gluten free & vegan seven layer bars

These Gluten Free & Vegan Seven Layer Bars are so gooey and decadent, you won't feel like you're missing anything. Packed with chocolate, caramel chips, coconut flakes, nuts, and a sweet coconut condensed milk.

Hiiii friends and happy FRIDAY! I have a decadent, delicious treat to share with you guys today to kick the weekend off. These Gluten Free & Vegan Seven Layer Bars are sinfully easy to make and taste every bit as sweet and gooey as the originals! #AppleWeek is kicking off on Monday, and one of the sponsors is Nairn's Oatcakes. While I wasn't able to squeeze a recipe in with them using apples, I conveniently used them in these vegan seven layer bars and made them completely gluten free! Now that is a win! 🙂

So in case you're wondering, "What the heck is a seven layer bar?" let's talk about it! Classically, it is made of 1) graham crackers, 2) butter, 3) sweetened condensed milk, 4) chocolate chips, 5) coconut, 6) butterscotch chips, and 7) walnuts. I obviously had to change a few things up to veganize the recipe, but all in all it is pretty similar!! Like I said, I replaced classic graham crackers with Nairn's to make everything GF. Butter was easily replaced by vegan butter. The sweetened condensed milk is what threw me for a loop! I had a container of soy condensed milk from H-E-B and it regrettably didn't work the first time I tested the recipe. It made this weird marshmallowy crispy layer that was just... strange. So we ate those bars but no glamour shots. LOL.

After that, I just took to Google and found that it is very common and easy to make sweetened condensed milk with coconut milk and sugar! Easy peasy. Check that off the list too. Next on my to-do list for vegan seven layer bars was the butterscotch chips. Obviously those have milk but... I dug around my pantry and just happened to have salted caramel chips that were accidentally vegan. PERFECT! They are Hershey's brand to be specific, if you're looking for them. And the walnuts, well... I decided to be difficult and use macadamia nuts instead but do as you wish 🙂

I hope you guys give these gluten free & vegan seven layer bars a try! They are so simple to make and seriously delicious. They'll fulfill those sweet chocolate cravings in no time!

 

Looking for more vegan desserts? Check out my Vegan Cappuccino Brownies, Vegan Dark Chocolate Raspberry Shortcake Loaf, Vegan Molten Chocolate Cakes, and Vegan Hummingbird Bread. Happy baking!!

5.0 from 1 reviews

gluten free & vegan seven layer bars

 

Save Print

Prep time

1 hour

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

1 hour 40 mins

 

These Gluten Free & Vegan Seven Layer Bars are so gooey and decadent, you won't feel like you're missing anything. Packed with chocolate, caramel chips, coconut flakes, nuts, and a sweet coconut condensed milk.

Author: Valentina | The Baking Fairy

Recipe type: Brownies & Bars

Serves: 12

Ingredients

• ½ cup vegan butter, melted
• 1½ cups Nairn's original oatcakes, finely crushed (about 15 cookies)
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips (I like Guittard)
• 1 cup sea salt caramel chips (Hershey's are vegan)
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• ½ cup macadamia nuts
• *for the condensed milk*
• 1 can full-fat coconut milk (400ml)
• ½ cup white granulated sugar

Instructions

1. First, prepare the sweetened condensed milk. Pour the can of full fat coconut milk in a medium nonstick pot and add in the sugar. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat, then turn down to low and cook slowly for about 1 hour, stirring often, until volume is reduced by half and mixture is thick and syrupy. Set aside to cool.
2. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9x13 dish with parchment or foil.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the melted vegan butter and crushed Nairn's cookies, then pour into the prepared pan and press down to form a crust.
4. Sprinkle on most of the chocolate chips, coconut chips, caramel chips, and nuts. Pour your cooled off condensed coconut milk over the top of everything, then sprinkle on the remaining toppings (they stay prettier on top of the coconut milk!!)
5. Bake in preheated oven about 35-40 minutes, until golden brown and the sweetened condensed milk is hot and bubbly. Let cool COMPLETELY before slicing. Trust me. Enjoy!

3.5.3251