Sugar-Free Dark Chocolate Candy Bars {Nut, Dairy & Gluten Free}
Sugar-Free Dark Chocolate Candy Bars are perfect for those with allergies and very easy to make at home!
See those two little squares of chocolate just waiting to be bitten?? These little squares of deliciousness are completely sugar-free! They have only 118 calories in those two pieces, 2 grams of protein and fiber!! Making your own candy at home is simple, affordable and not to mention so versatile!! Add in’s are endless!
Most, if not all, store bought chocolate and candy today has sugar in some form and preservatives in it. There are about two brands at Whole Foods that are sweetened with stevia and taste great, but very expensive. One 3 oz bar I found was $6.99!! Much cheaper to make your own is what I say, don’t you think?
But besides the cost of buying healthier chocolate at stores let’s talk about cravings shall we?! Giving in to chocolate cravings can be the biggest downfall when it comes to practicing a healthy lifestyle and/or trying to lose weight. But not indulging in chocolate just because you might lead a sugar free way of life or think you can’t possibly have it now that you need to lose weight, could put someone into depression! The key factor here is not so much enjoying chocolate, but it’s about the kind you are enjoying .
If you are indulging in typical white sugar filled, preservative filled store bought candy bars then yes, the sugar in them causes cravings for more. But when you choose to make candy bars at home and use healthier ingredients and sugar free alternatives, your body will be satisfied, won’t have that typical spike in blood sugar and it certainly won’t make you crash after eating any. No spike in blood sugar means you won’t be craving more and more after indulging in a few pieces.
With just a few ingredients and a candy bar mold, you’ll be enjoying your creation to curb your sweet tooth which of course will help you keep on focus with your healthy eating track!
If you’re not a fan of dark chocolate or need a dairy free option this candy bar is made with coconut butter, you can tell by the lighter color than the chocolate bars at the top of the post. This recipe is exactly the one I used for making my No Bake Chocolate Coconut Butter Bunnies last year for Easter! Just melt and pour into candy bar molds. I honestly don’t think it has a coconut flavor because the chocolate flavor is more prominent, but you can be the judge as this takes literally less than 5 minutes to make and 30 minutes or so to harden.
Notes:
- You can use whatever milk of choice you like although I have only tried it using 1% dairy milk.
- For a dairy free option I would suggest unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk.
- To make the coconut butter bars, just follow this recipe for my No Bake Chocolate Coconut Butter Bunnies and pour into candy bar molds.
- The powdered stevia you see below is not the pure extract, it is a Sweetleaf powdered stevia that has added fiber. Please click the link to see the brand.
Sugar-Free Dark Chocolate Candy Bars {Nut & Gluten Free}
Ingredients
- 4 ounces 100 % unsweetened cacao or baking chocolate
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons milk of choice
- 1 teaspoon liquid vanilla stevia
- 1 1/2 tablespoons powdered stevia
Instructions
- Melt all ingredients in a sauce pan over low heat on the stove until completely smooth.
- Pour into candy mold and refrigerate or freeze until hardened.
Notes
Nutrition
About Brenda
Brenda Bennett is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, certified Sugar Detox Coach, certified Keto Coach and certified Life Coach. She has been Sugar Free & Refined carb free for 17 years and has written 2 cookbooks, Sugar-Free Mom, and Naturally Keto and her 3rd book The 30-Day Sugar Elimination Diet, is a four part program to help you detox from sugar, eliminate cravings, balance blood sugar and lose weight all while eating a delicious, nutrient dense whole foods. Meal plan offers two tracks to follow, low carb or keto. She is the founder of the Sugar Free Fresh Start course and Sugar Free Tribe weight loss membership. Learn more.
Hi this is my first time on this site. My question is: is there something I could sub the coconut oil for? its just too expensive where I live.
