Healthy Homemade Fig Bars
What’s got a chewy, cakey cookie crust and a soft, sweet, and figgy filling? These Healthy Homemade Fig Bars of course, made with Truvia® Natural Sweetener — my favorite zero-calorie, natural sweetener (it’s made from the stevia leaf)!
This easy Fig Bar recipe is 100% whole grain, gluten free, and vegan, with zero added sugar.
Who needs store-bought when you’ve got these thick and chewy slices of heaven? No one. That’s who. Kids and adults alike will fall in love with these hearty, not-too-sweet, good-for-you treats!
Thanks to Truvia for sponsoring this post, and thank YOU for supporting the brands that keep Desserts With Benefits going! All opinions are mine and mine alone!
These gluten-free Fig Bars are actually very simple to make, despite looking like they took hours and hours to make. After preparing the Fig Jam (and scooping a big spoonful into your mouth for… quality assurance 😉 ) — all you need to do is mix and roll out the dough, spoon the jam on top, roll it into a log, slice, and bake! Easy peasy figgy squeezy.
Right after baking, these Fig Bars are pretty firm. But after spending a night in a sealed container, DANG MA, they’re super soft and chewy and TO. DIE. FOR.
This Fig Bar recipe is better than store-bought! Best of all, you’d never know these large and hearty figgy slices are healthy, gluten free, and vegan, with no sugar added!
Healthy Homemade Fig Bars
Ingredients
Homemade Fig Jam:
- 3 cups (15oz) Dried Figs
- 1 tbs Truvia Spoonable
- juice of 1 Orange
- 1 cup Water
Fig Bars:
- 240g (2 cups) Oat Flour
- 3 tbs Truvia Spoonable
- 1 tsp Double Acting Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Salt
- ¼ cup Unsweetened Applesauce
- 2 tbs Coconut Oil (melted; +1 tsp for brushing after baking)
- 2½ tbs Water
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Homemade Fig Jam (recipe above)
Instructions
For the Homemade Fig Jam:
- In a small saucepan (use a wide and shallow one, not a tall and narrow one), add the dried figs, Truvia, orange juice, and water. Let soak for 1 hour.
- Cover with a lid and place the saucepan over medium heat. Keeping cover on, cook for ~20 minutes, or until the figs are super soft and can be easily mushed with a fork. Let cool completely.
- Blend in a high speed blender (I used my Vitamix) until a spreadable paste.
For the Fig Bars:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the oat flour, Truvia, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the applesauce, the melted 2 tbs of coconut oil, water, and vanilla extract. Dump the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir together until it forms a thick dough. Roll the dough out between two silicone baking sheets until ¼” thick. Slice into a large rectangle (about 8” x 18” long).
- Spread the fig jam in a center line down the dough rectangle.
- Fold the dough over the fig filling like a pamphlet. Start by lifting one side of the silicone baking sheet, gently pressing on it so the dough sticks to the fig filling, then repeat on the other side.
- Flip the Fig Bar “log” so the seam side is down, then slice. Place the silicone baking sheet on a cookie sheet and space the Fig Bars apart a couple inches or so. Bake for 12 minutes. Take the pan out of the oven and brush the melted 1 tsp of coconut oil on top of the bars. Let cool, then store in a tightly sealed container overnight so they can soften. Enjoy the following day!
Recipe Notes
![[Step By Step Pictures] How to Make Homemade Fig Newtons - This easy Fig Newton recipe is 100% whole grain, gluten free, and vegan, with zero added sugar. Made with oat flour, dried figs, unsweetened applesauce, and a tad bit of coconut oil, these are chewy and perfectly sweet!](https://dessertswithbenefits.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/How-to-Make-Homemade-Fig-Newtons.jpg "[Step By Step Pictures] How to Make Homemade Fig Newtons - This easy Fig Newton recipe is 100% whole grain, gluten free, and vegan, with zero added sugar. Made with oat flour, dried figs, unsweetened applesauce, and a tad bit of coconut oil, these are chewy and perfectly sweet!")
To make these gluten-free, I used a base of oat flour, bound together with a little bit of applesauce, coconut oil, and water, and lightly sweetened with Truvia. To make the Homemade Fig Jam, all you need are 3 ingredients: figs, orange juice, and Truvia!
I’ve been using Truvia for years now. I think I first discovered it in college when I switched from those overly sweetened flavored yogurts to plain yogurt. I missed the sweetness of the flavored yogurts, though, so I started adding a couple packets of Truvia to my plain yogurt and BOOM! I found love 🙂
The ingredient list for these Healthy Homemade Fig Bars is way better than the store-bought version. It’s about time this classic pantry staple has been made better! No need for the added sugars, preservatives, artificial flavors, or unnecessary ingredients here. Every bite of these bars will bring you back to the old days 🙂
Enjoy!
