No-Bake Coconut Almond Bars Recipe! Packed full of nutritious ingredients, this healthy dessert is super easy to make and it’s Paleo, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free & refined sugar-free!
Happy Monday! How was your weekend? It was pretty warm here (finally)! I may have even turned my air conditioning on for an hour or so at night to cool the house down. What can I say?! I’m crazy and can only sleep when it’s uncomfortably cold.
Any who…now that summer is approaching I try to use my oven a little less. Don’t get me wrong, no amount of heat can keep me from baking…but I like to change it up a bit (gasp!) and make lots and lots of no-bake treats, like these and this! YUM!
These No-Bake Coconut Almond Bars are a perfect treat for a summer day! Packed full of nutritious ingredients, these sweet treats are so easy to make and healthy to boot! They are paleo, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free & refined sugar-free!
How to Make Coconut Almond Bars
I like to show you step-by-step photos because I think it could be a helpful reference tool when you’re making a recipe, so here we go!
1. Melt wet ingredients together
This recipe for coconut bars begins with melting the wet ingredients together until they are smooth and combined. When making these coconut bars be sure to very gently warm the mixture to preserve all the nutrients from the raw coconut and raw honey! 🙂
There are two ways to do this…
- On the stovetop. (Pictured Below). Gently warm the ingredients over low heat, whisking to combine. This is my preferred method of choice because I can see what is going on and make sure I don’t overhead the wet mixture.
- In the Microwave. I recommend warming the ingredients in the microwave in 30 second increments in a glass container.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients
Once the honey, coconut butter and almond butter are melted and smooth add your vanilla and salt. Don’t be alarmed if the vanilla makes the mixture bubble a little bit. Just stir the wet mixture until it’s smooth like pictured below.
Next add the dry ingredients. When you mix it all together it should be solid and slightly sticky!
3. Press the Coconut Bars Mixture into a loaf pan
Next, press the mixture into a 9×5″ or 8×4″ loaf pan and set it aside. If you would like to be able to easily remove the bars, line the pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil first. This way they will be easy to remove and cut!
4. Make and apply the Chocolate Topping
Melt together some chopped, unsweetened chocolate and some more coconut butter. Once that mixture is smooth, add some honey (or maple syrup) for sweetness and spread over chocolate coconut bars mixture in the loaf pan.
5. Chill the Almond Coconut Bars
Once the chocolate topping is evenly spread across the coconut/almond mixture, toss the pan in the fridge (or freezer if you’re impatient hungry) to harden.
TIP: Watch them carefully and cut into bars before the chocolate is completely hardened. Then let them cool the rest of the way after they’ve been cut! I think these bars are best served cold! 🙂
No-Bake Coconut Almond Bars: Ingredients and Substitutions
These no-bake coconut bars are made with some of my usual favorite ingredients, almond butter, shredded coconut, honey (or maple syrup) as well as a newly discovered product that I love…coconut butter!
- Coconut butter. I L-O-V-E coconut because it is a nutritional powerhouse. It increases your immunity because it’s antiviral, anti-fungal, antibacterial, and anti-parasitic! (I use coconut oil on cuts instead of other anti-bacterial healing gels because it works so much better and is natural)! Coconut is loaded with calcium, potassium, magnesium, electrolytes, fiber and antioxidants!
- Need any more convincing? It helps stave off hunger and burns fat. Win. Win. WIN! I’m always looking for a way to sneak extra healthy fats into our diet, and coconut butter is definitely a tasty option!
- Substitutions: Feel free to substitute coconut oil, butter or ghee for the coconut butter!
- Almond butter. Any nut or seed butter should work excellently in this recipe. I recommend almond or cashew, but the sky’s the limit!
- Honey. I always choose raw honey over any other variety! However feel free to use your favorite honey, or maple syrup for a vegan option!
- Chocolate Topping: If you don’t mind a little refined sugar, simply melting chocolate chips with a little bit of coconut butter is a great topping as well!
