These gluten free fig newtons are easy to make and even better than the original! Made with only wholesome ingredients and vegan to boot, these bars are sure to be a hit!
A more nutritious gluten free fig newtons made vegan too!!
You won’t believe how sophisticated these taste compared to the original!
I absolutely LOVED Fig Newtons growing up!! They were a classic, so figuring out how to make them from scratch was a real bonus!
The addition of the orange zest really blows this filling over the top, it is simply amazing!! So don’t be tempted to leave it out!
To keep the bars wholesome, I stuck to my all time favorite gluten free flour: teff!
Teff flour for the win:
- Teff super nutritious!! “Teff is a high-fiber food and a strong source of protein, manganese, iron and calcium. The array of vitamins and minerals found in teff contribute to its role as a healthy, weight-managing and bone-strengthening food.” from Dr Axe on benefits of teff.
- It’s incredibly flavorful (reminds me a bit of whole wheat).
- It’s easy to work with.
Seriously, you’ve got to try teff flour if you never had, it’s a winner!
I started with an old favorite cookbook, Vegan Cookies Take Over Your Cookie Jar.
I really love these authors and use their books frequently for inspiration. I had to make the recipe gluten free and I changed a couple other things up to make it healthier. Enjoy!
Additional gluten free vegan recipes:
- These fig breakfast bars were SO yummy!
- My gluten free oatmeal raisin cookies are a classic!
- We love my gluten free vegan waffles!
- Gluten free cranberry orange muffins are a SERIOUS treat! Perfect texture and bursting with flavor.
Gluten Free Fig Newtons Recipe:
If you try these wholesome bars, be sure to come back a leave a comment below with your thoughts!
Gluten Free Vegan Wholesome Fig Newtons Bars
Ingredients
Filling:
- 3/4 pound dried figs stems removed and coarsely chopped (about 2 generous cups)
- 2/3 cup water or more
- 3-4 tablespoons maple syrup or stevia, honey
- 2 teaspoons orange zest or grated lemon
Cookie Crust:
- 2 tablespoons chia meal or flax meal
- 1/4 cup milk, non-dairy
- 3/4 cup coconut palm sugar or brown sugar, or up to half liquid stevia
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 5 tablespoons coconut oil, melted, or other favorite oil
- 1 cup gluten free oat flour make your own by whirring rolled oats in a coffee grinder
- 1/2 cup teff flour
- 1/2 teaspoon guar gum
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
Make the Filling:
- In a small saucepan, cook the filling ingredients over a low simmer for 10-20 minutes. Mash periodically, adding more water as necessary. I always seem to use a cup or more of water as my figs are very dry. You want the end moisture to be thick and moist like a thick jelly. Just keep mashing around until the pieces are mostly broken down. If you have kiddos averse to texture, you could puree the mixture in a food processor.
Make the Crust:
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the chia meal and room temp milk. Add in the palm sugar and vanilla. While continually whisking, pour in the melted coconut oil.
- Sprinkle in the dry ingredients, in order.
- Using your whisk,lightly mix the dry ingredients before whisking more thoroughly into the wet. Stir until a wet dough is formed.
Assembly:
- Roll out one 8 x 8 square. Use at least one piece of parchment, and another piece of either a greased or floured piece of plastic wrap or waxed paper. Roll the dough out between the two sheets. This keeps the sticky dough away from your rolling pin.
- Remove the top piece, leaving the dough directly on the parchment.
- Lift the paper with the dough and place into an 8 x 8 baking dish.
- Spread the filling evenly over the bottom crust.
- The top crust is trickier as you have to remove both pieces that you rolled between. Flouring generously each sheet helps with this. Flour or grease both pieces of plastic wrap or waxed paper thoroughly. Roll the remaining dough out to apx an 8 x 8 square. Gently remove the top piece, and lift the remaining piece: invert on top of the filling. It does not have to look perfect!
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden. Let cool completely before cutting...if you can wait that long!
Nutrition
Calories: 178kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 2gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 128mgPotassium: 205mgFiber: 3gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 5IUVitamin C: 0.6mgCalcium: 61mgIron: 1.1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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Thanks for the wonderful sounding recipe. I am going to adapt it to my needs. I am celiac and was advised by my doctor not to eat oats. I will use teff and gluten free flour. I have figs a friend gave me. I appreciate you sharing!
That should do
It Catherine, enjoy!
These look fantastic, better than anything I had in childhood for sure!
I decided to make these today and I was not disappointed. The texture, smell, and look of those eponymous cookies is right here in this recipe. The crust is light and fluffy with excellent crumb. I probably added more oil than was called for, but everything turned out great! I will DEFINITELY make these again!
Great Steven, thank you for leaving feedback!
Instead of Oates could I use quinoa flakes?
