These Keto Coconut Macadamia Bars feature a buttery almond flour shortbread crust with a gooey coconut and macadamia topping. Add some sugar-free white chocolate chips to make these bars really decadent! This post is sponsored by ChocZero.
I am currently obsessed with these Keto Coconut Macadamia bars. And once you taste them, you will see why. They have a sweet, slightly gooey filling full of coconut, macadamia, and white chocolate. And the almond flour crust simply melts in your mouth!
You know I love coming up with new and delicious keto dessert creations. Especially one that has people oohing and aahing at the first bite. And this one is definitely Oooh and Aaah material.
If you love recipes like my Keto White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies, you have to give these bars a try.
Updated recipe
I love the science behind adapting a regular recipe to make it sugar-free and grain-free. As you may know from my articles on baking with almond flour and keto sugar substitutes, it’s never as simple as one-to-one substitutions. So I always have to consider the best ingredients and techniques to achieve the right consistency.
And I pride myself on nailing taste and texture the majority of the time. I thought I had done so with these Keto Coconut Bars back when I first created them in 2018. I tested the recipe twice to make sure.
But a number of readers had trouble with them and I could never put my finger on why. Some people found that the crust was too soft, some people found that they were too crumbly, and others found that they turned out perfectly. Since readers had vastly different experiences, I couldn’t identify the issue.
So I decided to tackle them again from the beginning, with slightly different ingredients. This time, I used some allulose in the filling to keep it from recrystallizing. And I threw in some ChocZero white chocolate chips at the last minute. It was an inspired addition!
Reader Reviews
“This recipe is a winner – thanks so much for creating and sharing it! I just bought some pineapple extract to make my next batch taste even more tropical – perfect for this icy NYC winter!” — Jamie Lloyd
“These are amazing! I have been making my husband treats once a week for four years now and he said this one is by far the best. In fact, he had a day off work the day after I made them. . . after I got home from work I asked him what he had for lunch, and he said, “my food for the day was basically a lot of those treats.” Superb recipe, and great instructions. Thank you!” — Casie
Ingredients you need
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- Almond flour: I use almond flour for the crust. You cannot substitute with coconut flour, but you can use sunflower seed flour.
- Sweeteners: The crust requires an erythritol based sweetener such as Swerve Confectioners to crisp up properly. But the filling is best with a little bit of allulose and some erythritol. Please see the Expert Tips section for more information.
- Coconut cream: This is simply the thick part from the top of a can of coconut milk, but some brands also sell just the coconut cream. You can use heavy whipping cream in its place.
- Coconut: You can use flaked or shredded coconut. I used flaked coconut because I like how the bigger pieces look, but it does make them harder to cut!
- Macadamia nuts: Use raw macadamia nuts or ones that have been roasted but not salted.
- White chocolate chips: I added some ChocZero chips and thought it was a fabulous addition. If you use my link for ChocZero, you can get 10% off your entire order!
- Kitchen staples: Butter, egg, vanilla extract, and salt.
Step-by-step directions
1. For the crust, add the almond flour, sweetener, and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine. Scatter the butter pieces overtop and pulse until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.
2. Press evenly into the bottom of a 9-inch greased metal baking pan and bake at 350ºF for 10 to 12 minutes, or until light golden brown. Remove and let cool completely.
3. For the filling, whisk the butter and sweeteners together in a large bowl until well combined. Whisk in the coconut cream, egg, and vanilla extract.
4. Fold in the coconut, chopped macadamias, and white chocolate chips (if using) until well coated.
5. Spread the mixture over the cooled crust and bake 25 to 20 minutes or until the edges are golden. The center will still be quite soft. Let cool completely and then chill for 1 hour before cutting into bars.
Expert tips
These bars turn out best when baked in a metal pan. Glass and ceramic pans don’t conduct heat as efficiently and may take quite a bit longer to bake through properly. You can use an 8×8 pan but that will also take longer to bake properly.
