Healthy Caramel Seven Layer Bars

 
When I entered 6^th grade, my mom started a small Girl Scout Troop for four of my girlfriends and me. In our previous troop, the leaders had concentrated on cute indoor crafts like watercolor painting and homemade snow globes, so my mom focused on the fun outdoor activities instead. She even held our first meeting at a rock climbing gym and the second at a local lake for an afternoon of kayaking!  

Naturally, the highlight of the year for us was the springtime Camporee, an event where troops from all over Northern California gathered to spend the weekend at a campground a little north of San Francisco, not too far from the ocean. Each troop was assigned a campsite and brought their own tents, sleeping bags, and mattress pads, but we all met at the dining hall for meals and rotated through a wide variety of stations during the day for hands-on activities.

Since my parents loved camping (they had even driven down to Yosemite for a few days of hiking just two weeks before I was born!), my mom and I were extremely comfortable with the concept of Camporee. But… My best friend’s mom was the exact opposite. She considered “roughing it” to be a weekend stay in a motel, rather than a 4 star hotel, so she packed special travel bags for the two adults and five of us girls while she stayed behind and enjoyed civilization.

Hand sanitizer and baby wipes, bug spray and sunscreen, Red Vines and 3 Musketeers (our favorites!), lanyards and whistles, toilet paper and two travel-sized packets of toilet seat covers.

To this day, Mom and I always joke about the toilet seat covers whenever we go camping!
 

 
My best friend’s mom also sent along plenty of food for our first night, in case we hit traffic and missed dinner at the dining hall. She handed us a flat of bottled waters and iced tea; marshmallows, chocolate bars, and graham crackers for s’mores; and a family-sized bag of tortilla chips with a gigantic store-bought platter of seven layer dip.

At that age, the only “layered” foods I knew of were cake, parfaits, and onions (thanks, Shrek!), so I studied the platter a little before digging in. I spotted refried beans, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, olives, and jalapeños… So I mostly aimed for the beans, salsa, and cheese. I never cared for olives or sour cream, and the bright color of the guac threw me off!

Over 10 years later, when I had been publishing recipes on Amy’s Healthy Baking for a while, I finally realized dip wasn’t the only “seven layer” food… By reading her blog, Dorothy introduced me to a special dessert full of decadent ingredients, and I’ve spent the past two years working on creating a healthy version.
 

 
So here it is… These Healthy Caramel Seven Layer Bars! They have the same indulgent, familiar flavors of traditional seven layers bars {melty chocolate, crunchy nuts, shredded coconut, and that sweet drizzle holding it all together!} — but none of the refined or artificial ingredients!

Pure magic.
 

HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY CARAMEL SEVEN LAYER BARS

Let’s start with the crust. Traditional recipes use graham cracker crumbs and a whole lot of butter, but… We’re going to do something a little lighter and more wholesome! Instead, you’ll use crushed brown rice cereal, sweetened with a bit of stevia powder, and held together with just 1 tablespoon of butter and a glug of milk.

I know, I know… It sounds crazy to use cereal as the crust, but it totally works! Just trust me on this, okay? I’ve tested it quite a few times and also use it for my favorite cheesecake bars, so I promise it’ll turn out just fine! For the best results, I recommend this brown rice cereal, if you can find it. I love it because it only includes brown rice and salt as the ingredients.

Note: Since I originally published this recipe, my preferred brand of brown rice cereal was discontinued. However, this one and this one are pretty similar!

Just like in traditional versions, you’ll still sprinkle chocolate chips (but use miniature ones to ensure every bite contains chocolate!), chopped nuts, and shredded coconut on top. But instead of butterscotch chips, you’ll use something a little more wholesome…
 

 
Medjool dates! Remember when we made this super easy healthy caramel sauce? It just required dates and water, and it really does taste like caramel! So for these seven layer bars, you’ll finely dice a few medjool dates for that sweet caramel flavor. All of my taste testers were shocked to find out I used dates — those bits tasted just like caramel to them, too!

For the drizzle on top, we’re skipping the sweetened condensed milk. Instead, you’ll use a combination of Greek yogurt, milk, and liquid stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s very concentrated. A little goes a long way! This is my favorite kind because I love its sweet flavor and don’t notice any strange aftertaste, like with some other stevia products. You can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, but I normally buy it online here because that’s the best price I’ve found. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)

Hint: Once you’ve added the drizzle on top, you may need to gently move it around with the tip of a spatula to get it into those cracks and crannies in between all of the nuts and chocolate. Don’t shake the pan though — those toppings with move all around the pan!

