Vegan Millionaire Shortbread Bars

These Vegan Millionaire Bars are a healthier version of the classic millionaire shortbread, 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!

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A classic millionaire 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 healthy millionaire bars, the vegan version of this classic dessert 100% refined sugar-free, dairy-free, and no-bake to preserve all the nutrients.

No-bake Vegan Millionaire Shortbread

A healthier version of the classic millionaire bars 100% refined sugar-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free.

4.75 from 143 votes

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Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

freeze: 25 minutes mins

Total Time: 35 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 16 bars

Calories: 215 kcal

Author: Carine Claudepierre

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Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

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.
• In a medium bowl, add coconut flour (or almond flour; if so, make sure you respect the correct ratio of ingredients based on the flour you choose), maple syrup, and melted coconut oil.
• 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.

Notes

The nutrition panel is for one bar using coconut flour and maple syrup.

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Nutrition

Serving: 1bar | Calories: 215kcal | Carbohydrates: 17.5g | Protein: 3.9g | Fat: 15.3g | Fiber: 3.1g | Sugar: 14g

Ingredients and Substitutions

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  – for flavor.
• Dark Chocolate – I recommend 85% cocoa chocolate simply because the other layers are already sweet, and strong dark chocolate balances the sweetness better.

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.

1. Line a 9-inch x 5-inch rectangle baking dish with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, combine coconut flour (or almond flour, ensuring proper ingredient ratios if using almond flour), maple syrup, and melted coconut oil.

3. Initially, use a spatula and then knead the dough by hand until it transforms from a soft, wet consistency to a dry one, becoming easier to shape into a ball.

4. Place the ball in the center of the prepared dish, pressing it with your fingers to evenly cover the bottom. Use a spatula or the back of a spoon to smooth the top. Freeze for 10 minutes while preparing the soft caramel.

5. In a small bowl, mix fresh runny peanut butter, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla until a consistent, smooth caramel forms.

6. Pour the caramel over the shortbread layer, spreading it evenly with a spatula. Return the dish to the freezer for 10-12 minutes or until firm.

7. Meanwhile, melt chocolate and coconut oil in a saucepan over medium heat or microwave them in a bowl in 30-second bursts, stirring between, until fully melted. Pour the melted chocolate over the caramel layer, spreading it with a spatula. Return to the freezer for 2-5 minutes or until the chocolate sets.

8. Remove from the freezer, use parchment paper to lift the bar from the dish, and slice into 16 squares with a sharp knife. To ease cutting, you can slightly warm the blade under hot water.

Step-by-Step Video

More No-Bake Vegan Desserts

If you love no-bake vegan desserts, I recommend you also try:

Healthy Caramel Slice

Vegan Peanut Butter Cups

Vegan Rocky Road

Brownie Protein Bites

Banana Oat Balls