Vegan Millionaire Shortbread Bars
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These Vegan Millionaire Shortbread Bars are a healthier version of the classic millionaire bars, a no-bake vegan dessert bar 100% gluten-free and refined sugar-free.
You will love the buttery coconut flour shortbread base, and soft peanut butter caramel topped with a crunchy chocolate layer. Keep reading to learn more!
What Are Vegan Millionaire Shortbread Bars?
A classic millionaire’s shortbread bar is a rich dessert bar made of three layers: a crumbly shortbread crust, sticky soft caramel, and a crunchy chocolate top layer.
Usually, they are made with lots of sugar, dairy, and processed ingredients like sweetened condensed milk, white sugar, white flour, and butter.
Here I am sharing a healthier version of this classic dessert 100% refined sugar-free, dairy-free, and no-bake to preserve all the nutrients.
How To Make Vegan Millionaire Shortbread
Call these as you like, caramel bars, millionaire bars, or chocolate caramel bars!
They are simply delicious no-bake shortbread bars with a soft peanut butter caramel and dark chocolate layer.
Ingredients
All you need to make these healthy no-bake vegan dessert bars are:
- Coconut Flour – or almond flour. Coconut flour contains 4 times more fiber than almond flour, it is also sweeter in flavor, and therefore you can’t swap one flour for the other with the same ratio. That’s why I am providing 2 different recipes for the bottom layer of these no-bake millionaire bars. One recipe is using coconut flour, and one uses almond flour. Of course, you are free to choose the one you prefer based on your diet requirement. But I personally prefer coconut flour. The shortbread texture is way more intense. If you are concerned about eating raw flour, read my article about the raw flours that are safe to eat.
- Maple Syrup – or any liquid sweetener you like. You can also use agave syrup or brown rice syrup – it has a lower GI or, if you watch sugar closely, use Monk fruit syrup. It is a great sugar-free keto option.
- Coconut Oil – you can use refined coconut oil to avoid coconut flavor.
- Peanut Butter or almond butter – make sure you choose pure peanut butter with no added oil, no added sugar. Feel free to use salted peanut butter if you want to make healthy salted caramel bars.
- Vanilla
- Dark Chocolate – I recommend 85% cocoa chocolate simply because the other layers are already sweet, and strong dark chocolate balances the sweetness better.
Can I Bake The Millionaire Shortbread Crust?
A classic millionaire shortbread bar has a crumbly baked shortbread crust.
If you are looking for a similar sensation and texture, you can definitely bake the crust on it is own before adding the raw caramel.
I recommend baking the crust at 350°F (180°C) for 15 minutes and cooling the crust for 15 minutes before adding the caramel layer.
Storing Millionaire Bars
Millionaire bars are no-bake vegan desserts so these bars are dairy-free and egg-free, and therefore they can be stored easily in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
It is better if you store these in an airtight container to prevent the caramel from drying.
Also, if you want to freeze them, I recommend you place a piece of parchment paper between each bar.
It makes it easier to defrost the bars one by one.
More No-Bake Vegan Desserts
If you love no-bake vegan desserts, I recommend you also try:
Made these no-bake millionaire shortbread bars yet? Share a picture with me on Instagram. I love to see what you are making!
No-bake Vegan Millionaire Shortbread
Ingredients
Option 1: Coconut Flour Shortbread crust – gluten-free + nut-free
- 1 ⅓ cup Coconut Flour
- ½ cup Coconut Oil - melted
- ½ cup Maple Syrup - or sugar-free monk fruit syrup if keto
Option 2: almond flour shortbread crust – gluten-free + grain-free + keto
- 1 ½ cup Almond Flour - fine, blanched
- 3 tablespoons Coconut Oil - melted
- 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup - or sugar-free monk fruit syrup if keto
Caramel layer
- ⅓ cup Maple Syrup - or sugar-free monk fruit syrup if keto
- 3 tablespoons Coconut Oil - melted
- ½ cup Peanut Butter (Unsalted) - or almond butter, fresh jar, no added sugar, no added oil
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
Chocolate layer
- 4.2 oz Dark Chocolate - 85% cocoa or 70% cocoa
- 1 tablespoon Coconut Oil - melted
Instructions
- Cover a 9-inch x 5-inch rectangle baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Combine with a spatula at first, then knead the dough with your hands. The dough is soft and wet at first and dry as you go, becoming easier to shape into a ball.
- Gather the dough into a ball and place it in the center of the prepared dish.
- Press the ball with your fingers to evenly cover the bottom of the dish. You can smooth the top of the layer using a spatula or the back of a spoon.
- Freeze for 10 minutes while making the soft caramel.
- In a small bowl, add fresh runny peanut butter, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla.
