Homemade Larabars
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Chocolate, Banana, and Mango Lime Coconut Homemade Larabars are a delicious, easy, energy-boosting snack. These homemade protein bars taste like a treat.
We real foodies love our homemade Larabars. They are a wonderful, protein-packed snack made primarily of nuts and dried fruit. The store-bought version comes in all sorts of delicious, decadent flavors like Coconut Cream Pie, Chocolate Chip Brownie, and Cherry Pie. The only problem with these little treats is that the can be expensive. The lowest shelf price for Larabars in my area is $1.25 per bar at Target. If I were to stock these in my pantry and use them as a regular snack for my family, it would eat up a big portion of our snack budget.
I’m happy to report that you can make your own homemade Larabars without breaking a sweat or breaking the bank. They’re very easy to make. The key ingredient in Larabars is dates, which sweeten the bars so much that they don’t need any added sugar. I’m including three homemade Larabar recipes, but feel free to improvise with whatever fruit, nuts, and other flavors you like.
Three Homemade Larabars
Homemade larabars are such a simple, healthy snack!
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Servings: 24
Calories: 177kcal
Ingredients
Chocolate
- 1 1/2 cups dates
- 1 cup cashews
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
- 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate
- 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Banana
- 2 bananas sliced and dehydrated
- 1/2 cup dates
- 2/3 cup walnuts
Mango
- 1 small mango chopped and dehydrated
- 1/2 cup dates
- 1/4 cup coconut flakes
- 2/3 cup almonds
- Juice of one lime
- 1 tsp. lime zest
Instructions
- Chocolate Larabars: Put all the ingredients in a food processor and whirl for 1 to 2 minutes. You want to see some small chunks of all the different ingredients, so don't mix for so long that it becomes a uniform paste. Transfer the mixture to an 8 x 8 pan and press down to make it level. Refrigerate for an hour, and then cut into 12 bars. Transfer the bars to an airtight container and refrigerate.
- Banana Larabars: This one takes a little more time, unless you want to buy dried banana chips. Slice the bananas and put them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Put them in a 175 degree oven for 2 1/2 hours. When they are mostly dried out, remove them from the oven. Place all three ingredients in a food processor and mix for 1 to 2 minutes. You want to see some small chunks of all the different ingredients, so don't mix for so long that it becomes a uniform paste. Transfer the mixture to a loaf pan and press down to make it level. Refrigerate for an hour, and then cut into 6 bars. Transfer the bars to an airtight container and refrigerate.
- Mango Larabars: This one is my favorite. The mango needs to be dehydrated before mixing, but leave a little moisture for flavor. Place the chopped mango on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Put it in a 175 degree oven for 2 1/2 hours. When they are mostly dried out, remove the mangoes from the oven. (Alternately, you can buy dried mango and use it for this recipe, but the mango flavor won't be as prominent.) Place all the ingredients in a food processor and mix for 1 to 2 minutes. You want to see some small chunks of all the different ingredients, so don't mix for so long that it becomes a uniform paste. If it seems too moist, add more nuts and coconut until you have a thick, paste-like consistency. Transfer the mixture to a loaf pan and press down to make it level. Refrigerate for an hour, and then cut into 6 bars. Transfer the bars to an airtight container and refrigerate.
Notes
Adapted from Oh She Glows
Nutrition Estimate
Calories: 177kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 3mg | Potassium: 285mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 100IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @realfoodrecipes or tag #realfoodrealdeals!
Three Homemade Larabars Cost Breakdown
Banana: The banana bars are the least expensive by far. The batch of 6 bars costs $2.24, which comes out to $.37 per bar.
Chocolate: The chocolate bars come next, with the batch of 12 bars costing a total of $5.75, or $.48 per bar.
Mango Lime Coconut: The mango lime coconut bars are my little splurge. This batch costs $3.55 to make, or $.59 per bar. This is still less than half the shelf price of a store-bought Larabar, and the Larabar company doesn’t actually make a mango flavor!