Brenda, I too wonder whether there is something I could substitute for the coconut oil. I ingested some of it a couple of times, & it caused me SEVERE abdominal cramps that doubled me over in pain, as well as some very unpleasant intestinal side effects.
avocado oil
This did not come out well for me. The consistency is good but the taste is super bitter. At first I didn’t add all the powdered stevia called for because it seemed like a lot of stevia for just the one bar. I wanted to taste as I went. I gradually increased hoping the sweet would outweigh the bitter but I just couldn’t seem to get it right. I took a small bit and mixed it with honey and that tasted much better. But, honey is too high in sugar for me so I was excited about using stevia. Not sure where I went wrong but I still appreciate the recipe!
What brand of powdered stevia did you use? Each brand of stevia differs in sweetness. If it was bitter to you then you needed more sweetener.
i added lots of milk but it was not soupey it was cakey and verry bland
HI. My consistency is definately not pourable. It is goopy. What am I doing wrong? I used 1/2 cup chocolate, 4 oz by measure, should I weigh it instead?
Thanks
Yes weighing it would have been the best thing to do.
Can I use Splenda instead of stevia. It’s what I have in the house.
Thanks
Yes
Used this the first time 2 weeks ago, have made it at least 4 times since! I do paleo so this works for me! And I love dark chocolate, so it Really WORKS for me. I remelt to coat coconut candies, use it in bullet proof coffee for a mocha, and just eat it!
How would you store it after it is done? Does it HAVE to keep in the fridge?
Is the unsweetened cacao in powder form or is it a bar?
I used a bar.
This is a good recipe! I made some small changes based on what we had a round but we *loved* it.
Thanks for sharing!
These are amazing. I’m someone who appreciates a subtler taste and these are rich without being too sweet. I used almond milk and also xylitol instead of stevia. Nice if eaten when still soft.
I just made them and added some shredded coconut on the top. Lovely! thanks for sharing this recipe. It is on my blog now and I added a link to your wonderful blog too ! 🙂
Brenda, I just have powdered stevia and was wondering if I could use all powdered? If so how much would i use of the powdered to replace the liquid? Thanks for your post and time!
If it is pure powdered extract without fillers I would only use 2 teaspoons, if it is a stevia baking blend then you could use 2 tablespoons. Just add some a little at a time once melted and before refrigeration to harden and adjust as needed.
Hi Brenda,
Can I use Agave Syrup instead of the Stevia?
Also, will adding a bit of Polydextrose help at all & how much? A teaspoon?
Looking forward to making this
You can certainly use agave although I don’t use it so not sure how sweet it is. Maybe try 1/4 cup and taste the mixture before it hardens.
I too found this recipe to be very, very bitter. In fact, I had to spit it out. I am use to the taste and baking with stevia. I used KAL brand pure stevia and Sweet Leaf liquid stevia. I wonder if the 1 1/2 Tablespoons is just too much. I felt as thought my Dagoba chocolate was wasted. Wanting to save the product, I reheated it, added homemade sweetened condensed coconut milk and homemade coconut milk caramel sauce and some yacon syurp. I then added some roasted salted cashews. I put it on a cookie sheet, spread it out, sprinkled on some Enjoy Life mini chips and put it in the refrigerator. Two hours later I took a taste and found it to be much less bitter and something I will be able to eat. I will probably try your recipe again using only the brand products you used, but with the cost of them, I will use much less powdered stevia. Thanks for all you do to provide sugar free recipes to all of us.
I can not get the link to work for your brand of powdered stevia. Which brand do you use? Thanks.
I just checked and fixed the link so it should be all set now, it is the Sweetleaf brand in the green canister.
I’ve never used Kal sweetener for stevia and not sure how sweet or not sweet it is. I truly has seen just in using NuNaturals and Sweetleaf a big difference in sweetness. The bitterness would not be because too much was used, it is often that not enough is used. I’m sorry with all that happened but happy you could still salvage it. I’ve made the recipe twice since I’ve posted it and had no problems, but I like the taste of a dark chocolate. I will try it with a different brand of powdered stevia, I have one form Trader Joes I can try and will post the update.
Thanks Brenda for your feedback. I was not aware of the bitterness of stevia in relationship to how much or how little is used. I will keep that in mind next time I use the KAL brand. I usually use Sweetleaf but was out and had the KAL in the pantry. I too love dark chocolate so that was not the bitterness I was tasting. Next shopping trip I will get more Sweetleaf, and try the recipe again. Thanks for your help.
