Homemade sweet and salty coconut granola bars are soft, chewy, and pack huge flavor. Made with healthy and wholesome ingredients, these bars are a satisfying and naturally gluten-free dessert recipe (use certified GF ingredients). Skip the oven and allow the bars to set up in the refrigerator or freezer.
Say hello to my favorite homemade snack. Which also totally double as dessert. I cannot stop eating these! The good news is that today’s chewy coconut granola bars are actually pretty wholesome, combining real foods with real flavor. The great news is that you don’t need to turn on your oven.
Besides all that, what I love most is the taste and texture. The consistency and flavor both remind me of soft caramel, but there’s no butter or refined sugar. Pair that with coconut, oats, and a little dark chocolate and you’ve got a square of heaven.
Homemade alternative to processed foods? Absolutely. Addicting? 100%.
The next time you need healthier dessert recipe ideas, these bars will fit the bill.
Why You’ll Love These No-Bake Coconut Granola Bars
- Quick and easy to prepare
- Soft and chewy
- Made with healthy and wholesome ingredients
- Naturally gluten free if you use certified GF oats (making these one of my favorite gluten free dessert recipes, in fact!)
- Sweet and salty in each bite
- Tons of texture
- No-bake recipe (just like my beloved peanut butter trail mix bars and no-bake chocolate fudge oat bars)
- They freeze beautifully
- Taste just like a candy bar!
Overview: How to Make Coconut Granola Bars
These no-bake bars come together quickly and easily. Here’s an overview of the process:
- Puree the dates. I like to use a food processor for this step; if you don’t have one, very finely chop the dates.
- Make the binding mixture. Mix the pureed dates with almond butter, coconut oil, and honey on the stove. This warm mixture combined with the almond meal binds the granola bars together, and allows us to skip baking them.
- Add the dry ingredients. Do this right in the saucepan.
- Press the granola bar mixture into a baking pan. Line a square 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Pack the mixture into the pan—the more compact, the more the bars will hold their shape.
- Chill the bars. Let the bars set up in the refrigerator or freezer. I recommend the freezer to save time.
- Cut into squares.
Key Ingredients in These Granola Bars
With so few ingredients, each has an important job:
- Dates: to sweeten + bind
- Honey: to sweeten + bind
- Almond butter: to bind
- Coconut oil: to bind
- Salt + vanilla extract: for flavor
- Oats: for texture
- Coconut: for texture/flavor
- Almonds: for texture/flavor
- Almond meal: to bind
- Chocolate: for flavor
I know what you’re thinking… coconut, almond, and chocolate? ALMOND JOY BARS!! Told you these taste like candy.
Note: If you want a lighter version, leave out the chocolate—I promise they’re still awesome without it. But if you want a little extra something special, don’t skip it.
More Favorite Healthy Recipes
- Baked Oatmeal (and Baked Oatmeal Cups)
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Granola Bars
- Healthy Berry Streusel Bars
- Morning Glory Muffins
- Breakfast Cookies
- Healthy Banana Pancakes
And 20+ healthy dessert recipes for even more inspiration!
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No-Bake Chewy Coconut Granola Bars
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 9 large squares
- Category: Snack
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
These sweet and salty granola bars are soft, chewy, and pack huge flavor. We’re combining almonds, coconut, oats, and chocolate for a wholesome and satisfying treat. Skip the oven and allow the bars to set up in the refrigerator or freezer.
Ingredients
- 4–5 Medjool dates, pitted (about 100-110g)
- 1/3 cup (113g) honey (or brown rice syrup)
- 1/3 cup (85g) almond butter (or any nut butter)
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) coconut oil (or unsalted butter; you need a fat that’s solid at room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 cups (128g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
- 1 cup (80g) unsweetened shredded coconut (plus extra for topping, if desired)
- 3/4 cup (65g) slivered/sliced almonds
- 2 Tablespoons almond meal/almond flour (or oat flour)
- optional: 1/3 cup (60g) finely chopped semi-sweet chocolate or mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Line an 8-inch or 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper with enough overhang on the sides to easily remove the bars from the pan. Set aside.
- Pulse the dates in a food processor until they form a chunky paste. (You’ll have about 3 Tablespoons paste.) Or, if you don’t have a food processor, very finely chop the dates.
- Whisk the date paste/chopped dates, honey, almond butter, and coconut oil together in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Try to break up the dates as much as you can. Once combined and warm, remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla extract and salt until combined.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients including the chocolate, if using.
- Press mixture into prepared baking pan and top with extra coconut, if desired. Pack the mixture down as much as you can. I recommend using the back of a flat spatula to really press it tightly.
- Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or freeze for 30 minutes before cutting into squares.
- Store leftover granola bars in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. They get a little sticky if left out for several hours.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: These granola bars are freezer friendly. I LOVE them right out of the freezer! Wrap each individually in plastic wrap or parchment paper and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 8-inch or 9-inch Square Baking Pan | Parchment Paper | Food Processor | Medium Saucepan | Whisk | Flat Spatula
- Substitutions: Feel free to make any substitutions, keeping in mind that the texture and flavor will change. The bars were a little more crumbly without the chocolate. The warm mixture melts the chocolate, which really helps the bars hold their shape.
