This weekend we were packing to go away to our friend’s place and I almost forgot that I promised I’d bring something sweet for our potluck breakfast.
What’s a girl to do when she only has minutes to spare?
And what the heck do I bring for a potluck breakfast that would last for a 3 hour car trip and overnight?
And also please the non-vegan crowd?
Clearly, vegan overnight oats would have worked (for me!) but I’m not so sure everyone else would be down with my craziness. I wanted to avoid that awkward moment of silence as I try to explain to them why I packed a Tupperware full of mushy oats. No one wants an awkward potluck breakfast. Certainly not me.
So I stuck to my plan and I made something sweet that would be the perfect fit for a breakfast…
5 Ingredient No Bake Vegan Dates Squares!
In a moment of total clarity, I remembered Raw Vegan Date Squares that I spotted from Karen. They seemed like the perfect treat that I could whip up in minutes, no oven required. I was a bit worried that they wouldn’t turn out, but I was soooooo happy with the outcome!
I’m not sure if I will ever go back to ‘normal’ date squares after trying this simple version. I loved them, my friends loved them, and there wasn’t a crumb to be found after breakfast. I’d say they went off pretty well!
5 Ingredient No Bake Vegan Date Squares
Adapted from KB Blissologist.
Crust:
- 1.5 cups whole raw almonds
- 1.5 cups regular oats (for Gluten-free, use GF oats)
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 10 Medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
Date filling:
- 25 Medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped (~2.5 cups)
- 1/2 cup water
Directions:
1. Line a square pan (I used 8in x 8 in) with two pieces of parchment paper going opposite ways. In a food processor, process the almond, salt, and oats until a fine crumble forms. Now add in the dates and process until crumbly again. Melt the coconut oil and add to the mixture and process until sticky. You can add a tiny bit more oil if the dough is too dry. I didn’t need to though! Remove from processor, set aside 3/4 cup of the mixture for later, and press the rest of the mixture very firmly and evenly into the pan.
2. Grab your pitted and roughly chopped dates and water and process in the food processor until a paste forms. You will have to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl often. You can add a tiny bit more water if needed, but you want the paste quite thick. Scoop out the date mixture onto the crust and gently spread with the back of a wet spatula until even.
3. Sprinkle on the 3/4 cup of mixture you set aside and gently press down with fingers. Refrigerate in the fridge until firm for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight. Cut into squares and serve. Store in the fridge or freezer.
I am happy to report that these were enjoyed by all and there were no awkward moments during the potluck. Love that.
Have a great Monday!
Hi Angela!!
These are great! Check out my blog, as I posted this to share as well ;)
Thank-you!!
Those look sooooo yummy can’t wait to try them out!
Yum! I bet these would taste great with pecans instead of almonds too!
Any recommendation on where/a brand of dates that are affordable? The medjool at my local store is about $8 for a pretty small container. Likely not enough for one recipe. Not conducive to sharing :)
I would try buying them from a bulk food store :) I know Bulk barn has them
Hi Angela! How about this April Ontario weather?.. not impressed! These squares look fantastic! I have one question though.. I find whenever I try to process raw almonds in my food proccessor (baby Cuisinart) it takes soo long and I almost catch the thing on fire! Is there anyway to make the almonds more “processable” without taking away from the recipe?
Happy April 1st :)
hmm im not really sure…maybe try chopping them before processing?
Thanks for sharing the recipe, Angela! This is one of my favorite recipes, too. Hey, did you know that I was born and raised in Milton???? xoxoxo kb.
small world :)
WOW! I had a bunch of Deglet Noor dates to use up, and no idea what to do with them. This recipe is a keeper! My husband and hard to please 2-year-old enjoyed these yummy little squares! I used cashews for the crust, because I didn’t have almonds, but it worked just fine. I’m looking forward to trying it with almonds next time. Thanks!
That’s great Mari!
It’s great to find a recipe, and discover that I actually have all the ingredients. I’m making these tonight! Can you tell me what size pan you made these in?
Thanks!
8 inch square pan…enjoy!
Angela – I made these today. I didn’t have enough almonds, so I used cashews as well. They are delicious and my 17 month old son LOVES them. Thank you!
I just made these with figs instead of dates for the filling… they were SO GOOD! thanks for the recipe, I was able to quelch the sweet craving and the Fig Newton craving in one swoop without messing with my Gluten free, Sugar free life!
figs are such a great idea!!!!
These are fantastic, Angela! Thanks for sharing such a simple, delicious recipe. I just bought my FIRST 2 lbs of Medjool dates this weekend, and was longing for an easy yummy way to use them; made these squares last night! Done in 10 minutes- YUM!