I just found your website and the recipes seem great! I just tried the chocolate candy bar recipe as I am craving treats so badly and can’t have them. However, I found the final product to be quite bitter. Did I do something wrong? Are there any parts I might change? I used almond milk. I can’t link your powdered stevia as I wanted to see if I used the same, but I think I used the right product. Thanks.
Hi There.
I just want to know, i see you use cocomut butter and oil a lot, but it is very high in saturated fat, is that not unhealthy?
And is there no healthy plant oil alternatives one can use, for example the Sugar-Free Dark Chocolate Candy Bars ?
“Because of its high saturated fat content it is slow to oxidize and, thus, resistant to rancidification, lasting up to two years without spoiling.[1]
Many health organizations advise against the consumption of high amounts of coconut oil due to its high levels of saturated fat
Love your recipes overall, all the way here from South-Africa.
Kind Regards,
Catherine
I am fairly new to using coconut oil, so am loving all the new recipes with this ingredient. Can’t wait to try this one. Has anyone tried adding chopped nuts to this recipe? Would like to know if it works.
It’s a fairly new recipe but I think you could certainly do that and maybe sprinkle them in before you pour the chocolate into the mold. My boys are allergic to nuts.
Your chocolate looks even more tempting than those in the shop. Maybe I should give this recipe a try!
thank you!
I made it today, tasted great! Thank you Brenda
Thanks for sharing Andrea!
hi brenda……….i live in ontario canada and i have never seen powdered stevia………..would you have any idea where i could get some or exactly what it is…….ie……can i just take stevia and blend in down in my proccesor to a powder……sure would
like to have a chocolate bar after 2yrs being diagonised diabetic…….love your recipes and they sure have helped me
to be able to eat more like a “normal person”………thanking you in advance
HI Edna, I would suggest just increasing the liquid stevia to 4 teaspoons. Thank you!
hi brenda…….thanks for your advice but now there is 1 other small problem……we only get granulated stevia here
in canada………..was in a city with 6 health food stores and they do not have any liquid stevia……i was sure i would be
able to purchase it down there…….no one here in any cities around my small town have heard of it……..what can i do i was just going to used the granulated stevia……….yes or no…………….so terribly sorry to keep having to bother you but i am 67 yrs old and having to relearn how to cook and bake……………my apologies once again…………thanks
You are so sweet worrying about bothering me, it’s no problem at all! You could purchase online for the brands I use, but you could still use granulated.
Hi, I bought pure stevia powder in bulk here: (It’s PURE and very potent so this lasts a very long time):
http://www.moodandmind.com/organic-stevia-extract-powder-free-micro-scoop-100-pure-16-oz-bulk/
Bulk barn, Walmart, no frills, healthy planet…
Thank you for your generosity in sharing your expertise. I enjoy your recipes, and have tried several with more to go.
Yum! What’s that dip on the side?:) I want that recipe too!:)
Hahaha, actually just some smooth Trader Joes Peanut Butter!
This looks so good. I wish I had some now.
Thanks Charlotte!
This looks really good and I am definitely going to make it but wondering about the powdered stevia. That seems like a lot but maybe it’s the right amount? I assume this is pure powdered Stevia extract (I have NOW brand here) and not something like Truvia, right? It is so concentrated, that it looks like 1 1/2 Tablespoons would be a lot…. thanks!!
The powdered stevia pure extract, is the right amount and is linked directly to the one used in this recipe.
It appears that the one used & linked into the recipe is a blend with inulin. It states that 2 Tablespoons = 1 Cup sugar on that link.
You’d have to do the math with whatever equivalency applies to your product. I have Kal stevia extract (only ingredient is stevia) & I will be researching the equivalency before making this recipe, which looks mighty delicious by the way.
What did that work out to be? (I have the same stevia extract 😉 )
Oh yummy! I have all the ingredients….can’t wait to try! I love chocolate 🙂
Let me know how you like it Leigh Anne!
Love your blog ! Thank you for sharing !
Thanks Lea!