Elana's Pantry

New York Times Bestselling author Elana Amsterdam founded Elana’s Pantry, the go-to website for easy, healthy, grain-free, Paleo recipes, in 2006

white chocolate apricot bars gluten-free recipe

Apricot Power Bars

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These healthy and simple energy bars are packed with energy.

Apricot Power Bars are a great grab and go breakfast or the perfect pick me up on the way home from the gym.  Kid-friendly (with white chocolate) and Paleo-friendly (with dark chocolate, or no chocolate at all) I’ve made these gluten free bars each and every way.

I used white chocolate chips from my local Whole Foods when I made these for the boys.  The chips come in a little unmarked plastic tub –sorry I don’t have more info on that.  If you’d like to find out more you can try calling the Whole Foods in my neighborhood (it’s actually called Ideal Market and is the smallest Whole Foods in the country) at 303-443-1354.

Print Recipe
Apricot Power Bars
Serves:
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Place apricots and pecans in a food processor and pulse until the texture of coarse gravel
  2. Pulse in eggs, salt and vanilla, until mixture forms a ball
  3. Remove mixture from food processor and work in chocolate chips
  4. Place mixture in a greased 8 x 8 inch baking dish
  5. Bake for 25 minutes at 350°F
  6. Cool and serve

I love apricots because they are just a bit lower on the glycemic index than other dried fruits.  Further, they’re high in vitamin A, vitamin C, tryptophan and full of good fiber.

If you’re looking for more ways to get your daily dose of apricots and gluten free cake is your thing, try my magically moist Cherry Apricot Cake recipe. Or, if candy is what you’ve got a hunkering for, check out these Cranberry Apricot Truffles (one of my all time favorite gluten free recipes).

Here are some more gluten free treats made with apricots that you might like:
–Apricot jam with noyaux, spices and bourbon by Sean of Hedonia
–Simple Roasted Apricots with Honey Mascarpone by Joy of Joy The Baker
–Thumbjams by Dan of Renegade Kitchen

Comments

  1. Hi, I am just beginning my paleo diet. I see chocolate chips in these bars. Isn’t sugar a big no-no? Is honey okay to use? Thanks!

    Reply

  2. Just made these and they turned out great! I added a handful of dried cranberries and used a paleo chocolate chip substitute….absolutely fabulous…thanks for an awesome recipe

    Reply

  3. I just made these. Theyre gorgeous. I added shredded coconut and cranberries. Also sprinkled a bit of all spice on top after baking.

    Reply

    • Hi Emma,

      I like your idea of adding coconut and cranberries. How much of each did you add?

      Reply

  4. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. We love it! Take them hiking for a snack, breakfast on the run and for a dessert treat. Love the simple recipe and the ease.

    Reply

  5. Thank you Elana for this site it is truly wonderful!

    I made this with fresh apricots just added almond flour to absorb the extra moisture. And then added some manuka honey.

    They were delicimo.

    Reply

  7. I just made these, sans the chocolate, for my husband who can’t have sugar or grain. They are great! Any thought on how they should be stored? Refrigerator? (They have eggs in them) or pantry?

    Reply

  8. I would really love to make these for my daughter and my niece. My daughter just started Paleo, But has a Tree nut allergy. {Talk about a challenge}. My niece attends a nut free school with strict food guidelines as to what can be packed for lunches/snacks. What can I replace the nuts with and not lose the quality of the bar.

    Reply

  9. Wow these are delicious! I’m burning my fingers because I couldn’t wait for them to cool! They are going to have to go in the freezer or I’m going to eat way too many of them. My husband is eyeballing them too LOL!
    Thanks for a great recipe…..love apricots!

    Reply

  11. these sound awesome, but we have nut allergies in our family. can i leave it out totally or will that mess up the binding of the bars? any ideas for a substitute? thanks!

    Reply

  12. These look yummy but I have an egg allergy. Do you think egg replacer would work ok? I’m thinking 1/4 c applesauce and egg replacer for one egg.

