Healthy Almond Joy Bars (Sugar-Free & Keto)
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These Healthy Almond Joy bars are a chocolate and coconut lover’s dream. They’re an easy no-bake treat with a rich chocolate layer, coconut topping, and crunchy almonds. They’re naturally dairy-free and can easily be made sugar-free, keto, paleo, and vegan.
Since they’re made as bars, you can skip the dipping of many homemade candy bars, but still have an amazing treat to enjoy any time of day.
Why You’ll Love These Sugar-Free Almond Joy Bars
This recipe for Healthy Almond Joy Bars has got to be one of our all time favorites.
It’s one of the first healthy desserts that I made after starting on my sugar-free diet. I’ve shared these with sugar-free and non sugar-free folks alike and everyone has loved them.
I shared my original recipe for these right after I started blogging, and it was pretty good as it was. But thanks to some changes, it’s now truly amazing.
These bars are made with healthier ingredients than the traditional candy bar and since they are a bar variety, they’re easier to whip up than coated candies.
If you love the combination of chocolate, coconut, and almonds but want something easier than individually coated homemade candy bars, this recipe is for you.
Directions
Here are step by step photos of how to make these Almond Joy Bars. See the recipe card below for more details.
Combine almond butter and coconut oil and sweetener in pan. Melt. (steps 1 and 2)
Add cocoa powder and combine. (steps 3 and 4)
Spread chocolate base in pan. (step 5) Combine coconut topping ingredients in pan. Stir over heat. (step 6)
Spread coconut topping over chocolate base. (steps 7 and 8)
Recipe Notes and Substitutions
- Substituting Sweeteners: This recipe is quite forgiving. Granulated low-carb sweeteners such as xylitol or allulose can be used, and you can use a little less of the bulk sweetener and add stevia extract to reach your preferred sweetness.
- Using Stevia: Pure stevia extracts vary considerably in strength, so start with a very small amount and adjust to taste. Stevia works especially well here combined with another sweetener rather than supplying all of the sweetness by itself.
- Using Liquid Sweeteners: Liquid sweeteners can work, but adding too much may make the bars softer. Start with less and add stevia if additional sweetness is needed.
- Oil Options: You can substitute palm shortening, as well as butter, for the coconut oil.
- Nut or Seed Butter: If you’re allergic or needing to avoid nuts, you can substitute really any nut or seed butter, but almond is especially nice. See Homemade Nut/ Seed Butter for a make-your-own option. I’ve used homemade almond butter, homemade sunflower seed butter, as well as homemade pumpkin seed butter and they all worked out great.
- We love serving these chilled from the fridge or freezer but they don’t travel well in warm weather. You could make them with cocoa butter instead of coconut oil so they’ll hold up better in warmer temps.
- Keto/Low-carb: This recipe as written fits these diets.
- AIP: Use coconut butter instead of the seed/nut butter for AIP. Here’s how to make your own. I haven’t tried this, and the bars will for sure be more firm, but I think it can work.
More Healthy No Bake Treats
If you like this recipe, you’ll love
- Keto Mounds Bars – quite possibly the best Sugar-free Mounds Bar recipe out there.
- Bean Fudge – yes, I said “beans.” So easy and so good.
- Healthy Gummies – fun to make and funner to eat
- Healthy Snickers Bars – vegan, keto / low-carb, and refined sugar-free, and they’re peanut-free too!
Healthy Almond Joy Bars (Sugar-Free & Keto)
Ingredients
Chocolate / Carob Base
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup almond butter (or other nut or seed butter)
- 1/2 cup low carb sweetener (or preferred sweetener. See Recipe Notes)
- 6 tablespoons cocoa powder (or carob powder)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Coconut Topping
- 1 2/3 cups unsweetened coconut
- 7 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1/3 cup low carb sweetener (or preferred sweetener)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon additional flavoring (optional)
- 2 teaspoons arrowroot powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- almond halves or slices (optional)
- melted low carb chocolate chips for drizzle (optional)
Instructions
Chocolate Base
- Melt the coconut oil and almond butter in a small saucepan over low heat.
- Add the cocoa powder or carob powder and sweeteners. Stir until thoroughly combined.
- Add the salt and continue stirring over low heat until the mixture thickens slightly. Remove from the heat.
- Stir in the vanilla.
- Pour the mixture into an 8-inch square pan. Place in the freezer while you prepare the coconut topping. The refrigerator will also work, but the base will take longer to firm up.
Coconut Topping
- Melt the coconut oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the coconut and stir to combine.
- Add the remaining topping ingredients and cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens slightly.
- Once the chocolate base is firm, gently spread the coconut mixture evenly over the top.
- Top with almond halves or slices, if desired. Return the bars to the freezer until firm.
- Let the bars soften slightly before slicing if they are too firm to cut straight from the freezer. Alternatively, you can use a knife dipped in hot water. Cut into 16 squares.
- Store in the refrigerator or freezer. Drizzle with melted low-carb chocolate before serving, if desired.