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With love and good eats,
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– Jess
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Indulge − no strings attached!
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So I recently became the owner of 3 bags of figs thanks to an Instagram giveaway and I have to thank you for giving me inspiration with this recipe for something to make those figs with! I really like fig bars so this might be a fun experiment for me to try. Fingers crossed it goes well! I’ll let you know if I give it a go. 🙂 I really want to try it!
Hi Jess, what’s the baking temperature for these? Thanks!
Hey Jess, trying to make for the 1st time and wondering if they can be frozen after baking and cooling down. Do you think it would be better to have them in the airtight container overnight and then freeze if the answer is yes? Thank you!
For sure!! I’d recommend freezing them in an airtight container (doesn’t matter if they’re fresh or 2 days old), then thawing them completely in the fridge 🙂
Hope you like the recipe Tiffany!!
350
Hi Jess, what’s the baking temperature on these? Thanks!
Oops so sorry! It’s 350 degrees Fahrenheit 🙂
Can you use fresh figs instead of dried? I have a fig tree in my backyard and would like to skip the drying process, if possible. Thank you.
I haven’t tried fresh figs so I can’t be sure. As long as it can cook down into a “jam” spread (as pictured in the step-by-step photo below the recipe box), you should be good! 🙂
OMG! I have always loved fig bars. They are absolutely glorious. Your recipe looks EXACTLY like the real product, but the filling looks even more fresh and vibrant. I bet they taste sweeter and more delicious too!
Hi! These look lovely and I was wondering how long these would last in an airtight container, maybe the fridge? Thanks in advance!💖
I’d recommend storing these in an airtight container in the fridge for about 5 days 🙂
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YUM!!! I’m going to have to try this recipe this weekend and get back to you. Thanks for sharing!!!
Awesome!! I hope you LOVE them!! 🙂
Are there possible substitute for Stevia with this recipe?
I haven’t tried it, but sure, I don’t see why not! If you use a granulated sweetener (like coconut sugar, evaporated cane juice, erythritol, etc.), you’d need to double the amount called for in the recipe: 2 tbs in the jam, 6 tbs in the dough.
What is the nutritional content? They
Look delicious!
Hi Jessica,
I was in the process of making this with my daughter when my blender cracked while blending the jam!!!! So disappointed and will get to it another day; however, my blender’s motor sounded like it was going to burn out. Should I add a little water to my figs while blending? The water and oj had already evaporated by the time the figs cooled! I want to try again soon!
Oh no! I’ve had that happen to me before… my poor Magic Bullet died on me 🙁
There should be a little bit of liquid left in the figs, so if it all evaporated I’d recommend adding a splash in the blender. You’re still aiming to make a paste by the end of blending though, so be careful not to add too much! Hope you have better luck with your next blender 🙂
Hi! Would it be possible to substitute cassava flour for the oat flour as well as coconut sugar for the truvia?
I LOVE FIG NEWTONS, so I’m really hoping so!
Thanks,
Samantha
Figured I would give an update:
I made these today per your suggestion above I subbed & doubled the coconut sugar (2 tbsp / 6 tbsp) and I swapped the oat flour with 120g fine blanched almond flour and 120g cassava flour and they turned out AMAZING! Thanks for this recipe ♡ I love fig newtons but the only store brand I could ever find is gluten-free (not grain-free) and has canola oil so these were such an exciting find!!
YAYAYAY! I’m really happy you figured out a way to make this recipe to suit your needs! I really need to get my hands on some cassava flour because it sounds like it’s great to pair with almond flour.
This makes me smile 🙂 glad you can finally have your fig newton fix… gluten free! <3
Hey! I really want to try out this recipe. I’ve been looking for more snacks I can make myself instead of having to buy them prepackaged with all that extra trash, and this looks great! I’m just wondering if there’s a way to flavor them? Like maybe a blueberry flavoring, or a different fruit? Thanks! I’ll probably still try it either way, though.
What if I can’t find double acting baking powder? Would it turn out alright with just standard baking powder do you think? Thanks!
Most baking powders are double-acting, but even if it isn’t, your fig bars should be fine!! 🙂
I’m currently working on this recipe. I love fig newtons. I’m trying hard not to eat the fig paste as it cools. Long process.. waiting.. 😉
LOVE these. I am now sharing your site with others. 🙂 This recipe is super.
I have found maple syrup a super substitute for the truvia for those who prefer that (I used 1/2 T in the fig paste & 2 1/2 T in the dough). Also, the second time I cut the large rectangle down the middle to make small bars (I made about 36 bars). Thank you for a super fig bar recipe!!
can i use monk fruit instead of stevia? and can i make the fig jam with blueberries or raspberries?
Oh. My. Word. I love these! I made them last night. I’m super glad to have enough fig jam to make more next week!
