No-bake homemade & healthy Mounds bars – so much better than the real thing!
Are you stuck inside today?
Know what you can do when you’re stuck inside all day?
Make these homemade healthy Mounds bars.
And then eat them all up.
Quickly… before someone else does!
Were you affected by the hurricane at all?
I have a lot of friends and family up in the northeast, and my facebook news feed (not to mention the tv news) is inundated with photos of cars submerged in water, fallen trees, surging waves… everyone on the East Coast is in my thoughts. Please stay safe.
And if you still have power, making up a batch of these homemade Mounds bars is a fantastic & kid-friendly indoor activity.
Sweet coconut filling, surrounded by a rich chocolate shell. With healthy fats and fiber. One bite, and you will never miss the corn syrup, hydrolyzed milk protein, or artificial ingredients present in store-bought Mounds bars.
All you will taste is the sweet coconut filling.
And the rich chocolate shell.
Healthy Mounds Bars
Healthy Mounds Bars
Print This Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened) (80g)
- 3 1/2 to 4 tbsp agave or pure maple syrup (48g) (or 3 tbsp water and 2-3 nunaturals stevia packs)
- 2 tbsp virgin coconut oil (20g) (See nutrition info link below, for all substitution notes on this recipe.)
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup plus 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder (22g)
- a few stevia drops, or up to 1 1/2 tsp pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup liquid virgin coconut oil (Or omit these last three ingredients and simply melt 2/3 cup chocolate chips instead.) (57g)
Instructions
Homemade Mounds Bars: Combine first 5 ingredients in a food processor. (You can try to mix by hand if you don’t have a food processor, but the dough won’t stick together as well.) Press the filling into the bottoms of mini muffin cups. (Press HARD!) Freeze at least 25 minutes. Meanwhile, make the chocolate coating by mixing the last three ingredients together to make a thin sauce. Line a tray with wax or parchment paper, then pop out the now-hardened coconut treats and coat in chocolate. Immediately put them in the fridge or freezer, as coconut oil melts when warm. These last at least a week.
Link Of The Day:
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Blondies
Julia says
1st November 2012 at 2:24 amJust 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!
Danica @ It's Progression says
31st October 2012 at 11:04 pmEvery single recipe I see of yours (especially these copycat/healthier version ones) I just think that you’re a genius! Love it!
Anonymous says
2nd November 2012 at 4:43 pmThe 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! 🙁
Karina says
2nd November 2012 at 11:11 pmI 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!
lemoncurd says
3rd November 2012 at 8:04 pmI 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.
lemoncurd says
3rd November 2012 at 8:09 pmp.s. thanks for the recipe – I’d been craving a coconut treat for weeks and this fit the bill perfectly!
IC says
3rd November 2012 at 11:19 pmOkay, 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!
Ali says
4th November 2012 at 4:15 pmI 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!
Kris says
4th November 2012 at 6:17 pmWOW, 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.
Mary says
6th November 2012 at 6:10 amSo 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.
Nerd With Taste says
7th November 2012 at 10:33 amI’m normally not a fan of coconut, but I would eat these ALL DAY EVERY DAY LIKE A MAD WOMAN!!!! Thanks! ~ nerdwithtaste.wordpress.com
Cari says
11th November 2012 at 6:53 pmHi Katie,
We LOVE LOVE LOVE your recipes! Quick question for the coconut oil. In recipes when you just state ‘coconut oil’ (such as the coconut filling for this recipe) do you use it in solid or liquid form? I’m making these now and just melted the oil but now wondering if I should have left it solid? What do you do?
Thanks!
Robin Newberger says
11th November 2012 at 11:34 pmSolid coconut oil for the mixture and I melted coconut oil for the chocolate sauce.
Robin Newberger says
11th November 2012 at 11:34 pmI made these and they are amazing. I erred on the side of using the higher amount of maple syrup and it was too much. So a word of caution that, at least in my case, it affected the consistency of the coconut balls. I’m making a new batch with less maple syrup and they will be perfect. I was wondering how Katie got hers so white if she’s maple syrup (and isn’t agave also brown?). Mine turned tan. I made the chocolate sauce instead of melting chocolate and it too is delicious. These are super easy to make.
