Finding a healthy, gluten-free, dairy-free snack doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. These chocolate peanut butter Lara Bars are simple to make, use minimal ingredients, and cost only about 25 cents per bar.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Homemade Lara Bar

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These homemade Lara Bars are one of my favorite go-to snacks. The classic Lara Bar base is simply dates plus nuts; this chocolate-peanut butter variation blends dates and peanuts with cocoa for a rich, satisfying flavor. They feel indulgent—like a candy bar—yet use only whole-food ingredients.

The bars are quick to make if you have a food processor. (If you don’t, they’re worth getting.) In minutes you can have a batch of chocolatey, peanut-buttery bars to keep on hand for snacks, lunchboxes, or a quick dessert.

Crunchy or smooth peanut butter?

If you favor crunchy peanut butter, reserve ½ cup of the peanuts and add them near the end of processing so you get larger peanut pieces in the bars. For smooth bars, process all the peanuts from the start. Both versions are delicious—choose the texture you prefer.

I make a batch almost every week so there’s always a healthier chocolate option available when cravings strike. While I’m more of a milk chocolate fan, these bars give that chocolate hit with cleaner ingredients and no refined sugar.

Extra benefit: dates are high in nutrients and often recommended during late pregnancy for their potential to support labor readiness. If you’re pregnant, these bars provide a tasty way to enjoy dates along with chocolate and peanut butter.

Now for the recipe—quick, straightforward, and very satisfying. Enjoy!

Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Lara Bars

Yield:
8-10 bars

Simple, clean ingredients with no grains and no refined sugar. Quick to make and budget-friendly—about 25 cents per bar.

Ingredients

1 cup dates, pitted and soaked in warm water for 5–10 minutes
1 ½ cups dry roasted peanuts
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp salt (omit if using salted peanuts)

Instructions

Drain the soaked dates well. Save the soaking water if you like to sweeten coffee or tea.
In a food processor fitted with an S-blade, combine the dates, peanuts (reserve ½ cup if you want larger peanut pieces), cocoa, vanilla, and salt.
Process on low for about a minute until the mixture begins to break down, then scrape down the bowl.
Increase to high and process until the mixture becomes smooth and starts to form a ball around the blade. This can take a minute or two.
If you reserved peanuts for texture, add them now and pulse until they break into the desired size. Scrape and repeat as needed.
Press the mixture into a 6×4-inch glass dish or small loaf pan. Alternatively, roll into balls—dust your hands with cocoa powder to prevent sticking.
Refrigerate for about 30 minutes to firm up.
Slice into bars or remove and enjoy.

Did you make this recipe?

Leave a comment or share a photo on Instagram — I’d love to see your version.