Easy Vegan 7 Layer Bars AKA Magic Bars

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These vegan 7 layer bars are melt in your mouth delicious. With 7 layers of goodness, you can’t go wrong with these. Made with a buttery graham cracker crust, layers of chocolate chips, nuts, and coconut, all held together with thick coconut milk. These family favorites are sweet, gooey, so easy to make. 

Magic bars will always remind me of my Grandma.

She was the main baker in our family; my mom never baked much.

I always looked forward to her sweet treats, and seven layer bars were a Christmas tradition.

Going vegan over six years ago, I was worried if I would ever be able to eat these delicious magic bars.

Lucky for us, there is a vegan alternative to just about anything your heart desires!

This is a really easy recipe to make. 

I always like to throw a bar recipe into my holiday cooking season.

Something that tastes amazing, just like the classic recipe, and comes together in no time, heck yes!

7-layer bars have quite a few names they go by;

• Magic Bars
• Hello Dolly Bars
• Magic Cookie Bars
• Coconut Magic Squares
• Coconut Dream Bars

The traditional 7-layer bar recipe calls for sweetened condensed milk, which they do have a vegan version of.

But for those of you who live in towns that don’t have the latest and greatest vegan versions, or maybe you do and don’t want to spend an arm and a leg buying it, then this is for you.

This uses full-fat canned coconut milk. That should be easy for everyone to find.

These vegan magic bars kind of freaked me out when I was making them, I was seriously worried the coconut milk wouldn’t thicken, but it sure did and turned into a coconut deliciousness.

If coconut isn’t your thing, you won’t appreciate this recipe very much.

The one thing that I haven’t been able to find in the vegan form is good butterscotch chips.

My Grandma’s recipe always used them, they still taste great without it, but for me, there is a tiny bit of nostalgia missing.

Vegan 7 layer bars recipe Q&A

What are the layers of vegan 7 layer bars?

1. Graham cracker layer
2. Melted vegan butter *this is a bit of a cheater layer, but they count the butter if you look at any recipe.
3. Nuts layer- I like to use a combo of pecans and walnuts.
4. Chocolate layer
5. Shredded coconut layer
6. Coconut milk- typically, this is the sweet and condensed milk.
7. Wellll there is no 7 in ours, you usually have butterscotch chips, but those have yet to be veganized well. So we have a pseudo 7.

Can I customize these vegan cookie bars?

Yes, here are some ideas you can switch it up and add another layer.

• vegan white chocolate chips (Enjoy Life just started making these)
• vegan caramel sauce
• vegan marshmallows
• whatever mix-ins sound good

Can you make these gluten-free?

Yes, if you buy gluten-free graham crackers, the rest of the ingredients are gluten-free. You might be able to use an almond flour crust, but I haven’t actually tried that.

Can I use coconut oil instead of vegan butter?

Yes, if you would prefer, you can use melted coconut oil. But I prefer the taste of vegan butter.

Do I need to use sweet and condensed coconut milk?

No, all you need is full fat coconut milk; however, you can use it, and it will work great if you would rather.

Are all graham crackers vegan?

No, most aren’t because they have honey in them. That’s typically the only non-vegan item. Nabisco in the red box has a non-honey-based graham cracker, and I have seen some store brands that do as well.

Can this recipe be doubled?

Yes, if you’re making this for a crowd or a holiday cookie exchange, you will likely want to double the recipe.

What do you need for these Vegan Magic Cookie Bars?

• vegan graham crackers
• vegan butter
• vegan chocolate chips
• walnuts or chopped pecans or a mix of the two
• shredded coconut
• canned full fat coconut milk
• brown sugar

How do you make these vegan seven layer bars?

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Take an 8×8 glass baking pan and line it with aluminum foil or parchment paper with the overhang so you can pick it up when it’s baked, and spray it with cooking spray and set it aside.

If your can of full fat coconut milk is chunky and not smooth, pour it into a heat-safe cup and heat it for a few minutes to get it smooth.

Measure out 1 cup of coconut milk, and then add 2 TB of brown sugar and mix.

Let this cool in the fridge while you make the rest.

Start with making the graham cracker crust.

Take your half cup of vegan butter and melt it.

While that’s melting, take a medium-sized bowl and crush your 1.5 cups of graham cracker crumbs into small crumbs.

You can either crush the graham crackers in a sealed bag with a rolling pin or your hands or put them in a food processor.

Add your melted vegan butter to the graham crackers and mix until combined.

Take the crust mixture and press it into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

Press it in evenly and firmly and set aside.

Now it’s time to start the layers-

Take your vegan chocolate chips, chopped nuts, and flaked coconut and pour it on top of the crust.

You can put the toppings on in layers or just mix them, your preference. 

Then take your coconut milk and pour it over the top covering the entire pan evenly.

It will look very liquidy, don’t panic; it will bake up just fine.

Bake-

Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes. Mine took 34, it won’t look totally set and still have some jiggle, but it will firm up when it’s cooling on the counter and should have a golden brown color on the top from the coconut.

Let cool on the counter at room temperature for an hour and then place in the fridge to continue firming. It will take a few hours to be firm enough to cut.

How do you serve these vegan cookie bars?

These can be served cold or at room temperature or even heated up slightly. These taste great by themselves or with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream.

How do you store vegan 7 layer bars?

These can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, they can be stored in a sealed container on the counter for up to two days.

Can you freeze them?

Yes, you sure can. It’s best to flash freeze. To do that, follow these instructions;

Take a cookie sheet lined, place vegan magic bars in a single file, and freeze them; after they are frozen (an hour or so), put them in the freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

Defrost- Place them on the counter out of their package until defrosted.

Want some more vegan cookie recipes?

• Vegan ginger molasses cookies
• The best vegan sugar cookies
• Vegan snowball cookies

If you loved this recipe then give it a 5 star rating and leave a comment! I love to chat with you all. Please feel free to share on social media and tag #courtneyshomestead. I would love to see you over on Instagram or Facebook. 

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