With dark chocolate and chewy coconut in each delicious bite, this is absolutely the best homemade Mounds Bars recipe you’ll find. And they are so easy to make!
Copycat Mounds candy bars
Mounds bars used to be one of my all time favorite candy bars.
Today’s homemade version calls for just four ingredients and can hold its own against the classic, with the same beloved rich chocolate shell and sweet coconut filling.
Whip up a batch of these addictive coconut bars in under five minutes.
You will not regret it!
Readers also love this Coconut Ice Cream
Healthy vegan Mounds bar ingredients
Here’s everything you need to make the coconut chocolate bars at home.
Gather together shredded coconut and coconut oil, liquid sweetener, optional pure vanilla extract, and chocolate chips or broken up chocolate bars.
Unlike many other homemade Mounds bars recipes or Bounty bar recipes, this one calls for no corn syrup and no sweetened condensed milk.
Sweetener options that work well include pure maple syrup, honey, or raw agave. Or for sugar free Mounds bars, stevia will also work.
If you experiment with a granulated or powdered sweetener, be sure to report back.
The most important thing with these bars is to buy full fat, unsweetened shredded coconut or desiccated coconut. For best results and a better texture, do not use low fat coconut or sweetened coconut flakes.
Including the vanilla extract compliments the coconut flavor. It can easily be left out if you prefer, and the coconut bars will still be tasty.
I love the bold, rich flavor of the original dark chocolate Mounds bars. If you are a semi sweet or milk chocolate fan, feel free to use either of these (or even white chocolate) instead of the dark chocolate chips.
The easy coconut dessert recipe can be gluten free, dairy free, egg free, tree nut free, soy free, raw, paleo, and vegan.
Almond Joy bars recipe
Turning this into an Almond Joy bar recipe is incredibly easy.
Press a raw or roasted whole almond into the top of each coconut patty before coating them in the melted chocolate.
Alternatively, you can add the almonds to the top after covering in chocolate.
I sometimes also like to add a few drops of pure almond extract to heighten the almond flavor. Because the extract is highly concentrated, you only need a few drops.
Also make this Almond Flour Banana Bread
Homemade Mounds bars recipe video
Watch the step by step recipe video – above
How to make chocolate covered coconut bars
Three ingredient Mounds bars are coated in melted chocolate, for a fun and easy no bake homemade candy bar that all coconut lovers will enjoy.
To make the recipe, start by adding start by gathering all of your ingredients and lining a plate with parchment paper or wax paper.
Add the shredded coconut, sweetener, and softened coconut oil to a blender or food processor. If using vanilla extract, include this ingredient as well.
Blend or process the mixture fully. You will know it is done when the coconut dough is sticky and does not fall apart when pressed together.
Using your hands or a cookie scoop, smush the mixture into Mounds bar shapes. You can make traditional sized candies, mini Mounds bars, or even giant Mounds!
Place the raw coconut patties on the prepared plate, and chill in the refrigerator or freezer until hard and cold.
Carefully melt the chocolate chips or bars, either in the microwave or using the double boiler method.
(For more on how to melt chocolate, see this Chocolate Covered Strawberries recipe.)
If you want a smoother chocolate sauce that more evenly coats the patties, stir the optional oil into the melted chocolate.
Dip cold coconut mounds in the chocolate coating. Place them back on the parchment lined plate, then chill in the refrigerator or freezer to set the chocolate shell.
So the unwrapped candies maintain their shape and texture, it is best to keep leftovers cold in the fridge or freezer.
Sugar free keto Mounds bars
To make a keto version, replace the liquid sweetener with two tablespoons of water.
Increase the coconut oil to four tablespoons, and add plain or vanilla stevia drops to taste. Look on the jar of your specific brand of drops for the amount of drops equal to three tablespoons of sugar.
Use chocolate chips with no sugar, or make your own Sugar Free Chocolate Chips.
Or you can make your own raw chocolate sauce by combining a fourth cup each of cacao powder (or cocoa powder), melted coconut oil, and raw agave or honey.
As for nutrition facts, each keto and low carb candy bar will have just 2.2 grams of carbohydrates and 1.2 grams of net carbs total.