Em says
12th November 2012 at 2:47 pmUse light agave, and they’ll be white like in the photo.
Robin Newberger says
12th November 2012 at 5:08 pmThanks!
Valerie Morris says
12th November 2012 at 2:22 amDo I need to heat the coconut oil to a liquid first, or do I leave it a solid? I am going to try these for Thanksgiving and put almonds in them..because yes, I am a Nut! 😉
Em says
12th November 2012 at 2:47 pmI heated mine first.
Teresa says
12th November 2012 at 2:50 amThese were so so good I love coconut so go figure! I tried the mini muffin tins but once I got them out I ended up shaping them a little myself. These are going on the Xmas cookie list!!
Julia Smith says
20th November 2012 at 12:02 amMmmm these are amazing! So rich and delicious! Thank you so much for this awesome recipe! 🙂
Deb says
20th November 2012 at 5:14 pmYum! These are as fun to make as they are to eat!
I figured out a way to prep these using silicon molds that made the chocolate-covering process pretty darn easy:
1. I made the coconut filling and stuck it in the freezer (bowl, spoon and all) for a few minutes
2. Then, I made the chocolate and put about a spoonful into each of the slots of the molds.
3. I then took my coconut mixture from the freezer, and spooned a blob or so on top of the chocolate bottom layers.
4. Last, I put a final chocolate layer on each of the pieces, and topped the mold with a sheet of parchment paper, and applied pressure with a spoon to squish all the layers together. (I may have also sung a bit during the process, but that step is optional.)
5. I put the molds in the freezer for a few hours and then popped them out, one by glorious one.
6. Smiled that these actually ended up looking kind of professional; smiled even more as I took the first bite of these yummy creations! 🙂
emily says
29th November 2012 at 5:17 pmLooking forward to making this recipe!
I’m also trying to link to the three-ingredient chocolate bars but there’s a problem with the link, Katie can you help me?
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
29th November 2012 at 5:31 pmhttps://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/01/15/three-ingredient-chocolate-bars-1/
🙂
April says
13th December 2012 at 3:23 amI made these tonight. I used sweetened coconut and maple syrup. I didn’t use my food processor because I’m lazy and it still worked out well. However, after freezing them, make sure you let them sit out for about 5 minutes before trying to get them out of the muffin pan or they won’t completely come out. I also used less coconut oil in the chocolate coating as I was afraid it would be too thin. They are very good, but the chocolate melts when holding it in your hand eating it. Oh well… you just get to lick your fingers then! 🙂
Anonymous says
11th February 2013 at 11:56 pmThe healthy mounds bars are wonderful!
Amy Ree says
23rd February 2013 at 7:31 pmThese were so easy to make and my husband LOVED them. Thank you, Katie for all your great recipes. Every one I’ve tried has been awesome!
Amy Ree says
23rd February 2013 at 7:32 pmThese were so easy to make and my husband loved them. Thanks, Katie!
jess says
2nd May 2013 at 1:19 amYum! I found ice cubes worked really well instead of mini muffin cups, made nice bite sized pieces 🙂 Not sure what the original coconut mound bars are like as I am from New Zealand and we don’t have them, but these are so good who needs the original 😉
Anonymous says
16th May 2013 at 5:16 pmWe just whipped up 1/2 recipe, portioned them using a small cookie scoop, and then rolled them in the coating; we couldn’t wait to melt the coconut oil to liquid, so I just threw the cocoa, syrup, coconut oil in the FP and didn’t bother pouring. They didn’t last long! Saving the last one for their father 🙂
Chow Ches says
19th May 2013 at 7:27 amI will absolutely be making these!!! Probably with almonds… I do miss Almond Joy. 😉
Marilyn D says
24th June 2013 at 9:57 pmI appreciate your work very much because it’s important to me to take care of my body. I mostly eat healthfully, but on the occasion that I eat refined foods, I don’t feel well. When I have healthy sweets, I’m fine. Thank you for all the work you’ve done to create these recipes and design and organize this attractive site.
Marie Ward says
12th July 2013 at 12:47 amAll of your recipes looks so good. I have not made any yet But wonder if you bake gluten free bread. I have not found a good loaf yet? And I really miss my sandwiches
Chocolate Covered Katie says
12th July 2013 at 10:09 amSorry, I’ve never actually tried baking gluten-free bread 🙁
maria says
10th August 2013 at 3:19 pmthese look amazing! I was wondering if it would be ok to replace the liquid sweeteners in your recipes with coconut nectar? I have blood sugar problems and even a little maple syrup or other sugars set me off…
Chocolate Covered Katie says
10th August 2013 at 3:33 pmYes, that would work!
Barbara Gabbe-Harris says
25th August 2013 at 7:01 pmHi Katie – I am so totally obsessed with your website and all of these fabulous recipes … today I Made these …the mounds bars … love them! turned out so great! and today I just learned my daughter got engaged! A happy day! so, I have a question – my daughter Lauren loves coconut. I was thinking of making up a little package of some of your delicious goodies that I have made to send to her ….. it would be overnight. Do you have any suggestions as to what would travel well as an overnight package? I would love to send the mounds bars but I think they might melt and be a total mess when they arrive. so, do you have any suggestions? Thank you so much. barbara
Chocolate Covered Katie says
28th August 2013 at 9:51 amCongratulations to her 🙂
As for something that would ship well… A lot of the recipes would unfortunately melt, but the German Chocolate Fudge Babies ship really well! https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/02/08/german-chocolate-fudge-bites/
Alisea says
30th August 2013 at 8:14 pmwow.. these look delicious..
it’s not often I see such a delicious recipe that I actually have all the ingredients for! woo thank you so much, gonna try these out tonight!
Donna says
5th October 2013 at 9:59 pmThese are amazing! I just made a batch using agave, and they are better than the real thing. Telling all my friends.
Olivia says
18th October 2013 at 8:58 pmI am in the process of making these and I didn’t have the muffin cups so I just put them in a cupcake mold they ended up not coming out so I just put chocolate on top and didn’t put chocolate all over like a real mounds bar.So I guess they will be “mounds frozen muffins”hey! That doesn’t mean they won’t taste good!<3
Olivia says
18th October 2013 at 9:12 pmIt’s Olivia again!
The muffin idea worked great!
Rebecca says
24th October 2013 at 12:06 amI want to buy a mini muffin pan so that I can make these, but I’m wondering… Will they “pop” out of a metal tray, or do I need to buy a silicon one? They look delicious!!! I love your coconut crack bars so I know these will be great 🙂
Unofficial CCK Helper says
30th October 2013 at 6:58 pmNope, a regular tin is fine! The coconut oil is smooth and will make them pop out.
Rebecca says
31st October 2013 at 7:59 pmJust made them and they are fantastic. I ended up buying a silicon one before the reply came anyways. I used the coconut cocoa chocolate instead of melting chocolate chips, and they are perfect. Thanks!
Travis G. says
13th November 2013 at 5:41 amWow, what a recipe. These copycat mounds bars are definitely in my future. I have been reading a lot of recipes and you have made a new fan out of me. It is so refreshing to see ideas like this that I will actually allow myself to eat. Incredible, just incredible. I started saving pages on my desktop to go back to but they are starting to build up so much I might as well delete them all and just browse the site anytime I have time to make something. I wanted to answer a few of your “Questions of the Day” but I got distracted by your “Links of the Day” or the “You might also like:” Maybe I will see them again and say something the second time around. Anyway, Happy Eating! And keep up the good work!
victoria says
26th January 2014 at 12:06 amsecond time i’m making these! they are so good! thanks for all the fabulous recipes!
Lauren K says
6th March 2014 at 4:14 amJust made these. They are fantastic! I can’t wait to make them again, maybe topped with some almonds or a dash of almond extract.
T says
22nd December 2015 at 1:22 pmMine were not made with this recipe, but still healthy. Unhealthy was the parafIn wax In yrs. past I made them using the almond extract and they were and still are a hit. Also, put almonds on top of some of them. They will last for couple of years in the fridge in a sealed tight container. I believe I will try to not use parafin wax this time. Love this site
5/5
5/5
Natalie says
29th March 2014 at 8:12 pmMade these again for the 2nd time. I might just have to make them every week. They’re amazingly delicious! I rolled them into balls this time before coating them in the chocolate, just for something a little different. I made small enough balls to make 25. One tiny ball is enough to satisfy my sweet tooth 🙂 LOVE THESE!!!
Michelle says
25th May 2014 at 1:59 amMy son and I made these tonight and failed miserably. Do you spray the muffin tin before? We could not get the filling out and then the chocolate was not smooth at all. ARUGH!!!
Unofficial CCK Helper says
29th May 2014 at 3:12 pmImportant! Did you make any substitutions or mistakenly use refined coconut oil? The virgin coconut oil makes it smooth enough that it does not stick. If the chocolate is thick, gently heat it until it is thin again.
Maggie J says
27th October 2014 at 4:48 pmOh my gosh. Making these today. Thank you for the Healthy Halloween Treats post. This has me on a scavenger hunt pinning recipes all over your site. It all looks so good! I think this will be the first thing I try though. Noms.
kaitlyn smith says
3rd November 2014 at 6:05 pmCould I use the same amount of Hershey special dark cocoa powder? Or would they be too bitter?
Lena says
17th November 2014 at 9:44 pmHubby made these for me today. FANTASTIC! Two changes – we used less sweetener (and probably will even add less next time) and I told him he could be lazy and just put it in a pan and top it with the chocolate. It’s like Mounds Bar Bark. SUPER yummy! Really just like a Mounds bar.
Anisa says
25th December 2015 at 4:04 pmThese are so delicious!! I keep mine in the freezer and when I need a little chocolate coconut fix, these are just right. And I love that they are vegan and GF. Thank you!
5/5
5/5
Lauren says
3rd February 2016 at 9:42 pmThese are incredible. I have made them over and over, usually in a blender and always making my own chocolate syrup with maple syrup. I highly recommend them! Easy, tasty and satisfying, and all of my friends love them. Thanks Katie!
5/5
5/5
Lisa says
21st February 2016 at 2:23 pmI just made these and they are delicious! They were kind of hard to get out of the mini muffin cups (I wrecked my pan prying them out with a knife), so I guess I left them too long/should have let them thaw somewhat before prying them out. I may try to roll them into balls the next time and then cover with the melted dark chocolate.
5/5
5/5
Jodi says
7th December 2018 at 8:50 amKatie, how many does the recipe make? Thanks in advance
Jason Sanford says
7th December 2018 at 9:42 amHere’s the updated post! 12-14 patties https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2017/08/10/homemade-coconut-bounty-bars-vegan/
Amber says
2nd November 2019 at 3:17 pmSuper yummy! I subbed the coconut oil in the coconut part with coconut butter (because I think it has a higher melting point? and thought it might stay firmer longer). When I doled the mix into the cups, I folded the sides of the paper cup in and squished it between my palms which worked well to shape it! 😀 For the chocolate, I melted Ghiradelli semi-sweet chips, and also coated some almonds (since I recently found out via Rhett & Link’s taste test that Almond Joy’s almonds are chocolate covered! who knew?) and after coating the Mounds bases, topped them with the chocolate covered almond per another reviewer’s suggestion so as to make them Almond Joys. Yummerous! Ty CCK! 🙂 I was going to maybe go buy some (had a hankering after watching the R&L taste test xD), until I remembered you probably had a recipe for that and I would feel even better with the simpler ingredients and sure enough! 🙂
Jason Sanford says
2nd November 2019 at 4:34 pmThose sound so good with the coconut butter!