- Combine with a spatula until it forms a consistent, smooth caramel.
- Remove the dish from the freezer and pour the caramel on top of the shortbread layer.
- Spread the caramel evenly with the spatula and return the dish into the freezer for 10-12 minutes or until firm.
- Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and melted coconut oil in a saucepan under medium heat. Otherwise, you can microwave chocolate and coconut oil in a small bowl, by 30 seconds burst, stirring between, until smooth and fully melted.
- Remove the dish from the freezer and pour the melted chocolate on top of the caramel layer.
- Spread with a spatula and return to the freezer for 2-5 minutes or until the chocolate layer is set.
- Remove from the freezer, use the pieces of parchment paper to lift out the bar from the dish.
- Slice with a sharp knife into 16 squares. You can slightly warm the blade under hot water before cutting to make this easier.
Storage
- Store the bars into an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze and defrost 2-3 hours before. It can be eaten half-frozen as well.
My grandson is gluten and dairy free and I use your recipes frequently for him. He loves them but so do the rest of the family now, so the time in the kitchen is increasing daily! Love your raw desserts and bars they are a success every time and no need to heat up the kitchen.
Thank you for all your research and healthy recipes they are appreciated.
Hi ! i love also coco flour ! but haven’t yet found recipe that would suit my diet requirements. Do you think i could replace coconut oil with sth to make it lower in fat?
i was thinking dates or some sort of liquid as i know they this one is also quite dry
much thanks for your advice !:)
I didn’t try something else and coconut flour is high fiber so it need fat to bind or the mouth feeling is super dry and texture crumble apart.
So incredibly easy!
Can you make the caramel layer with honey instead of maple syrup?
Sure
Thank you Carine for this amazing recipe and for your website! Everything is so delicious and I realize I don’t miss the “usual” ingredients for my previous sweet treats. I was gluten free for a long time and now I’m dairy free and corn free. All of your recipes are so well organized by diet type and ingredients so it’s been really fun trying all of options available.
This recipe is an absolute knockout and my husband and mother in law who are not gluten, dairy, nor corn free love it too. I did not find the coconut taste to be overpowering at all, I used the almond crust option but for my liquid sweetener I did use coconut nectar and it tastes great.
I use Crazy Richard’s 100% peanuts peanut butter, it is runny and only one ingredient. I used the crunchy type and it came out amazing.
I did double the amount of chocolate to have a heavier chocolate layer. I used the enjoy life chocolate chips and melted them down. They’re allergen friendly and the taste is divine.
I did have a little trouble not having the caramel layer and chocolate layer not run together too much. I put the caramel layer in the freezer for 12 minutes per the recipe, but does it need to be in there longer than that to achieve the separation in your photos?
Thanks again for all of the amazing recipes for my family including baby!
I’d never heard of these before, but saw someone make them on a cooking show. I don’t ever use wheat flours or refined sugars so was so excited to find this recipe. It did not disappoint. Shared it with my kids and grandkids and they LOVED it! Even my granddaughter, who hates anything coconut and immediately could taste the coconut oil in them, later texted me telling me “they were insanely good!” and asked for the recipe.
PS: I used the almond flour since I prefer the taste of that to coconut flour. So thanks for including that option.
Just ok. The recipe is super easy go follow but since it has coconut in every layer, it tastes just like a coconut dessert and nothing like Millionaire Bars.
Feel free to use the almond flour crust to avoid coconut flavor and use refined coconut oil that has no coconut flavor at all.
Could I use powdered PB, the kind I would ass water to make it creamy. Also when you say maple syrup, you mean a jar of pancake maple syrup. There are so many to choose from is there one you recommend.
I don’t think it will work very well because powdered PB is made of water/almond milk and it has a runnier texture. The caramel won’t be sticky and gooey
I was so excited to make these and finally did last night. The coconut taste was so strong and overpowering. Anyone else experience this? I was so bummed.
Coconut flour has a strong coconut flavor including unrefined coconut oil. For no coconut flavor, use the recipe option made of almond flour and use refined coconut oil, it has no coconut flavor.
I made this without the chocolate topping. Actually was planning to make the topping, but took a taste and OMG Fantastic! I want to make for a friend who cannot have anything with any kind of coconut in it. So wondering if there’s another oil that could be used for the caramel? Avocado oil perhaps, no taste.?
Thanks for the lovely feedback! Coconut oil solidify under 23C and give a special texture to the caramel and firm up the crust. The only other fat that can have the same property is pure cocoa butter. Enjoy!
So the flavour is insanely delicious. I’m having trouble with the Carmel being so runny (even after an hour of freezing) that cutting them into squares is causing all the filling to just squeeze out everywhere and the chocolate layer just slides off. Any tips?
