Larabars are easy to make nut free with this simple homemade nut free larabar recipe!
My oldest daughter has a tree nut, peanut, and sesame allergy. She developed the allergy when she was twelve, which means it is not an allergy she will outgrow. It is with her for life.
It is also a true allergy. It is not an intolerance or just something she avoids. It is the kind of allergy that can kill you. She always has an epi-pen with her. Nuts, peanuts, and sesame are not allowed at all.
For years, when she was growing up and lived at home, our house was completely nut-free. She had to worry about food all the time, so we wanted to create a completely safe place for her to eat at home.
In many ways, this has just become our life. We read labels. We are extremely careful, and we keep our home nut, peanut, and sesame-free.
She is grown and no longer lives at home, but we still eat nut and peanut free when she is at our house.
I learned so much over the years of having kids with severe allergies. One of them is that sometimes you just want to eat what everyone else eats.
It makes it so hard, especially for kids. Life with nut allergies is not always easy.
Over the years I developed so many homemade versions of our favorite foods. Today’s homemade nut-free Larabar recipe is one of them.
This recipe is nut-free, so it is inspired by a Larabar rather than a true copycat.
One of the toughest areas for me when dealing with a child with nut allergies has been snack food. Meals are pretty easy to keep nut-free as long as I read labels. Snacks, on the other hand, are much harder.
So many snack foods contain nuts, peanuts, or sesame. Granola bars, crackers, and trail mixes all contain nuts or sesame. There are some available that are nut-free, but most are high risk because of cross-contamination.
There are some allergy-friendly brands out there, but the high cost makes them a treat instead of an everyday thing. I quickly learned that homemade snacks are the best and most affordable option. I can make sure the food is safe without breaking the budget.
Over the years, homemade nut-free larabars have become a favorite for us.
I had trouble getting the recipe just right, and it took me quite a bit of time. I made so many batches of these to get the taste and texture just how we like them.
After a lot of trial and error, though, I developed a recipe that we love!
We love these! If you or someone in your family has a nut allergy, these are a must make!
One quick note. This recipe is for homemade nut-free larabars, but I know not all my readers are nut-free. If you can have peanut butter or almond butter, use it in place of the Sunbutter. It will work fine. If you have a nut allergy use Sunbutter. I have tried these with soy butter and other nut-free butters, but the Sunbutter or sunflower seed butter is our favorite.
Nut Free Larabar Recipe
Larabars can be nut free with this homemade larabar recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 cups pitted dates
- 3/4 cup Sunbutter, see note below
- 1 cup dried cherries, see not below
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips ( We use Enjoy Life)
Instructions
- Place dates in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse food processor a few times to chop up dates. You don't have to chop them up completely, but you want them broken up a bit.
- Add Sunbutter and dried cherries to the food processor.
- Process until the mixture is chopped well. It should all be chopped up, yet form a soft mixture that balls up.
- Add chocolate chips and pulse a few times just enough to chop and mix in. If your food processor is small, you may need to do this in two batches.
- Lay a sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap on a cookie sheet or sheet pan. Place the mixture in the pan.
- Place another sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap on top. Press the mixture out to form a rectangle. This takes time to press evenly. You can use another cookie sheet pressed down on top or a rolling pin to help you press the mixture out.
- Refrigerate the mixture for several hours or until they have firmed up. Cut into bars or squares.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
If you do not need these to be nut-free, you can use peanut butter or almond butter in place of the sunbutter. Wowbutter also works in this recipe.
Other dried fruit can be used in place of dried cherries, or you can use a combination of dried cherries and other dried fruit like raisins.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24 barsServing Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 124Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 28mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 2gSugar: 15gProtein: 2g
Originally posted March 2017. Updated April 2026.
What do you do with the chocolate chips? Our son has tree nut and peanut allergies. He also has problems with coconut oil. It is very hard!!
We use Enjoy Life chocolate chips. I meant to put that in the post, but forgot. I just added it though. Enjoy Life seems to be the safest for most people with a nut allergy.
In the recipe, when do you add the chocolate chips? 🙂
I can’t believe I forgot that step. So sorry! I just fixed it. You mix all the ingredients until it forms and then just add in the chocolate chips at the end and pulse a few times. You just need to chop them and mix them in slightly, so you don’t want them in the food processor the whole time. It only needs mixed in slightly. Thanks again for letting me know I missed that!
These look great! My daughter has a mast cell disorder and she sometimes reacts to tree nuts. We tend to stay tree nut free if we can but having decent snack items can be hard on the budget. I’m definitely going to try this out! Thanks Lynn!