Whether it’s the morning and you’re in a rush to get out of the door, or the afternoon and you’re looking for a fast and easy lunch that’s packed full of fats – this will come in handy. These Maple Pecan Fat Bomb Bars provide a delicious “protein bar” style of eating, without having an overabundance of protein – allowing you to fill up with fats as you keep going during the day, and give you enough energy to last until your next meal.
The toasted pecans are what set the flavor apart – that nutty, aromatic, and delicious taste that comes through in each and every bite makes those extra few minutes of time well worth it. They’re slightly sweet, but not overly sweet – complimented by the natural saltiness in the pecans. The coconut gives a wonderful flavor profile through the whole bar, and the almond flour acts as a binder, almost seamlessly integrating itself with the pecans to come through unnoticed.
Lastly, the homemade “maple syrup” will give a delightful maple flavor that coats each and every centimeter of the bar so that you get just a subtle maple flavor with every bite.
What’s your favorite flavored bar you like to make? Let us know in the comments below!
Yields 12 servings of Maple Pecan Fat Bomb Bars
The Preparation
- 2 cups pecans
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup flaxseed meal
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup low-carb maple syrup, ruled.me recipe
- 1/4 teaspoon liquid stevia, ~25 drops
The Execution
1. Measure out 2 cups of pecan halves and bake for 6-8 minutes at 350F in the oven. Just enough to when they start becoming aromatic.
2. Remove pecans from the oven, then add to a plastic bag. Use a rolling pin to crush them into chunks. It doesn’t matter too much about the consistency, but I like to get relatively large chunks so I can see them in the bars as I eat it.
3. Mix the dry ingredients into a bowl: 1 cup Almond Flour, 1/2 cup Golden Flaxseed Meal, and 1/2 cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut.
4. Add the crushed pecans to the bowl and mix together again.
5. Finally, add the 1/2 cup Coconut Oil, 1/4 cup “Maple Syrup” (recipe here), and 1/4 tsp. Liquid Stevia. Mix this together well until a crumbly dough is formed.
6. Press the dough into a casserole dish. I am using an 11×7 baking dish for this.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350F, or until the edges are lightly browned.
8. Remove from the oven, allow to partially cool, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (to cut cleanly).
9. Cut into 12 slices and remove using a spatula.
This makes a total of 12 servings of Maple Pecan Fat Bomb Bars. Each serving comes out to be 301 calories, 30.3g fats, 2g net carbs, and 4.6g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 2 cup pecans | 1437 | 149.7 | 28.8 | 20 | 8.9 | 19.1 |
| 1 cup almond flour | 648 | 56 | 24.6 | 14.6 | 10.1 | 23.5 |
| 1/2 cup flaxseed meal | 278 | 21.8 | 15.1 | 14 | 1 | 9.4 |
| 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut | 281 | 27.6 | 10.2 | 6.8 | 3.4 | 2.9 |
| 1/2 cup coconut oil | 972 | 108 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1/4 cup low-carb maple syrup | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1/4 teaspoon liquid stevia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 3616 | 363.2 | 78.8 | 55.4 | 23.4 | 54.9 |
| Per Serving (/12) | 301 | 30.3 | 6.6 | 4.6 | 1.9 | 4.6 |
Maple Pecan Fat Bomb Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cup pecans
- 1 cup almond flour
- ½ cup flaxseed meal
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ½ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup low-carb maple syrup ruled.me recipe
- ¼ teaspoon liquid stevia ~25 drops
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Measure out the pecans and spread them out on a baking sheet covered with foil paper. Bake for 6–8 minutes; just enough time to let them toast up a bit and release their aroma.
- Remove the pecans from the oven and add them to a plastic bag. Use a rolling pin to crush them into chunks. The consistency doesn't matter too much, but I like to get relatively large chunks so I can see them in the bars as I eat them.
- In a bowl, mix together the almond flour, flaxseed meal, and shredded coconut.
- Add the crushed pecans to the bowl and mix again.
- Finally, add the coconut oil, Ruled.Me Maple Syrup, and liquid stevia. Mix to form a crumbly dough.
- Press the dough into a casserole dish.
- Bake for 20–25 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.
- Remove from the oven, let cool, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before cutting.
- Slice and serve!
Great recipe, my hubby is going to love this! quick duhhh question: do you have to let it cool down completely before refrigerating for 1 hour?
Veronica,
I put it in the fridge when it was warm, but I had let it cooled for ~25 minutes prior to doing so. You just want the oils to re-harden so you can cut it evenly, otherwise it makes a bit of a mess 🙂
So do you think it would still work if I left the coconut out? Or is it needed to help bind it together? and… can I sub a different oil for the coconut oil… maybe butter?
I know, those are questions you hate to get. Just wondering if you had tried it before I give it a whirl. 🙂
I hadn’t tried without the coconut, but normally butter and coconut oil are pretty interchangeable. The coconut should help bind, though, so if you plan to replace it – you could probably do so with a little extra flax, chia seed, or psyllium husk.
Are you sure this was baked? My raw dough looked like this but it was way darker 20 minutes later baked at 350 degrees.
Richard, I’m positive this was baked – I only made this the other day. It may become darker depending on the type of almond flour you use – for example if you use almond meal (rather than blanched almond flour), it would be darker in the final product.
Did you use golden flaxseed or the darker version?
Do you know if these would be freezable?
Hey Chrys – I don’t see why not. I know a lot of people freeze their fat bombs, and this is mainly fat, so it should freeze just as well 🙂
So I made these, and I made one substitution (don’t hang me, I used Joseph’s Sugar-Free Maple Syrup (yes…with maltitol…)) as I think I screwed up when trying to make your maple syrup, it wasn’t thick enough for some reason. Anyway, I made these and they were more crunchy than bar like I’m guessing this is because of the syrup. The taste however was really good (too good because they are extremely moreish). I know they’re fat bombs, but I’ve managed to eat three today. Good thing I worked out today! The thing is, I may have caught on to something with its crunchy texture. When crumbled, it tasted very much like granola. So, after working out, I crumbled a bit and topped my kvarg (a protein yoghurt thingy here in Sweden). Something I’ve missed out on eating is muesli and yoghurt and a variant of this could do the trick! I may have to freeze the rest of these in order to keep me away from them!
Glad to hear is Chrys! I think if you had problem with the maple syrup not thickening, the xanthan gum wasn’t mixed in fully. You can usually use a whisk to get to properly incorporated, but sometimes you have to add a tiny bit more for it to work completely. Glad to hear they came out good, though! Mine didn’t come out too crunchy, but that sounds like a great texture (crunch is something I really miss while on keto). I think adding things like pumpkin seeds and flax would make it even crunchier if you’re looking for a granola-like replacement 😉
Is the maple syrup essential for holding everything together or is it only for flavor. I am not a maple syrup fan but these sound great otherwise.
Jay,
The maple syrup definitely helps hold it together, but if you don’t want to do that, then I’m sure you could sub in some coconut milk and xanthan gum or something similar to that (whipped heavy cream, sour cream, etc.)
I must’ve done something wrong. My mixture going into the pan was more like a slightly moist granola, and it barely holds together and is very dry and crumbly after cooking. You can’t even cut it into bars…it just falls apart. It tastes good though!
Leah, I think might might have been a bit wettish in consistency, but when I pressed it down into the pan, it stuck together quite nicely. The best way, once cooked, is to refrigerate them whole and then to slice them. They’re a bit fragile when warm/room temperature, but if you let the oil harden/solidify, they stay together quite well.
Mine didn’t turn out like yours either. I followed the recipe exactly but in the end my mixture was pretty wet and after baking they came out thin and crunchy. They don’t taste bad, but they aren’t like yours.
If they came out thin and crunchy, I am thinking you used a different size cooking vessel to bake them in. They were quite thick for me. The wetness was most likely because I “pressed” it hard into the baking dish and then let it cool completely (allowing the fats to solidify) before cutting it.
I measured exactly and my mixture just went into the oven nice and wet and looking like yours. Mine was wet in the bowl.
How do you store these? I am away on business ALL week and want to take something along. But if they have to be kept cold I won’t be able to take them with me. …..It’s gonna be a bad/hard week for me.
These would most likely get soggy if they aren’t refrigerated, Jen, unfortunately. I would suggest something with less oil in it to be able to take with you as if these are warm, they will start to fall apart some.
love this easy recipe! I am all about easy recipes! Thanks so much–now if you can tell me what the sweetness equivalent of the liquid stevia would be? I have stevia glycerite but unsure how this might be used?
I believe you’d add the stevia glycerite in the same amount as the regular stevia drops if I’m not mistaken.
You have the maple syrup as having zero carbs
Carol, it links to the homemade maple syrup recipe if you click on the (Recipe Here) part. It’s 0 carbs.
I absolutely love this recipe, and all of your recipes! I made both the cinnamon roll “oatmeal,” and these bars today, which means I also obviously made the maple syrup! I made the pepperoni pizza for my non-keto boyfriend over the weekend, and he can’t stop raving about how good it is. These recipes distract me from what I should really be doing – studying for nursing school! 🙂 Thank you for so many wonderful keto recipes….these are in the oven as we speak, and they smell so good. I can’t wait to try them, I know they will be wonderful! I have also expanded my health food goodies cabinet so much since discovering this site that I had to switch cabinets to fit it all! THANK YOU!
Really glad to hear it Kristin and thanks so much for taking the time to give such rave reviews!
Really glad to hear it Kristin and thanks so much for taking the time to give such rave reviews!
My batch turned out really well. I followed the instructions exactly.
I had my first one yesterday morning. I ate it in the car as I drove to the first gym workout I had done in 2 years.
I worked out hard. I did a one hour class that uses weights and aerobic exercise which is intense. (Pump for any fellow kiwis). As I left the gym I paused at the coffee shop to grab a flat white. I took in what was on offer at the cafe in terms of food as I waited.
There was an array of things including various high carb snacky junk food things. What immediately struck me as I stood there was that I was not the slightest bit interested in any of it, I was not hungry, I just wanted my coffee. My muscles were drained, they felt very worked, but my body did not need food.
The significance of this was huge. I have often been a gym member over my life and I have always struggled with post-workout cravings for chocolate bars and chips (crisps) and other high-carb foods. The most high risk time for me to blow a diet was walking past the gym cafe following a workout. But yesterday, nothing. No craving.
Having ingested only 1 of these bars prior to 6am, a flat white and water, and having done a very intense hour long workout, I did not feel even vaguely peckish until after 11am. Amazing!
I got up this morning craving one of these bars – they are yum. They are now officially part of my work-day and pre-gym breakfast repetoire.
That’s awesome news Madeleine. I think once you start getting used to this way of eating, the cravings for things really die down quick. After a few weeks on keto, I never really wanted sugar again. Maybe once in a blue moon I’ll get a craving, but it’s nothing that I can’t stop. I hope everything keeps going well for you 🙂
That’s awesome news Madeleine. I think once you start getting used to this way of eating, the cravings for things really die down quick. After a few weeks on keto, I never really wanted sugar again. Maybe once in a blue moon I’ll get a craving, but it’s nothing that I can’t stop. I hope everything keeps going well for you 🙂
Recently discovered this site and having a blast cooking my way thru it, ala Julie & Julia lol. Made these yesterday and they are a revelation! I made a few minor changes: added a good dash of cinnamon since it makes everything better, and a bit of xanthan gum for binding. Even so, they were still a teeny bit crumbly (I’d say my batch turned out half bars and half crumbles). Then it hit me – this is the keto granola I’ve been searching for! The crumbly bits I can have with milk for when I have that craving for cereal that I just can’t shake!
Jess,
That sounds like an awesome idea – I’ll have to play around a bit to get more crumbled and make a nice cereal granola out of it. Thanks so much for the feedback!
I cannot tolerate any sugar alcohols or even stevia (it makes my mouth itch!). Could I used about 1/8 cup of real maple syrup? I know it will have more carb/sugar in it, but I really need the fat this bar offers! Ideas?
I love these bars so much! I added cinnamon because it’s also good for me (and delicious). I was skeptical that they would hold together, but they did. I added a little bit (1/2 t) of sugar-free maple syrup to them before packing with my lunch. Rather than make my own syrup, I used
Joseph’s Sugar Free Maple Flavor Syrup (purchased on Amazon). I will be making these again this weekend!
I made these last night and had one for breakfast this morning! I had to do 1 cup of pecans and half a cup of almonds and I think the almonds made this a little bit more crumbly than necessary, since pecans are a bit more squishy and easy to cut than almonds. Some of mine did break apart a little after an hour in the fridge as I was cutting them, but most of them held their shape. I wish mine looked as “chewy” as yours, but I really think it’s because I didn’t use your maple syrup and instead used sugar-free maple syrup. These are great though!
I just came across this and was wondering if you’ve made the syrup something other than maple? Maybe cocoa powder “syrup” or almond essence. The bar looks awesome I’m just not a huge maple fan
I haven’t, but I’m sure that it would work. I know I’m super late to answering this, but I was curious as to if you ever tried it!
Do you have any good alternatives to the flaxseed/ flaxseed meal?
Hey Amanda – you can use Chia Seeds in approximately 2/3 the amount of flaxseed meal.
Thanks so much! Literally live off of your site.
Always!
I am sooo disappointed! Mine don’t even look like the picture. Their were more nuts than dough. I’ve looked at this recipe for a week and decided to make them today, maple syrup and all. I wonder if high altitude has anything to do with it?