    Reply

  13. Just took these out of the oven. The whole house smells so good! Going to wrap up and bring to Vermont for a quick snack. Thanks for mother good treat.

    Reply

  14. These are SO delicious. Made them with dark chocolate chips last night and wrapped them individually in waxed paper for grab-and-go snacks. Big hit with my guy and with gluten-free friends! Thanks for the great recipes, Elana!

    Reply

  15. Did you check the ingredients of the white chocolate chips? Most of them have corn syrup or other refined sugars.

    Reply

  16. These are amazing!! I also tried adding less almonds and added oats and raisins for more of a fruit bar vs. nut bar and they were delicious!! Great post!!!

    Reply

  17. I made a batch without any chocolate and ran the nutritional information on the whole batch. I cut into 8 bars, so here’s the breakdown I got for 1/8 of the batch (again – just pecans, apricots, eggs, vanilla, salt, NO chocolate).

    250 calories
    19 g fat
    17 g carbs (12 g sugar, 4 g fiber)
    4 g protein

    Depending on the resource I used for nutritional info, each bar also has 5-10% of your daily value requirements of iron and magnesium. Other vitamins and micronutrients were 0-2% DV.

    Reply

  22. I’ve made these a few times and they are great. I bake and cool them, cut into bars and then melt the chocolate, spread on top of each bar and then refrigerate.

    Reply

  23. Enjoy your posts and recipes so much! Today, we’re serving the GF Apricot Energy bars at a community healthy food party, and I came back to the website hoping to find the nutritional content. I see that it has A, C, tryptophan, and fiber; but I’d like to be able to share specifics on this and other recipes.

    Reply

  24. so I’ve now indoctrinated so many friends with this recipe however I changed it as I am a consummate non conformist. instead of using dried apricots the first time, i used fresh because that’s what I had. It required an increase of nuts, so I added 2 cups of my homemade trail mix in addition to the recipe…which also includes dried cranberries. the next time I played and instead of using dried apricots, I used dried peaches. My next adventure will be to use dried apples and continue in that way. Each time I change the recipe it gets more fun and easy.
    Thanks for always setting me on a new path of creativity.

    Reply

  25. YUM! These are like cookie bars. You’ll have a hard time convincing yourself that they are pretty healthy. I used almonds in place of pecans (because I didn’t have any pecans) and liked it. I also used Ener-G Egg Replacer. I’m sure real eggs work best, but the replacer definitely worked for me. Definitely a keeper! Thanks, Elana!

    Reply

  26. Elana, Thanks you so much for all your GF recipes. I’ve long known that I needed to go GF and dairy free and have been on and off it many times, but recently decided it was time for the long-term change. I’ve made about three batches of these bars in as many weeks, all different variations, and they are DELICIOUS. My husband loves them, my dad took the recipe and I gave a bite to a doctor friend of mine and he couldn’t believe they were GF and wanted the recipe.

    I also love your grain free granola (I have to be oat free as well) and have made two variations on that. I love to cook and am not the most adventurous baker, so it’s nice that someone’s done a lot of the work for me. Keep on with all your yummy goodness!

    Reply

  27. I made these today – WITH chocolate chips. A hit! They have a texture as if there is sweetened condensed milk in them. Yummy, but nutritious~

    Reply

  28. I was really excited to try out this recipe! I made two batches today – with one, I followed the regular directions and with the second, I made it similar to Jenny. Also, I used already chopped pecans. The second time I made it, I chopped up the apricots in the food processor by themselves and left them a little bit bigger than the recipe suggests. I emptied them into a separate bowl and mixed in the eggs (which I whisked with a fork before adding), a little less than a tablespoon of vanilla and the salt. I added just one cup of the chopped pecans and a cup of dark chocolate chips and mixed it all together with a wooden spoon. Then I put the mixture back into the food processor and let it run for about 20 seconds. I baked it for 23 minutes. The texture was a little chunkier, but much better. Hope this helps! Great recipe!