Let’s say my family of four goes through 48 of these bars a month (that’s 3 per person per week). At Target I would pay $60 to support this habit. With my homemade bars, I pay $23.08 to make a variety of the three recipes listed above. That’s a savings of $36.92 per month that I can use to buy other food. Over the course of a year, I would save $443.04 by making my own Larabars instead of buying them. That is some serious cash! It’s amazing how much money we can save by making homemade Larabars from scratch.
Sarah says
Have you tried freezing these? They’d make a great recovery snack after a run but I wouldn’t go through a whole pan in 4-5 days. I could make a smaller batch but if I’m going through the work to dehydrate and make the bars, it’d be nice to be able to pull one out of the freezer pre-run and eat it when I got back!
Real Food, Real Deals says
I understand what you mean. I’m a big fan of making big batches of food and freezing some for another time. These bars can be frozen. They become a bit chewier, but that’s a good thing in my book!
Barbara Burley says
I could use advise on the Chocolate Larabar recipe. I made it exactly according to the directions, but the bars don’t hold together and are very crumbly. Any tips on how to prevent that? I even tried melting the choc thinking that might help bind things together, but that didn’t work either.
Real Food, Real Deals says
I’m guessing it’s your dates. They can vary in how sticky they are depending what kind you use. I recommend adding more dates, and that should help bind it together. Add a few at a time until you get the consistency that allows you to mold a tablespoon of the mixture into a cohesive ball.
Barbara says
thank you. I will try that next.
Nicole says
If you are looking for a deal on Dates the best is at Sams Club/Costco! I’ve been making mine with flax seed (I grind those first to powder) almond butter unsalter cashews and a few chocolate chips. My 2 year old LOVES these rolled into little balls!
Real Food, Real Deals says
Thanks for the tip! I haven’t been thrilled with the price of dates, so I will have to look into the price at my local BJ’s.
Lyza May says
I am so glad that I found this! Not only are LARABARS not organic, but they are owned by General MIlls soI didn’t want to buy them anymore. Perfect timing. I can’t wait to try making them myself.
Real Food, Real Deals says
Good luck making your own! They are so easy to make and you can play with different flavor combinations.
Lisa says
Just made the Mango Lime Coconut bars and they’re a hit! We’ve never had Larabars, but these sounded wonderful so we had to try them. Now we have no reason to try Larabars since these are so easy & cheap to make! Thanks for the delicious, economical recipe.
Real Food, Real Deals says
Thanks so much for the comment, Lisa! I’m glad you liked them. I just made a batch of the chocolate ones and they are such a great treat.
Erica Whitlow Braun says
These are awesome! How long will they keep in the fridge?
Real Food, Real Deals says
Thanks! We’ve always eaten them within four or five days, but I think they’d last longer than that in the fridge because they don’t contain ingredients that spoil quickly.
Mari says
Stored airtight (and I mean really airtight, tupperware or ziplock bags) they’ll last weeks in the fridge. I will sheepishly admit that I once found a tupperware container of Larabars that got pushed to the back of the fridge and hid out there for _at least_ three months. They were perfectly fine. I bought a box of those waxed-paper squares butchers use to separate hamburgers and use those to individually-wrap my bars, or sometimes I’ll roll them into balls (a cookie scoop works GREAT) and wrap them in the waxed-paper squares like one would candies, with the ends twisted. At room temperature mine go moldy within a week. 🙁
Lisa says
Oh so good! I love those bars but having them made fresh at home is even better! Thanks!
Real Food, Real Deals says
Thank you! These bars are really good, and you can play with the ingredients to suit your tastes and make them exactly how you like them.
phoward336 says
I make these often – although I usually roll them into balls (my kids are little). I don’t measure, but my two favorites are: dates, peanuts, a few chocolate chips and a few drops of vanilla and the other favorite is just peanuts, dates and a bit of sea salt.
the Jilb says
I’ve never tried a Larabar, but I’ve heard a lot about them, and have seen these homemade recipes floating around. I’ll have to give them a try!
Real Food, Real Deals says
I never kept dates in my pantry before, but they are a great sweetener. I hope you like these bars!
thefoodery says
Awesome money-saver, and the mango lime coconut sounds really good!
Real Food, Real Deals says
They’re delicious! I’m looking for other ways to use the mango-lime-coconut combination because it goes so well together.