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These Raspberry Chocolate Chunk Bars have a crust that doubles as a crumble topping and are loaded with raspberries, dark chocolate, and almonds. This easy recipe is gluten free, refined sugar free, and vegan!
I love when the desserts I make that are gluten free, refined sugar free, and vegan are the one’s that turn out to be the favorite. There’s something totally satisfying about creating a dessert treat that’s pretty much guilt free and even more delicious than desserts that are way more sinful.
These Raspberry Chocolate Chunk Bars are one of those secretly healthy, totally outstanding desserts. And it’s awesome, because they’re super easy to put together.
The crust ingredients are just stirred together super quickly and easily, and because I don’t like too much fuss, the crust doubles as the crumble on top. I added some almonds to give some extra crunch, but you can use your favorite nut or whatever you have on hand.
For the filling, raspberries are tossed with a bit of tapioca to keep them from being too runny, while added chocolate chunks add a little richness. I can never resist a little chocolate! :)
The raspberries are some I picked a few weeks back when I dragged my friend Andy raspberry picking super early in the morning on one of the recent swelteringly hot Seattle days. We spent the morning picking pounds of raspberries and poking our fingers trying to pick tayberries. There’s nothing quite like popping fresh raspberries in your mouth, warmed and sweetened by the summer sun.
The fresh picked raspberries tasted so fresh, tangy, and perfect in these bars! The tartness of the raspberries is the perfect counterpart to the rich dark chocolate. I also recommend keeping these bars in the fridge – they get a little soft when at room temperature but taste absolutely refreshing when chilled. They’re the perfect summer treat! Enjoy.
Raspberry Chocolate Chunk Bars (Gluten Free + Vegan)
Ingredients
- 12 oz. raspberries, fresh or frozen
- 1 teaspoon tapioca starch
- 1 cup almond flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup coconut oil, solid at room temperature
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- 1 cup gluten free rolled oats
- ½ cup chopped almonds
- 6 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper or foil and grease lightly.
- In a medium bowl, toss together raspberries and tapioca starch. Let stand while you prepare the crust.
- In large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients except the chocolate chunks. Stir until combined.
- Reserve 1 cup of crumb mixture for the topping. Press remaining crumb mixture evenly into the bottom of greased pan. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes.
- Remove partially baked crust from the oven. Sprinkle chocolate over the crust. Evenly distribute raspberries on top. Top with remaining crumb mixture.
- Return to oven and bake for another 30-35 minutes or until bubbling and lightly browned. Let cool completely before cutting into 16 squares.
I love all the healthy parts of this dessert but I seriously love all of that CHOCOLATE. These look great!
Yum!!! All that chocolate…and raspberries! I’m sold. :)
These bars look SO good. Can’t believe it’s gluten-free and vegan!!
You are my dessert hero!! Thanks for making so many amazing GF desserts for those of us who can’t have gluten!! :D :D
Hello!
Do you think I could use coconut flour in place of almond flour? Would it make a difference? Thanks!
Hi Jill, coconut flour is much more absorbent than almond flour so it wouldn’t work quite right. I’d recommend sticking with almond flour for this one.
Hello!
I’ve made this couple times before because of how good they were, but the end result turned out more cobbler-like instead of firm. Any tips?? Other than that THEY WERE AMAZINNNNG!
I always refrigerate them or freeze them before cutting – if you don’t, the warm coconut oil will make them soft! So glad you’re enjoying them though, Azza :)
Hello!
I hope you get this soon, as I”m making them this morning. My question is…if I’m using frozen raspberries, do I thaw them first??
Thankyou!!
Hi Diane, yes I’d thaw them first to get rid of some of that extra moisture so they don’t end up soggy! Enjoy :)
Rachel…what kind of dark choc do you use?? Baking choc with added sugar, etc? Or plain choc chunks with nothing added?
Thanks!
Diane
Hi Diane, I use Santa Barbara Chocolate’s coconut sugar sweetened dark chocolate most of the time! You can get $10 off your order at santabarbarachocolate.com.