These pecan pie bites are so delicious and are completely naturally sweetened! you guys won’t believe that these are vegan and gluten free because they taste like the real deal. The crust is my favorite part because they are so crispy and flakey.
The filling is an amazing mix using dates as the natural sweetness. Surprisingly, when dates are blended up with some coconut oil or butter, it tastes exactly like caramel! I use this recipe in many of my candy bar recipes, or any recipes that use caramel.
Key ingredients you need for these mini pecan pie bites:
- Gluten free oats
- I love using Bob’s Red Mill‘s gluten free oats. These are the key ingredients to making a crispy gluten free crust!
- Coconut oil
- Coconut oil is super important to making a crispy crust. It also plays a huge role in the texture of the filling! Do not skip on this!
- Pecans
- Pecans might be my favorite nuts. They can get pricy, so I always suggest getting a giant bag from Costco, or getting them in the bulk section.
- Maple syrup
- This is by far my favorite natural sweetener. I love the maple flavor it brings to all my baking recipes. Honey (not vegan) and agave are great substitutes.
- Almond butter
- If you have pecan butter, that would be a great choice instead of almond butter. I know that can be hard to find and expensive too. I would not recommend using peanut butter since it has a strong flavor that would override the caramel pecan flavor in the filling.
- Dates
- I typically use medjool dates from amazon! They are a good price and have a great, sweet taste.
- Almond milk
- Almond milk, or your favorite plant milk, helps thin out the filling, since the dates and almond butter are already pretty thick.
- Salt
- Don’t skip the salt! This is an essential ingredient to balance the sweetness of the dates, and bring all the flavors together.
Pecan Pie Bites
These bites are vegan, gluten free, and naturally sweetened!
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup gluten free oats
- ½ cup pecans
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 tbsp almond butter
Filling
- ¾ cup pitted dates
- ¼ cup almond milk
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- ⅓ cup pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a food processor, add the oats, pecans,coconut oil, and maple syrup.
- Process the crust ingredients until it all sticks together.
- Fill 6 muffin tins with the crust. Makesure to make a well for the filling.
- Bake the crust for 7 minutes.
- While the crust is baking, make the filling by combining the dates, almond milk, coconut oil, and salt to a food processor. Process the filling until it is smooth (this takes roughly 3-4 minutes).
- Add the pecans to the filling mixture and pulse to combine.
- Fill the crust with the filling, and top with a pecan.
- Bake everything for an additional 8 minutes.
- Let them cool, then enjoy! Store these in the fridge, and they will last up to 1 week
