I used to love no-bake peanut butter chocolate bars growing up. I'm a sucker for anything peanut butter and chocolate. Unfortunately peanuts are a legume and not allowed on a paleo diet, and my husband and I both don't tolerate them well, so I switched a few years ago to using sunbutter or almond butter. So instead, I came up with this no-bake sunflower butter crunch bars recipe. These bars are so simple and don't require any baking which I love, well besides the candied pecans which are what give them their crunch.
I wanted sunflower butter chocolate bars that had a crunch similar to puffed rice or puffed quinoa, but grain-free of course, so I quickly mixed up some pecans and maple syrup and baked them until they were crunchy. It's the exact texture I was hoping for! You can use whatever type of chocolate on top that you'd like, but I prefer a dark (80% or higher) chocolate. Look for a bar or chips that are free from soy, dairy and preferably cane sugar. Eating Evolved makes some great ones that are coconut sweetened, but can only be ordered online. My favorite dark chocolate chips are Guittard brand, but they have a slightly lower cacao percentage than I typically prefer.
Sunflower seed butter is made from grinding raw sunflower seeds, just like peanut butter is made. There's quite a few different brands on the market, and some contain sugars or bad oils, so make sure to look for one that is just sunflower seeds and salt. You can also easily make it at home with a little time and a food processor.
These bars can easily be made nut-free so you can send them to school with your little ones. Just omit the candied pecans, and make sure to use chocolate that is nut-free, such as Enjoy Life brand.
Loading...
Elizabeth
Oh my gosh!! I am so excited to try these!!!
Napage
I just made these today!! They are amazing !! i didn’t have sunbutter on me so I used 1/2 Cup almond butter and 1/2 cup cashew butter. Slightly oily when I pressed it down into the pan but helped w spreading the chocolate to all edges 🙂 My only question is when you bake the chopped pecans with maple syrup is it suppose to come out flat and gooey ? I threw it in the batch anyways and it still came out amazing only I’m not biting into that crispy “rice/qinuoa” bite. Could definitely be my change of ingredients! My kids are loving the bars as I write. Thank you so much for your time and effort into creating healthy and beautiful recipes. For sure it is a gift you have ! ❤️
Danielle
Thank you! So glad you liked them and played around. Almond butter tends to be much oilier than sunbutter so that could definitely have been why it was so oily. The pecans and maple should be crispy! You may need to let them cool for a minute after you take them out so the maple hardens.
Joan Beightler
I just bought your 3rd book and can hardly wait until October!!! I am going to make these bars this week! My husband has a sweet tooth so bake a sweet treat weekly. Your fudgy brownies from simple meals was a hit! Thanks again!
Danielle
You’re welcome! Thank you Joan!
Danielle
Any chocolate will work! I prefer 80% or higher cacao content. I’ve used both Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips and Guittard Chocolate Chips.
Danielle
You could try using coconut oil, but the texture won’t be as firm nor will it hold as well at room temperature and it will taste different.
Danielle
You’re welcome!
Danielle
I’ve used both Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips and Guittard Dark Chocolate Chips.
Danielle
You could try using coconut oil but you’ll end up with a different texture and flavor!
Danielle
Cacao Butter and cocoa powder are totally different! Cacao Butter is a pale-yellow, edible vegetable fat extracted from the cocoa bean. Cacao Powder is what’s left over once the cacao butter is extracted from the cacao bean and you end up with a deep and rich brown power. Does that make sense? Your best bet as a sub would be coconut oil although you’ll end up with a much different flavor and texture.
Jacqui Tol
i’d also be interested in the carb content as I’d like to use these as fuel when running 🙂
Danielle
You could enter the info in on an online nutritional calculator or My Fitness Pal!
Kelly Loberg
Can I use sugar free syrup?
Danielle
You could!
KE
Hi Danielle, these look amazing but I am on GAPS. So I’m wondering if I could sub honey for the maple syrup and if there’s anything I could sub for the arrowroot. Would love to try these. Thanks so much!
Danielle
You could definitely sub honey for the maple syrup but unfortunately the only other subs for arrowroot would be other starches.
KE
Thank you! I might just deal with the arrowroot. I used it in your wraps and did ok — I’m 2 years into GAPS/SCD. I love your Meals Made Simple cookbook! Use it all the time. Thank you!
Cherie Monahan
Awesome recipe! Do you think these would freeze well?
Danielle
Totally!
Danielle
Thanks for sharing Daisy!
Harriet Phillips
Dear Danielle, I am completely inspired by your story and your recipes which have been a great source of inspiration in the UK for my son who follows the SCD protocol in a bid to heal a leaky gut! I appreciate that you do not have time to try a million and one substitutes in your recipes but I wondered if you have any idea or inkling whether sweet potato starch might work as a substitute for arrowroot starch in your recipes? My son can not tolerate tapioca or arrowroot… I will give it a go in the meantime with this recipe and let you know how I get on! Thank you again for all your help we are very grateful.
Danielle
I haven’t personally tested them, but that should be an okay sub!
Harriet Phillips
Just to let you know I ended up substituting the arrowroot with lucuma powder and throwing in a couple of dates and they are totally awesome thank you!!
