No-Bake Chocolate Coconut Chia Seed Bars
on May 08, 2019, Updated Jul 24, 2024
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These no-bake chocolate coconut chia seed bars can be mixed up in a bowl in minutes – no food processor or blender required!
Recipe Features
- quick and easy – you’ll need just 5 minutes of prep time, no blending or baking needed!
- vegan and gluten-free – works for those with dietary restrictions, they can also be made nut-free!
Ingredients
- oats – I use quick oats because they hold together better, you can use rolled oats if that’s all you have
- coconut – use unsweetened fine or medium shredded coconut, may be labeled desiccated coconut, you can use sweetened if you want just note it has added sugar
- cocoa powder – regular cocoa powder works great but for extra nutrition, you can use cacao powder
- chia seeds – use whole chia seeds
- peanut butter – use natural peanut butter (no added sugar or oil)
- coconut oil – this binds the recipe so can not be substituted
- maple syrup – sweetens the recipe, can be subbed with agave
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1. Mix the dry ingredients up in a bowl. This includes the coconut, oats, cocoa powder, chia seeds and optional sea salt.
Step 2. Melt the coconut oil then mix it together with the peanut butter and maple syrup until smooth and creamy.
Step 3. Add the peanut butter mixture to the bowl with the oats and stir well to combine into a uniform mixture.
Step 4. Firmly press the dough into a 7-8 inch square baking dish.
Place in the freezer for 30-minutes to firm, then lift out of the pan and slice into bars.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- These bars need to be kept in the freezer or fridge to hold together properly.
- The salt is optional but recommend. The sweetness from the maple syrup combined with the sea salt is delicious!
- Peanut butter can be substituted with almond butter or for nut-free bars, tahini or sunflower seed butter.
How to Store
- Freezer: Store in a sealed container or freezer safe bag for up to 3 months. Can be enjoyed directly from the freezer.
More Recipes Like This
- Chocolate Chip Chia Seed Granola Bars
- No-Bake Chocolate Chia Energy Bars
- No-Bake Apricot Granola Bars
- No-Bake Superfood Energy Bars
- Sunflower Sesame Homemade Energy Bars
Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Scroll down to the comment section to leave a star rating and review.
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Chocolate Coconut Chia Seed Bars
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups 165 g quick oats
- 1/4 cup 60 g unsweetened fine or medium shredded coconut
- 1/4 cup 25 g cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup 50 g chia seeds
- 1/4 tsp sea salt, optional for flavor
- 1/4 cup 75 g natural peanut butter
- 1/4 cup 50 g melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup 80 g pure maple syrup
Instructions
- Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
- Stir the peanut butter, coconut oil and maple syrup together in a separate small bowl until smooth, creamy and completely combined.
- Add the wet mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix to combine.
- Line a 7-8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper so the ends stick out over the edges of the pan.
- Add the mixture and firmly press it down into the pan. Take a few minutes to really press it in, this will help them stick together better.
- Place in the freezer for 30 minutes to set.
- Lift the bars out of the pan and cut into 10 bars. Store in the freezer in a sealed container or freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published May 16, 2015. It was updated July 8, 2020 with new photos and text.
Could coconut butter be used instead of coconut oil?
As long as it’s melted and very drippy I think coconut butter should work. I haven’t tried it though so I can’t guarantee it!
These are amazing!!! I added dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds and small chocolate chips (maybe a handful of each). This is my first time making granola bars and I don’t think I could ever buy them again. Thanks for this recipe.
Thanks so much Diana, so glad you enjoyed them! Those add-ins sound amazing.
My granola bars melted even after they had set. They didn’t even last for 10 mins outside. What could the reason be and what can I do to bind it?
Hi Gitika, please see the recipe notes: “These bars need to be kept in the freezer or fridge to hold together properly.” Because the coconut oil is one of the binders and it melts at room temp, these need to be kept cold.
Fabulous low-sugar treat, and high in omega-3! Love it!
Heya! Just made these, awesome!
How long would they keep in the fridge? Xxx
They should be fine for a couple weeks in the fridge or a few months in the freezer. 🙂 Enjoy!
Is it necessary to use Himalayan salt? Or regular, locally produced salt is enough?
I’d like to avoid unnecessary carbon emissions…
No, it’s not necessary. Any sea salt will do, just not table salt.
i gotta ask…do these constipate you? Ive read that you should eat un-gelled chia sees sparingly because they will just soak up the water in your gut and just block you up! I LOVE the crunch of un-gelled chia seeds but don’t want to gum up the works!
I’ve never had that problem with these. I don’t think there’s enough chia seeds in each bar to cause an issue…not for me anyways but I can’t guarantee anything! 🙂
Just made them and they turned out brilliant! Just wondering if it would be possible to pre-soak the Chia so they’re not as crunchy? Or would this make the whole bar too wet?
Ya, I don’t think soaking them would work for this bar, it would be too wet, like you said. You could probably used soaked chia if you adjusted the rest of the ingredients but it would be a whole different recipe. I kind of like the crunchy seeds in there 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed them!
These bars are fabulous! Thanks for sharing. Curious and I may have missed this information somewhere, but do you have the nutritional value of these yummy things…protein, calories etc? Thanks again!
No need to reply…I found it. I need to look a little better. Again, these are delicious!
I’m sorry I don’t have the nutritional values of these ones because I didn’t measure exact weights when I made them. I’ll have to make them again with more precise measurements to get the nutritional info but I’m not sure when that will be. In the meantime, if you make them, simple create a recipe in the MyFitnessPal app to get the nutritional info per bar. Thanks a lot!
Can you use less Maple Syrup or substitute it out for something else for a little bit less sugar?
You could try reducing the syrup and adding more peanut butter and/or coconut oil then using some stevia or another sugar-free sweetened to sweeten the recipe if you want. I haven’t tried it with less syrup though, so I can’t guarantee results.
A boutique honey shop near me sells maple flavored honey, using organic maple flavoring – aka non-alcoholic extract. Straight on pancakes, it’s obviously easy to taste the difference, but in recipes, it works just fine with way fewer calories from sugars.