Homemade Healthy Coconut Cranberry Choco Bars

Homemade Healthy Coconut Cranberry Chocolate Bars are fun and quick to put together. These bars are nutritionally balanced and guaranteed to help you through a busy day. Need after school snacks, lunch box treats or camping food? Here you go!

Made with oats, cranberries, cherries, shredded coconut, chocolate chips and nuts these bars are loaded and sure to keep you full. Finished with sweetened condensed milk, almond extract, and a touch of cinnamon for a beautifully deep flavor.

You may also like Chocolate Chunk Sweet Potato Granola, Steel Cut Granola, Pumpkin Cranberry Granola, or our basic Homemade Granola. All of these granola recipes have different attributes you may enjoy. They are all excellent, easy recipes!

Cranberry chocolate recipes are always well loved in our family. The balance of rich chocolate and tart, sweet cranberries is satisfying and acts as a dessert like treat even when they are in a healthier recipe. These fresh cranberry chocolate bars are loaded with oats, dates and almonds making them high in nutritional value.

You can always swap out ingredients to suite your dietary needs and preferences. Coconut cranberry bars with pecans would be scrumptious if you don’t like almonds. Pecans are a soft, rich nut that is a popular choice in baked goods.

Are granola bars healthy?

Granola bars can offer a good does of fiber, healthy fats, and vitamins but they are heavy in carbs and should be enjoyed in moderation. Making your own granola bars, like this chocolate cranberry bars recipe will help you control what exactly goes into the bars. Low quality oils and extra sugars fill the packaged bars found in grocery stores.

The calorie content can be controlled depending on the ingredients you use, as well as the quantity. If you are looking to lower the sugars hold off on some of the dried fruits, use unsweetened coconut, or omit the chocolate chips.

Sweetened condensed milk is used to hold these bars together, but you could replace it with raw honey which acts as a glue to hold everything together. Beaten egg whites will also aid in keep the bars strong and firm because the protein from the egg holds the ingredients strong and will create a clustering effect.

Our healthy coconut chocolate bars are a bit like haystacks, and a bit shaggy, with the shredded coconut running throughout. These bars have a great texture for holding. They will not leave your hands full of gooey, sticky sugar, like some bars do.

Recipe Notes

These are big bars, more adult sized. You may want to cut these bars in half if you are serving them to kids, or if you do not want such a filling serving.

Here’s how to make Homemade Healthy Coconut Cranberry Bars

• Preheat the oven and grease the lipped baking sheet
• I ran the cranberries, cherries, dates and walnuts through the chopper blade, a little at a time, through my Little bitty, half-broken food processor. I had to hold the lid on because I broke it last year and I’m too cheap to replace a semi-working kitchen tool! (pathetic for a food blogger, I know!)
• After the cranberries, cherries and dates are chopped, Pour the instant oats (Or make your own by running regular oats through that food processor too!) and ALL the remaining ingredients, except the milk, into a large bowl with plenty of stirring head room. Stir it all up with a large metal or wooden spoon until the dry ingredients are thoroughly mixed. 
• Add in the sweetened evaporated milk and stir until a wet gooey mass is formed.
• Press the gooey mass into the greased baking pan (coconut oil on your hands or Saran wrap over the dough will help) evenly and firmly.
• Bake 25 minutes, until slightly browned.
• Remove to counter and cut the bars in the pan warm.
• Let cool and remove to cooling rack when the bars set up enough to work with.
• Cool until set.

These granola bars are healthy, filling, and very very good! We particularly enjoy the fresh tart cranberries, dried cherries and organic, dried pitted Deglet Noor dates together in this recipe. The chocolate chips help glue it all together and add rich sweet bits.

How to make a homemade granola

This recipe makes an incredibly good, large chunky granola! A chewy granola that is completely scrumptious with yogurt and maple syrup, perfect for breakfast, snacks and dessert

• Press this recipe into a lipped baking sheet and baked it 25 minutes.
• When it’s still warm, before it sets, crumble it all up onto a parchment paper and let it cool.
• Store in an airtight container after the granola is completely cooled.

Enjoy your granola with Greek style yogurt as a parfait, alongside fresh fruit, or a crustless sausage and cheese quiche for a well rounded breakfast.

This recipe is featured at United Mom’s Network