No-Bake Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola Bars
These Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola Bars have pieces of coconut bound together with honey, oats, and peanut butter and then topped with a dark chocolate drizzle. Say hello to the ultimate sweet and salty snack; in bar form.
My seasonal allergy situation came to a head as I decided to expand my garden due to increasing food prices. While this seemed a logical choice at the time, I failed to consider that I’m allergic to mostly everything outside.
Indeed, I’ve taken some albeit extreme measures to protect myself from the elements. I wore a long raincoat in 90-degree heat while berry picking as stop-buyers asked me are you ok? Wearing an N-95 mask while weeding my garden also gets eyebrows raised as I imagine people think I’m worried about getting COVID-19 from the vegetable plants. They have no idea. Let’s not even get into my awkward maneuvers as I hop around the garden trying to pick vegetables. I digress.
As a last stitch effort, I started downing local honey as if it was my lifeline. I put it on yogurt, ice cream, oatmeal, and anything that seemed a respectable place to put it, including these Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola Bars.
There is pure satisfaction when I develop a recipe and realize it only contains five ingredients. These bars burst with unsweetened coconut flakes, which complement the sweet and salty flavors from the peanut butter, dark chocolate, and honey combination. Plus, they stick together gloriously without a crumble in site. All I have to say is, Kind bars, move over; you have met your match.
POSSIBLE SUBSTITUTIONS: USE WHAT YOU HAVE
OATS. Feel free to substitute old-fashioned oats for quick-cooking oats.
DARK CHOCOLATE. Dark chocolate chips work great instead of a chopped chocolate bar. Feel free to substitute milk chocolate for dark chocolate.
HOW TO MAKE DARK CHOCOLATE COCONUT GRANOLA BARS
- Add the honey and peanut butter to a pot over medium heat.
- Stir the honey and peanut butter until evenly combined and warm.
- Add the coconut and oats to the wet mixture. Stir to combine.
- Scoop the granola mixture into a prepared loaf pan.
- Press the granola bar mixture into the bottom of the pan.
- Melt the chocolate in a double broiler or microwave.
- Drizzle the chocolate over the granola slab.
- Refrigerate and serve.
DARK CHOCOLATE COCONUT GRANOLA BARS: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
This granola bar recipe calls for a 9″x 5″ loaf pan, which is slightly larger than a standard loaf 8.5″ x 4.5″ pan. If you use a standard pan, the granola bars will be thicker.
The trick to getting these bars to stick together is to warm the peanut butter and honey in a skillet before combining them with the dry ingredients.
Bars will keep in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator.
Yes! You can store these bars in the freezer in an airtight container, plastic freezer bag, or individually wrapped. Let the bars defrost at room temperature before eating, about 30 minutes.
Yes, I included a recipe for using an 8×8″ square pan below.
MORE RECIPES WITH OATS TO TRY
- Jammy Fruit Crumble Bars with Whole Wheat Flour
- The Best Monster Cookies (Secretly Gluten-Free)
- Whole Wheat Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies with Coconut
No-Bake Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola Bars
These Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola Bars have pieces of coconut bound together with honey, oats, and peanut butter and then topped with a dark chocolate drizzle. Say hello to the ultimate sweet and salty snack; in bar form.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Chill time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 bars
- Category: Snack
- Method: no-bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 cup plus 1 slightly heaping tablespoon (109g) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 2.3 cup plus 1 slightly heaping tablespoon (83g) unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2/3 cup (160g) old-fashioned, salted creamy natural peanut butter*
- 1/3 cup (113g) honey
- 1/4 cup (38g) roughly chopped 60-70% dark chocolate bar
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil, optional
Instructions
- Prepare the pan. Line an 9×5″ inch loaf pan with a sheet of parchment paper, extending up two sides, forming a “sling” for the bars. The parchment paper makes it easy for you to remove the bars and slice them later.
- Warm the wet ingredients. Heat a 10-12-inch skillet over medium-low. Add the honey and peanut butter to the skillet and stir until warm and evenly combined, about 4 minutes.
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the oats and coconut and stir to combine.
- Make the bars. Pour the dry ingredients into the warm honey and peanut butter mixture. Using a large spoon or spatula, mix the ingredients until evenly combined and no dry ingredients remain, about 4 minutes.
- Make the bars. Scoop the mixture into the prepared square pan. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, evenly distribute the mixture across the bottom of the pan. Using a piece of parchment paper to protect your hand, press the ingredients, tightly and firmly, into the pan. A glass or measuring cup covered in parchment paper also works in place of using your hand. Cover the bars with parchment paper and refrigerate while you melt the chocolate.
