My Coconut-Chocolate Granola Bars are a great way to fuel up while on the go. They are a perfect quick breakfast or healthy after-school snack for the kiddos. Plus they’re easy to make too. Oats, almonds and shredded coconut are toasted until golden and flavorful and then mixed with hemp hearts and chia seeds to boost the fiber, nutrients and protein content in these bars. Honey and brown sugar pull everything together for a granola bar that’s perfectly sweet and absolutely delicious.
To start, preheat the oven to 350 deg F and grab two large baking sheets. Pour 2½ cups of quick oats onto one baking sheet and ½ cup of chopped raw almonds onto another baking sheet. Place the baking sheets into the oven and toast the oats and walnuts for 15 minutes, stirring every 4 minutes or so to ensure even browning (and no burning!). In the last 5 minutes of toasting, add 1 cup of sweetened shredded coconut to the walnuts. Stir the coconut at least twice while it toasts. Remove the pans from the oven and allow the ingredients to cool slightly. Pour the toasted ingredients into a large bowl along with ¼ cup of raw hemp hearts and 2 tablespoons of chia seeds. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, add ⅓ cup of honey, ⅓ cup of brown sugar, ¼ cup of coconut oil and ½ teaspoon of kosher salt. Heat the ingredients over medium heat, stirring often until the sugar has melted, about 3-5 minutes. Off the heat, stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Pour the sugar mixture into the bowl along with the dry ingredients. Stir to combine, making sure that all the dry ingredients are coated in the sugar mixture.
Scoop the ingredients into a 8”x8” pan that has been lined with parchment paper. Cover the granola with a large square of wax paper and using your hands, firmly press the granola into the pan. Sprinkle ½ cup of chocolate chips over the granola and push these into the top of the bars using the same piece of wax paper. Refrigerate the bars for 30 minutes to set.
Once set, remove the bars (along with the parchment paper) from the square pan and onto a cutting board. Cut the granola in half, then slice each half into 6 equal-sized bars. You will end up with 12 bars in total. These bars are best served at room temperature, but to store them, I like to keep them in the refrigerator or freezer. They keep longer this way. To store, simply wrap each bar in parchment paper and pop them into a freezer bag. The bars will keep for two weeks in the refrigerator and up to two months in the freezer.
Coconut-Chocolate Granola Bar
Ingredients
- 2½ cups quick oats
- ½ cup raw almonds, chopped
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- ¼ cup hemp hearts
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- ⅓ cup honey
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grab two large baking sheets.
- Spread quick oats out onto the first baking sheet and the chopped walnuts onto the second baking sheet. Toast for 15 minutes, stirring every 3-4 minutes to ensure even browning.
- During the last 5 minutes of toasting, add the shredded coconut to the pan of walnuts. Keep an eye on the coconut (it burns quickly!) and stir it twice while it toasts.
- Let the oats, walnuts and coconut cool slightly, then pour the ingredients into a large glass bowl. Add the hemp hearts and chia seeds and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, add the honey, brown sugar, coconut oil and salt. Heat the ingredients over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved, 3-5 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the vanilla.
- Pour the sugar mixture over the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
- Pour the granola into an 8"x8" pan that has been lined with parchment paper. Cover the granola with a square of wax paper, and using your hands, press the granola firmly into the pan.
- Scatter the chocolate chips over the granola and, using the wax paper, press the chips into the granola with your hands.
- Pop the granola into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set. Once set, remove the granola, along with the parchment, from the pan and onto a cutting board. Cut the granola in half, then each half into 6 equal-sized bars. The granola bars are best eaten at room temperature, but I like to store them in the refrigerator (for up to two weeks) or the freezer (for up to two months) to stay fresh.
