Make my gluten-free and vegan Pecan Pie Bars, then sit back and watch them vanish. But don’t forget to eat one first!
The long Thanksgiving weekend has dissolved into thin air, and I’ve got the back-to-work blues. Except, I have these scrumptious gluten-free and vegan Pecan Bars to make life more bearable. A lot more bearable.
In case you haven’t noticed — or made some of my seriously delicious 20-minute Almond Shortbread Cookies or my White Chocolate Skillet Cookie — I have become hopelessly addicted to gluten-free baking, especially cookies. And I am not the only one. Both Desi and Jay have been demanding more of my gf treats. In fact, Jay just finished begging — successfully — for his third vegan Pecan Pie Bar today.
“I could eat a hundred more,” he declared.
They just are that good.
Besides these vegan Pecan Pie Bars have all this going for them:
- They are ridiculously easy to make. Honestly, it’s child’s play.
- They are naturally sweetened with maple syrup and turbinado, and there’s barely any added fat, so they’re kinda sorta healthy-ish?
- In fact, each has only 101 calories!
- They come together in just minutes, with the food processor doing most of your work for you.
- They have an incredible, addictive texture. The caramel is gooey, the pecans are crunchy, and the almond crust is melt-in-your-mouth delicious
- They are gluten-free, vegan, grain-free and soy-free!
You don’t really need much to pull them off either. There are 10 ingredients in these cookies, minus the salt, and I bet you have most of them hanging around your pantry if you bake gluten-free even occasionally.
Here are the ingredients you need to make these vegan and gf pecan pie bars:
- Superfine Almond flour
- Turbinado sugar
- Maple syrup
- Vegan butter (just 2 tbsp)
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Cornstarch
- Pecans
- Nondairy milk
- Vanilla extract
Here are some tips to help you get the perfect vegan Pecan Pie bars:
- Make these bars at least a few hours in advance of whatever time you’re planning to serve it, to give the topping some time to firm up and cool in the refrigerator before you take a knife to it.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper. Any time there’s caramel involved, it’s just a good idea to add some insurance in the form of parchment paper to make sure you — or your cookies — won’t get stuck.
- If you don’t have maple syrup, or don’t want to use it, use more turbinado sugar or vegan cane sugar instead.
- You can vary your nutty topping. If you want to use cashews or walnuts instead of pecans– what’s stopping you? You could even use peanuts.
- Update: When I first posted this recipe, I recommended no oil in the crust, but some people found that this results in a dry crust. I’ve since updated the recipe to add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil to the crust dough.
One more thing. Each batch makes 16 vegan Pecan Pie bars, which turned out to be highly inadequate in our home, so you might want to double up on the recipe. Just sayin’.
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Looking for more vegan desserts?
Vegan Brownies, no oil and wholegrain
Whole Wheat Chocolate Chunk Bars
Vegan Coconut Almond Macaroons (gluten-free)
Chocolate Strawberry Shortbread Bars
Vegan Shortbread Cookies
Vegan Orange Almond Biscotti
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GF and Vegan Pecan Pie Bars
Ingredients
For the gf cookie base:
- 1 1/2 cups superfine almond flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp cornstarch (can sub with rice flour)
- 1/2 cup sugar (Use an equal amount of maple syrup as a substitute. For a paleo-friendly bar, use coconut sugar or coconut palm syrup)
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
For the pecan topping:
- 1 cup pecans (coarsely chopped)
- 4 tbsp vegan butter
- 1 tbsp nondairy milk (I used almond)
- 1/2 cup turbinado sugar (vegan cane sugar is a good substitute)
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare an 8 X 8 baking pan by lining with parchment paper.
- Place all of the ingredients for the cookie base or crust in a food processor and pulse a few times until the dough comes together. Press the dough into the prepared baking pan using your fingers, until you have an even layer. It can be a little annoying to work with the parchment paper sliding under your fingers, but you'll get there. Don't worry if the top isn't perfectly smooth-- you'll be pouring the topping over it.
- Place the baking pan in the oven and bake the crust for 15 minutes.
- While the crust is baking, make the topping by placing all ingredients except the pecans in a saucepan. Stir to help the sugar melt. Let the mixture reach a boil, continue to let it boil for a minute, then turn off the heat and add the pecans.
- Pour the pecan topping evenly over the baked crust and return to the oven for 15 more minutes.
- Remove the baking pan and cool it thoroughly on a rack. You can cut the bars at this point, or transfer the baking pan to a refrigerator and let it cool for at least a couple of hours before cutting.