Then pop the pan in the oven, set a timer, and…
 

 
Enjoy! And when you do, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees that I’ll see the notification from you! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your clean caramel seven layer bars!

Healthy Caramel Seven Layer Bars

© Amy's Healthy Baking

Yields: 16 bars

These seven layer bars are absolutely irresistible, and they have less than half the calories of traditional versions! They’ll keep for at least 6 days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

No ratings yet

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients 

FOR THE CRUST

• 3 ½ cups (105g) crisp brown rice cereal (see Notes!)
• 1 tsp stevia powder
• 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
• 6 tbsp (90mL) nonfat milk, room temperature

FOR THE TOPPINGS

• ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp (30mL) nonfat milk
• 1 tsp liquid stevia
• ¼ cup (56g) miniature chocolate chips
• ¼ cup (30g) finely diced pecans
• 3 large (72g) medjool dates, finely diced
• 3 tbsp (15g) reduced fat shredded unsweetened coconut

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat a 9”-square pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• To prepare the crust, add the cereal to a food processor or blender. Pulse until it resembles fine crumbs. Transfer the crumbs to a bowl, and stir in the stevia powder until thoroughly incorporated. Make a well in the center, and pour in the butter and milk. Mix together until fully incorporated. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 16-19 minutes or until mostly firm to the touch. Cool completely to room temperature.
• To prepare the drizzle topping, stir together the Greek yogurt, milk, and liquid stevia. Transfer to a zip-topped plastic bag.
• Sprinkle the chocolate chips, pecans, dates, and coconut over the cooled cracker crust in that order. Cut a small corner off the bag with the Greek yogurt mixture, and drizzle over the top. Use the tip of a spatula to carefully spread the drizzle into all cracks and crannies between the other topping ingredients.
• Bake at 350°F for 11-14 minutes or until the drizzle touching the edges of the pan starts to turn golden. Cool completely to room temperature, and allow the bars to set once they reach room temperature for at least 3 hours before slicing into squares.

Notes

IMPORTANT ASSEMBLY NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: When adding the toppings to the cooled crust, be sure the crust is completely cool (so you don't melt the chocolate chips) and sprinkle the coconut last! If you sprinkle it first, it prevents the drizzle from seeping through the cracks and crannies to stick to the crust, so the entire layer of toppings will slide right off of the crust when you slice the pan into bars and try to serve them.

 

IMPORTANT DATES + PECANS NOTES: For best results, dice the pecans and medjool dates to be no larger than the miniature chocolate chips. If the dates stick to your fingers while trying to sprinkle them on top of the crust, moisten your fingers with a little water.

 

BROWN CEREAL NOTES + ALTERNATIVES: My favorite brown rice cereal brand has been discontinued, but this one and this one are both similar.

 

Regular crisp rice cereal (ie Rice Krispies) may be substituted in place of the crisp brown rice cereal. Rice pocket cereal (ie Rice Chex) will also work.

 

POWDERED STEVIA ALTERNATIVES: If you prefer not to use stevia powder in the crust, substitute 2 tablespoons of coconut sugar or brown sugar. You may also substitute 2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup, honey, or agave and reduce the milk to ¼ cup.

 

LIQUID STEIVA NOTE: I do not recommend substituting anything for the liquid stevia in the toppings. You’d need the equivalent of ½ cup of granulated sugar, and this will make the drizzle much too runny. I buy my liquid stevia online here because that's the best price I've found, and you'll use it in all of these recipes of mine too!

 

MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.

 

MEDJOOL DATE ALTERNATIVES: For the best results, use fresh dates – rather than dried! Deglet noor dates may be substituted, if you can't find medjool dates.

 

PECAN ALTERNATIVES: Any nuts may be substituted for the pecans.

 

COCONUT ALTERNATIVES: If you can't find unsweetened, then shredded sweetened coconut will work. I don't recommend desiccated coconut; it's drier and more brittle. I also don't recommend coconut flakes; they're larger and stiffer than shredded coconut. (However, if you can only find coconut flakes, then run them through a food processor or blender until they're around ¼ to ½ of their original size before using them in place of the shredded unsweetened coconut!)

 

{gluten free, egg free, clean eating, lower fat, low calorie, lower sugar}

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.

View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
 
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡   Healthy Two-Ingredient Caramel Sauce
♡   Healthy Samoa Cookie Scones
♡   Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Brownies
♡   Healthy Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars
♡   Healthy Loaded Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies