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These Healthy Coconut & Blueberry Bars are bursting with bright fruity flavour and the creamy richness of coconut. Plus, not to brag but they are vegan, gluten-free and sugar-free to boot.
The trick of a good energy bar recipe which you will make again and again is the simplicity. You need the recipe to be just as easy as going to the store and buying a ready made pack. After all the whole point of energy bars is a quick and easy boost when you're flagging during the day. If your recipe is complicated then you've got your first healthy hurdle right there.
That's why these Healthy Coconut & Blueberry Bars are so perfect. They are the easiest assembly job of a recipe you can imagine. It’s a weigh the ingredients, throw everything into the food processor, press into a baking tin, chill and cut type of affair. Completely no-bake and low-effort.
Why are these Healthy Coconut & Blueberry Bars so good?
- The flavour match of dried blueberries and coconut is heavenly.
- Gluten-free, refined sugar-free and vegan.
- Easy.
- Only 6 ingredients.
- Made in the food processor.
- Not too sweet.
- Packed full of energy boosting ingredients.
What do we need?
- Dried blueberries - these have a more fully rounded flavour than a generic dried berry.
- Freeze-dried blueberry powder - these punch up the fruity vibe even further and give an amazingly pure flavour focus.
- Dried apricots - for fibre and further depth of flavour. Plus dried apricots are much cheaper than blueberries so a mix of the two keeps the cost down. Use unsulphured dried apricots. This means there in no extra sulphur dioxide keeping the colour. Since we’re mixing it all up, the colour of the apricots is of no importance here.
- Desiccated coconut - we add in loads so there is no chance you’re going to miss the rich creamy flavour of coconut.
- Raw cashews - these are added for protein and to give the energy bars a bit more bite.
- Coconut oil - The coconut oil is good for flavour, to help keep the bars more solid in the chiller, for the good fats which keep the hunger down, and because it helps the extra toppings stick to the surface of the bars when they are setting.
How do we make these Healthy Coconut and Blueberry Bars?
- Line and grease a 6 inch square baking tin with two long pieces of baking parchment so they cross in the middle and come up and over the sides of the tin.
- Place all the ingredients in a food processor and combine for 3-5 minutes until all the components have broken down and come together into a sticky ball.
- Tip the mixture into the baking tin and, using kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil, press down on top so the surface is even.
- Roughly chop the extra blueberries and cashew nuts and scatter over the surface of the bars along with the extra coconut.
- Place in the fridge for a couple of hours to firm up before cutting.
FAQs
How should you store these bars? - Store the bars in the fridge to grab when needed.
How long do these blueberry bars last? - They are good for about a week
These Raw Blueberry Coconut Energy Bars are absolutely delicious. I find a lot of these types of bars can be quite sweet but we have a lot of coconut and nuts packed in here to keep things more even handed. The flavours burst through and are a lovely little pick-me-up between meals. Plus so handy for lunch boxes and little toddler fingers.
Shop the Recipe:
If you are looking for more healthy snacks, why not try
- The Best Granola Bars
- Coconut and Lime Energy Balls
- Healthy Banana Flapjacks
- Salted Chocolate Energy Bars
- Chocolate Tahini Energy Balls
If you make these Healthy Coconut & Blueberry Bars then please leave a comment below and give the recipe a rating which helps others find the recipe on Google. If you then go on to use this recipe as a launch pad for your own baking creation then I’d also love it if you’d share it and tag me on Instagram. It is so lovely for me to see your versions and variations of my recipes.
Healthy Coconut & Blueberry Bars
Ingredients
- 125 g unsweetened desiccated coconut + 10g extra to decorate
- 120 g dried blueberries + 10g extra to decorate
- 120 g dried apricots
- 75 g cashews + 10g extra to decorate
- 2 tablespoons freeze dried blueberry powder
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil
Instructions
- Line and grease a 6 x 6 x 3 inch square baking tin with two long pieces of baking parchment so they cross in the middle and come up and over the sides of the tin.
- Place all the ingredients in a food processor and combine for 3-5 minutes until all the components have broken down and come together into a sticky ball.
- Tip the mixture into the baking tin and, using kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil, press down on top so the surface is even.
- Roughly chop the extra blueberries and cashew nuts and scatter over the surface of the bars along with the extra coconut.
- Place in the fridge for a couple of hours to firm up then carefully remove from the tin and cut into 12 bars.
- Store the bars in the fridge in between snacking for about a week.
Notes
- Use unsulphered dried apricots if they are available.
- These bars should be stored in the fridge for you to grab when needed.
- They last well in the fridge for up to a week.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in February 2019 but updated in December 2020 with clearer instructions.
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