Raw Chocolate Almond Butter Fudge Bars (2024)

November 25, 2014 Dessert

By: Ana /56 / Dessert, Raw, Winter,

It’s been quite a few years since I excluded refined sugar from my diet and I have absolutely no desire for it, even when I see the creamiest, most lush, deliciously-flavored dessert. Well…except chocolate. When it comes to chocolate desserts, everything changes and my heart starts to beat faster and faster. I love Sacher torte, brownies, cupcakes, frosting, ice cream, and everything that involves chocolate. How do I manage to survive? The answer is…raw!

The incredible versatility of raw desserts saved me from breaking my decision to eliminate refined sugar from my diet. I don’t know if you can recreate any dessert using raw ingredients only, but the most popular chocolate delights definitely have a delicious and healthy raw version. Lucky me!

These gorgeous fudge bars are packed with excellent nutrients: potassium (from both banana and dates), healthy fats and minerals. And because we’re talking about chocolate, it is the raw cacao powder that loads the bars with even more high-quality nutrients, especially antioxidants. There is a big difference between raw cacao powder and the cocoa powder you will find in all supermarkets, which is the one most people use. Regular cocoa powder is obtained after the cacao nibs are fermented, dried, sometimes treated with additives, and processed to obtain chocolate or cocoa powder – so many of its nutrients are destroyed or reduced in the process.

The raw cacao powder is a real superfood, loaded with antioxidants, proteins, antioxidants (flavonoids), calcium, magnesium, sulfur, copper, iron, zinc, potassium, healthy fats, fibers, and vitamins E, B2, B1, B5, B3, and B9, with multiple health benefits. So, when you’re preparing your next raw chocolate dessert make sure you use the real deal!

Print Recipe

4.89 from 9 votes

Raw Chocolate Almond Butter Fudge Bars

Turn your favorite chocolate dessert into its healthy guilt-free raw version.

Prep Time20 mins

Total Time20 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Raw

Servings: 6

Author: The Awesome Green

Ingredients

1 cup pitted dates soaked in filtered water for 1 hour and drained
4 tbsp raw cacao powder
2 ripe bananas
1 &1/2 cup raw almonds unsalted
½ cup raw cashews
½ cup raw hazelnuts
1 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp raw agave nectar

Instructions

Place the pitted dates, 2 tbsp raw cacao powder, cashews and hazelnuts in the food processor and mix until well blended.
Spread the mixture in a small baking pan an press it down with your fingers or a spoon.
Place the almonds in the food processor and mix to obtain a creamy butter (it should take about 10-12 minutes, pausing every minute to not overrun the machine; the texture will go all the way from coarsely chopped, to crumbly, finely ground and butter).
Add the bananas, agave nectar, coconut oil and 2 tbsp raw cacao powder to obtain a smooth cream.
Pour the banana cream on top of the date base and spread evenly.
Cover with a plastic foil and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Remove from the refrigerator, cut in squares, sprinkle with raw cacao powder and serve.

Notes

Reader Interactions

Comments

Nina says
November 25, 2014 at 11:14 pm

Hey 🙂 I love the recipe! Could I use almond butter from a jar? I just happen to have some in the cupboard at the minute 🙂
Reply
- Ana says
  November 26, 2014 at 9:14 am
  
  Hey! You can use almond butter from a jar, but I’m not very sure if this one is raw. Anyway, it will taste fantastic 🙂
  Reply
  - Melanie says
    May 04, 2017 at 3:20 am
    
    If you DID use almond butter (instead of bananas??) how much do you think you would need? I have a daughter who is allergic to bananas.
    Reply
    - Ana says
      May 08, 2017 at 7:56 pm
      
      I would probably add a tablespoon almond butter for each banana. I don’t think it will turn out very differently, it will actually be creamier without the banana. Let me know if you try this recipe, would love to read about the result.
      Reply
Natalia says
November 26, 2014 at 7:58 am

Arata de vis! Felicitari!
Reply
- Ana says
  November 26, 2014 at 9:15 am
  
  Thanks, Natalia! One small request: please write your future comments in English so everyone can understand them. Hugs!
  Reply
Rike says
See Also
Cranberry Pistachio White Chocolate Truffles 3-Ingredient Chocolate Crunch Doughnuts Peanut Butter Filled Brownie Hamantaschen - Overtime Cook Salted Chocolate Oatmeal Shortbread — Salt & Wind Travel
November 26, 2014 at 5:10 pm

