5-ingredient Healthy Chocolate Orange Date Bars (Nakd Bar Copycat)

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If you’re looking for a guilt-free no bake snack bar that tastes like a treat, you may have found it. Vegan, gluten free, unrefined sugar free (pretty much everything free), these healthy chocolate orange date bars are so easy to make with just 5 raw ingredients.

5-ingredient healthy chocolate orange date bars lined up on baking paper with orange in the background

Love chocolate truffles? This healthy chocolate orange truffle recipe is the delicious ‘sibling’ of these raw orange chocolate bars. They make a great gift!

Why you’ll love them

  • NO refined sugar, chocolate, butter or oil. These yummy raw brownie bars are gluten free, vegan and just pure goodness, really.
  • Just 5 raw ingredients. So quick and easy to make in a food processor. Nothing to cook or bake.
  • Taste like gooey brownies. Honestly. A tastier no bake snack bar you will struggle to find.
  • Make perfect after school snacks, lunch box treats and pick-me-ups on the go.
  • Taste just like Nakd bars! Love them? Me too, but it’s much more economical to make your own raw bars!

About the ingredients

Dates: Packed with fibre, dates are a great natural sweetener. I use pitted dates (you want this to be a quick recipe!). I’ve found some incredible dates locally that honestly taste almost like caramel, so see what you can find. Medjool dates work really well, but any dates are fine. In a pinch, the recipe even works with dried apricots if you’re not a fan of dates!

An orange: You’ll need juice and zest for maximum yummy orange flavour in these incredible orange chocolate bars.

Raw cashews: Use raw unsalted cashews, which you can find in a bulk buy store ven

Raisins, sultanas or prunes: These add extra yummy sweetness to the truffles.

Cacao powder: This is different to cocoa powder. It’s very healthy! You can find it in most good health food stores, and a lot of supermarkets, too. Can you substitute with cocoa powder? Yes, actually, since you only need 2 tablespoons anyway.

How to make them

Step 1: Prepare an 8 x 8 inch baking pan by lining it with baking paper.

Step 2: Pour the juice of half an orange over the dates for a while. This has two purposes – to soften the dates a little and to begin flavouring the truffles with orange.

Step 2: Put the cashews and the rest of the orange juice into the bowl of your food processor (any is fine but I really love this fancy Breville Sous Chef Peel and Dice food processor). Process for about 2 to 3 minutes or until the mixture is all mashed up and forms a ball.

Step 3: Empty the cashew and orange mixture into another bowl.

Step 4: Now add the date and orange juice mixture and the sultanas (or raisins/prunes) to the food processor bowl (no need to clean it first) and process that until you have another sticky ball. This will probably happen faster than the cashew mixture.

Step 5: Now this is the fun part! Mash the two mixtures together in the large bowl with a spatula until you have something that looks like thick chocolate cake batter. Mix in the orange zest and cacao powder too. Mmm! Permission to pinch off bits of the mixture and eat them. Cook’s treat!

collage of 2 photos showing zesting an orange and squishing together the mixture in a bowl to make healthy chocolate orange date bars
collage of 2 images showing squishing together the ingredients for healthy chocolate orange date bars and pressing it into a pan

Step 6: Press the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Smooth right into the corners. Put into the fridge or freezer to harden (at least 30 minutes), then cut into 8 to 10 bars.

5-ingredient healthy chocolate orange date bars stacked up and wrapped in baking paper

More things to know (Recipe FAQ)

What’s the best way to store these date bars?

Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a couple of weeks. Alternatively, keep them in the freezer. They freeze well for up to 3 months. I actually think they taste best straight out of the freezer, since they don’t really taste frozen.

I don’t care for dates. Can I use anything else instead?

You can try dried apricots! The taste will be slightly different, but your bars will still taste very delcious.

What’s a good substitute for cashews?

Try sunflower seeds! They will mash up in a similar way to the cashews. Your bars will still taste very yummy, and sunflower seeds are also very nutritious. Let me know if you give this a try!

My dates are quite hard and dry.

No worries. Just leave them to soak in the orange juice for a little while longer. They’ll be fine.

Looking for a healthy but show stopping dessert? You just have to try this 30-minute healthy chocolate cake, too. It will blow your mind (also makes a great kids’ birthday cake!).

More Easy Healthy Snacks

  • Continuing on with the ‘orange’ theme, you just have to try these dried orange slices. Dip in chocolate for a delicious healthy snack, or give as a classy gift.

Or check out this list of 50+ healthy sweet snacks that don’t taste boring!