Notes
- Oil Options: Butter or palm shortening can be substituted for the coconut oil.
- Nut or Seed Butter: Almond butter is especially good in this recipe, but other nut and seed butters work too. Sunflower seed butter and pumpkin seed butter have both worked well.
- Sweetener Options: This recipe is quite forgiving when it comes to sweeteners. Granulated low-carb sweeteners such as xylitol, erythritol, or allulose can be used. Another option is to use a little less of the bulk sweetener and add a small amount of stevia extract to reach your preferred sweetness.
- Using Stevia: Pure stevia extracts vary greatly in strength. If using one, start with a very small amount and adjust to taste. Stevia works especially well here in combination with another sweetener.
- Liquid Sweeteners: Liquid sweeteners, including allulose syrup, can work, but using a large amount may make the bars softer. Start with less and add stevia if more sweetness is needed.
- Xylitol Safety: Xylitol is extremely toxic to dogs, so keep foods containing xylitol safely away from pets.
- Warm Weather: These bars are best stored chilled. They soften in warm temperatures because of the coconut oil. Cocoa butter can be used for a firmer bar.
- AIP Option: If making an AIP version, use carob instead of cocoa and coconut butter instead of nut or seed butter. This variation has not been tested and will likely produce a firmer bar.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It may vary depending on ingredient brands, substitutions, and preparation methods. Optional ingredients are not included. Net carbs are typically calculated by subtracting fiber and sugar alcohols (such as erythritol) from total carbohydrates. This information should not be relied upon for medical or nutritional purposes.
I’d love to hear what you think of these once you try them!
I have xylitol, stevia powder, and allulose syrup. What do you recommend?
I personally like doing a mix. Is your stevia powder an extract?
Yes, it’s an extract.
Xylitol would be the easiest main sweetener to use here because it gives the mixture some bulk. You can use it in roughly the same amount as the granulated sweetener called for, or use a little less and add a tiny amount of stevia extract to bring the sweetness up to taste.
Allulose syrup should work too, but since it adds moisture, the bars may be a little softer. If using that, start with less and use a little stevia to boost the sweetness rather than adding a lot of syrup. This recipe is very forgiving, so a combination of xylitol plus a little stevia would probably be the simplest option. Of course note that xylitol is very toxic to dogs.
Do these freeze well?
Yes, they most certainly do! Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy them!
Made these tonight and they were fantastic!! I only used 1/2 the shredded coconut because I ran out and they were still great! I will use the full amount of coconut next time for sure. So rich ! I used almond extract as the “additional flavor–yum! I also used about 1/2 t. of stevia instead of the erythritol. This is “No Sugar November” for me and my family ( our first time) and these were really a hit around here. : ) Love them–Trisha
Sooo glad to hear this! Are you only consuming low glycemic sweeteners? I think this is a great plan! I feel silly that I’m asking this but is this something a company started or it’s just happening? I love it!
Haven’t tried the recipe yet but I am going to! I am a bit confused as to your commenting on the amounts of sweeteners if you don’t use xylitol. I probably would use either monkfruit or Swerve but I am totally confused as to how much to substitute. I haven’t been this confused about sweeteners ever before! lol Thanks in advance for clearing it up for us.
Hi there – happy to help! What type of monk are you using–extract or combined w/ erythritol?
I’ve made this recipe a couple times now with monk fruit with great results. But not all monk fruit powders are made the same, sweetness levels can vary a lot so it really depends. I use Natrisweet brand monk fruit extract powder as it dissolves well and doesn’t have a bitter aftertaste as most stevia and monk fruit tend to since they typically use alcohol for the extracting. For this monk fruit I’ve noticed that doubling the amount when it calls for stevia in a recipe is usually perfect but I’ve also used the NOW brand and it’s much stronger and you could use nearly the same amount as stevia so it really depends on your monk fruit. For this recipe I use 3/4tsp for the choco/carob layer and 1tsp for the coconut layer.
I read that you’re working on posting nutritional info with recipes. I’d like to be able to keep track of carbs, but take your word that these are low carb and make them. Yum!
Thank you! We are working on it. All kinds of things that are taking up time but we will get to it!
I am still learning about sweeteners. Some are 1:1 and others are 2:1. I know serve is 1:1. Does Swerve measure like xylitol?
Xylitol is 1:1 for sugar as well, so yes.
Since xylitol kills good and bad bacteria (plus it upsets most people’s stomachs) I would suggest a combo of erythritol and stevia, which I guess is Truvia. I have always been partial to Almond Joy bars but now want to stay away from the sugar. Got a recipe for Snickers?
Hi Jean – thanks for reading! I have done some research into xylitol and stevia and erythritol and it’s complicated. I haven’t seen anything conclusive about xylitol killing gut bacteria–have you? In fact, I know some who tolerate it better than erythritol, so I guess it’s best to use what works for you. Anyhow, I hope you like these whatever you use! I don’t but I can try on the Snickers. LOVE them!!!