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White Bean Nanaimo Bars

Nanaimo Bars with added protein from beans!
Course Baking & Dessert
Key Ingredient Beans
Dietary Need Vegetarian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 36 squares
Calories 165

Ingredients

Base

  • 1/3 cup (80 mL) unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup (80 mL) semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) graham cracker crumbs
  • 1 cup (250 mL) shredded coconut flakes, unsweetened
  • 1/2 cup (125 mL) sliced almonds, crushed
  • 1 Tbsp (15 mL) granulated sugar

Filling

  • 1 can (19 oz/540 mL) white beans, drained & rinsed, pat dry (yields 2 cups/500 mL cooked beans) (see notes)
  • 1 2/3 cups (415 mL) icing sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) fine almond flour, packed
  • 2 Tbsp (30 mL) melted coconut oil
  • 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla
  • pinch ground turmeric, for colour, optional
  • pinch salt

Topping

  • 1 cup (250 mL) semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 2 Tbsp (30 mL) unsalted butter

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 9 x 9-inch (23 x 23 cm) pan with parchment paper.
  • Base: melt butter and chocolate together in a large bowl over a double boiler or in microwave, mixing often with a spatula. Stir in egg and vanilla until combined. Stir in remaining base ingredients until well combined and press firmly into line pan. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove and cool.
  • Filling: add all the filling ingredients in a food processor and blend until fully combined and smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. The mixture should be thick. Taste and adjust sweetness as desired.
  • Spread the filling evenly over the prepared, cooled base. Chill for 30 minutes in the freezer.
  • Heat and stir together topping ingredients until fully melted over a double boiler or in the microwave. Spread evenly over filling and freeze for at least one hour.
  • To serve, heat a sharp knife under hot water, dry with a towel and cut squares while knife is hot to prevent chocolate top from cracking. Enjoy!

Notes

  • Not all beans act the same. The moisture content of canned beans and cooked from dry beans may vary. Be sure to pat excess water off the cooked beans before use. If filling is very thin, add additional almond flour 1 Tbsp (15 mL) at a time to thicken.
  • White beans to use in this recipe include great northern beans, cannellini beans, white kidney beans or navy beans. If cooking beans from dry, be sure to simmer until very tender to avoid a gritty consistency in the filling.
  • To cook up a batch of dry beans, check out our website for more info!

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1square (1 1/2" x 1 1/2") | Calories: 165 | Total Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Carbohydrate: 17g | Fibre: 2g | Sugars: 10g | Protein: 3g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 32mg | Potassium: 137mg | Iron: 1mg