If you want the nuts to be more disperse, you can smash them up into smaller pieces so that they blend into the dough more. As far as the maple syrup goes, make sure that you’re using the alternative maple syrup (like walden farms or the recipe that’s linked). Real maple syrup would make this very non-keto and could change the texture completely. As far as high altitude goes, with this specific recipe I wouldn’t imagine the altitude would make much of a difference.
Mine came out soooo crumbly and I’m not sure why, as I followed the instructions from the accelerated weight loss e-book. Used walden farms syrup. They’re delicious, but I can’t pick one up and eat it because it’s just crumbs? Any thoughts?
I generally leave them in the fridge to get hard. The can be semi crumbly when warm, but should harden up nicely in the fridge.
I am really excited to try this, woot woot. BUT, as a thyroidless human I have to take a step beyond the hyperfocused ingredient reading efforts of keto dieters. I also have to inspect foods, recipes, and menus for anything that can interfere with my daily dose of piggy hormones (lol, I used to think coffee was liquid gold…now it’s my Armour thyroid!) So here’s my question; have you tried any alternatives to the flax? I was mulling over using ground chia seeds. Any suggestions, advice, or good alternatives? 😀
I’ve used Chia seeds to replace flax (use 2/3 the amount chia). This works in pretty much every single recipe you can think of 🙂
Awesome sauce! Thank you Craig. Gotta get into the kitchen and start making these!
How much of the ‘maple syrup’ would I need to yield the ¼ cup needed here?
I made it without any of the fake maple syrup – just 2 tbspns real maple syrup – and it was ok though I thought it would benefit from some butter for a flapjack-type of taste. Do you have any other suggestions for avoiding the fake maple syrup? Many thanks!
I made these exactly as you directed with the exception of the maple syrup which I replaced with Joseph’s sugarfree maple syrup. I think by doing that I needed to add some more liquid or fat to the mixture if I do the same replacement. I also think I needed to score the bars and cook on the lower side of your guidelines. I think the taste is really good and I added a bit of salt to the top to enhance the flavor–good combo of flavors
Thanks April! I hope they turn out well next time too. 🙂
This recipe is a keeper. I made the bars last night, and they are just as good out of the fridge. These have the “mouth feel” of dense, nutty zucchini or carrot bread. I also added salt since I didn’t see it in the recipe. Thanks!
I just made these and they were super crumbly. Any thoughts on what I might have done wrong? Love the flavor but definitely didn’t get that ‘bready’ mouth feel. Thanks and love the site!
Hi Matt, in my experience these bars should be less bready and more – chewy? Kind of like Lara Bars? Keeping them cold (because of the coconut oil) might help them stay together better, but so would adding an egg or two before baking.
I think i just figured out what I did wrong. I missed the addition of water in the maple syrup recipe and think this accounts for the lack of binder. Making another batch soon anyway because they are delicious!
Is the flaxseed meal necessary for the recipe to work, or is it there for purely nutritional reasons?
They help suck up some of the liquid in the recipe.
I did this receipe to the exact receipe and they are crumble. I didn’t forget or leave out anything or miss the volume and I have this casserole dish that once I try to cut crumbles. I cannot afford to toss it. How can I save it to make this more edible?
These were delicious and easy to make. I chopped the nuts quickly with a large knife rather than rolling pin. I used Lakanto (Monkfruit) brand Maple Syrup. Their flavor and consistency remained good after freezing and thawing a few squares. Thank you for a great recipe.
Sounds fantastic – really glad to hear you enjoyed it!
How long do the bars last? What is the best way to store them?
I’d recommend storing them in the fridge and eating them before a week.
I’m not a fan of coconut flavour, do you have any suggestions for a substitute?
You could use butter instead of the coconut oil – the same amount, it should work well!
Hello, I see so many yummy recipes, such as this one. Would this website consider letting us viewers pin these recipes into Pinterest? That’s how I organize all my keto stuff. Otherwise I won’t remember where I found this, and probably not the name of the recipes either. Thanks for the recipe, I cannot make this, I don’t have ingredients for the maple syrup.
You can use any low-carb maple syrup in this recipe if you prefer. As far as pinning to Pinterest – all of our recipes have pin buttons that you can click to pin the recipes.
Are these OK unrefrigerated? I’m looking for something to mail for Valentines and hoping they will be OK after a few days in the mail. Thanks!!
Hey Sally,
They should hold up pretty well for a few days unrefrigerated, especially if you’re shipping them during the winter. Just make sure the recipient refrigerates them upon arrival 🙂