Nutrition
Vaishali, thank you so much for the abundance of gluten free and easily adaptable recipes! Sometimes it can be so difficult to have a food allergy while also trying to be vegan; it seems that the world tries to dictate either/or- not both. I am loving all your delicious treats!
Hi Maria, so happy to hear that. In case it’s helpful, you can find all of my gf vegan recipes here, https://holycowvegan.net/gluten-free-recipes/
Pecan pie was one of the few things my Alabama Mama could cook successfully. Always with good ole Karo (light) corn syrup. It’s not the high fructose we are warned against. So I would prefer using it in this recipe. Any reason not to?
Hi Ruchama, some think it unhealthy, but if you want to use it, just switch out the maple syrup for the light corn. I am not a stickler, or I could never eat half the things I do! 🙂 Moderation is the best approach, as always.
Except corn is generally genetically modified. It is much more refined than say maple syrup is.
Is there no butter or other fat used in the crust? I didn’t see any ingredients that would bind the dry ingredients together, since there is only 1 tsp of vanilla. This does look like a recipe I want to make!
Hi Gayle, no need for butter in the crust. And the maple syrup helps bind the ingredients. If you don’t use maple syrup and only sugar your dough may be a bit crumbly but the sugar will melt while baking and hold the crust together. You can add a tablespoon of applesauce too.
How much maple syrup for the crust? Your recipe does not include it, but you keep mentioning it in the comments.
The same amount as the sugar– see the ingredients list.
Just wondering if you could use grams rather than cup measures for those of us outside the US….love your recipes… Thanks
Hi Meg, I am looking into adding something that should help convert. Stay tuned! 🙂
Easy recipes are my favorite recipes! I know my wife would love this recipe too, thank you!
Thanks, Bryan!
These are finished. Did them last night. I’m not a baker so will try again soon with these. I must have overbooked. They are sugary texture. Do I keep them refrigerated or can I keep them in the counter?
You should add the maple syrup part for the crust to the recipe.
Can I use applesauce in the pecan topping instead of the vegan butter?
It won’t set as well, I would guess.
I do not have a food processor. Can I use my kitchenaid mixer instead?
Yes go for it!
Hi Vaishali,
If I want to replace the almond flour – what can I replace with? Oat flour and some vegan butter?
I think that would work but can’t say for sure. If you try, let me know how it works out!
What are the calories per serving for this recipe?
Vaishali: excelente la receta de pecan pie bars. Deliciosos y muy nutritivos. GRACIAS POR LA RECETA.
PABLO
Recipe looks easy to make it but the crust is falling apart. Reading previous comments I have added maple syrup instead turbinado sugar and it didn’t help to stick all the ingredients for crust.
Superfine almond flour should hold with maple syrup. Is that what you’re using — a grainier flour will fall apart.
these were out of this world! I am learning to eat better (pecan pie was one of my old favorites) and I have friends that are GF and vegan and this was such a treat for everyone…a big hit. I had one problem and not sure why, at room temp they started “melting” and falling apart. What did I do wrong?
Hi Vaishali, My crust also was just dry & crumbles, (and I used superfine almond flour with maple syrup), otherwise the recipe was extremely tasty & easy to make. I will definitely make them again, but will use some vegan butter in the crust to moisturize/bind it. I’ll let you know what happens when I do! I’m a chocoholic, so added mini vegan chocolate chips on top. Really yummy. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Kim, yes, go ahead and add the vegan butter the next time, or you can use vegetable oil. I’ve also updated the recipe. Thanks for the feedback.
I refrigerated these. Cut them up. Can I leave them unrefrigerated now?
Please add the maple syrup amount to the recipe. It got missed by accident when it was typed up.
I think I must have boiled too long. It’s very sugary or maybe because of the type of course sugar?
This was fun. Thanks. I’m not a baker. Just trying!
Hi Anna, you can remove them from the refrigerator for about 30 minutes or so before eating. Amount of maple syrup is the same as the amount of sugar, since you’ll be using one or the other. I’ll clarify.
I’ve been gluten free since July of 2018, and this is by far the best dessert recipe I’ve found. I used corn syrup instead of maple syrup. But everything else was the same. The only problem I had was the bars getting stuck together when I stacked them on top of each other. Thanks so much!!
I’ve been gluten free since July of 2018, and this is by far the best dessert recipe I’ve found. I used corn syrup instead of maple syrup. But everything else was the same. The only problem I had was the bars getting stuck together when I stacked them on top of each other. Thanks so much!! I’ll definitely try more of your recipes!
I am a vegan and love baking! I have made this 5 times over the last month. It was a lovely Christmas gift to pass to friends. My little one (4yr okd) loves to help make it cos it’s so easy! Definitely a keeper and will be making it many more times! Thanks !