WOW! I just found your blolg, it’s amazing here! I’m in love with all your recipes and your photography! Great work, keep it up Ana!
Greetings from Germany
Reply
- Ana says
  November 26, 2014 at 9:38 pm
  
  Thank you for your kind words, Rike!
  Reply
Mary says
November 30, 2014 at 4:13 am

What an amazing recipe! they look absolutely delicious – no need for any refined sugar here! Love your blog and signing up to follow
Mary
Reply
- Ana says
  November 30, 2014 at 11:50 am
  
  Thanks Mary, and good luck with your new blog! XO
  Reply
Meg @ Noming thru Life says
December 02, 2014 at 9:39 pm

I am so obsessed with raw desserts right now!! Can’t wait to give this a try!
Reply
- Ana says
  December 05, 2014 at 9:59 am
  
  Meg, I’m very sure you’ll love it! Let me know how it turned out!
  Reply
christine says
December 15, 2014 at 11:07 am

wow these look delicious – just right for coffee on Christmas morning – just need to find a substitute for the bananas:)
Reply
- Ana says
  December 16, 2014 at 11:01 am
  
  I would normally replace them with avocado and add some agave syrup for sweetness, but I think pears would fit great in this recipe!
  Reply
Christine // my natural kitchen says
December 16, 2014 at 5:46 pm

What a beautiful treat! Your photographs are really gorgeous and I love the ingredient list for these. Just perfect!
Reply
- Ana says
  December 17, 2014 at 10:27 am
  
  Thank you so much, dear Christine, I am really happy that you like it!
  Reply
Christina says
December 20, 2014 at 7:52 pm

Great recipe! On my second batch. Although very satisfying for my chocolate fix the banana taste is very present. What is the purpose of the banana? Also for my batches, the banana makes the top layer like an icing, very thick. Is this the same for you? Again very delicious and happy to have found your blog! Definitely makes being vegetarian wanting to be vegan inspiring. Cheers.
Reply
- Ana says
  December 23, 2014 at 11:46 am
  
  Dear Christine, I am really happy that you made my recipe and also liked it!I love the banana flavor and the creaminess it gives, this is why I decided to use it for the top layer. Freezing the fudges gives them ice-like consistency, but if you leave them at room temperature for a few minutes they’ll be just fine. Hugs, Ana 🙂
  Reply
  - Christina says
    January 04, 2015 at 8:02 pm
    
    Haha. In the USA we refer to “icing” as the top creamy thick layer of cake or cupcakes, sometimes also called frosting . I wasn’t saying that the bars are like ice. 🙂
    Reply
    - Ana says
      January 04, 2015 at 9:11 pm
      
      I got it now! 🙂
      Reply
      See Also
      The Best Homemade Brownie Recipe - Baker by Nature
Tami says
January 09, 2015 at 9:18 pm

Your site is very well done and your pictures are fabulous.
I am planning to make these, but would honey work as a replacement for the agave?
Reply
- Ana says
  January 09, 2015 at 10:22 pm
  
  Thank you for your feedback, Tami! Yes, you can replace agave with honey, it won’t be a raw recipe anymore but I’m sure it will have a great taste!
  Reply
Nora says
March 09, 2015 at 5:42 am

This looks fabulous, but I’m unable to eat cashews or hazelnuts. Would I be able to substitute more almonds?
Reply
- Ana says
  March 09, 2015 at 10:36 pm
  
  Hi Nora, you can use almonds only, it won’t turn out as creamy as this one, but I’m sure it will taste very good.
  Reply
AFidalgo says
May 30, 2015 at 8:33 pm

Awesome recipe! Thanks for sharing.
Reply
- Ana says
  June 01, 2015 at 10:00 am
  
  Happy you liked it! 🙂
  Reply
Aysegul says
September 28, 2015 at 1:10 pm

This recipe is so SO creative and looks delicious. Well done Ana!
Reply
- Ana says
  September 28, 2015 at 8:11 pm
  
