Kids are snackers. I make sure they have a filling and nutrient-packed breakfast every morning and I don’t encourage snacking near mealtime. However, when they’re playing outside and burning off energy or going through a growth spurt they’re going to need snacks from time to time.
These chocolate coconut energy bars fit the bill perfectly. They’re tasty, full of fiber and healthy fats, and they’re quick and easy to make.
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3 Varieties of Wellness Mama Energy Bars
I love the convenience of energy bars, but I don’t love the ingredients in store-bought ones. So, of course, I’ve created my own versions.
My first and one of my very most favorite creations is my wellness energy bars. The ingredients are simple: chopped nuts, pureed dates and raisins for sweetness and binding the whole thing together, and cinnamon. It’s simple, tasty, nutritious, and portable.
Next, I created chia seed energy bars. I love to use chia seeds because of their awesome nutrient attributes. They’re full of fiber, antioxidants, calcium, omega-3s, and give a great energy boost. Read more about them in this post.
Finally, I’ve created the star of this post; the chocolate coconut energy bar. I wanted a recipe that would be largely coconut-based and nut-free. And the kids had one request… chocolate!
Chocolate Coconut Energy Bars
These bars come together really quickly with minimal dishes. To make the mixture chocolatey I use a combination of cocoa butter and cocoa powder.
If you aren’t familiar with cocoa butter, don’t be intimidated! Both cocoa butter and powder come from cacao seeds and are used to make chocolate. Cocoa butter is the fat of the cacao seeds and comes in a block or sometimes thin wafers (which are easier to use). I buy mine on Amazon here.
If you don’t have cocoa butter and don’t want to bother with it, you can absolutely just use additional coconut oil. The bars won’t be quite as rich, but they’ll still be very delicious.
An important note on these energy bars: unlike my wellness energy bars, these aren’t portable. The low melting point of the cocoa butter and coconut oil means that they have to be kept cool to maintain their shape. After they’re chilled I cut them into bars and keep them in the fridge.
These yummy energy bars have been a big hit! Do you ever make snack bars at home? What’s your favorite recipe? I might try something with dried cherries next. This one looks like my kind of recipe.
Chocolate Coconut Energy Bars Recipe
Servings
Nutrition
Notes
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Ever made your own energy bars? What flavor do you prefer? Share below!
These are really yummy, thanks! I used yacon syrup instead of honey and it worked great. I couldn’t find unsweetened coconut, though (just the standard sugary stuff in the baking aisle) so they’re probably sweeter than they would be otherwise. I will try it again when i can find unsweetened organic coconut.
Also, BTW I cannot even *imagine* this recipe being 4 servings! I spread it out over 2 cake pans, resulting in 32 little squares. And just a couple of those little squares are plenty rich for me!
My biggest problem with these was not eating most of the batter before I could get it refrigerated. I got creative with the next two batches, added hemp hearts, some walnuts, and fresh banana in one and fresh banana and ground up peanuts in the other. Think peanut butter would have been even better but didn’t have any, so sort of made my own. Ditto with the coconut butter from what I read it’s just finely ground up coconut flakes with some oil added to it.
I made these today added some ground up raw almonds and pecans so yummy!!
Thank you!
so easy to make and tasty!
I used coconut butter because I dont have cocoa butter. Tasted good.
What is a good substitute for coconut oil? I use it for vapor rub, lotion, and oil pulling, but my son has a genetic disorder called MCAD. He can’t break down middle chain fatty acids. I was wondering if all the healthy fats are middle chain like coconut oil. I have been using butter, but we go through ALOT of butter that way. It doesn’t seem healthy to just have one type of fat. We also use a little extra virgin olive oil.
I used peanut butter chips instead of the wafers and it worked perfectly. I did not use any stevia as I didn’t want it too sweet.
im looking to make these only thing i cant get in this ity bity town is the cocoa butter wafers what would be a good substitute?
