These Healthy Pecan Pie Bars are paleo, vegan, gluten free, and taste exactly like real pecan pie! They are simple to make and have a delicious pecan filling on top!

I remember being a kid and absolutely wanting nothing to do with pecan pie. I always thought that Thanksgiving desserts were just okay and not really anything special because I didn’t really love pumpkin pie OR pecan pie.
I know, call me crazy. But as the years have gone on and my taste buds have developed, I seriously crave a slice of pumpkin pie or a slice of pecan pie after the delicious feast that is Thanksgiving.

Well, I was on a mission to create some healthy Thanksgiving desserts that would be loved by everyone and I think I nailed it with these delicious healthy pecan pie bars.
The best part about these is that they literally take no time at all and it seems like you’ve been slaving away in the kitchen all day. Plus, who wouldn’t want a handheld version of pecan pie?

In reality, you can use any type of shortbread base that you would like. The coconut flour in this recipe contributes a slightly coconutty taste, but not much. I’m pretty sure you could research an almond flour shortbread crust recipe and would find one that works great.
The pecan pie filling is made with simple ingredients: maple syrup, coconut oil, coconut sugar, and pecans.

That’s literally it! I really strive to keep my baked goods as simple as possible with some of the most nutritious ingredients.
I love topping these bars with coconut whipped cream or even a single scoop of vanilla ice cream.
You will all have to let me know if you make these yummy and healthy pecan pie bars!


