Sweet craving? These soft, chewy Keto coconut bars are healthy dessert heaven. NO-BAKE and made with only 5 ingredients, you’ll never guess these decadent-tasting candy bars are low in carbs and sugar free!
I’m a big fan of easy sugar free sweets, and this recipe ticks all my boxes. It does not require any baking, it comes together with only 5 ingredients and most importantly, it is intensely, supremely satisfying. Once you sink your teeth into a chewy coconut bar you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about!
Essentially, no bake coconut bars are just like a Bounty bar (I think there’s a version over in the US called Mound bar) – but without the fussy chocolate covering (and all the sugar). The filling is the best part anyway, so why not get straight to it 😉
Are these no bake coconut bars healthy?
Amazingly, yes! They contain lots of good fat and only 1.3 grams of sugars per bar!
These Keto bars are a triple coconut whammy. The recipe calls for desiccated coconut, coconut cream AND coconut oil. Coconut is a dream ingredient for anyone who’s following a low carb or Keto diet. Desiccated coconut, for example, is rich in essential nutrients and high in fibre. Coconut is also high in saturated fats, which means it’s very satiating. Coconut oil is an ingredient in many Keto fat bomb recipes, including my chocolate walnut fat bombs.
Regular coconut bar recipes often contain condensed milk. Condensed milk is a mixture of milk and sugar, which is simmered until it is reduced by about 1/3 and thickens. I used the coconut cream instead, which has a similar texture, but is low in carbs. I actually have a recipe for sugar free condensed milk on my website, which would also be great in this recipe. But for all of you who want a quick result, coconut cream works a treat.
How to make coconut bars – step by step:
1.) Place all ingredients except the chocolate in a food processor or stand mixer and blend away until the coconut shreds are considerably smaller than they were at the beginning. You could use a stick blender and a tall jug as well, it’ll just take a little longer.
2.) Line a tray with parchment paper and fill in the sticky mixture. Take this opportunity to steal a couple of bites 🙂
3.) Press the coconut filling down firmly with your hand until there are no air bubbles left. This way your bars don’t fall apart later.
4.) Optional – smoothen the top with a spatula.
5.) Place the tray in the fridge for 15 minutes so it firms up before cutting. The blades of the food processor warm up the coconut mix, which makes it too soft to cut straight away. I cut my mix into 24 squares. I decided to cut BEFORE drizzling with chocolate because I did not want the chocolate to splinter off when cutting.
TIP: Wet your knife before you cut and clean it after each cut to remove any coconut shreds that got stuck on it.
6.) Take a moment to admire your coconut squares, looking all pristine and perfect in innocent white 🙂
7.) Now it’s time to decorate: Melt dark or sugar free chocolate with 30 second bursts in the microwave or in a water bath (you place a bowl with chocolate into a larger bowl half-filled with boiled water). Pour the chocolate into a sturdy plastic bag and pierce a hole into the bottom with a needle. Drizzle the chocolate over the coconut bars and return to the fridge until chocolate has set.
BAKER’S NOTES
I used the clear Sukrin Sugar Free Fibre Syrup in this recipe. You can replace it with any other sugar free syrup available where you are. If you’re after a Paleo coconut bar, you could even go for maple syrup.
You can go for 1/2 cup of powdered erythritol instead of the sugar free syrup. In this case, increase the coconut cream by 1/2 cup.
I don’t like my sweets too sweet. If you prefer your coconut bars a little sweeter, don’t hesitate to add a few drops of liquid stevia. Vanilla or coconut flavour would work well. 4 drops are equivalent to 1 tsp of sugar. Add only a few drops at a time so your mix doesn’t end up too sweet!
Let’s talk chocolate.
The coconut bars you see in the photos are drizzled with a dark chocolate containing 90% cocoa solids. It is very low in sugar – less than 1/2 teaspoon for the entire amount used in the coconut bars. A chocolate with 85% cocoa solids would still be a good option. Or you can even go for sugar free chocolate, which is sweetened with stevia. They are more pricey, but this way you could even have a milk chocolate topping. In the US, Lily’s is a good option, and in the UK there is a brand called Nicks.
You can easily turn your Keto bars into homemade bounty bars by cutting the coconut mix into rectangular shapes and dipping it into a bowl with melted chocolate. Handle the coconut shapes with 2 spoons so you don’t get messy hands!
