When I wrote this post yesterday afternoon I was sitting at my desk with a mini fan blasting ten inches from my face. My wrist rested on a frozen gel-pack and my hair was a lovely style of poof. Please remind me not to bother blow drying my hair when it’s this humid out. We always get a few hot days in September, but 36 Celsius with a humidity of 44C is a bit much. As much as I don’t want the colder weather to arrive, this heat wave makes me slightly happy fall is approaching. Bring on the boots, jeans, and crunchy leaves. Just don’t bring the snow, wind chill, and black ice, mmm kay?
All I could think about was making something cold and refreshing yesterday. Smoothies, fruit, salads, and no bake snacks are the perfect heat wave foods. I figure if I’m sticking my head in the freezer, I might as well be eating something from the freezer at the same time! I’ve always been good at multitasking.
This simple, cool-you-down snack is my take on the ever popular Elvis Pie. Apparently, Elvis used to enjoy banana and peanut butter sandwiches (sometimes with bacon as well). Instead of using peanut butter, I made this a banana and almond butter combo complete with a delicious almond-based crust. The bacon is replaced by chocolate, of course.
Photographing this frozen treat in 36C, standing beside huge windows with the sun beaming in on me was not very fun. Total hot flash moment. After each shot, I had to race the squares back to the freezer because they melted in seconds. Needless to say, I demolished a row of squares immediately after the shoot to avoid heat exhaustion. Or at least that’s what I told myself.
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No Bake Elvis Bars
Yield
16 small squares
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Chill time
1-1.5 hours
Total time
A quick and easy, minimally sweetened frozen dessert square inspired by the popular Elvis Pie. My version uses almond butter instead of peanut butter and replaces the bacon for chocolate. Be sure to enjoy these straight out of the freezer as they melt really fast!
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1.5 cup whole almonds
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons coconut nectar syrup (see note)
- 1 tablespoon almond butter or peanut butter
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of fine grain sea salt, to taste
For the middle layer:
- 2 medium ripe bananas, peeled
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, softened slightly
- 2 tablespoons almond butter or peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch of fine grain sea salt, to taste
For the chocolate drizzle:
- 3 tablespoons mini dark chocolate chips
- 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
Directions
- Line an 8-inch square pan with two pieces of parchment paper, one going each way. This makes it easy to lift out the bars later on.
- For the crust: Add the almonds into a food processor and process until a fine crumb forms, slightly larger than sand. Now add in the rest of the crust ingredients and process until the mixture comes together, scraping the side of the bowl as needed. The mixture should be a slightly tacky and should stick together when pressed with your fingers. If it's not, add a very small splash of water and process again for a few seconds.
- Dump the crust mixture into the prepared pan. Smooth out evenly and then press down firmly and evenly into the pan. You can lightly wet your fingers if the crust sticks to them. Use a pastry roller to roll it very smooth, compacting it as much as possible. Place in freezer while you prepare the middle layer.
- Middle layer: Give the processor bowl a quick rinse. Add all the middle layer ingredients into the processor and process until smooth. Remove the crust from the freezer and pour the middle layer on top. Smooth out. Return to the freezer for at least 1-1.5 hours to set, until the middle layer is very firm to the touch.
- Chocolate drizzle: When the middle layer is completely solid, prepare the topping. In a small pot heat the chocolate and coconut oil on the lowest heat, stirring to combine. When half of the chips have melted, remove the pot from the heat and stir until completely melted. Remove the bars from the freezer. Lift slab out of the pan and slice into squares. Spread out the squares on a plate lined with parchment paper. Drizzle on the melted chocolate and return bars to the freezer until the chocolate is firm and the bars are solid.
- Enjoy these bars frozen, straight from the freezer. They melt very quickly so I don't suggest leaving them out for more than a couple minutes. Wrap leftovers and store in the freezer.
Tip:
1) Brown rice syrup will work instead of coconut nectar. I haven't tried any other liquid sweeteners yet, but I assume maple syrup or honey (if you eat it) would work too, although the crust might not stick together as much since coconut nectar is so thick. 2) There is no substitute for the coconut oil that I know of. It solidifies when freezing helping to make the bars very firm.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Made these tonight and they are outstanding!
I used Palm Oil as a substitute for Coconut Oil. It has a slightly more pungent flavor, but it thickens well. I also used dates in the crust in place of coconut oil.