I followed the recipe to the letter.
That’s interesting, did you use natural peanut butter or a peanut butter with added oil? The only reason why the caramel won’t harden at -4Cis if the oil content is higher.
But anyway, if you freeze them longer, at some point it will harden and to slice it, warm the knife blade under a blade then slice them
Can I use tahini instead of peanut butter?
Sure
My absolute favourite!!
Could I replace the oil for apple sauce or something else? My parents are oil free.
No, sorry you can’t remove oil in a no bake dessert. The crust won’t hold and the filling will be extremely runny
Fabulous! Only concern I have is the pan size- never heard of 9by 5, so have been using 7 by 11.
You can use a 8 x 8 pan too. In New Zealand we have slice pan 9 by 5 🙂
Ha! That’s funny, different pan sizes in different countries. Yes I thought 8 by 8 would make the 16 squares, Anyway, the recipe is the best!
I know ! New Zealand also have different tablespoon size to Australia our closest neighbors. But I use US measurement to make sure everyone can make my recipes 🙂
THESE ARE SOOO GOOD AND SUPER EASY TO MAKE!!! I used cashew butter as I didnt have peanut butter around the house, but it was sooo good! WIll definitely be making this more often when I am having a sugar craving!
Just the kick start I need to get off the sugar train!! Thanx.
So yummy! Been thinking of making this for a while! Tomorrow is my roommates birthday so today was the day. Oh my goodness it’s soooooooooo good
And so easy to make! Thanks guys for all the fantastic recipes!
Looks delish, can’t wait to try!
I love everything no bake here lately why is that I’m craving it….
This looks really good and i plan to make. But the name is missleading because you do bake it ( the crust)
I am sorry but the recipe doesn’t require any baking at all. You pop the crust in the freezer to set it hard, no oven or baking here, it is 100 %raw vegan baking. Enjoy the treat, XOXO Carine
this is an amazing dessert. well thank you. greet from Slovakia
I am happy you love them, XOXO Carine
These seriously, could be the best bars ever. Thank you for sharing. Love how you give options. I made my own cacao sauce for the top. Amazing
These bars are amazing! I tried something similar at a vegan bakery about five years ago and fell in love with them. I’ve always missed them. I don’t have to anymore, thanks to you! I did make a few changes and I was so happy with the results! I used coconut butter instead of coconut oil and I used pecan butter instead of peanut or almond butter and laid pecans down on the shortbread before adding the delicious caramel layer! I can’t wait to try more or your recipes! Thank you so much!!
Thank you ! Love the ideas you shared here, thanks for sharing. XOXO Carine
Can you use coconut flour in the caramel layer if you don’t have almond flour?
There is no flour needed for the caramel layer and I don’t recommend adding coconut flour or it will gritty. Enjoy, XOXO Carine
Can you use regular plain flour? It’s nearly impossible to find almond or oat flour in Northern Ireland at the minute! Thank you xx
You can eat raw wheat flour, i is not safe for you so if you really want to make this recipe using plain flour I recommend you bake the crust for 8-12 minutes at 180C (350F) Cool down 10 minutes in the pan then follow the recipe as usual. It will come out very good too. Enjoy the recipe, XOXO Carine
Could you sub the PB with (reconstituted) PbFit powdered peanut butter to lower the fat content?
I didn’t try this option yet but I am pretty sure it will work very well. Enjoy the recipe, XOXO Carine
These are fenomenal! Thank you so much for sharing the receipe. I just finished my ery first piece and about to demolish another one! 😉 I also did the no-bake brownies some time ago and was also blown away by it! Very happy to find something so indulgent, satisfying and healthy at the same time.
Thanks Nat, I am so glad you love them so much. Take care, XOXO Carine
This is my 5th time making this! As a vegan, keto, low FODMAP person I am so glad I came across your recipe!!! It’s so hard for me to eat treats that don’t irritate and cause my endo flares. THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!
Amazing news! Thank for being here with me, Take care, XOXO Carine
Made these for myself and a friend. Amazing! try just eating one. Lol 😉 I stirred the caramel on the second batch for longer and it froze better. Not sure why but thought it was worth sharing. Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your tips ! I am happy you love the bars, Take care, XOXO Carine
These are amazing. So easy to make and super super tasty. We all love them at home.I had to hide a batch in the freezer!
Thank you so much ! I am so happy all your family love it too. It is a great idea to freeze them or it is easy to eat the whole batch in a day 🙂 XOXO Carine
We recently started an elimination diet for my husband, and as the chef of the house, I had to get a little creative as I am used to cooking/baking with butter, dairy, eggs, etc. This entire experience has made us both re-asses our food choices – who knew being DF, GF, egg free, etc etc would be easy and simple? I’ve made this recipe twice in 5 days because we both love it so much. It’s incredible, and you feel a lot less guilty eating it! Try it – you won’t be sorry!
