I am so in love with this healthy fruit nut slice because it is packed full of all the things I love and ticks the box of a healthy snack with dates, oils or any added sweetness. It evolved from my amazing goji and coconut bars but with less fuss. They are sweetened entirely from goji berries and coconut and are topped off with any dark chocolate you choose; personally I love 85-90% dark chocolate to make these a very low sugar snacking option.
I have changed this recipe a few times- the original recipe was shared on Instagram about 6 months ago- playing with the recipe until I was truely happy.
- First off, the recipe used un-soaked goji berries. It was packed full of flavour but was too dry.
- Second, I had included maple syrup in the ingredients but wanted healthy fruit and nut bars that were truely low sugar and just made form whole foods. So I ditched the maple syrup.
- Finally, the bars could be a little messy to eat so I swapped to making cups instead. Super cute and much easier.
These healthy chocolate goji bars are
- Naturally low is sugar, sweetened only with goji and coconut
- Packed full of antioxidants, omega 3 fatty acids and micro minerals including magnesium and zinc
- Not sweet! They are a mixture of nutty, sour and bitter (from teh dark chocolate)
- Easy and very wholesome
- Chewy, soft and a little bit crunchy
Fermenting goji berries for the healthy fruit nut slice
This step is totally optional, and instead you can simply soak your goji berries in water.
If you want to ferment the berries first you are able to remove any sugars in the fruit (perfect if you’re on a keto diet and following a no sugar diet at present) and transform these goji chocolate bars into a probiotic-rich snack. Win win!
Here is how you ferment the goji berries;
- Place the goji berries into a very clean glass jar, preferably with an air tight lid.
- Cover the goji berries in water kefir– home made or unpasteurised, store bought (alive, or sold as ‘probiotic’). Note; If you are using your own homemade water kefir, remove the grains before you add the kefir. You can also use homemade kombucha for this, however it will impart a stronger taste on the goji berries.
- Secure the lid tightly.
- Leave to ferment for 6-8 hours. You can then taste the berries at this point- if they are still sweet ferment an extra hour and taste again.
- Drain (reserving the kefir to drink or add to a smoothie) and squeeze out any excess liquid from the berries.
Thats it. At this point add the fermented goji berries into step 5 of the recipe.

Ingredients for the healthy fruit nut slice
- Raw cashews. We roast the cashews in the over to bring out the flavour, however you could use roasted cashews if that is easier. If you choose roasted and salted cashews, omit the salt from the recipe.
- Shredded coconut. Alongside the cashews we toast the coconut to make the flavour shine. If you are using store bought roasted cashews, you can skip toasting the coconut. The flavour will still be delicious just less prominent.
- Goji berries. Goji (or wolf berries) can be found at most health food stores or in the health isle of most supermarkets. They are slightly sweet and sour, and packed full of iron. The goji berries are the main flavour of this recipe, and add a little sweetness and make the bars stick together. If you want to transform the bars into gut friendly probiotic bars, see above on how to ferment them before making this recipe.
- Hemp hearts. I love adding hemp to my recipes. The flavour is nutty and delicious, and hemp adds a whole food boost of all omega 3 fatty acids making them a wonderful brain food.
- Salt. Always.
- Coconut flour. Coconut flour has a unique ability to soak up a lot of liquid, making it the perfect ingredient to soak up the liquid from the soaked fruit. The coconut flour amount is minimal but its role is very important so don’t omit.
- Dark chocolate. I use 85-90% to make these low sugar fruit bars truely low sugar. Choose a keto friendly if you want to make these keto chocolate goji cups.
- Nut butter or coconut oil. We add either of these ingredients to the chocolate so that it does not set as hard, and makes eating easier!
If you are after other low sugar vegan snack recipes, you might like;
- 5 ingredient vegan chocolate ice cream bars
- Honey oat banana muffins
- Low carb vegan bliss balls
- Easy baked vegan green patties. Grain free.
We hope you enjoy these healthy fruit nut slice as much as we do. If you try this recipe we would love your feedback below, and don’t be shy to drop questions there.
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Healthy fruit nut slice
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 10-16 1x
- Category: Snacks
- Cuisine: Australian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Healthy fruit nut slice is free from dates, refined sugar, grains and gluten and contains 7 wholesome ingredients.
Ingredients
- 140g (1 cup) raw cashews (see notes)
- 210g (3 cups) shredded coconut, divided
- 115g (1 cup) goji berries
- 100g (1/2 cup) hemp hearts (see notes)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 30g (1/4 cup) coconut flour (do not omit)
- 100g 85% dark chocolate (see notes)
- 1 Tbsp preferred nut or seed butter
Instructions
- Soak goji berries in water water for 5 minutes (see blog post if you want to ferment the berries, and make probiotic goji bars). Preheat the oven to 180 C.
- Add cashews and 2 cups of shredded coconut to a lined baking tray and add to the preheated oven. Bake for around 10 minutes but do not burn. After 6 minutes toss (and try to move the outer contents into the middle and vice versus) and check on them every minute after. Once they are turning golden brown remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.
- While the nuts and coconut cool drain the goji berries into a sieve and use a spoon to gently squeeze out any excess water through the sieve.
- Add cooled nuts and coconut to a food processor and blend for 1 minute. After 1 minute the mixture should start to look like a chunky nut butter- there will still be lots of visible texture however some it will be in-between a liquid and a solid state. If you need to blend for longer, do.
- Add strained goji berries and blend for 30 seconds or until a bright orange/red paste has formed.
- Next, add the hemp hearts, remaining coconut, coconut flour and salt and process until very well combined. Press about 2 tbsp of the mixture into each hole of a silicone muffin tray (alternatively, use patty pans in a metal muffin tray). Set aside.
- Finely chop dark chocolate and place in a heat proof bowl with your choice of nut or seed butter. Bring 2cm water to the boil in a small saucepan. Place bowl on top of the saucepan. Reduce heat to low, gently melting until the chocolate is fully melted (stir occasionally). You can melt the chocolate in a microwave if you prefer. Spoon the chocolate over the goji bases and set in the fridge for 2 hours.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge (5-7 days) or in the freezer (up to 1 month).
Notes
- To ferment the goji berries and make these healthy nut bars probiotic, see blog post notes.
- Hemp hearts can be substituted for sesame seeds or sunflower seeds.
- Cashews can be substituted for store bough roasted cashews (you can then skip the roasting step), macadamia or almonds.
- If you are wanting to make these keto-friendly, use keto-friendly chocolate.
Keywords: Keto friendly, low sugar, healthy snack recipes, fruit and nut.
Sounds amazing! Just wondering if it’s necessary to roast the cashew nuts and your reason for doing so, as well as your reason for soaking the dried goji berries? Thank you
You can definitely skip, is purely to enhance the flavour. Soaking the goji is to add moisture and improve texture. Without it they are a bit dry.