    Reply

  30. I made these before a camping trip last week. They were gone in a jiffy! Everyone loved them. :) I used semi-sweet chocolate chips.

    Reply

    • I made these again tonight and added dried cherries, which I stirred in with the chocolate chips. Divine! :)

      Reply

  33. I am really looking forward to trying these. I made my own version of your spiced power bars and they were super popular. Will try and be virtuous however and skip the chocolate chips…. maybe

    Reply

  35. I made these today! One big oooppps though, I completely forgot to put in the chocolate chips (I use Dagoba 73%)! They are easy to make and very, very delish! Even without the chips. My husband loved them too but was disappointed that I forgot the chocolate. Will make them again, for sure!

    Reply

  36. I made these today and what a mess. The eggs and vanilla leaked out of my food processor. After cleaning up the mess, I remade it with the eggs, vanilla and fruit in the blender, then pulsed the nuts only in the food processor and mixed it all seperately with the choco chips. I cooked them in the microwave (don’t know how you can stand the extra heat in the house from baking in the summer) and they are super! Both my teenager and toddler LOVE them and have spoiled their dinner!

    Reply

  38. First of all, just the mention of “Ideal Market” brings back such sweet memories! I’m back on the East Coast now, but I lived in CO (Longmont) for 8 years. I worked in Boulder (at Boulder Orthopedics next to BCH), and we would frequent Ideal at lunch time. I used to love their subs, and the names of them (Mt. Sanitas something or another– haha).

    Now I’m Paleo and GF (and DF), so I would no longer be able to purchase their subs if I still lived back there. However, YOU have just made my life so much more enjoyable. My diagnosis is very recent (within the last 2 months), and I am overjoyed to have stumbled across your site. I just discovered you, and I’ve already tried 3 of your recipes. Thank you so much for all the delicious recipes you’re feeding my family. And they thank you too. :)

    Reply

  39. Your recipes are so easy and delicious – this is one of the easiest power bar recipes I’ve came across. Thanks for sharing Elana :)

    Reply

  40. Elana-

    Your ability to make healthful, simple recipes never seizes to amaze me. I make at least one of your recipes every single week. Definitely going to make these apricot pecan bars.

    Thank you!
    Rachel

    Reply

  41. baking away as I type this…Thank you so much for all the great ideas and recipes you provide! What would you say is the best way of storing these? Thanks in advance and keep up the good work!

    Reply

  42. These look great! I just might try them out, though I have been holding back on a lot of the extra sugar until I hit my ideal weight. Just a few more pounds to go!

    Reply

  44. Wow. I can’t wait to try these. Just started the Paleo diet. And these will fit in perfectly. Thanks.
    Audra

    Reply

  45. Hi! I love your recipes for powerbars but worry when there is not calorie, or carb count. It also helps to know where it falls on the glycemic index…thanks though for sharing what you do!!!

    Reply

  47. These look tasty! and finally a power bar recipe with not so much dried fruit… Can’t wait to try this. Great recipe, these filled with protein from the eggs and nuts and so easy to make too :-)

    Teenie

    Reply

  48. I hope I can use fresh picked apricots. Just got another bucket, small filled with late bloomers. Can’t wait to make this recipe. Have shared your site with more than two dozen friends who love what you give, make, do. I’m now ordering almond flour from Honeyville and your chocolate chip cookies are the rage in Ojai! My writers group loves the fudge babies/chocolate power bar balls.

    Reply

  49. These are just my style! I can’t wait to make them!So yummy looking and simple to make. Thanks again, Elana for such lovely, healthy recipes. Elana.

    Reply

    • Try mixing a couple of teaspoons of flaxseed/linseed meal with warm water to replace the eggs or use an egg-replacement from your health food shop.

      Reply

  52. yummy what a healthy easy recipe to make, i am going to have to try and make these soon!

    Reply

  54. My sister was JUST talking about making an raw apricot bar today. Even though this isn’t raw, I will definitely have to send this to her!

    Reply

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