I am happy you found my blog, all my recipes are DF, GF and egg free! Enjoy, XOXO Carine
Absolutely heavenly! This was the last in our weekend recipe fun and we are in love! Easy to follow recipe and taste incredible!
When we visited Scotland we felt in love with the Millionaire Bars, but they are loaded with sugars and calories. Carine’s recipe is perfect. What I love the most is the caramel! I have been using that caramel for lots of other desserts. Regarding these bars, I was looking to make a healthy but sweet snack to which I was able to incorporate protein power. I followed her instructions but I added two scoops of protein power to the bottom later (I adjusted the liquid ingredients to about to much dryness). I got 16 bars and my husband ate them after his daily run. I haven’t done the bars by itself without the protein powder, but if they were great with the “Vanilla, Protein and Greens” power, they must be amazing without it.
Do you think there’s a way to use less or none oil for this? What could I replace it? It just seems like a lot of coconut oil and trying to keep it low on the use because of all the saturated fat. Thanks for all your recipes!
Unfortunately you can’t make no bake recipes without coconut oil. Coconut oil is the only vegan fat that solidify at room temperature (weel, there is also cocoa butter but it is very expensive) and that is this chemical property that allow you to create no baked goods. Without coconut oil or less coconut oil you will end up with a crumbly dough and it will never form a shortbread. Take care, XOXO Carine.
Hello, looking at these now and they look delicious! How does baking the short bread base turn out? I’m craving a biscuity base and feel that freezing the base may result in a kind of “fridge cake” sensation. Should a try baking it rather? And then would it be possible to substitute syrup for dates? If so do you know the ratio I should use. If not no worries! Thanks so much, super keen to make them :D.
Sure, you can bake the base for 10-12 minutes at 180C (350F). I didn’t try using date in the caramel it will probably work but it will be thicker in texture. Enjoy the recipe. XOXO Carine
So good! Very easy and fun to make, and sooo yummie! 😀
Would using a refined (liquid) coconut oil work?
Yes sure the good part about refined coconut oil is that this kind of oil has no coconut flavor. Enjoy, XOXO Carine
This recipe is fantastic! Not only is it super easy to follow and requires minimal ingredients, but it’s insanely delicious & out of this world! The shortbread tastes exactly like a traditional baked version, and the peanut butter caramel stays super luscious and soft even when left in the freezer. Really appreciate that there is a delicious alternative to the standard millionaire bar recipe. I would 100% say that this recipe far surpasses! Using coconut flour is a great way to cut out gluten and wheat, and anything vegan/dairy-free is ideal! The ingredient ratios always produce the perfect sweet treat! MUST TRY!
Thank you so much for he lovely feedback! I am glad you found my blog and enjoy the recipes around here. XOXO Carine
I’ve made these three times now since I discovered this recipe! They are the best no bake dessert I’ve come across in a very long time. I use the almond flour recipe for my base. I absolutely adore these millionaire bars!!!!
Thank you so much ! XOXO Carine
These are seriously the BEST no bake bars I have ever made and so simply to make!! Literally obsessed with them and will never go back to anything else! Can not wait to try the other recipes from The Conscious Plant Kitchen!
Yeah! Thanks a lot, XOXO Carine
Can almond flour be used instead?
Yes sure, as you can see in the recipe card there is 2 options to create the shortbread layer. Option 1 is using coconut flour an option 2 is using almond flour. Follow measurement in option 2 if you want to use almond flour. Enjoy, XOXO Carine
So delicious! Just made my second batch.
What if you don’t have no sugar added peanut butter available? Will regular skippy work?
It will work too but it will be very sweet or you will have to decrease maple syrup to keep the sweet balance right.
Could i use an 8×8 for this? I don’t have a 9×5 pan!
Sure, the layers will simply be thinner but the recipe will work. Enjoy, XOXO Carine.
Can you freeze them? I want to make it but it’s too much for one person to eat so wanted to freeze the rest for later. Thanks!
Sure! they freeze really and defrost in 30 minutes at room temperature. Freeze them slices and defrost one piece at a time. Enjoy, XOXO Carine.
Can I use oat flour instead?
I didn’t try oat flour in this recipe and usually you need way more oat flour to replace coconut flour because it contains 4 times less fiber. It won’t soak the liquid as well. Enjoy the recipe. XOXO Carine
These are sooooo good. Even my mother who is not really into healthy living and stuff loves them so much.
Making them like every week, thank you so much for you recipes and please keep going
Thanks so much for the lovely comment! Glad you love it, XOXO Carine