Neapolitan Bars
Neapolitan bars are three layers of delicious desserts in one recipe! You make them with chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry cake mixes which keeps this dessert so easy! This recipe is vegan and dairy-free because there are no eggs or dairy.
These dessert bars include classic Neapolitan flavors, chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.
Why This Recipe is a Winner
- Using coconut milk to make a plant-based sweetened condensed milk is easy to do and creates a creamy sauce
- Dairy-free cake mixes are perfect for making this layered dessert flavorful and easy
- Lining the pan with foil prevents a mess as the bars increase in volume as they bake.
What You Need
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
- Lemon — We’ll use both the zest and the juice of the lemon.
- Oats — I used rolled oats for this recipe, but you can substitute instant oats.
- Chia — We’ll add some ground chia seeds to create a thicker texture. You can use whole chia seeds; I just prefer ground because it creates a smoother finished texture.
- Syrup — I used maple syrup, but you can substitute agave nectar.
- Milk — We’ll use almond milk for the best overnight oats! Substitute your favorite plant-based milk.
- Yogurt — I love adding some plant-based yogurt (plain, unsweetened) for an even more tangy flavor.
- Protein Powder — I add some vanilla protein powder for increased flavor and nutrients. If your protein powder is not sweetened, you may want to add an extra teaspoon or two of sweetener.
- Cornstarch — We’ll use cornstarch to thicken the lemon curd topping.
- Turmeric — A pinch of turmeric makes that lemon curd sunny yellow.
- Coconut milk
- Cornstarch
- Sugar
- Vanilla
- Cake Mixes — You’ll need dairy-free chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry cake mix.
- Vegan butter — I recommend using Earth Balance buttery sticks or Miyoko’s or make your own dairy-free butter. I do not recommend soft tub margarine for this recipe.
How to Make Neapolitan Bars
Neapolitan squares are easy to make. Follow these steps:
- Prepare the sweetened condensed coconut milk by heating coconut milk, cornstarch, and sugar in a microwave-safe bowl until the mixture thickens. Stir in the vanilla and set aside to cool.
- Make the chocolate layer by stirring together softened vegan butter with the cake mix and condensed milk. Spread the chocolate cake dough in the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Make the vanilla layer by stirring together softened vegan butter with the vanilla cake mix and condensed milk. Spread the vanilla cake dough over the chocolate cake dough layer.
- Make the strawberry layer by stirring together softened vegan butter with the strawberry cake mix and condensed milk. Spread the strawberry cake dough over the vanilla layer.
- Drizzle the remaining condensed milk over the top, being sure to cover each area of the top layer equally.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
How many dessert bars do you get from a 9×13 pan?
Dessert bars are very rich so they should be cut into small slices. I recommend 30 servings for a 9×13 inch pan.
If you’re looking for perfect dessert bars for parties, these neapolitan bars should be on your list! It’s an easy dessert bar because it uses cake mixes and the flavor and presentation are amazing!
Serving Suggestions
When serving dessert bars, I prefer to let them sit until completely cool before cutting them. That’s because the warm bars can tear, rather than cut. For more precise edges, you can even refrigerate them for an hour or so before cutting them.
You can serve these bars with any of the following toppings:
- Drizzles of Vegan Chocolate Syrup can be a nice touch
- Strawberry Puree
- Coconut Whipped Cream
Storage Tips
Store bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 10 days. They can be frozen in appropriate freezer-safe containers or bags for up to 2 months.
More Dessert Bars
These Neapolitan brownies are amazing! If you’re into vegan dessert bars recipes, be sure to check these out:
(The recipe from Neopolitan Gooey Cake Bars by the Picky Palate was the source of inspiration for this vegan version.)
That’s it for these Neapolitan bars. Enjoy!
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Easy Neapolitan Bars
Ingredients
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 15 ounce box Chocolate Cake Mix
- 15 ounce box Vanilla Cake Mix
- 15 ounce box Strawberry Cake Mix
- 1 1/2 cups vegan butter (3 sticks), softened
Instructions
- Prepare the sweetened condensed coconut milk by combining two tablespoons of the coconut milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl and stirring until well combined. In a microwave-safe bowl (or a small saucepan), combine the remaining coconut milk, the cornstarch/coconut milk mixture, and 1 cup of sugar. Stir and then heat in the microwave for 44 seconds. Stir and repeat several times until the mixture has thickened to your liking. It should resemble sweetened condensed milk. Stir in the vanilla and set aside to cool.
- Heat your oven to 350F. Prepare your 9 x 13 baking pan by lining it with foil, making sure the foil extends past each edge of the pan. This recipe expands as it bakes so the foil helps prevent a mess in the oven. Then spray the foil with cooking spray.
- Make the chocolate layer by stirring together softened 1/2 cup vegan butter with the cake mix and 1/4 cup of the condensed milk. This is a sturdy dough. Spread the chocolate cake dough in the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Rinse out the bowl. Make the vanilla layer by stirring together softened 1/2 cup vegan butter with the vanilla or yellow cake mix and 1/4 cup of the condensed milk. Spread the vanilla cake dough over the chocolate layer.
- Make the strawberry layer by stirring together softened 1/2 cup vegan butter with the strawberry cake mix and 1/4 cup of the condensed milk. Spread the strawberry cake dough over the chocolate layer.
- Pour the remaining condensed milk over the top, being sure to cover each area of the top layer equally. Be sure the foil is standing tall on each side of the pan before placing it in the oven.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Trim the edges, cut the center into bars and serve.
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Notes
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This post was originally published in 2014 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2021.
Can this be made with regular cake mixes and sweetened condensed milk and almond milk plus regular butter
Hi Sara. I’ve never tried using this recipe with condensed milk and butter made from cow’s milk, however, I think it should work.
Made this recipe ,but instead the mix used ingredients for 3 chocolate brownie and 2 food colouring.Decandent!
What if you can’t get cake mix?
Would you make the cake mix as normal but leave out the wet ingredients!?!
🙂
That’s a great question. I’ve thought about this before when making a dump cake. I think you could use a cake recipe but leave out the wet ingredients. I might consider adding a 1/2 cup of powdered soy milk or powdered coconut milk (I found this at an Asian grocery store recently) just to give it some creaminess. Would love to hear your feedback after you try it!
oh, how very cute!
Marly these looking amazing and sinful but we need amazing and sinful every once in a while! These would be perfect for a take along treat.
Those are awesome looking NEVER apologize for something as fanastic as this 🙂
omg love these!!
I was looking for a recipe to bring to my book club meet. The theme is mexican but I don’t eat a lot of Mexican food so I was having problems. Then I came upon this recipe. Although not Mexican it is colorful and so pretty. It will fit in nicely with all that guacamole and salsa and corn chips (that is the extent of my Mexican food knowledge). This looks amazing. Thank you for the recipe!!!! I am so excited.
These look awesome! I want to eat them now!