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.
- 1 cup dried apricots
- 2 cups pecans
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup chocolate chips of your choice, or none whatsoever
- Place apricots and pecans in a food processor and pulse until the texture of coarse gravel
- Pulse in eggs, salt and vanilla, until mixture forms a ball
- Remove mixture from food processor and work in chocolate chips
- Place mixture in a greased 8 x 8 inch baking dish
- Bake for 25 minutes at 350°F
- 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
Laura says
Wow, these were delicious! I added some dried cranberries, unsweetened shredded coconut, and arange zest. This is a really satisfying treat. I alternate between keeping these bars and the muesli scones in
my freezer, so I always have something yummy to eat at breakfast or lunch…or after dinner. Thanks for all your fantastic recipes, Elana!
Elana says
Laura, thanks for letting me know these are delicious! And here’s the link to my Muesli Scones for other readers:
https://elanaspantry.com/muesli-scones/
So glad you are enjoying my recipes!
Elana
kirste roth says
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!
Elana says
Kirste, thanks for your comment! Feel free to omit the chocolate :-)
Chris says
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
Elana says
Chris, thanks for letting me know these are awesome!
emma says
I just made these. Theyre gorgeous. I added shredded coconut and cranberries. Also sprinkled a bit of all spice on top after baking.
Marianna says
Hi Emma,
I like your idea of adding coconut and cranberries. How much of each did you add?
Lisa says
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.
David says
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.
Shelly says
I just came across this recipe. I can’t wait to make these and hopefully my son will love them too!
Laura says
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?
AnnMarie Ettienne says
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.
Sharon says
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!
Terri says
Just made these and they are so good and easy!
randi says
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!
Laurie says
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.
Amy says
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.
Kelsey says
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!
Lisa Docter says
Did you check the ingredients of the white chocolate chips? Most of them have corn syrup or other refined sugars.
Lauren says
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!!!
Pam says
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.
Lisa says
Just made these and they are AWESOME!!!
Thank you!
Lisa
Alex says
Love this!! Any thoughts on a substitute for the nuts as we have allergies in our house? Would a seed work??
Sinead says
Any alternative to dry fruit in this? Would flaxseeds or almond flour work?
Gayle says
Has anyone tried substituting pecans with a different sort of nut?
Is the texture and taste still alright?
Athena says
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.
Bonnie Brown says
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.
elana daley says
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.
Jess says
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!
Michelle says
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!
Phyllis says
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~
Julia says
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!
Anni says
can you substituite the eggs??
Tressa @ Hecka-Good Recipes says
I made these before a camping trip last week. They were gone in a jiffy! Everyone loved them. :) I used semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Tressa @ Hecka-Good Recipes says
I made these again tonight and added dried cherries, which I stirred in with the chocolate chips. Divine! :)
Deliciously Organic says
I’ve been looking for a new bar recipe and these are perfect!
Tracee says
I love apricots and I have been on a bar cookie spree lately. These look so good!
Bec says
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
poucinette says
merci pour cette belle recette !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Herbalchef says
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!
Carol says
When you forget chocolate, melt some and drizzle it over!
Jenny says
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!
miri leigh says
These look so delicious and easy to make. Thanks for posting!
Jessica says
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. :)
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
Your recipes are so easy and delicious – this is one of the easiest power bar recipes I’ve came across. Thanks for sharing Elana :)
Rachel Begun says
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
Caroline says
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!
Daniela Tanner says
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!
Audra says
Wow. These look wonderful and I just started the Paleo diet. These will fit in perfectly. Thanks
Audr says
Wow. I can’t wait to try these. Just started the Paleo diet. And these will fit in perfectly. Thanks.
Audra
Sonya says
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!!!
Jen @ keepitsimplefoods says
What a great snack idea! These would be perfect for road trips or airplanes. :)
The Teenie Foodie says
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
elana daley says
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.
Daphne says
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.
Emmy says
These look fantastic! I bet my kids will go nuts for them – thank you!
Jen says
Hi any way to make these egg free? Thanks!
Jesse says
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.
Courtney @ Cooking Up A Family says
yummy what a healthy easy recipe to make, i am going to have to try and make these soon!
Janet NZ says
I have been craving apricots. Thanks for this recipe – perfect!
Brandon says
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!
Kaylie says
YUM! Can’t wait to make these!! Thanks