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healthy chocolate orange date bars stacked on top of each other on baking paper with others around and an orange in the background.
4 from 1 vote

5-ingredient Healthy Chocolate Orange Date Bars (Nakd Bar Copycat)

Squidgy and super chocolaty healthy chocolate orange date bars. These taste like a gooey brownie, but are actually a healthy blend of just 5 raw ingredients – cashews, dates, sultanas, cocoa and an orange. A snack that you don't need to feel any guilt about.
Prep: 15 minutes
Total: 15 minutes
Servings: 8 -10

Ingredients 
 

  • 1 orange, juiced and zested
  • 6 ounces pitted dates
  • 2/3 cup raw cashew nuts
  • 1/3 cup raisins or sultanas, I used raisins
  • 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder

Instructions 

  • Line a fairly small square baking tin (I had 8×8 inch) with baking paper and set aside.
  • Put the dates in a small bowl and pour half of the orange juice over them. Put aside for a moment.
  • Put the cashews and the rest of the orange juice in your food processor and process until they are all mashed up and clump together in a ball (this took quite a while – at least 2 or 3 minutes).
  • Tip the cashew and orange mixture into a bowl. Then tip the dates/orange juice and sultanas into the food processor and process for a short while until they too are all mashed up and form a sticky ball (this won’t take as long as the cashews).
  • Add the mashed up dates/sultanas to the cashew/orange mixture in the bowl, then add the cacao and orange zest and mash everything together well until it resembles a thick chocolate cake batter.
  • Tip the mixture into the baking tin and spread out and press down until it’s evenly pressed in and smooth.
  • Cover and put in the fridge or freezer to harden a little, then cut into 8 to 10 bars (I cut mine into 8, but that makes fairly large bars).

Notes

Inspired by Nakd chocolate orange bars These store really well in the freezer. Just freeze and take the bars out individually when you want to eat them.

Nutrition

Calories: 147kcal, Carbohydrates: 26g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 5g, Sodium: 3mg, Potassium: 308mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 15g, Vitamin A: 35IU, Vitamin C: 9.1mg, Calcium: 22mg, Iron: 1.3mg
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

About Helen Schofield

Don't expect to find anything fussy or complicated here. Just QUICK, EASY & (mostly!) HEALTHY recipes from the Mediterranean and beyond. ENJOY!

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76 Comments

  1. 4 stars
    Tastes great. I think maybe my orange was too big though as it’s just not firming up. I have added a bit of oats and put in a low oven to see if I can form it up slightly.

    1. Ahhh, maybe, Amy! Also sometimes I put mine in the freezer. They are delicious eaten straight out of the cold!

  2. Hi hope you are well.
    I just made these and while they taste really good and consistency was sticky and looked like yours, they didn’t quite harden up despite keeping the tin in the freezer. Please could you help me understand the issue ? Thank you.

    1. Hi Maithili! Thanks so much for the feedback! Try reducing the amount of orange juice slightly next time and see if that makes a difference. It could be that the orange was particularly big so there was a lot of orange juice, or maybe the dates were softer than average. It’s hard to say for sure but try that and see! Also, I have a very similar recipe on the site but it’s in truffle/ball form. Maybe try that and see if that works out for you better? https://scrummylane.com/5-ingredient-raw-chocolate-orange-truffles/

  3. Yum – this looks like an amazing healthy snack. I love anything with dates!

  4. Where did you get your raw cacao powder from Helen? Neither my big Sainsburys nor big Tescos seemed to have it.

    1. Hi, Mel! I actually got it from a health food shop near our home. Let me know if you can’t find any and I can get you some and send it. These are delicious, by the way. Let me know what you think!

  5. Chocolate + orange is such a great combination. These bars look fudgy and all sorts of delicious. And aren’t food processors magical? Love that you can throw all ingredients in and you’re done!

    Seinfeld is a hilarious show. Love that they tout it’s a show about nothing. Who would’ve though nothing is so funny? 🙂

    1. Haha … I’ve never heard that it’s a show ‘about nothing’ before, but that’s so so true! It’s very light – never really too serious – which is why I like it. So glad you like these lovely fudgey bars … I can’t stop eating them every time I make them!

  6. Only 5 ingredients and healthy too?! These raw bars are definitely a recipe I need to make!

    1. Hi, Thalia! Glad you like them! Try making them into truffles, too … they work really well that way!

  7. I love that you just discovered Seinfeld and that you love it! I always love watching a good Seinfeld re-run on tv! These orange bars look awesome and that is so neat that they are raw! I think we have already had this conversation, but the orange and chocolate combo always makes me think of Christmas time and I love it!

    1. Oh, you can repeat that any time you like, Izzy … I love the orange-choc combo, too! (hence quite a few orange-choc recipes on my blog!) You’re so right that it’s a real Christmasy flavour, too. Now, what else can I make with this flavour combo? 😉

  8. So funny that you’re addicted to Seinfeld! I’m an original fan (from “back in the day”!) And wow – I’m also a fan of these gorgeous chocolate bars, right from my first glimpse! Can’t wait to try them – so easy, so healthy, so (yay!) chocolate-y! Definitely pinning! 😀

    1. Hello, Shelley! So glad you like the sound of these chocolate-y beauties! I’ve been eating them all week so can safely say they are a hit … well, at least in our house. 🙂