Coconut bars freeze well – they even taste great frozen! You can store them in the fridge or even in an airtight jar at room temperature. Enjoy!
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Keto No Bake Coconut Bars
Ingredients
- 3 cups / 270g desiccated coconut unsweetened
- 1/3 cup / 80 ml coconut cream
- 1/2 cup / 120 ml sugar free syrup
- 4 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 oz / 30g dark or sugar free chocolate minimum 85% cocoa solids
Instructions
- Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender or with an electric mixer until and you have a moist, sticky mix. The coconut shreds should be MUCH smaller than they were before blending.
- Line a 8x5 inch pan with parchment paper and fill in the coconut mix. Press down with your hands until it's nice and firm. Smooth the top with a spatula.
- Place in the fridge for 15 minutes. Then remove and cut into pieces.
- Heat the chocolate in the microwave (30 second bursts) or in a water bath (place the bowl with chocolate into a larger bowl half-filled with boiled water. The heat gently melts the chocolate).
- Fill melted chocolate into a plastic bag and pierce a hole with a needle. Drizzle the coconut bars with the chocolate.
- Return to the fridge for 10 minutes so the chocolate firms up.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Heidi says
Mine wouldn’t firm up. It was a bit of a sticky mess and I couldn’t use hands to push down. I spread it with a spatula and hoped it would harden in the fridge. After 30 min, still soft. What did I do wrong? I used all the exact ingredients you used. The only thing I can think of is perhaps I didn’t include enough shredded coconut. I didn’t pack it into the cup measure, just poured it and leveled it off for each cup. I used the thick coconut cream in a can, the consistency of shortening. My coconut oil was liquid, should I have used solid instead? I used the Sukrin fiber clear syrup as well. Ideas? Should I just add more coconut till it’s the desired consistency or is it ruined due to using the liquid coconut oil?
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hello Heidi, I think the coconut oil was the problem. It sounds like you used MCT oil, which stays liquid at room temperature. Regular coconut oil behaves the same way as butter and this will stick the desiccated coconut together. I hoe this helps and that you’ll try the recipe again some time.
Heidi says
Yep, think that’s the problem will make the change next time. I didn’t want to waste this batch so I added about another cup of coconut (till it was a good thick consistency) and some powdered sweetener. Topped with chopped roasted almonds and melted a KETO chocolate bar w/almonds for the top. I’m storing this batch in the freezer. Last night ate 2 and was in heaven. Tasted just like an Almond Joy – so happy to have this recipe. Thanks ever so much!!!
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Heidi, that sounds like you’ve not only saved this one, but turned it into something quite special! 🙂
Jannie says
I want to try this recipe with the Goya unsweetened fresh frozen shredded coconut . Have you ever tried it with fresh coconut ? I wonder how much less cream I would have to use
Katrin says
Hi Jannie, I have never tried that. But I agree that would probably need less cream because it’s juicier.
cobugi says
I’m new to Keto recipes. After I saw this recipe and a couple of others in this blog I purchased a few Keto friendly pantry items to give Keto desserts a try. I’m happy to report this recipe is a success!
I made 1/3 of the recipe (measuring ingredients was a little tricky but doable) and everything fit perfectly in my mini food processor.
The recipe is sweet enough as it is, but I did add more sweetener after tasting it as I wanted to feel more indulgent.
So glad I found this recipe and this blog! I’ll be trying more recipes in the near future.
Katrin says
That’s so good to hear! Thanks for leaving a comment 🙂
Michelle Fritz says
Used a 1/4 c powdered lakanto and more coconut oil and cream (Natures Charm coconut whipping cream is amazing), added a pinch of salt – LOVE them! Tastes so much like a mounds bar.
Katrin says
Glad you liked it Michelle!!!
mmb7br says
hi there – is it possible to leave the syrup out or maybe use something else instead, please? Thanks
mmb7br says
pls discard my question – I just read the instructions again and the answer to my question is right there (ugh!) 😉
thanks anyway
Del says
Definitely amazing. will do these again.
Robin Sawvell says
Hi Katrin, thank you for this wonderful recipe. I just have a question about the coconut cream, is it the canned? And do you seperate and use just the solids or mix the liquid and solids together. When I open a can it is always seperated. Thank you!
