Healthy (well, healthier) dessert time! Allow me to introduce one of my fave granola recipes to date: dark chocolate cherry coconut granola bars ๐.
These bars are vegan, gluten free, and have no added sugar just natural sweeteners...WHAT?! Delicious, vaguely nutritious (I mean let's be real - they still have dark chocolate, honey, and natural peanut butter ๐), you'd never know. Trust.
Do you remember my healthy raspberry coconut granola bars? Yup! These are the same recipe with a couple switcheroos.
I wanted more of a healthy dessert vibe for these bars as opposed to the snack or breakfast on the go (which you can absolutely still do) so I went with dark chocolate shavings and fresh cherries to up the sweetness level. Plus, I added a little cocoa powder for an even deeper flavor.
These chocolate cherry coconut granola bars are super easy to make too. Ready? Let's do this.
Throw everything but the cherries and chocolate shavings in a bowl. Okay now mix. Next, fold in the cherries and dark chocolate. Now bake, chill, and eat. Voila!
Interested? YEAH you are! Scroll down for the recipe ๐.
Chocolate Cherry Coconut Granola Bars
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 bars 1x
Description
A delicious, healthier, vegan dessert option or as a sweet treat for breakfast on the go with fresh cherries, coconut, and dark chocolate shavings. Gluten and dairy free!
Ingredients
- 2 ยฝ cups gluten free quick cooking oats
- ยผ cup cocoa powder
- 6 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- ยผ cup natural peanut butter
- ยผ cup maple syrup, agave syrup, or honey for a non vegan option
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ยผ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ยฝ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon flax seeds
- ยผ cup shredded or shaved coconut
- 1 cup fresh cherries, pitted and halved
- 2 tablespoons dark chocolate shavings
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350หF. Line an 8X10 baking pan with parchment paper and grease.
- In a food processor or grinder, pulse ยฝ cup of the oats until they resemble flour.
- In a large bowl, combine together all ingredients except for the cherries and dark chocolate shavings until completely mixed.
- Gently fold in the cherries and the dark chocolate shavings.
-
Spread the dough onto the prepared baking pan in an even layer.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden.
- Remove and cool on a wire rack. Once cool enough to handle, place the pan in the fridge and chill over night.
- Cut to serve as desired.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
Allie says
How long will these keep? Should they stay refrigerated? Iโd love to make these and bring them to work to snack on.
Michele says
The flavor of these is great! However, the texture is off. They turned out very crumbly and did not hold a bar shape at all. I used a 9X13 stoneware pan and the mixture was spread very thin. I will try again, but use a smaller pan so the mixture is thicker and maybe they'll hold together better. I would love any other ideas about how to get these to not crumble.