Healthy No-Bake Dark Chocolate Granola Bites Recipe
Healthy Snack Idea: Dark Chocolate Granola Bites!
Keep a bag of these delicious dark chocolate granola bites in the refrigerator or freezer and pull some out for a healthy snack or nice treat for the lunch box. My son will love finding a few of these chocolate bites in his school lunch as a treat!
These granola bites are not quite as sweet as your typical no-bake cookie. Yes, they have some similarities, but the granola bites flavor is more of dark chocolate and they have more of a firm granola texture too.
At first, my husband commented that these granola bites are not as good as no-bake cookies. But when I told him that they are not supposed to be and that they are more of a healthy snack than a cookie, he proceeded to eat several more and loved them! Ha. I think these will become a staple in our freezer!
Initial Preparation
I just slightly crushed the sliced almonds to keep the pieces a bit smaller. Then toast the almonds and coconut in a skillet for about 5 minutes.
The chocolate part is honey, coconut oil, peanut butter, vanilla, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips. It only takes a few minutes to melt it all together!
Making the Chocolate Granola Bites Mixture
Pour the chocolate mixture over the almond/coconut/oats mixture and stir it all together until combined. Mmm…chocolate.
Scooping the Chocolate Granola Balls
Use a cookie scoop or spoons to scoop out the chocolate oat mixture by the tablespoon-full. Just leave the mounds there on the parchment paper to cool off a bit. After 10 minutes or so, they will be easier to form into balls.
Finishing Up
Once you’ve rolled your chocolate granola balls, they’re ready to go into the fridge. You will want to place the balls onto a rimmed cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat for easy transportation to the fridge. After a few hours, you can move the bites into an airtight container and keep them in the fridge or freezer.
You will probably end up with about 35 bites, depending on how big the balls are and how much of it you eat in the process of making them. 😉
They taste great out of the refrigerator but are even better if left to sit at room temperature for a few minutes before eating.
If you enjoyed this recipe, check out our recipe for no-bake energy bites! You can also find more no-bake recipes here.
This recipe is slightly adapted from MelsKitchenCafe.com.
Healthy No-Bake Dark Chocolate Granola Bites Recipe
Equipment
- Large bowl
- Skillet
- Medium saucepan
Ingredients
- 2 cups quick oats
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup extra-virgin coconut oil
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup natural unsweetened or Dutch-process cocoa powder
- ½ cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oats and salt.
- Crush the sliced almonds into slightly smaller pieces. Heat a 10 or 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the coconut and almonds, stirring often to prevent burning, and toast for 5-6 minutes until the aroma is nutty and the coconut and nuts are turning slightly golden. Toss the mixture with the oats.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the honey, coconut oil, peanut butter, vanilla, cocoa powder and chocolate chips. Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth.
- Pour the chocolate mixture over the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
- Using a cookie scoop or two spoons, scoop the mixture into tablespoon-sized mounds onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Let the little mounds sit for 10 minutes or so until they have cooled and are less sticky.
- Roll the mounds into balls using firm pressure with the palms of your hands.
- Refrigerate the granola bites for 1-2 hours to set up. They can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks (or freeze for several months).
These sound absolutely heavenly! I wonder how they would turn out if I used fresh coconut and agave nectar instead? My daughter is diabetic and I like to find diabetic friendly alternatives to scrumptious recipes like this one. My mouth is watering! Grocery store here I come!
I bet they would still be pretty good, but I can’t say for sure because I haven’t tried it myself. 🙂 Let us know how it turns out! I also really love this healthier recipe: https://fabulesslyfrugal.com/healthy-no-bake-energy-bites-recipe/. Oh, you might like this recipe too! https://fabulesslyfrugal.com/healthier-chocolate-no-bake-cookies-recipe/
My son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in April 2016, so we are still pretty new to it all, but if that is the same type as your daughter, I understand a little bit about what it is like and I know it is really hard. 🙁
Do you have an alternate to the peanut butter? My son is allergic to peanuts but would love this recipe sans the peanut butter. Thank you
I haven’t tried it with an alternate myself, but I think you could sub almond butter or any other nut butter and get similar results. Hope that helps! Let me know how they turn out for you! Thanks!
Could I use almond flour instead of the sliced almonds?
Using almond flour will probably have a very different result than using sliced almonds. I think you will have a more similar result if you use something with a similar texture, like a different type of nut. Or you can try omitting the almonds and adding more oats instead! 🙂