Katrin says
Yes, it’s the can. Only use the firm part!
Jess says
Where do you find unsweetened coconut cream? The only kind in my trap eye store us packed full of sugar.
Katrin says
Hello Jess I’m not sure where you are based but here in the UK coconut cream is always unsweetened. You can find it in the international section in supermarkets – it’s often used in Asian cuisine, for curries and the like
Mitzi says
Coconut cream is different from cream of coconut! Read the label for ingredients. Hope this helps!
Katrin Nürnberger says
That’s true – here, cream of coconut is a firm bar that you can shave bits off. It’s basically coconut butter.
Neil Partridge says
I substituted out the sugar free syrup for xylitol. I increased coconut cream as per your instructions : TO 1/2 a cup. They were very dry & crumbly. Should the recipe say increase coconut cream BY 1/2 a cup?
Katrin says
yes!!! my mistake. I’ve changed it in the recipe. Thanks for letting me know.
Kim says
I think your carb count is way off. When I click the link for the syrup Amazon says it’s 30 grams of carbs for 2 tablespoons. Your recipe calls for 1/2 a cup. Unsweetened coconut is 4 grams per 1/4 cup. Your recipe calls for 3 cups. Please help me understand the carb break down.
Katrin says
Hi Kim, the Sukrin Fibre Syrup has 5 grams of carbs/5g sugar per 100 ml. That’s what it says on the back of the bottle, the image is on Amazon. The entire recipe uses 120g, so 6g of sugar/total carbs. Unsweetened desiccated coconut ranges between 6.3 and 7.4 total carbs/sugar per 100g (and around 21g of fibre). The recipe uses 270g. That’s roughly 20 total carbs coming from the shredded coconut for the whole recipe. I check the nutrition on the products I use and put it in my nutrition calculator. It’s best to check on the actual products you use if you want to calculate the nutrition correctly and not just believe what other people say (I believe you are quoting from the Amazon reader comments – there’s a lady who got her numbers mixed up there)
Vanessa says
Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?
Katrin says
They do! I tend to store my sweets in the freezer because that way I don’t feel I have to eat them every day, but they’re fine in the fridge for a while too, in an airtight container. Maybe a couple of weeks?
Claira says
Can you substitute coconut milk for coconut cream? I don’t think I’ve ever seen coconut cream at the grocery store.
Katrin says
Hi there, you cannot use the coconut milk that comes in a tetra pak and is thought for drinking, it’s too watery. You CAN get a tin of coconut milk, put it in the fridge, which separates the cream from the liquid. Then only use the firm bit.
Tara says
What kind of sugar free syrup is it? Like sugar free maple syrup?
Thank you
Katrin says
I used the clear sugar free syrup from Sukrin in this recipe. It does not taste of much on its own. If you use a maple flavoured sugar free syrup, you might be able to taste the maple and your bars would also have a yellowish/brownish tint (the recipe would still work though, just pointing this out). I once made these bars with a brown sugar alternative – Sukrin Gold – and whilst it tasted good, I was a little disappointed the colour of my coconut mix was not a pure white.
Vickie says
What is the difference in carbs if you substitute the powder sweetener and increase the coconut cream. The only sugar free syrup here is called DaVinci or Torani. Have you ever heard of those, if so can you use them. They aren’t a really thick syrup.
Katrin says
You’d probably end up with less carbs if you use powdered sweetener as the Fibre syrup has some carbs. As for the Torani Syrup, if it’s really liquid just use a bit less initially and see how you get on. The coconut oil sticks everything together really well, so there’s a bit of give in the recipe:)
Jay says
How much coconut ans coconut oil etc?
Katrin says
Hello, all quantities are at the bottom of the post in the recipe card. I always give grams/ml as well as cups and ounces so you can get started wherever in the world you are 🙂
Susan says
Love this recipe!!
I have an allergy to chocolate & the cocoa bean
so I replaced the chocolate with some coconut oil
mixed with some squished up blue berries as the
topping. It was yum.
Katrin says
Hi Susan, this sounds so yum! Love the idea of a blueberry topping. I eat frozen blueberries and shredded coconut with yoghurt all the time.
Susan says
I love coconut! Can’t wait to try these. Thanks for all your amazing recipes
Katrin says
I’m glad you like the look of them! Be sure to leave a comment once you have tried the bars 🙂