Note: Hi, friends! Just a a quick reminder – some of the links on this site are affiliate links, and so I may earn a little cash on qualifying orders. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, and is a nice way to help support this site! I also want to point out that I don’t promote products I haven’t actually tried or products that I don’t trust. 🙂
Looking for a vegan keto dessert? Of course you are! When I first started keto all those years ago, all I wanted was sugar-free dessert things to make myself think I was eating cookies, or brownies or frosting. Now that I’ve been fat adapted for a while, I don’t have dessert cravings that often, but I’m always down for a low carb vegan nanaimo bar!
When I lived in Canada, nanaimo bars were a BIG DEAL. I don’t know whether it’s because I have a ridiculous sweet tooth, or because Canada is just on point with their dessert game, but there’s something magical about these bars. Years later, I still crave those delicious (and sugary) treats, so I decided to create a version that was compliant with a keto and low carb lifestyle, while also being a delicious vegan keto treat for all to enjoy. Huzzah!
You can use Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts or cashews (if you’re less carb-conscious) for the filling. Macadamia nuts are the most delicious, but are pretty cost-prohibitive. I used Brazil nuts for this batch, and they still taste awesome! If you’re making this for a party and are willing to splurge, I would definitely recommend the macadamia nuts, though! They really add a level of richness to this.
Yeah, these guys are basically a fat bomb. A delicious, vegan keto fat bomb. So, without further introduction, I present… low carb vegan nanaimo bars!
Low Carb Vegan Nanaimo Bars
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 cup pecans ground
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup coconut manna/butter
For the Filling
- 1 cup Brazil/Macadamia/Cashew nuts soaked overnight (or for a half hour in super hot water)
- 1/2 cup coconut manna/butter
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 10 drops liquid stevia
For the Glaze
- 1/4 cup unsweetened or stevia sweetened chocolate
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, combine ground pecans, cocoa powder and softened coconut manna/butter. Mix until a dough forms.
- Press crust dough into an 8x8 baking dish.
- Chill crust for about 15 minutes.
- While crust is soaking, toss soaked nuts, coconut manna/butter, coconut oil, vanilla extract and liquid stevia into your blender or food processor and blend. Slowly add in the 1/4 of water and keep blending until the mixture is totally smooth. This took me about 3-5 minutes (with stopping to scrape down the sides).
- Pull crust from the fridge and smooth the filling over top as evenly as possible.
- Return to the fridge for another 45 minutes.
- Make the glaze by melting the chocolate and coconut oil over low heat, stirring well. Pour over the smoothed filling (it helps to smooth it once more once chilled), and swirl the dish until the glaze is evenly distributed.
- Chill for another 15 minutes, slice and enjoy! Store in the fridge.
Hmmmm yes, I really want to make these!
I hope you do! I’d love to hear how they turn out!
Hi Liz, really love your website! Very handy for a newby Ketogeen (already Vegan for few years) making this recipe now 🙂
About the calories per bar.. Calories per serving: 341
It looks like a lot to me, for a low carb bar.. should it be 34.1 or really 341?
Hi Vibien! Thanks so much for the kind words!
Since low carb also usually means high fat, the recipes can be a bit calorie dense. So, 341 is correct. It’s also CRAZY filling, and could easily be cut in half per serving!
Thank you for your quick response Liz.
Now getting bit by bit into the carbs and calories 🙂
Recipe turns out great, with a little bit/or less to my own taste.
🙂 Glad to help!
These look FANTASTIC. I knew the high-carb version as Fudge Meltaways, but I can’t wait to try them!
Thank you Gwyneth!! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
These are awesome!!! Added peel and juice of one lemon in the filling – I am in heaven… Thank you for the recipe.
Thank you for sharing, Minna! I’m so glad you like these – they’re one of my all time favorites! 🙂
These look sooo good. What can I use instead of coconut butter and coconut oil? Thanks
Hi Jade! I think this workaround might do the trick: for the filling, double the nuts instead of adding coconut butter and use an equal amount of melted cocoa butter in place of the coconut oil. For the top, just replace the coconut butter with more melted chocolate. It will be less soft, but still delicious! 🙂
This looks *stupid* yummy. Can I use pecans in the filling instead of the nuts you listed? My naturopath just signed off on me eating pecans after two years of AIP, but pecans only.
Hi!! You can definitely use pecans instead! It’s so exciting that you can integrate pecans now. I bet it’s going to open a whole new world! 🙂
Woohoo!
And… for real! 🙂
Thank you got the reply! I’m super excited to try these!