I have been making a lot of your wonderful recipes, and have added several of them to SparkRecipes for nutrition info, if you’re interested in knowing or sharing. I track a lot of my food on Spark, so I like to have my favorite snack recipes (a lot of yours!) entered into the database to track. Here’s the link to this recipe with nutrition info:
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1577574&ff=1
Angela:
I made these amazing squares yesterday and can’t even express how amazing they are. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I love your blog and love all the recipes you come up. Thank you.
Abby
Im glad you like them Abby!
Dear Angela,
This is the first time I am posting something on your blog, but I have been an avid follower ever since one of my friends gave me your website.
I made the date squares (among many many other things–all more than successful), and I just want to say THANK YOU for an amazing recipe. Dates are one of my favorite things in desserts (next to chocolate and peanut butter), and I’m so grateful to have a simple, whole-foods dessert or breakfast option that includes them!
I look forward to your blog posts every morning–it’s a great way to start my day on the right mindset, keeping food and exercise as a healthy and positive aspect of my life :) so, thanks, ultimately, for that as well!
-Kaylee
Hey Kaylee! Im so glad you enjoyed them! I think they are one of my favourite treats :) Thanks for your kind words!
We are a nut free home due to allergies, so I whipped these up using raw pumpkin seeds with sweet success! Thanks for the recipe– my kids also have allergies to eggs and dairy so your vegan recipes have been very helpful to me!
I made these last night and they are AMAZING!! They were perfect because I had a friend over who is allergic to dairy, gluten and soy. (I used GF Oats). Anyways, thank you for all of the wonderful healthy recipes!!
These sound fab! I’m definitely going to make them when I next need to take a treat to a party. I usually opt for brownies but I think it’s time for a change – plus my brownies seem to be failing lately, and I can’t work out why :(
These are amazing, and so easy to make. :)
They almost reminded my of a pie. I had to put them back in the refrigerator before I ate the whole pan.
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hi Ang,
I have been reading your blog for a few months and I LOVE IT! I have made at least a couple dozen of your recipes and have fallen in love with each and every one of them! I made these today (put them in muffin tins, which worked perfectly) and they are delish! I am enjoying one as we speak :) Date squares have always been one of my fav. desserts and this recipe is one for the books!! Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Angela! These look amazing and I’m going to make them for a potluck this weekend. I just have one question. It looks like there is 3/4 of the almond/date mixture on the bottom and 1/4 sprinkled on top. Although the recipe says to do the opposite. Which is correct? Thanks so much!
Hey! The directions say to reserve 3/4 cup of the mixture to sprinkle on top. The rest is used for the bottom crust. Hope that helps!
I made these last night and YUM!!!! I couldn’t keep my hands off of them so I ended up bringing them to work to share so I wouldn’t eat the whole pan. Thanks for sharing this super tasty recipe! :)
Glad to hear that Jennifer!
Thanks for this wonderful recipe! I can’t have coconut oil so I subbed it with 1/4 cup pls one tablespoon of unsweetened organic apple sauce. Worked out beautifully and gave just a hint of apple. Certainly making again.
I just made a variation on these bars, based on your original. I used half dates and half shredded carrot in the filling, and 3/4 cup each hemp hearts and almonds with the oats for the crust. Delish!
Ii need to try these bars. They look delicious.
They Look wonderful.
Added lemon juice orange zest to the date purée, and made almond milk first out of the almonds, using the pulp for this recipe. Love using by-products right away! No guilty freezer bag.
Thank you for the recipe!
These are to die for. Try them with cinnamon, lemon, coconut, brazil nuts, sesame seed… the list goes on. Thanks for this great recipe!
HI Angela !
A huge craving for date squares ignited after seeing some in a nearby café, but I remember seeing this recipe on your blog & decided to be patient and make them myself ! They were great and definitely worth the wait. Thank you so much for sharing & keep up the great work :)
So glad to hear that!
Hello Angela,
What a wonderful inspiration you are to so many people. My daughter, Katie and I host a vegan cooking show on one of our local rogers t.v. stations. The show is called, Katie’s Fresh Food Adventures. We would like to ask your permission to use your 5 ingredient date square recipe on our show.
We look forward to hearing back from you!
Sure, that’s no problem. I just ask that you credit my name and website for the recipe. I will have to look your show up!!
Oh, thank you so much! Yes, of course we will make sure to credit your name and website for the recipe! I know the viewers are going to love these date squares!
omg these have so many calories its insane. they look delicious though.. if only
I am lactose intolerant and was looking for a receipe without butter or margarine. Thank you. I have made it a few times and friends have asked for the receipe. I am now going to try put a little ginger in the date filling and see how that works out.
Oh my goodness! These look gorgeous!