IF YOU MAKE SOMETHING FROM JOYFOODSUNSHINE I WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOUR CREATIONS! DON’T FORGET TO RATE THIS RECIPE AND LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW! ALSO, FOLLOW ALONG WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, FACEBOOK AND TWITTER FOR MORE RECIPE INSPIRATION AND A GLIMPSE INTO OUR EVERYDAY LIFE!
No-Bake Coconut Almond Bars
Ingredients
Bars
- 1 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
- ¼ cup almond meal
- ¼ cup coconut butter
- ¼ cup almond butter
- ¼ cup honey (or maple syrup for vegan)
- ¼ tsp sea salt or more to taste
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
Topping:
- 3 TBS unsweetened chocolate chopped
- 1 TBS coconut butter
- 1 TBS honey or maple syrup vegan
Instructions
- Lightly grease a 9x5” loaf pan, set aside.
To Make the Bars
- In a small bowl, mix together coconut and almond meal. Set aside.
- On a stovetop over low heat, melt together coconut butter, almond butter and honey until smooth.
- Add vanilla and salt.
- Remove from heat and add dry ingredients. Stir until mixture forms a ball.
- Spread evenly into prepared pan.
To make the topping
- Melt together chocolate, coconut butter and honey in a microwave or on the stovetop.
Putting it together
- Spread topping evenly over bars.
- Let sit at room temperature or in the refrigerator until topping is set.
- Cut and eat!
Nutrition
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase a product through a link you clicked on here, I receive a portion of the sale. Thank you for supporting JoyFoodSunshine!
Michelle
October 9, 2018 at 9:47 amSo delicious! Plus they do fill you up so there’s no way to overeat. I love being able to make my own special treats that look and taste guilty but these have so great nutrients for the body. Thanks for sharing!
Raneen
April 3, 2018 at 12:46 pmHi i am on candida diet and not allowed honey or maple syrup or any kind if fruit. What can i use instead
Laura
April 3, 2018 at 3:04 pmHonestly, I would recommend trying a different recipe! 🙂 I’m not familiar with the Candida diet so I am unsure what to suggest as a sweetener!
Katie
December 23, 2017 at 5:25 pmI have an autoimmune disease and should not have gluten or dairy so I have modified my lifestyle for going on a year now; I have been trying to find desserts that I can create, enjoy and share that are compliant and easy to make. These were so delicious and easy to make, thank you so much for sharing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Heather
October 8, 2017 at 11:33 pmWould love to try these but would like to know if there’s something I can replace coconut butter with I do not have that ingredient. thank you in advance
Laura
October 9, 2017 at 7:16 amHey Heather! I actually created this recipe because I had some coconut butter I needed to use! 🙂 If I wanted to replace it my first thought would be to use 2 TBS coconut oil and 2 TBS almond butter (in addition to the 1/4 cup almond butter already in the recipe). However, I have not tried this substitution so I cannot guarantee it’s results! If you do give it a whirl come back and let me know how it goes!
Cortney
August 9, 2016 at 9:03 pmCan I use all Coconut Butter or do you suggest I use both Coconut and Almond Butter?
Laura
August 9, 2016 at 9:10 pmHey Cortney! I definitely recommend making the recipe as written! I think using all coconut butter will make the recipe a little greasy!
Easy Peasy Life Matters
May 25, 2016 at 9:49 pmThese bars sound amazing! We always love a healthy treat around here. Thank you so much for sharing on the Healthy Living Link Party 🙂 We will be featuring your post tonight so make sure you stop by and grab your “featured” button! Have a wonderful evening! 🙂
Laura
May 25, 2016 at 9:59 pmThank you so much! I agree! I’m all about the healthy treats (then you can eat more…right?!) I will absolutely stop by! 🙂
Walking on Sunshine Recipes
May 20, 2016 at 11:36 pmThey look amazing and healthy! Thank you for sharing with Delicious Dishes Recipe Party this week!