Healthy Pecan Pie Bars
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 35
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 9–12 bars 1x
Description
These Healthy Pecan Pie Bars are paleo, vegan, gluten free, and taste exactly like real pecan pie! They are simple to make and have a delicious pecan filling on top!
Ingredients
Crust
- 1.5 cups almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp salt
Filling
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2/3 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp almond milk
- 2 cups chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and prepare an 8×8 inch pan with grease or parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, mix together almond flour, coconut flour, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla, and salt until well combined. Press into bottom of pan.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes or until slightly golden brown.
- Let crust cool completely.
- In a saucepan, heat coconut oil, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla until boiling (about 3-4 minutes), stirring consistently.
- Once boiling, constantly stir and let bubble for one minute and then turn off heat. Cooking longer will result in burnt sugar.
- Stir in almond milk and pecans.
- Pour mixture over cooled crust and bake in oven for 20-22 minutes.
- Let cool on counter for 15 minutes and then in the fridge for at least two hours before serving or cutting.Â
- Store in fridge
Keywords: pecan pie, healthy pecan pie, bars, fall, vegan
There may be affiliate links in this post! By purchasing a product I recommend, I may receive a small compensation. However, I only recommend products I absolutely love and use myself. Thank you for supporting Erin Lives Whole, it helps keep this blog afloat 🙂
Angela says
Could you just use all coconut flour?
Erin says
Yes:
1 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
Mix all together, let sit for 5 minutes to thicken, press into greased 8×8, pierce with fork and bake for 10-12 min or until slightly golden brown.
Katherine says
Can I sub cassava flour for almond flour? In intro phase of AIP. Thanks!
Erin says
Yes!! Should work fine
whathineats says
Can I sub the pecans for walnuts?
Erin says
yes! great idea.
Lisa says
What could I substitute coconut oil for? I’m very sensitive unfortunately
Erin says
Any other type of oil will work!
Sarah says
Wow … these are delicious & so easy to make! Hands down the BEST paleo dessert I’ve ever made. I don’t know how I’m going to keep myself from eating every bar in one weekend!!!
★★★★★
Shree says
Hi! How far ahead can I make these? Or how would you store these?
Erin says
Up to 5 days! I would wrap them in foil on the counter.
Mirela says
Absolutely delicious and so easy to put together🚨
★★★★★
Mirela says
Hi Erin,
Your beautiful nut slice, has my whole family being very nice to me so that I can just bake it on weekly basis now😄
Thank you for sharing such a little treasure.
Have you ever had the chance to freeze it or any idea wether it will be ok for freezing?
Thank you once again for such a yummy desert💕
Erin says
Hi Mirela,
So happy you are enjoying it!! I believe you should be okay to freeze it 🙂
Stephanie says
I made these for my dad’s birthday and now my parents ask for them all the time. I had a hard time not eating half of them myself!
★★★★★
Erin says
I love to hear it Stephanie!!! So glad your parents are enjoying, too! 🙂
Lee says
Great recipe! It was gone the day after I made it. I’m making another batch tonight, and will try to keep my hands off of it and save some for our company tomorrow.
★★★★★
Erin says
Thanks for sharing Lee!! I’m so glad you love them 🙂
Kate says
This is a great recipe,I accidentally forgot to add the almond milk and it still turned out tasty.
I was wondering if I could double the recipe and make it in a 9×13 pan or if it would be wiser to use 2 separate pans.??I’m making them for a party and I don’t want to mess up making double
★★★★★
Erin says
You can definitely double and use a 9×13 – should be perfect!
Rana says
Hi .. thank you for Sharing the receipt I love pecan bars .. I just made it However the crust become soggy and the bars where swimming in oil .. can you please tell me what I did wrong ? Thank you
Erin says
Hi Rana, it seems as if something might have been measured wrong. We make these all the time and that has never happened! Did you use both almond and coconut flour?
Kelly says
Hi! I don’t consume much Oil in my diet, could I sub for applesauce instead?
Erin says
Unfortunately I don’t think applesauce will work here. Sorry about that!
lehava says
These look great! I made a similar recipe in the past and the problem was they were always a bit too sweet for me. I am worried that might be the case here too. Is it possible to reduce the sugar and still get good results?
Erin says
You can leave out half of the coconut sugar if you wish!
Shana says
Easy recipe and they taste heavenly!! It is a keeper!
Erin says
So glad you liked them!!
Anjali says
This sounds delicious can’t wait to try it! Can I sub coconut milk for the almond milk? Thanks
Erin says
Coconut milk will be great in place of almond milk.
Kathy says
Absolutely wonderful. Trial bake for Thanksgivng.
★★★★★
Erin says
Glad you enjoyed. Thanks for sharing!!
Sara says
These are fantastic! Made them yesterday and my husband and I have finished almost half the pan 24 hours later!
★★★★★
Erin says
I love to hear that!!! So glad you liked them!
Alana Helm says
Can I sub the coconut flour for quinoa flour?
Erin says
I’m not familiar with quinoa flour…but you may be able to! Let me know if you try it.
Brittany says
Hi Erin,
Can you use only Almond flour for this recipe? If so, does this change the proportions of liquid? Thanks!!
Tracie says
Could I use honey instead of maple syrup?
Erin says
Yes!
Drew says
Hi! Cant wait to make these … can I use regular sugar instead of coconut? Just what I have on hand at the moment
Erin says
Highly suggest coconut or brown sugar!
adrienne says
Delish! Thanks Erin.
★★★★★
Erin says
Glad you are enjoying!
Holly says
Do you think monk fruit sweetener would work instead of coconut sugar?
Erin says
I’ve never baked with monkfruit! Sorry about that.
Drew says
I would love to know if the monkfruit sweetener worked for you — if you have tried.
Jess says
Could you use regular flour here? I’m not GF, don’t have the speciality flours on hand but want to try this for a Friendsgiving I’m having this week:)
Erin says
I would highly suggest looking up a regular ‘crust’ recipe as this one is specific for these flours.
Kim says
So SO good! I couldn’t find my 8×8 so I made them in a muffin pan and they turned out really well that way too! Great recipe, will definitely make again!
★★★★★
Erin says
Wow such a fun idea!! Love it!
Heidi T. says
I made a double batch for a potluck and people seemed to enjoy them. They are yummy– albeit very sweet (and I have a sweet tooth). And I’m not sure how they’re healthy, with 400+ calories per serving! I’d be happy to serve them for special occasions; the bars looked great in the pan. One problem: the topping is really crumbly, and the “bars” fall apart when I cut and try to serve them, so I ended up with a pile of pieces and pecans. I did substitute canola oil for the coconut oil to try to reduce the amount of saturated fat. Any thoughts on how to help the bars keep their shape?
★★★★
Erin says
Unfortunately you need the coconut oil. It firms into a solid in the fridge, which makes the bars hold together.
★★★★★
Carly says
Canola oil is so awful for you! These are healthier than any other option by a landslide, regardless of calories!
★★★★★
Ioanna says
This has to be one of the BEST desserts I’ve ever made. It’s beyond delicious!!!!
★★★★★
Erin says
Thank you Ioanna!! So happy to hear that.
Wendy says
Made test run for Thanksgiving last night and they turned out delicious! Used coconut milk instead of almond milk
Erin says
So glad you liked them!!
Clarissa says
SO FREAKING GOOD. I think I like these better than normal pecan pie!
★★★★★
Clarissa says
I think I’m going to try to add your cheesecake recipe to it as a middle layer!
Erin says
omg yum, that sounds amazing!! Keep me posted!
Ani says
Has anyone ever replaced either maple syrup portion in this recipe with soaked & pureed dates? I’m not a fan of maple really.
Kaitlyn says
Made these as a trial run for Thanksgiving, and I’m making another batch today! I used coconut milk instead of almond, but kept everything else as written. SO GOOD. They held together perfectly and taste AMAZING. Tested them on my non-gf/v friends too, and they’re a hit!
★★★★★
Erin says
I’m so happy that you liked these! Thank you for sharing with me!
Danielle Berman says
This recipe is a hit! SOOO easy to make. I had all the ingredients in my pantry already besides the coconut sugar. WOWOWOWOWOOW These are delicious. You would never know they were vegan. I’m amazed at how easy these are to make. All my friends wanted the recipe
★★★★★
Erin says
YAY! That’s what I love to hear. So glad that you liked them.
Courtney says
Can I use regular milk instead of almond?
erin says
yes!
Nadine says
These turned out amazing! Thanks Erin!
★★★★★
Erin says
SO glad you liked them Nadine!
Darrow says
Absolutely perfect for thanksgiving! I cut them into little 1 inch x 2 inch bars and doubled the recipe in a large pan. They were the favorite item in the whole thanksgiving spread! I even had to print out the recipe a bunch of times and give to people. Best Paleo dessert ever.
★★★★★
Erin says
So glad you liked them! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Anjali says
SO delicious!!!
★★★★★
Erin says
Love to hear it!!!!
Anjali says
SO delicious!!! Thank you!
★★★★★
Melodie Joannisse says
I really hope it will be delicious as much as it is supposed te be, because I was doing 3-5 different things and I completely forgot to cool down the crust…
Veit says
Taste amazing, but they are falling apart… what do you think I did wrong?
Erin says
Did you use every ingredient as I listed?
Janelle Kapernick says
Can I use MCT liquid coconut oil?
★★★★★
Erin says
You need the coconut oil to harden, so I would stick with the original stuff!