How do you make something as simple as a date square look so good?!
I might have to make these right now, as I actually have all the ingredients, which is a rarity when I’m salivating over food blogs! Yum yum…
Loved them!
These look scrumptious
If I make them, I’m going to have trouble not finishing the entire pan hah
I really want to make these for my date-loving boyfriend. I only have a handful of Medjool dates left; do you think that regular packed dates would work?
These look yummy and so easy! I do have one question, for the oats, do you use them raw in the recipe? Would they be ok toasted for the bars?
I haven’t tried it wth toasted oats, but I cant see why it wouldnt work! Let me know if you try it out.
I just made these date squares and how is it even possible they taste soooo delicious? They honestly taste better then the traditional date squares( that have tons of butter and brown sugar) I’m loving these much healthier version! I’m also simmering your roasted tomato, onion and garlic soup right now… And it smells amazing! You truly have a gift and I can’t wait until your cook book comes out!!!!
Holy moly! I just made these with cooked pumpkin + raw avocado as a substitute for the date filling. THEY ARE MAGNIFICENT! I did about a cup or maybe a little more of pumpkin, and one whole ripe avocado. Blend with sweetener (I used a couple Tbsp of date paste, which is what you get when you simmer dates in water for 15min or so) and your favourite spices. The avocado made it light and creamy. Delicious. Thinking of it as an energy bar – now am going for a swim.
I made these today, and they were soo good! I didn’t have a food processor so i just used a blender. I didn’t know if they were going to turn out good because of this but they were wonderful!
I’ve just taken them out of the fridge…and I have to say that these are simply amazing!!! I don’t have more to say! :-)
made these for home and for work and they were gone in a flash! thank you again for yet another delicious whole food tasty good for you sweet treat :)
These seem super delicious but a total of 35 dates? It’s simply too much, isn’t it? I mean, I buy all of my food organic and it would be financial suicide if I made these :D
Hello Angela! Thanks to this post I found one of my favorite desserts of all time. I love your recipe and everyone I feed it to demands the recipe for themselves! It’s a true gem. I am wondering if you know of a way I could make it oil-free? I’m trying to think of other subs, but I’m not sure what would help it to stay together. Maybe omitting some of the dates in the crust and using brown rice syrup for sweetness? Thanks! I would totally appreciate it. I LOVE this recipe and want to make it forever but need to cut back on oil.
I used applesauce & less of the oil & it worked very well.
These are absolutely amazing!
I have never had better date squares in my life.
The ingredients are so pure that I don’t even think twice
when I am eating them.
I’ll never try another recipe. Thank you so much.
I’m so happy to hear that Branka! Enjoy
I made these last night with a few changes. Walnuts instead of almonds (it’s all I had), dried figs for 1/2 of the dates and I used a muffin tin for single portions freezing them for a while to remove. These were the BEST I’ve ever had and date squares are my all time favourite dessert. I’m so excited about these…Thank you!!
Hi everyone! I made these tonight & I had to make slight modifications due to what was available in my kitchen. I used a raw mixed nuts (cashews, almonds, pistachio, hazelnuts & walnuts) mix, regular california dates, and then instead of all coconut oil I used half c.o and half applesauce. And for the final topping I did sprinkle a little brown sugar…it’s chilling now, I’ll update on how they taste…Hope my modifications are ok!
I just made these this morning and they are sinfully good! Yum!
I have made these quite a few times and they are a regular go-to for dessert for my family. For the crust and topping we have found that we like the taste of raw cashews instead of almonds or a combo of half of each. Also, we really like adding raisins into the crust instead of dates and it gives it an added depth of flavor. Thank you so much for such a fantastic recipe and wonderful site to get ideas from!
I made these yesterday and they are THROUGH THE ROOF! So damn good and indulging, I have to pace myself. Thanks for sharing this amazing yesterday. I can’t wait to make them again.
Question: how would you go about replacing the dates for, say, blueberries: would you just process the blueberries on their own, with a mix of some other dry fruit (e.g., cranberries) and not add water?! I’d like to try that… or even apples :) Ohh! I’m too excited I guess
I haven’t tried it myself, but let me know how it turns out if you do!
I would google for blueberry crumb bars…. then just use the ‘blueberry filling’ part of the recipe ;)
Just so you guys know these are amazing with other nuts substituted instead! The first time I made these, I actually only had pecans on hand. I ate them up SO fast, you wouldn’t believe. I just made them again now with sunflower seeds and they are super rich and delicious. I also think they’d be good with different “jams” in the middle – apricot sounds delightful to me :)
These are the bomb! I could live on these, however after I looked up a few facts on the dates I decided against it (kind of high in calories). They are the perfect treat. Thanks for sharing :)