Homemade Vegan & Gluten Free Bounty Bars

These vegan bounty bars are gluten-free, super easy to make and require just 6 simple ingredients! Soft and creamy coconut centres are smothered in vegan chocolate for a deliciously healthy dessert.

If you love coconut like I do, you’ll totally love these vegan healthy bounty bars. You can also try my Homemade Snickers Chocolate Bars or my Healthy Vegan Twix Bars if you love a healthy homemade chocolate bar. 

What are bounty bars you might ask? A bounty bar is a candy bar with a soft, sweet coconut centre covered in chocolate. Sadly, not vegan chocolate. As a child, these were always my go treat from the gas station!

These are possibly the BEST vegan choc bars I have ever tasted! This homemade version is arguably better than a traditional Bounty Bar, and most importantly you know exactly what goes in it. I can guarantee you’re going to love them as much as I do!

I actually made this recipe 4 times while I was trying to find the right mix of ingredients for the coconut centre. The perfect mix turned out to be unsweetened shredded coconut, full fat coconut milk, coconut oil and maple syrup. So delicious! Soft and creamy and just like a traditional bounty bar. 

Bounty Chocolate Ingredients

• Unsweetened shredded coconut – I have used the shreds and the ribbon coconut in these vegan coconut bars and the shreds work much better.
• Virgin coconut oil – virgin vs refined coconut oil? While virgin (unrefined coconut oil) boasts a delicious tropical scent and flavour, refined coconut oil has a neutral taste and smell. We use virgin coconut oil in this vegan bounty bar to add as much coconut flavour as possible. 
• Full fat coconut milk – we use full fat as it makes the bars creamier. Coconut milk vs almond milk? Stay away from using other types of plant milks in this recipe as we want it as thick and creamy as possible. 

How to Make These Vegan Coconut Chocolate Bars

Add the shredded coconut, coconut oil, full fat coconut milk, maple syrup, vanilla and salt to your food processor, and mix on high for 30 seconds until combined. (You can also mix by hand in a bowl, however the bars will not be as compact).

Using your hands, shape small amounts of the coconut mixture into bars. You can also toss the entire mixture into a bread loaf pan, cut into even bars, then shape and round them out to the shape you desire.

Arrange your coconut bars on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and freeze them for 15 minutes.

While the homemade bounty bars set in the freezer, melt the chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave or double boiler.

Then arrange the bars on a wire rack and cover each one of them with melted chocolate. Using a fork, dip the bars into the chocolate and coat all sides. You can pour additional chocolate over each bar.

Allow your healthy bounty bars to set for about 15 minutes in the fridge. Then they’re all ready to be devoured!

How Do You Store The Home made Bounty Bars?

Keep them in the fridge in an airtight container, and serve them after 5-10 minutes of being out of the fridge. They will stay fresh for a week or two (or even longer) when kept in the fridge, though let’s face it, they will never last that long!

If you used coconut butter instead of the full fat coconut milk, you can leave them on the counter instead of the fridge for much longer. These are not like vegan clif bars where you can just leave them out for weeks on end. They are made with wholesome ingredients and preservative free. 

They are also freezer friendly if you want to freeze them and will last for months in the freezer. 

Tips For The Vegan Bounty Bar

Full Fat Coconut Milk: I use canned full-fat coconut milk. To get the creamy texture that you want inside a homemade bounty bar, I don’t recommend using Silk coconut milk or anything from the carton that isn’t HIGH FAT. You are going to want the canned full fat coconut milk, I used Thai Kitchen brand, as it’s my favourite! Shake it well before you open the can, then mix everything together with a spoon or fork once it’s open. You want the “watery” part mixed in with the thick coconut cream.

Since you are only using 1/4 cup of coconut milk in the can, I like using the rest by freezing it into ice cube trays for smoothies! Another way I like to use the remaining coconut milk is by adding 3 cups of water and blending it all up. Then I use this coconut milk in my baking or smoothies!

I have also used coconut butter in place of full fat coconut milk, and it works amazing as well! I think full fat coconut milk is preferable, but they both work if you only have coconut butter on hand!

Unsweetened Shredded Coconut: I make sure to use UNSWEETENED, as the bars already have enough sugar in them from the maple syrup or honey. If you only have sweetened coconut on hand, I would recommend reducing the honey or maple syrup content slightly.

Chocolate: The chocolate you choose is critical for the bars you’ll get. If you want bounty bars go for milk chocolate (but they won’t be vegan). I used dark chocolate for mine, and they were delicious, but I love dark chocolate!

Maple Syrup: Organic maple syrup is my go-to choice to sweeten up my vegan bounty bars. If you’re not vegan, honey also works amazing in this recipe. If you want the interior to be very white like a traditional bounty bar you purchase from the store, I would recommend using honey instead of maple syrup.

Other Delicious Gluten Free Treats You May Want To Try!

Healthy Banana Bread Cookies (Vegan & Gluten Free)

Protein Peanut Butter Cookies

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Moist Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

The Best Ever Gluten Free Fudge Brownies

I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR CREATIONS! YOU CAN PIN THIS RECIPE ON PINTEREST OR SHARE ON INSTAGRAM BY TAGGING @basicswithbails and #basicswithbails