- Melt the chocolate. Place half the chopped chocolate and coconut oil in a double boiler (a glass or heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water). Melt the chocolate mixture until it is smooth and fluid. Remove the bowl from the pan and add the second half of the chocolate, stirring again until smooth.
- Top the bars with chocolate. Remove and uncover the bars from the refrigerator. Scoop the melted chocolate into a piping bag or plastic sandwich bag with a small corner cut open. Pipe the chocolate in diagonal lines over the cooled bars. Alternatively, you can use a whisk and splatter the melted chocolate over the cooled bars.
- Refrigerate. Cover the pan with parchment paper or foil and refrigerate for at least an hour. To speed up this process, place the pan in the freezer instead of the refrigerator.
- Serve. Once completely cold, use the parchment paper to lift the granola slab out of the pan and transfer it to a cutting board. Cut into 8, 1.5″ slices or your desired size.
Notes
PEANUT BUTTER. Make sure your peanut butter is well-mixed before using. For best results, use a brand of peanut butter that contains only peanuts and salt. Some natural brands add palm oil, which makes the peanut butter too thick for these bars. If your peanut butter doesn’t contain salt, add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the large bowl in step 3.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/8 of recipe
- Calories: 307 calories
- Sugar: 14.6g
- Sodium: 7mg
- Fat: 19.9g
- Saturated Fat: 8.9g
- Carbohydrates: 29.4g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 8g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Keywords: dark chocolate granola bar recipe, no bake granola bars, chocolate coconut granola bar recipe
RECIPE FOR AN 8×8″ SQUARE PAN
PrintNo-Bake Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola Bars
These Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola Bars have pieces of coconut bound together with honey, oats, and peanut butter and then topped with a dark chocolate drizzle. Say hello to the ultimate sweet and salty snack; in bar form.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Chill time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 16 bars 1x
- Category: Snack
- Method: no-bake
- Cuisine: no-bake
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (163g) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (125g) unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup (240g) old-fashioned, salted creamy natural peanut butter*
- 1/2 cup (170g) honey*
- 1/3 cup (53g) roughly chopped 60 – 70% chocolate bar
- 3 teaspoons coconut oil, optional
Instructions
- Prepare the pan. Line an 8-by-8 inch square pan with a sheet of parchment paper, extending up to two sides, forming a “sling” for the bars. The parchment paper makes it easy for you to remove the bars and slice them later.
- Warm the wet ingredients. Heat a 10-12-inch skillet over medium-low. Add the honey and peanut butter to the skillet and stir until warm and evenly combined, about 3 minutes.
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the oats and coconut and stir to combine.
- Make the bars. Pour the dry ingredients into the warm honey and peanut butter mixture. Using a large spoon or spatula, mix the ingredients until evenly combined and no dry ingredients remain, about 4 minutes.
- Make the bars. Scoop the mixture into the prepared square pan. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, evenly distribute the mixture across the bottom of the pan. Using a piece of parchment paper to protect your hand, press the ingredients, tightly and firmly, into the pan. A glass or measuring cup covered in parchment paper also works in place of using your hand. Cover the bars with parchment paper and refrigerate while you melt the chocolate.
- Melt the chocolate. Place half the chopped chocolate and coconut oil in a double boiler (a glass or heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water). Melt the chocolate until it is smooth and fluid. Remove the bowl from the pan and add the second half of the chocolate, stirring again until smooth.
- Top the bars with chocolate. Remove and uncover the bars from the refrigerator. Scoop the melted chocolate into a piping bag or plastic sandwich bag with a small corner cut open. Pipe the chocolate in diagonal lines over the cooled bars. Alternatively, you can use a whisk and splatter the melted chocolate over the cooled bars.
- Refrigerate. Cover the pan with parchment paper or foil and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours. To speed up this process, place the pan in the freezer instead of the refrigerator.
- Serve. Once completely cold, use the parchment paper to lift the granola slab out of the pan and transfer it to a cutting board. Cut vertically down the center on the granola slab. Then, take your knife and slice 7, 1″ cuts horizontally to make 16 bars total.
Notes
PEANUT BUTTER. Make sure your peanut butter is well-mixed before using. For best results, use a brand of peanut butter that contains only peanuts and salt. Some natural brands add palm oil, which makes the peanut butter too thick for these bars. If your peanut butter doesn’t contain salt, add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the large bowl in step 3.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/16 recipe
- Calories: 225 calories
- Sugar: 10.6g
- Sodium: 5mg
- Fat: 14.4g
- Saturated Fat: 6.4g
- Carbohydrates: 21.5g
- Fiber: 3.6g
- Protein: 5.9g
- Cholesterol: 0mg