Your comment just made my WEEK!! So glad you liked the bars 🙂 🙂 🙂
Hello. Can I have the recipe in grams ? Because i dont really understand when using cups..
Beautiful! We have a fig tree that’s just about to burst, so I used up the rest of last year’s frozen crop and made a fresh chia jam. Since it was much more liquid, I left it as one big log (I made 8 out of a half-batch, so it was a bit thinner) and baked for 8 minutes, then sliced and went back in for 4. I also used maple syrup, so added a bit of extra flour, and it worked just fine! Definitely going to make these again with whatever’s left after this year!
Do you have nutrition info. I am diabetic and always looking for low carb, low sugar recipes. Just wondered about the carb count per cookie. Thanks!
Hmmm…made the fig bars per recipe but the dough was very dry. The fig jam was tasty and made the bars edible but otherwise would not make again.
Looks like a terrific recipe and I’d really like to make it but I can’t picture what’s being described in step 3 under bars section. Could someone maybe provide an alternate description of how the dough gets laid out and cut up?
You can use silicone mats or parchment paper for this, but I like silicone mats because sometimes the parchment paper gets warped and creates wrinkles in the dough. So, lay a mat down, put the dough on top, and then lay another mat on top of the dough. That way when you press it down and roll it out, it doesn’t stick to the rolling pin or tear 🙂
Try to roll the dough out into a rectangle 8” wide x 18” long, moving the dough as needed to make those measurements. Hope this helps!!
Well I couldn’t have messed this up any more if I actually tried. I was reading too many recipes for figs and dates and my brain did a mash up of date oatmeal cookies and fig newtons 🤦♀️
I added the ingredients for the spread straight into the food processor, no cooking before hand and I grabbed the bag of dates instead of the figs. I ground oatmeal into oat flour so the mixture came out more crumbled than I expected. And I hate coconut so I use Avacado oil. Don’t ask me why but I started rolling the (date mixture) with the dry mixture like a Swiss roll but I sliced and baked them.
Even after all that they were actually pretty good. I’m going to do this again the right way next time. I love fig newtons but don’t need all that extra sugar.
I can’t rate this yet but will when I try this again.
Honestly, what you made sounds pretty darn good, no gonna lie!! 😉 It’s like a fig newton meets a cinnamon roll meets nature valley bars!!
Could you sub white whole wheat flour in this, if so would you change anything else?
What an amazing recipe! I had dried figs from the last century I think lol sitting in my pantry. I didn’t know what to do with them coz they were so hard!
your recipe was EXCELLENT. I loved how simple it was. I added protein powder to the oat flour mix and my husband LOVED these too, he doesn’t even have a sweet tooth.
My husband and I really enjoy this healthy recipe! Because I didn’t have store bought oat flour I made my own making necessary adjustments, otherwise I followed recipe as written. I have to say my husband has never liked figs since a child so I was thinking I’d have these to myself, boy was I wrong!! I’m making a second batch today to store. Thanks for creating and posting this delicious but ohhhh so healthy recipe❤️💕
THESE ARE SOOO GOOD!!! They taste exactly like the store-bought, but much better and fresher!! Can’t recommend this recipe enough!!! TRY IT TODAY PLEASE!!! They taste better the next day too!! Tomorrow I’m going to try to make them with some homemade made raspberry-blueberry chia jam!!! Thank you sooo much for this recipe!!
Can I make them in the morning and then consume in the evening? Is that long enough for them to soften!! I love this recipe and have made it a couple times. One thing I do is omit the water in the dough, I find that the extra liquid makes the dough too wet.
These taste excellent! I love using oat flour because it’s a whole grain and gluten free.
Unfortunately like most gluten-free recipes, it struggles with binding. The dough didn’t hold together and broke apart too much to make a proper roll. I ended up making them into sort of fig-swirl energy balls.
I also used stevia powder instead of Truvia. I used 1/4tsp for the dough and it actually was a little too sweet.
Thank you for sharing! I’ll update if I try this again with tweaks (maybe another binder?)
These came out absolutely perfect! I only did one thing different, I added orange zest and a drizzle of honey to the coconut oil glaze then placed it under a broiler for less than a minute. They are perfect! I will be using this crust recipe for years to come and I can only imagine all the other variations that can be made. Thank you so much for this gem. Also being a type one diabetic I love the low sugar and carb count 🙂
These turned out wonderfully!
We had to use raisins instead of figs because the grocery didn’t have any, and i think we had to add a smidge more water to the dough.
Easy to make and delicious. The kids love them.
The next batch i’m going to try a strawberry filling! 🙂
Can these be frozen
I don’t see why not! I’d use a freezer safe container and make sure it’s tightly sealed 🙂
Hi! I was wondering what a good substitute for the applesauce would be. Would mashed bananas work just as well? Or is it okay if I skip the applesauce all together and add an egg instead?
I would love to try the recipe!