabar mixture in the refrigerator and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Use a butter knife to cut the larabar mixture into evenly sized bars. Wrap each individual bar with saran wrap if you plan to store them for a few days or longer so that the bars do not dry out.
Additions for homemade Larabars
If you do not follow a paleo diet, or if you have some chocolate that is paleo friendly you could crush some chocolate and press it into the top of your homemade Larabars. If you do choose to do this, I recommend using dark chocolate for these chocolate hazelnut Larabars.
Other recipes you might like
If you like this recipe then you might be interested in our recipe for no bake Nutella fudge. This is another tasty dessert recipe that is packed with flavors of chocolate and Hazelnut.
If you are looking for another easy, no bake dessert recipe you should check out our chocolate covered Oreo balls. These tasty Oreo balls are made with Glutino brand chocolate cremes cookies so they are completely gluten free.
Used walnuts instead of almonds because that’s what I had, so delicious, will make again!!