These vegan snickers bars are rich and decadent and taste just like the ‘real thing’! They’re also super easy and fun to make.
These vegan snickers bars have some serious wow factor!
In fact I can’t even believe how much they taste like the ‘real thing’. Especially since vegan nougat is something that I didn’t think was quite possible.
Well at least it didn’t seem very possible, considering I looked at roughly one million recipe sites online for inspiration (conservative estimate) and all I could find were variations of ‘nougat’ made from nut butter or nuts and dates,, or coconut flour and dates, or almond flour and dates, or any combination of things that don’t taste anything like nougat.
I tried a version using coconut flour and dates and hmmm…. it tasted kinda like eating a spoonful of (rather sweet) flour. So that all got tossed super quick.
And then I found a recipe from Oatmeal With A Fork that used rolled oats, coconut oil and maple syrup. And while I didn’t think that this would taste like nougat exactly, at least it sounded like it would taste good.
And don’t ask me how, but rolled oats, coconut oil and maple syrup does indeed taste like nougat! Especially when it’s mixed with vegan caramel and peanuts. So it’s basically magic. I reckon.
How To Make Vegan Snickers
This is just a summary of the process, the full instructions and measurements can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- For the nougat layer, add rolled oats to a food processor and process it into a flour. Then add in coconut oil, maple syrup and salt and process it again. Smooth this down into a parchment lined loaf pan and place into the freezer to set.
- Melt coconut butter and pour that into a mixing bowl, add maple syrup and vanilla and stir it into a caramel. Pour this out over your nougat base and smooth it down.
- Add roasted salted peanuts and press them down into the caramel.
- Freeze to set.
- When it’s set, remove it from the dish and cut into 6 bars.
- Melt vegan chocolate and dip your snickers bars into the chocolate and place them on a parchment lined baking tray. Let them set and then use any remaining chocolate to drizzle over the top and create a pretty pattern. Done!
Ingredient Notes
Coconut Butter: This is a crucial ingredient for the caramel layer and can’t be substituted. Coconut oil will definitely not work. It has to say coconut butter on the jar. You can even make your own homemade coconut butter if this is a difficult ingredient for you to get hold of.
Vegan Chocolate or Chocolate Chips: I prefer melting down any delicious high quality vegan chocolate for this, but vegan chocolate chips are also fine to use.
Storing and Freezing
Keep them stored in the fridge where they will stay good for a week (or even two). They must be stored in the fridge as the chocolate and the caramel center will tend to get too soft at room temperature.
They are also freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
More Vegan Desserts
- Vegan Twix Bars
- Vegan Bounty Bars
- Vegan Peanut Butter Cups
- Vegan Peppermint Patties
- Vegan Chocolate Truffles
- Vegan White Chocolate
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Snickers
Ingredients
For the Nougat:
- ⅔ cup Rolled Oats (64g) Processed into flour
- ¼ cup Coconut Oil (60ml)
- 3 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
- ¼ teaspoon Sea Salt
For the Caramel:
- ½ cup Coconut Butter (120ml) Melted*
- ½ cup Maple Syrup (120ml)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
For the Peanuts:
- ⅔ cup Roasted Salted Peanuts (100g)
For the Chocolate:
- 2 cups Chopped Vegan Chocolate or Chocolate Chips (350g)
- 1 teaspoon Coconut Oil
Instructions
- Place the rolled oats into a food processor and process until mostly powdery. Add the coconut oil and maple syrup and sea salt and process together into a paste.
- Pour out into a parchment lined loaf pan and smooth down. Place into the freezer to set.
- Melt the coconut butter by placing the whole jar into a bowl of hot water and then stir it very well until well mixed. Measure out ½ cup and pour it into a mixing bowl. Add in the maple syrup and vanilla and stir to combine.
- Pour the caramel out on top of the set nougat layer and smooth down. Then add the peanuts and gently press down with a spoon to press them into the caramel. Place into the freezer to set.
- When set, lift it all out with the parchment paper and cut into 6 even bars.
- Melt the chocolate by placing it into a microwave safe bowl along with the coconut oil and microwaving it in 30 second intervals, bringing it out to stir every 30 seconds until completely melted.
- Dunk each bar into the chocolate, flipping it over to coat both sides and then placing it onto a parchment lined baking tray. Repeat for all the bars. Place into the fridge to set. Once set, drizzle any remaining chocolate over the top of the bars to create a nice pattern and then return to the fridge again to set.
- Keep the bars stored in the fridge.
Notes
- Coconut butter. It must say coconut butter on the jar. It will not work to use coconut oil for the caramel, it has to be coconut butter. It’s also crucial that you melt the whole jar of coconut butter (by placing the whole sealed jar into a bowl of hot water) and then stir it up very well so that it’s evenly mixed before you use it. You can also make your own homemade coconut butter and use it in this recipe.
- Vegan chocolate. I prefer to use a high quality vegan chocolate to melt down for this. However, chocolate chips will also work fine.
- Gluten free. For a gluten-free version make sure your rolled oats are gluten-free.
- Prep time does not include time spent setting in the fridge/freezer.
- Nougat recipe adapted from Oatmeal With A Fork.
- This recipe was first published in October 2017. Now updated with clearer instructions and recipe tips.
Can I use date syrup instead of maple syrup?
Sure!
Hi Alison,
Many thanks for posting this. I’ve made vegan Snickers a couple of times before using a different recipe. However, the website it was on has disappeared, so I looked around for a new one and decided your recipe looked the most promising. Yours is a pleasingly straightforward method and I learnt that one could make coconut butter from desiccated coconut and coconut oil which was a bonus. I ran out of maple syrup for the caramel so topped it up with agave syrup. This possibly contributed to the bars having a slight coconut twang to them, which I suspect is usually masked by the maple. But no matter – am going to advertise the ones I give to my friends as being ‘vegan Snickers with a hint of Bounty’… i look forward to trying out more of your recipes.
Thank you so much for sharing and for your review!
Hi, can I substitute the coconut butter for nuttelex?
No definitely not, coconut butter is a totally different thing.
Hi, this recipe looks great!
Can I use pre-packaged oat flour rather than processing oats?
Thanks!
Yes I think that would work!
Hi, would honey work instead of maple syrup?
Yes I think so!
Absolutely delicious… I love it! I will make again! I’m really just sitting here just smacking my lips and enjoying the moment!!!
Hahaha, that is too awesome! Thanks for the fabulous review.
My carmel portion of this recipie didnt set up. The coconut butter and the maple syrup separated. Any suggestions on where I went wrong? TIA
Hi Jessi, when you melt coconut butter you have to let the whole jar melt and stir it up super well before using, because coconut butter separates in the jar so you have coconut oil on top. And this recipe doesn’t work well at all with coconut oil/maple syrup. I would guess this is what happened.
Replacing Carmel layer with a date paste. Think this will work?
I think that would work great!
Hi, I’m yet to try making this, but I was wondering how you would adapt it for a vegan protein bar, where would you add the powder for the recipe and would you need to substitute it for any of the ingredients. Thanks
Hi Nikhil, you could probably add some protein powder to the nougat layer and I think you could just add it in, if it doesn’t want to come together then maybe a little extra coconut oil.