Add the bars to the top of a Keto Cheesecake
Healthy candy bar serving suggestions
Any time is a great time to enjoy these homemade Mounds bars.
Serve them on a cookie tray for dessert at your next party. Or grab one as a snack from the fridge whenever a chocolate craving strikes.
They are equally welcome at Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Or Easter.
Cut the no bake chocolate coconut bars into pieces, and use them to decorate coconut cupcakes or Vegan Chocolate Cake or as a topping for ice cream.
The recipe was adapted from my 3 ingredient Coconut Balls.
Mounds Bars
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
- 3 tbsp pure maple syrup or honey or agave (a keto option is included above)
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract (optional)
- 3 oz chocolate chips (or see substitution above)
- optional 1 tsp oil
Instructions
- To make homemade Mounds bars, start by blending the first three ingredients and optional vanilla in a blender or food processor (not by hand, or they fall apart) until sticky and no longer crumbly. Smush into Mounds bar shapes. Place on a parchment or wax-lined plate, and chill in the refrigerator or freezer until hard. Carefully melt the chocolate, then stir in the optional oil if you want a smoother coating. Dip cold coconut mounds in chocolate. Chill to set, and store leftovers in the fridge or freezer so they maintain their shape.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
More Copycat Dessert Recipes
Just started into the world of vegetarianism and a friend of mine sent m your link to help me along the way. This is the first post I have read and am already excited about what I can learn through you. THANK YOU!
Every single recipe I see of yours (especially these copycat/healthier version ones) I just think that you’re a genius! Love it!
The only way I would change this is to plop an almond inside the coconut “dough” before I freeze it. I have friends on the east coast… still haven’t heard from them! 🙁
I am currently addicted to these bars which are called Coconut Seceret bars. They are made of coconut, and sweetened with coconut nectar. These look like they probably taste similar, which makes me excited because Coconut Seceret bars cost over two dollars each!
I made these last night, modifying them to make up for my lack of coconut oil. You can swap butter for the coconut oil in the filling and the shell, but the filling will not taste as coconutty (and the recipe will not be vegan). I used light maple syrup for the filling and it was delicious. If you want to give the filling a little spice, diverging from the typical “mounds” taste, cardamom is a classic combination with coconut. I made the shell with semi-sweet chip-its and it was still too sweet for my taste – splurge on better quality dark chocolate if you can afford it.
p.s. thanks for the recipe – I’d been craving a coconut treat for weeks and this fit the bill perfectly!
Okay, so I finally made your coconut butter (ordered a mass shipment from Amazon… 12 packs of Organic Unsweetened Coconut flakes for like $24). So I made that using a food processor… it came out okay (not very butter-like but good).
So I decided that since it was more like a mound bar texture I would take a quick spin on the above. I pushed down my attempt-at-coconut-butter into little molds (aka your coconut melties), made your three ingredient chocolate (using less coconut oil, more cocoa, and very little sweetener… like you I don’t like overly sweet), and spooned some chocolate on top of the coconut molds. Refrigerated. Removed. Tested… smile 🙂 Even my husband (who’s motto is “Preservatives preserve me and keep me looking young”) said they were good! Def want to try again with a raw almonds lightly coated with watered down agave. Yum! Almond Joy vs Mounds 🙂
Thanks again!
I made these last night and absolutely loved them! the only thing is it took a lot of stevia drops to get the chocolate sweet enough. For those who can’t have sugar I recommend using unsweetened coconut nectar. It added sweetness and coconut flavor (perfect for this recipe!) If you do add it, microwave it for a few seconds before as it is very thick and made the chocolate sauce a bit too thick to stick to the coconut balls. Definitely making these again!
WOW, these are are really unbelievable, thank you for a great recipe. I am not telling anyone I made these, at least not the first batch.
So I didnt have the coconut oil because soooomeone threw it out (boo), and I read your note about there not being a substitute for it. So I just skipped it and I made a layer of squished coconut stuff on the bottom, and melted some chocolate chips and poured them over the top. They are excellent….and they are disappearing fast. haha.