Liz @ The Clean Eating Couple
May 20, 2016 at 5:44 pmThese look SO good! Love how healthy the ingredients are!
Laura
May 20, 2016 at 9:10 pmThank you Liz! 🙂 Healthy ingredients = more dessert! Right?! 😉
Susan
May 20, 2016 at 11:29 amCoconut and chocolate YUM, I am all in. These look absolutely scrumptious and I can hardly wait to try them. Pinned!
Laura
May 20, 2016 at 3:16 pmThank you Susan! 🙂 <3
Jenn - a traveling Wife
May 19, 2016 at 1:13 pmYum! Yum! Yum! I too try to cut back on the oven baking when the weather starts to warm. But you can’t keep me away from the chocolatey treats!!
Laura
May 19, 2016 at 8:48 pmLOL Amen Jenn! Nothing can hinder momma’s chocolate eating over here either! 🙂 It just gets SO hot here I like to try to keep the house as cool as possible…no-bake goodies for the win!
Chris
May 19, 2016 at 7:50 amyumm, looks good. Thanks for sharing
Laura
May 19, 2016 at 8:47 pmThank you Chris! 🙂
sherry
May 19, 2016 at 3:25 amI love the list of ingredients in this recipe because our whole family can have them. Thanks!
Laura
May 19, 2016 at 8:46 pmThank you Sherry! I love making treats that can be enjoyed by everyone no matter what dietary restrictions they may have! 🙂 I hope your whole clan enjoys them! 😉
Anita
May 19, 2016 at 1:47 amThese look tempting and sound delicious
Laura
May 19, 2016 at 2:34 amThank you Anita! They’re healthy and full of nutritious ingredients so I say give in to the temptation! 😉
Allison Hardy
May 18, 2016 at 1:55 pmYUM! I’ve never tried almond meal before. Looking forward to trying these this weekend.
Laura
May 18, 2016 at 3:02 pmYay! I hope you enjoy them!! 🙂 I love using almond meal and almond flour as healthy binding agents in baked goods! 🙂
Emily Swanson
May 17, 2016 at 1:20 pmYour bars are so wonderful looking! I made your chocolate chip cookie bars last week, and Lord willing, I’m hoping to restock on coconut 😉 when we come back and make these! Bookmarking!
Laura
May 17, 2016 at 3:13 pmThank you Emily! I’m so glad you enjoyed the chocolate chip cookie bars! 🙂 <3 Hope your trip is fabulous!!!
Ilka
May 16, 2016 at 5:56 pmLove these coconut almond bars! Such a great nutritious list of ingredients! Pinning, tweeting and stumbling!
Laura
May 16, 2016 at 9:05 pmThank you Ilka!! 🙂 <3
Vesna Misoska
May 16, 2016 at 4:19 pmHey Laura! These look so good! And it’s awesome that they’re healthy, which means we can pig on them, right? I’ll just assume you agree with me. I do like the photos, which ensure users that they’re doing what they’re supposed to be doing. Can you post photos of the products used? It’s nice to read them in a recipe, but some people are visual learners. Just a thought!
Laura
May 16, 2016 at 4:47 pmHey Vesna! 🙂 YES! That’s why I make healthy desserts…so I can eat a lot of them! LOL! Thanks for the feedback!! <3 The words in blue in the recipe ingredients list are links to products I use (or similar ones) that are available on Amazon! 🙂 Also, the "In My Kitchen" section of the site has a list of products with pictures and links to some of my favorite pantry staples! I will definitely start including more picture of the ingredients in my posts!
Cindy FitzGerald
May 16, 2016 at 3:42 pmHi Laura – looks delicious! Where do you buy most of our ingredients like coconut butter? Are most of your ingredients readily available in any grocery store? What are some of your favorite brands? Thanks!
Laura
May 16, 2016 at 4:43 pmHey Reader…(LOL)! I buy most of my ingredients on Amazon or vitacost.com (or Sprouts)! In the ingredient lists in my recipes there are amazon links to a products I recommend! I have lots of favorites! 🙂