Possibly Glenda, although I would be more inclined to use toasted quinoa flour or brown rice instead!
These look awesome and I love the look of the crust!! Thanks so much for sharing these on Waste Not Want Not Wednesday, Tessa, I’m featuring them this week 🙂
Love fig newtons and love the fact that these have so many healthy ingredients. Where in the world do you find palm sugar? Thanks for sharing on Waste Not Want Not Wednesday.
Hi Linda! Palm sugar is available at all of the stores I shop now: fred meyer, whole foods, trader joes. It is also available at most big online retailers like amazon, iHerb, and Vitacost. Somewhere between 3.99-4.99/pound average. You can use brown sugar too!
My local WalMart carries coconut palm sugar now and it’s the same brand I’ve ordered online and purchased at other stores 🙂
These sound so good. I’m going to Costco to get my figs and will be making these this weekend!
WOW!!! I made these yesterday and I’m so impressed!! I have missed fig newtons like crazy the past few years, so this was a marvelous treat. My kids and husband loved them.
I replaced Teff with Sorghum just because I didn’t have it in my pantry, and they came out marvelous. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Great to know sorghum works too Jessica, thanks for letting me know!
Hi there,
What does “dried” figs mean? Cooking with figs is new to me, but I have a couple fig trees at my new home and am anxious to bake with them. Do I need to dry them out?
I currently have some in the freezer because I am trying to preserve them and the go bad so fast.
Thank you!
Dried figs are like dehydrated fresh figs. So I think fresh would work, but there is still a lot of water in them, so you would have to cook that all out and simmer the mixture until it is thick and gelatinous. Leave the water out of the recipe, and would need at least double the measurement of figs, probably even more!
We love love love fig newtons! I wonder if I could make them grain free? … I might have to make them anyways b/c the rest of the fam isn’t grain free and they would LOVE these!!! Thanks so much 🙂
This looks so yummy! What is teft flour? I’ve never heard of it.
Hi Tracy1 Teff is a bit of a sweetheart flour for me, one of my very favorites for it’s familiar nutty flavor and high nutrition (info on my baking tips/flours page). Teff is a grass seed actually, and super tiny. It is a traditional grain used here is some info if you’re interested: http://whatscookingamerica.net/CharlotteBradley/Teff-Flour.htm. I purchase it for about $2.50/pound thrugh my local coop, previously I was spliting a 25 pound bag from teffco.com with friends for close to that price.
We love fig newtons here.. but are doing a whole foods, GF diet and YAY this fits!
These look absolutely delish. I’m always on the prowl for lower sugar and healthful treats for lunchboxes. Thanks so much for sharing!
Oh I am going to try these. I am looking for recipes for my children’s party and these look easy enough to make
my kiddos love them Healthy Body, thanks for stopping by!
Ah, this brings back a childhood favorite! YUM Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! 🙂
Thanks for linking back to the Gluten Free Fridays post!
See you at the link up this week!
Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com
O yummy!! Another fig related thing to try! Just a few weeks ago I also wrote a fig post! we made some fruit leathers 🙂
These look perfect for travel! I’m looking forward to making them for my next business trip.
They travel great Debbie!!
WOW! They look like Heaven!
Hubba loves fig newtons. I’m adding these to the shopping list! Thanks for retyping this up!
Hope you enjoy then too Michaela!
@Bethany…these are super moist and hold together for transport very well!
I really hope my Costco has organic figs. This looks like a great treat for my son at home or a snack to bring to his school. Do these stick together well to transport? Can't wait to try it.
Bethany
http://www.modernhomemakers.com
Thank you Ellen! I have that same bag of figs from Costco….smoking deal! Enjoy!
I am SOOO happy to have found you and this recipe! I bought a bag of organic figs at Costco yesterday – HUGE bag for $8.49. I'm teaching a Gluten free class tonight and will be making this recipe to bring with me. And of course, I will share your blog with all the participants. Thank you!
Ellen, Gluten Free Diva
http://www.glutenfreediva.com
My husband loves fig newtons, but gave up gluten for the rest of us. I can't wait to make these for my sweet husband! thanks for sharing this with the Hearth and Soul Hop.
Your Fig Newtons sound so delicious, and it's wonderful that they are gluten free and vegan too! It's lovely when yummy is healthy too. Thank you for sharing this post with the Hearth and Soul hop. I've chosen it as one of my highlights from last week, and linked to it from this week's post.
My husband loves fig newtons but as you can imagine we don't buy them..so much fake stuff in them. These look great and healthy. Great use of chia seeds too. Thanks for stopping by and sharing them with us at WFW
Great job putting it all back together Tessa! So frustrating. I am very excited about trying this recipe. Looks amazing. 🙂
Hugs,
–Amber