They should work
Can u tell me how many calories and protein in one bar?
i just calculated these bars precisely as written. the recipe indicates it serves “4-6”, so for 4 bars each bar contains: 905 calories, 245g Fat (60g saturated fat), 20g sugar, and 10g protein. for 6 bars each bar: 600 calories, 165g fat (40g saturated), 13g sugar, 7g protein.
lol. have fun!!!
That us a lot if calories how big are these bars?
I cut my bars into about 2″ x 3″.
These are so delish! Taste was comparable to my Newman’s dark chocolate bar that I had earlier. Excited to try variations!
Is there a substitute for the coconut oil? I’ll use your original recipe for myself, but my boyfriend is allergic to coconut.
I’m so sad after being so excited! Mine came out with an awful bitter after-taste.. Anyone know why? Would love to give this another shot!
Maybe the Stevia. I find Stevia bitter.
Mine came out bitter as well. I omitted the stevia. Next time I might try more honey or a little maple syrup. I’m excited to try other variations- almond butter and caoco nibs sound especially delicious!
Awesome recipe; its super easy and quick to make, and it tastes great. I just did a quick (and rough) nutritional value estimate for a few things. If this is split into 8 servings, then it comes out to right around 500 cal, with 36 grams fat (nearly all saturated). This is exactly what I was looking for, something easy to make, pleasant to eat, and takes care of filling in my much needed calories. Ate one just before and another halfway through an 8 hour hike; kept me energized the whole time.
Can the cocoa butter wafers be substituted for anything?
Maybe a but butter. I just made these and didn’t have cocoa butter, so I used some cashew and almond butters. It tastes nice, but I haven’t refrigerated them yet. They might not set up great.
Anything that uses coconut oil in it’s ingredients just has to be good. Definitely going to add this to my collection of coconut oil recipes.
The first time I made these I added a very large scoop of almond butter before even reading the comments, AWESOME. I will be making these bi-weekly on the off weeks of my no bake Paleo Chocolate Protein Cookies. I did use the optional vanilla extract and raw honey and left out the Stevia. This recipe is one of my favorite “cheats” that is not a cheat for my Paleo lifestyle. Thank you for my sanity, because you created such a wonderful sweet treat. Next up, I am going to crush unsalted pecans, almonds or walnuts to add to the bars and maybe unsweetened cranberries or cherries. Also, the coconut is not an overwhelming taste if you do not like coconut. I found cocoa butter at Nuts.com, you have to cut it, but less expensive and great quality.
I made these bars without reading the comments. I sort of blended all of Wellness Mama’s energy bar recipes together. I made a paste out of dates, raisins, and cranberries then added the melted cocoa butter and coconut oil. I added almonds, cashews, walnuts, and pecans as well. I also added a handful of dark chocolate chips. They smell wonderful. I used this recipe as the base then added all of the other ingredients. I know this was posted a few months ago, but I figured I would tag it onto your’s so maybe other people would see it and try.:-)
I so glad to have found this website full of healthy but tasty looking recipes. I am looking forward to working my way through the recipes.
I have managed to purchase all the ingredients but i am not familiar with the american cup measurements. Is it possible you could add the quantities in grams. Also i couldn’t get hold of the cocoa butter wafers so i bought a tub of cocoa butter. How much of this do i need to add?
many thanks
uk
Katie – I found the attached website which might help you in converting this to British measurements:
https://whatscookingamerica.net/equiv.htm
These are fantastic!!!! I added cacao nibs. Perfection! 🙂
Rather than using stevia, how about using real maple syrup? I make a similar “chocolate bar” and agree about the downside of needing refrigeration but the maple syrup has lots of minerals, etc. that are so good for you! I think I am going to throw in the chia seeds on this one, too!
I made these and LOVE them, however, I altered the recipe a little bit.
I don’t like shredded coconut (it’s a texture thing) so, I added more chia seeds + coconut flour + coconut sugar
I also added slightly more cocoa butter
Lastly, I added a tad more honey since I didn’t add any stevia
I stuck them in the fridge so they would harden faster. I then took them out, cut them up and individually wrapped them. The result is delicious, solid at room temp and easily portable.