Jen
I bought it on Amazon. Plenty for a number of recipes.
KE
These are so great! I am making them tonight for the 5th time! I don’t see where I can rate them but would give them 5 stars if I could. My kids love them, too.
Danielle
Thank you! I’m so glad you like them!
rimajo
Wondering if it’s possible to substitute with sunflower seeds, or pumpkin seeds. Might be worth a try!
A L
This looks yummy. Wonder if we had the same childhood recipe? Giving it a try. I am wondering where you get palm shorening. The only one I found was red and it had an unpleasant after taste. Would only use it in savory dishes now. Can you use lard? I know this recipe doesn’t call for it, but I have one of your cookbooks and notice you use it a lot. Thanks. Love the waffles. Don’t know why I never signed up before.
Danielle
I get my palm shortening from a company called Tropical Traditions (https://www.tropicaltraditions.com/traditional-food/traditional-oils/palm-shortening.html) but you can usually find it at Whole Foods as well. It sounds like you got a brand that contains red palm oil, which is not the same thing. I would suggest getting a brand like Tropical Traditions, or Spectrum. Spectrum says “All Vegetable Shortening” on the front, but if you check the ingredients, it’s 100% palm shortening. https://amzn.to/2eIr3gQ
Alison Foster Davis
I don’t see where this recipe calls for palm shortening. Am I missing something? Hoping to make these soon and don’t want to mess them up 🙂 Thanks!
Danielle
Hi Alison-
This recipe does not call for palm shortening 🙂 She was just asking about palm shortening in general as I use it in many recipes!
Amanda
Hi Danielle, Do you know if Tropical Traditions contributes to rain forest deforestation? With as many followers as you have, it would be worth looking into before endorsing a product.
Danielle
They are a very eco conscious and sustainable company, you can read about their practices on their website.
Laura Dowgin
Do you have nutritional information for your blog recipes? I am looking for a child with juvenile diabetes so we need to count carbs and sugar.
Danielle
Hi! Laura
I do not have the information for my blog recipes.. Until then, feel free to plug in my recipes into a free online nutritional calcuator such as nutritiondata.self.com or check out my recipes that others have already plugged in at https://www.myfitnesspal.com/en/nutrition-facts-calories/against-all-grain
Danielle
You are so welcome!
Rebecca Linkletter
I am currently following a low FODMAP diet and cannot have coconut flour. Is there any other flour I could use to substitute. I have been cooking with your recipes for years and always used coconut flour. It is only recently that I started following a low FODMAP diet and I am missing many of your recipes that use coconut flour!
Beverly Hansen OMalley
I use a gluten free flour mix instead of the coconut flour and they turn out excellent. I also use butter instead of the coconut oil.
Kristin Cha
I do not mean to sound petty, but you should really change the name to quick bake bars. There is still 15 min of baking involved in this. What led you to name it that? A bit misleading. On a good note, these came out fantastic:) thanks!
June
There is no baking. You are making candied dry pecans (roasting them) in oven to add to the bars. They will melt if you bake them.
Lori Geurin
Yummy! These look so delicious and I can’t wait to make them for my family. For years I’ve made the peanut butter bars-graham cracker bars with the chocolate topping like the lunch ladies used to serve. But they’re full of sugar and gluten, things I need to stay away from. These look like a superior alternative. 😉
Danielle
Hope you enjoy them!
Lori Geurin
Thanks, Danielle! I’m sure we will!
Lori Geurin
Thanks, Danielle!
Lori Geurin
Thanks, Danielle. I love your site, by the way!
Danielle
Samantha, good question. You only need the oven to make the candied pecans, not the bars themselves!
Maddy
With this recipe is there anyway I can use almond butter instead and if so how would I do that ?
Gia Almassi
These are so delish- I have made them a few times already. Was wondering if they freeze well?
Danielle
I think they’d freeze well! We always eat them to fast to try though!
KE
They do freeze well. I usually double the recipe and freeze a bunch.
Jenny O'Connell
These looks really good! I try to follow a low carb diet and I know arrow root starch is very high in carbs. Is there a substitute for this or do you think they might be okay without the starch? Does the starch give the “chewy” (soft but not too soft) that one might expect?
Danielle
You can try and sub with coconut flour, just use half the amount the recipe calls for with the arrowroot. The texture will definitely change, it might be a little more dense but it should work.
Sarah Hunt
Could I use peanut butter or almond butter for this, or would you recommend staying with the sunflower butter?
Andrea Lautzenheiser
Can I use coconut butter in place if cacao butter?
pamela strong
Is the chocolate unsweetened? Or chocolate chips?
Kelly Parmelee
Has anyone tried substituting Tapioca Flour for the Arrowroot Powder? I don’t usually have that much Arrowroot on hand…
quinoa con chocolate
El postre es un aperitivo que se disfruta después de la comida principal, es de sabor agradable y es un complemento perfecto para nuestra alimentación diaria.
Aubrey Stephenson
wow! I made these last night for my family and everyone was highly impressed! A new favorite in our home, thank you
Danielle
You’re so welcome!
jennifer J.
I have a nut allergy to quite a few treenuts what could I use in place of the Pecans to give it the crunch?
Danielle
You can use sesame seeds!