- Nutritional Information: I’m unsure of the nutritional stats, but feel free to calculate it!
Reader Comments and Reviews
These are divine! I carry them with me when cycling. Best energy bars EVER!
I’ve purchased some snack bars in the store lately but they just aren’t fresh. We love dates and figs and I came across this recipe (and the fig bars too, which are also delish). These are absolutely amazing. And soooo much healthier and tastier than anything I can buy ready made. I will be making these weekly, along with the fig bars! Thanks so much for yet another incredible recipe!
These are delicious! I substituted based on ingredients on hand. I didn’t have any almonds so I doubled raw unsweetened coconut and omitted almond flour. Thank you for a healthy and yummy recipe…
I just made these and they are super easy and amazingly delish!!! Next time I will make a double batch.
Also, I used cranberries in lieu of dates or raisins. Chopped them fine. Yummy!!!
I scooped these into small balls with a cookie scoop and rolled them in toasted coconut to make “bites”……
Next level DELICIOUS!!
These were so delicious and super easy to make! I didn’t have almond flour so I skipped it and the bars still turned out great. Just the best recipes as always
These were absolutely delicious! I recently had to give up gluten and dairy and it was really nice to be able to still enjoy a special treat. I pressed a few extra mini chocolate chips on top but other than that followed the recipe to a T. They turned out perfectly. Thanks Sally!
Can you use cocoa powder instead of semi sweet chips?
Though I haven’t tested this, I’m sure you could add a couple Tablespoons of cocoa powder to the recipe (when you add the oats) and leave out the chocolate chips.
I added 2Tbs natural cocoa powder and some chopped dried cherries in place of the almonds. They turned out amazing! The original recipe is also excellent as is. Now I always double this recipe because everyone loves them.
I love these…so easy to make..I had everything in my cupboard..and they are amazingly delish..might have to make more tomorrow ..these won’t last long..Thanks so much for a healthier choice in snacks..
Okay these were AMAZING! I substituted quite a bit, because I didn’t have all of the ingredients. Used maple syrup instead of honey, olive oil instead of coconut oil and PB2 instead of almond butter. They still turned out great. Will be making these again. Thanks!
Love love love these! The flavor is amazing! And so chewy!
These were really easy to make and tasted delicious! I doubled them and put them in the same size pan so they would be thick!
Hi sally ,what could I use in place of dates?cherries??raisins?Thanks
Hi Ann, You can dry dried figs, raisins, or really any dried fruit that would make a sticky paste when pulsed in the food processor. Let us know what you try!
I’ve never tried a no bake bar before but these are incredible and were so easy to make! I only had 2T of sliced almonds so I used an additional 2T finely chopped pecans to make 1/4c. These taste better than a candy bar and have zero guilt!
Good stuff! I doubled this and pressed into a 12×12 pan. Perfect for keeping and sharing! We’ve had rave reviews so far! (And what a great way to use up dates!)
Yum these are really delicious! I love a chewy granola bar and I think I even prefer these to your baked versions for this reason. I made a couple of swaps because of what I had at home and they came out very well. I used 5 tsps sultanas soaked in hot water (instead of dates) and a mix of sunflower/pumpkin seeds instead of the slivered almonds, also I used the oat flour instead of almond flour, as your suggestion. Thanks Sally!
These taste amazing!!! Just cut them up and my husband and I have eaten four of them….soooo tasty and ingredients that you feel good about eating. These will be packed on our spring vacation for sure (if they make it that long!) Thank you for another awesome recipe <3
Do you have any suggestions to replace the almonds? My kids school is nut free. Thanks!
Hi Jill! You can use a little more coconut in its place or replace with sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds. And you can use sunflower seed butter instead of almond butter.
I’m going to try substituting ground flax seed for the almond flour, and either subbing the slivered almonds or omitting altogether, then I’ll check back in! Are all oats gluten free or will the package specify?
Hi Carmen! Let me know how it goes with those substitutions! Oats should specify that they are certified GF, yes.
Hi! These look so good! Can I use sweetened coconut for these? That’s what I have at home. Thank you.
Hi Janet! You sure can. If desired, you can reduce the # of dates or the amount of honey to make up for the added sweetness. Though the bars may not stay intact as nicely without these sweeteners because they act as binders too.
I made these today and they are wonderful!!! I did need double the dates to get 3 Tbls of paste, but I think my dates were a little small.
Thanks!
I just made these today, they are delicious! I used the brown rice syrup as I had some. I will be making these again! Thanks Sally!
These are absolutely delicious! The best I’ve ever made. I always have some form of granola bar on the go for school day breakfasts as it’s very hard to get my teenagers up early enough to eat at the table. I can see this recipe being made on loop all the way through the coming school year!
Ok, I was skeptical on these. But…they are very good and could not stop at one. My 95 year old grandmother loved them. You really do need to just make two batches when you make them. Thanks for this yummy treat.
What a fun and delicious snack….its like a dessert. After making your trail mix bars I had to try these as well. When I ask family which is their favorite, they refuse to answer….oranges and apples so no comparisons…
I accidentally bought sweetened coconut flakes instead of UNsweeted! But it didnt make them o early sweet.
I used up all my oats on all these bars! I better start buying it in bulk!
Thanks a zillion!
Lorraine