Just made some of these. Yet to try the finished result (currently in the freezer) but got my 2 year old approval as she devoured the left overs in the bowl
These were incredibly easy to make and came out delicious. I followed the recipe to the tee using peanut butter and everybody loved them. Thanks for sharing :)
Hi Angela!
Would applesauce work as a banana sub? Im allergic to naners- total bummer!
Hey Lauren,
I’m not sure applesauce has the creaminess that’s needed for these bars. Maybe if you mixed it with more nut butter? I’m really not sure!
Just made these tonight – these will certainly be made again!
I didn’t have enough almonds so I used about 1 cup of almonds and substituted the rest with cashew nuts, and also increased the cinnamon to a full teaspoon (because I’m slightly addicted to cinnamon!) but apart from that I followed the recipe to the dot and the end result is delicious. They were pretty easy to make and thanks to clear instructions the recipe was pretty foolproof. My husband likes them too! Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Angela, just a quick question about the almonds in the base layer: are you using roasted or “natural” almonds here? The bulk store has both but I’m not sure what to use. Thanks!!
Update!! I went ahead and made them with “natural” almonds rather than roasted, and it turned out great! I’d also like to share my changes in case it might help others:
– Subbed half the PB for tahini in both the base and the banana layer.
– I used honey rather than coconut nectar syrup, which made it no longer vegan, but it worked just fine.
– My bananas weren’t the sweetest since they still had a little green on the stem, so I added a touch of honey to the banana layer and it worked great.
– Used WAY less coconut oil in the banana layer. Like, I would say only about half of what was called for here (eyeballed it), and added another 1/2 a banana instead to make up the volume. This worked great! The texture is very very firm when frozen, and it holds it’s shape just fine even out of the freezer for a half hour.
Thanks for a great recipe, these are SO TASTY!!
Has anyone ever tried coconut bacon? It’s totally vegan. I love adding it to Angela’s detox salad with broc and cauli. It also makes a great topping to salads. It’s crunchy and smoky with a little BBQ flavor. The brand is Phoney Baloney. I haven’t seen them at our Whole Foods though in Florida. I bought them from a vegan cafe. Anyway, they could make a yummy addition to the dessert…..or your next salad.
This was delicious! I made it for a book club and everyone loved it. I didn’t have the coconut nectar syrup so I used pure maple syrup – it turned out perfect!
I have just came across this website and I am in love with all the recipes. It is coming into my summer in Australia and I cannot wait to make these as well as every other recipe. Yum thank you for sharing your photos and recipes.
I absolutely adore your website. Iove every recipe I try from the flaked “tuna salad to the berry blast smoothie to the steel cut oats breakfast recipes. I’m making the Elvis bars for guests on Friday night. I can guarantee it will be a hit! Your recipes are the #1 share on my vegan page “Our Vegan Journey”.
I’ve made these a couple of times and they are AMAZING!! People always ask me for the recipe. But I usually just sprinkle tiny chocolate chips on top of the bars before putting them in the freezer, rather than drizzling it on after they’re frozen :)
Made these today, I used honey as a sweetener and peanut butter. Also, I added an entire layer of chocolate on top instead of just a drizzle. Sooo goood, they taste like mini ice cream pies! Thanks for a great recipe!
Holy cow, I just made these and they taste fantastic! Ran out of coconut nectar and agave nectar but honey worked very well too! Didn’t have a food process (will need to get one) but the vitamix worked pretty well, just hard to get an even crumble. Still worked though. I can’t wait to make more deserts from your blog for the holidays because all of them look delish!!
I can’t wait to make these! These look so delish!
I made these and they were FANTASTIC. I didn’t have the chocolate drizzle unfortunately but they were good enough on their own! I substituted .5 cups of the almond in the crust for shredded unsweetened coconut. And used honey instead of that syrup, it worked out amazing! It tastes as good, if not better than the desserts at my local Raw/Vegan restaurant.
Thanks so much!
I just wanted to say, my daughter and I are allergic to almonds. So we used peanuts instead and it was still yummy! Thanks!
Just made these, they are delicious! Thanks for such delicious and simple recipes – mine almost look like the ones in your photos, something that rarely happens :)
This looks so yummy! But.. I dont eat Banana. What else can i use instead?
Just made these! Not every thing I make from an online website looks like the pictures- but ALL of your recipes always do! I love cooking and baking and ohsheglows is my go to website when looking for something new and that I’ll feel good about eating. Thanks Angela!