These healthier fig rolls are my current favourite afternoon treat to accompany my cup of tea! They’re so easy to make and only call for 7 ingredients. They also happen to be vegan, glute-free and dairy-free.
I started testing a fig roll recipe a couple of years ago and dabbled with it again here and there, but never really finalised a recipe I was happy with. A couple of months ago I had a mad craving for fig rolls, so decided to revisit the recipe and test it a couple more times.
I’m now finally happy with a recipe that tastes amazing, but is made with healthier ingredients making it better for you than shop bought fig rolls. I also used ingredients that made the recipe vegan friendly and gluten-free.
If you’ve followed my blog/social media for a while you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of using dates as a natural sweetener in desserts. Like dates, figs also a great way to naturally sweeten treats. Using them means I don’t need to add as much sweetener to make a recipe taste good. For example, I only use 2 tbsp of added sugar in this whole recipe.
The fig centre in these healthier fig rolls is made up of only dried figs and water. I cook them in a pan for 5-10 minutes to allow the figs to soften and break down creating a soft, spreadable paste.
I used a mixture of oat flour (that I made myself by blending rolled oats into a fine flour) and ground almonds instead of plain flour. Almonds are a great source of fibre, nutrients, healthy fats and also have some protein. Oats are also a great source of fibre and antioxidants. The mixture of the two coupled with a little bit of maple syrup and coconut oil create the most delicious, crumbly and soft biscuit. If you’re anything like me, I know that once you try them you’ll be making them all the time!
What you need to make these healthier fig rolls:
Figs – A source of fibre, nutrients and antioxidants. They’re naturally sweet, so a great way to add sweetness to a dessert without the need for much added sweetener. The juicier the figs, the less water you’ll need to turn them into a paste. If your figs are on the drier side, you may need to add more water.
Oats – Another great source of fibre and antioxidants. I love using oats as a healthier substitute for plain flour in baking. You can make your own oat flour by blending rolled oats in a high-speed blender into a fine flour. You can use gluten-free oats for a gluten-free recipe.
Ground almonds – A source of healthy fats and nutrients (like vitamin E & calcium) , I find ground almonds another great substitute for flour, especially when used along side oat flour.
Maple syrup – I only used 2 tbsp in the whole recipe to add a little extra sweetness, but it also acts as a glue to hold everything together since we’re not using eggs in this recipe.
Coconut oil – Adds lots of moisture to the biscuit part of the fig rolls, but also helps hold everything together. You can use butter/dairy-free butter alternative instead if you prefer.
Salt & cinnamon – the salt is used to enhance all the flavours and the cinnamon goes really well with the taste of the figs!
These healthier fig rolls are:
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
- Only call for 7 ingredients
- Made with better-for-you ingredients like almonds, oats and figs
- Easy to make
- So tasty
- The perfect snack to enjoy with your afternoon cup of tea/coffee
Healthier Fig Rolls
Ingredients
For the fig mixture
- 175g dried figs
- 3-6 tbsp water
For the biscuits
- 125g ground oats/oat flour
- 50g ground almonds
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp maple syrup or other liquid sweetener
- 50g coconut oil or butter
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180C/160C fan/350F
- Add the figs and water in a large pan and cook on a medium heat for around 10 minutes. Use a wooden spoon or potato masher to mash the figs into a paste as they cook.
- In a large bowl, mix together the oat flour, ground almonds, cinnamon and salt. Pour in the maple syrup and coconut oil and mix to combine.
- Chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes to allow the coconut oil to solidify and make it easier to work with.
- Roll the dough out into a 20×20cm square between two sheets of parchment paper. Slice down the middle to create 2 long pieces.
- Divide the fig mixture between the 2 pieces of pastry. Spread along one side, then carefully start rolling into a tight cylinder. Place in the freezer for 15-30 minutes then cut into cookies.
- Arrange on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
- Leave to cool completely and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
If you enjoyed this recipe, you may also like these healthier date rolls!
Can you omit the maple syrup for more coconut oil in the crust?
I haven’t tried it myself, but it could work. I think the pastry may be a little more crumbly without the stickiness of the maple syrup. Let me know if you try it though!
Look amazing. I am going to tweak and make these in my dehydrator as I am raw vegan. Thank you for the inspiration.
Ooo raw fig rolls sounds interesting! Let me know how they turn out in the dehydrator 🙂
Hi Nadia,
Your recipes are really outstanding.
What is the shelf life of these fig rolls ?
Hi Deepika 🙂 Thank you so much! They should last 4-5 days at room temp and longer in the fridge.
How many serving is in the recipe?
Thank you
The recipe makes around 16 rolls 🙂
Oh what lovely pictures. You have really outdone yourself this time I feel like reaching out, and gobbling them down. The filling looks really scrumptious. Yum!!
Thank you so much Maryam 🙂 wish I could send you some! Let me know if you try them!
Look amazing ? can I use raw figs? Or just dried figs.
Or, can i combine raw figs with dried dates?
Thanks Andreea 🙂 raw figs aren’t commonly used in fig rolls, so I would recommend sticking to dried figs 🙂 Or you can used dried dates if you want a date version!
Can i use almond flour?
I just made these and they were delicious! but would you add pics or videos of your process to your recipe? would be super helpful!
also converting to US measurements was kind of tricky ?
Great recipe entering into fall! Really enjoyed
Hi Chaya 🙂 So glad you enjoyed them! I try to film videos for all my recipes, but they’re so time consuming that I don’t always find the time. It takes 2-3 hours to film a video + up to 4 hours to edit. That’s not taking into consideration time testing the recipe before hand, buying ingredients and clean up (videos create twice as much mess). I’ll try to film a video of these fig rolls at some point 🙂
Sound delicious, could you recommend a different flour to oat flour? Oats are not gluten-free in New Zealand . Thank you
Hi Chloe 🙂 buckwheat flour should also work, but I haven’t actually tried it for this recipe so I can’t be 100% sure they’ll turn out the same.
Hi Chaya. I’m an amateur baker and would encourage you to make more of effort to work with metric. Believe me when I say, once you grasp working with metric measurements, you won’t turn back.
Love your recipes!
Thank you Monica 😀 x
This is something unique I have come across. The picture itself makes me water my mouth and now I cannot wait for more to try this out myself.Thank you so much for putting up this great post and also the steps for us to try.
What if I can’t use nuts could I use all oat flour? I don’t need gluten free could I add whole wheat flour or all purpose flour in place of almonds or oats or both?
Hi Jen 🙂 using more oat flour or wheat flour will work, but I haven’t tried them myself so I can’t give you exact measurements without testing it myself. Let me know if you do give it a try and how you get on!
Your recipe is really easy and healthy but what is alternative of maple syrup we’re from India…
Hi Prakash 🙂 Thank you so much! You can use any liquid sweetener like honey. Hope that helps 🙂
Can i replace the ground almonds with something that’s nut free?
Hi Belinda 🙂 You can try using more oat flour, but I haven’t tried this recipe with just oat flour, so I can’t give you exact measurements. Let me know how you get on!
I cannot gave any oil. Any sub for the coconut oil??
Hi 🙂 butter or a dairy-free butter alternative will also work.
Hi Nadia. I’m assuming they freeze well.
Hi Danny 🙂 I haven’t tried freezing them (they’re always gone within a few days!), but they should freeze well.
I’m assuming 20×20 is cm.
Are they 105kal per biscuit or for the whole recipe?
This recipe made delicious fig rolls. The biscuit dough was tricky to handle. Mine didn’t look as beautiful but tasted great. Definitely a recipe to repeat.