  It was a great replacement for the classic fudge, so delicious and guilt-free, I ate a lot when I made these 🙂 Thank you, dear Aysegul!
  Reply
Emily says
November 20, 2015 at 4:38 pm

I couldn’t agree more with everything you wrote in this post- I just adore raw cacao brownies. I especially love the double layer you created here with the banana cream on top. Just too perfect and beautiful!
Reply
- Ana says
  November 23, 2015 at 2:42 pm
  
  Thank you so much, Emily, I’m really happy that you visited my blog and found something inspiring 🙂
  Reply
Inge says
December 09, 2015 at 11:13 pm

This was the first raw dessert I ever made and it was lovely. I used a bit more cacaopowder and used maple syrup instead of agave. Eating chocolate and being healthy at the same time, it can’t be any better. This means I’m gonna try out more raw recipes. Thanx.
Reply
- Ana says
  December 10, 2015 at 8:53 pm
  
  That sounds great, Inge! Maple syrup is a very good choice, and there is always space for extra cacao 🙂
  Reply
Kerri says
February 04, 2016 at 1:58 am

Ana, I made these bars and thet tasted great, like a chocolate banana cream pie. My top layer seemed to come out much runnier than it looks here, less like fudge or even frosting and more like a pudding. Could it be that my bananas were too big?
Reply
- Ana says
  February 04, 2016 at 12:32 pm
  
  This might be a possibility, but either way it should freeze nicely even with too much banana.
  Reply
  - Kerri says
    February 07, 2016 at 4:25 pm
    
    Am I SUPPOSED to freeze it? When I read to put it in the refrigerator I put it in cold part of my fridge, not the frozen part.
    Reply
    - Ana says
      February 10, 2016 at 11:58 am
      
      Yesss, I actually meant to write freezer and not refrigerator 🙂 I’m really happy you wrote me, so I can now correct the mistake! Thank you 🙂
      Reply
Hans S says
April 21, 2016 at 8:48 pm

Hi!
Altough I really like your recipe, I have problems reproducing it. I mixed the almonds for a very long time, but it never resulted in peanut buttter, no matter how many times I tried. Please help, I am really confused!
Reply
- Ana says
  April 22, 2016 at 9:51 am
  
  Good point Hans 🙂 The recipe is correct now!
  Reply
- Bev says
  August 04, 2016 at 10:26 pm
  
  It doesn’t matter how long you process it you will NEVER get peanut butter from almonds! (Sorry, just could not resist pointing out the obvious).
  It takes a very long time to turn raw almonds into butter… up tp 20 min. Roasting the almonds first cuts processing time in half.
  Reply
Tanvi says
April 01, 2017 at 6:15 am

These look incredible! How long will they last in the freezer?
Reply
- Ana says
  April 05, 2017 at 8:15 pm
  
  They last up to two weeks. Thanks so much 🙂
  Reply
allison says
April 27, 2017 at 5:19 pm

hello,
I probably have silly questions, but I’m new with this 🙂
in France, it’s not written if the cacao powder is raw or not. I bought an organic fair trade cacao box, also not specified there. When it’s not written raw, does it automatically means it’s not ?
Alson the raw hazelnuts, almonds etc… Not written either. So when they are not “grilled”, does it mean they are raw?
Many thanks
Reply
- Ana says
  April 30, 2017 at 6:57 pm
  
  Hi Allison, I wouldn’t consider ingredients raw unless they’re labeled so. We had the same problem here at some point, but with time they labeled everything. Maybe ordering from a trusted online source would help.
  Reply
Fiona says
July 31, 2017 at 5:59 pm

Hi can you use something in place of coconut oil please, would almond butter or oil be OK?
Reply
- Ana says
  August 04, 2017 at 10:05 am
  
  The coconut oil is meant to solidify the fudge, you can use almond butter instead but you need to freeze them for a longer period to keep them together.
  Reply
Sharon says
February 12, 2021 at 9:52 pm

Delicious, I love that it has no refined sugar but still tastes like it does. I am going to try it with avocado instead of banana next time as you suggested in a comment.
Reply
Ana Marija says
November 22, 2022 at 4:24 pm

hi, did it, and my house Luv it. great recepie, great work, thank you
Reply