5-ingredient Healthy Chocolate Orange Date Bars (Nakd Bar Copycat)
on Aug 18, 2021, Updated Jul 25, 2024
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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.
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 8×8 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. 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!
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.
More things to know (Recipe FAQ)
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.
You can try dried apricots! The taste will be slightly different, but your bars will still taste very delcious.
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!
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!).
A few more easy, healthy snacks
These 5-ingredient healthy chocolate orange truffles are like the little sibling to these bars! They’re perfect little energy bites, and also make a great gift.
5-ingredient Healthy Chocolate Orange Date Bars (Nakd Bar Copycat)
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).
can you use cocoa or does it have to be raw cacao?
Hello Katrina! Regular cocoa is absolutely fine. I was just thinking ‘super healthy’ when I first wrote this recipe 😉 Enjoy!
How do they keep there shape?
Dehydator?
They’re gooey enough to hold together well, but I usually keep them in the fridge or even the freezer for the best texture. I hope you give them a try!
These are amazing! The orange flavor is incredible. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe!
Hello Jessica! I’m very happy to hear that you liked these so much. They’re fantastic to have in the freezer, I find! 🙂