Chopping the macadamia nuts up a bit helps make the bars easier to cut. Make sure you are using a very sharp knife to cut through the coconut and nuts. A bench knife allows you to cut straight up and down so you don’t damage your pan.
Chill the bars after cooling to make sure they set properly. This also allows for easier cutting.
Sweetener Options:
For a crisp crust, you must use an erythritol based sweetener that contains no allulose or xylitol. Options include Swerve Confectioners, Swerve with Monk Fruit, So Nourished Erythritol Blend, and Lakanto, among others.
For the filling, I recommend a little added allulose to keep it softer and gooier. You don’t have to do this but it helps the overall consistency.
Frequently Asked Questions
This low carb coconut macadamia bar recipe has 4.3g of carbs and 2.1g of fiber per serving. That comes to 2.2g net carbs per 1-inch bar.
Store in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to 5 days. You can also freeze them for several months. Bring the bars to room temperature before serving.
More keto macadamia recipes
Keto Coconut Macadamia Bars Recipe
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 1/4 cups (135 g) almond flour
- 1/3 cup cup (78.86 g) Swerve Confectioners
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup (56.75 g) butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
Filling:
- 1/4 cup (56.75 g) butter, melted
- 1/3 cup (63.6 g) Swerve Granular
- 3 tbsp (36) allulose
- 1/2 cup (120 g) coconut cream, (thick part from the top of a can of coconut milk)
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cup (113.33 g) flaked coconut
- 3/4 cup (100.5 g) macadamia nuts, chopped
- 1/3 cup (60 g) sugar-free white chocolate chips
Instructions
Crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and lightly grease a 9×9 inch metal baking pan. .
- Add the almond flour, sweetener, and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine. Scatter the butter pieces overtop and pulse until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.
- Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake 10 to 12 or until light golden brown. Remove and let cool completely.
Filling:
- Whisk the butter and sweeteners together in a large bowl until well combined. Whisk in the coconut cream, egg, and vanilla extract.
- Fold in the coconut, chopped macadamias, and white chocolate chips (if using) until well coated.
- Spread the mixture over the cooled crust and bake 25 to 20 minutes or until the edges are golden. The center will still be quite soft. Let cool completely and then chill for 1 hour before cutting into bars.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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These were amazing without the nuts!
Absolutely the best low carb treat ever! I drizzled mine with melted Lily’s dark chocolate.
Next time I’m going to make with toasted almonds .
Bet it will be like an Almond Joy bar.
Thank you for such a great recipe!
I’m excited to make these! Would the coconut cream from just 1 can of coconut be enough for 1/2 cup? I have 1 can of Trader Joes coconut milk but not sure if I should buy another can. Remembering from past coconut milk use, it doesn’t seem like the creamy stuff on top would equal a half of a cup. Thanks for your time! 🙂
Just one can is enough and you probably wont’ use it all.
They were just so delicious! Will be making these often!
How can I make this paleo?
No idea. Dairy free subs, I guess!
These bars are insane. I thought my favorite dessert was your blender chocolate mousse that we eat at least three times a week!
I love the crunch, the soft center and the crust that almost resembles a graham cracker crust.
Thank you for all your hard work and time in creating these mouth watering healthy treatshttp://3b2f96sdxzml4gkyotk9sv7r35.hop.clickbank.net/
Can anyone tell me how much Pyure you used. I can not tolerate swerve after taste. Love the Pyure sweetener! Thanx!
Swerve measures like sugar; Pyure is twice as sweet as sugar. I haven’t made these, but halving the sweetener amount would be the best place to start.
These bars are insane. I thought my favorite dessert was your blender chocolate mousse that we eat at least three times a week!
I love the crunch, the soft center and the crust that almost resembles a graham cracker crust.
Thank you for all your hard work and time in creating these mouth watering healthy treats.
thank you for this recipe! i’m excited to try it, but cannot use swerve. which pyure are you moving to?
These were very good but the cooking times were definitely too long for my oven and it was a bit too browned. Mine came out dry and crumbly (still very tasty though!), do you think that’s because I over cooked it? I’m going to make it again and add Lilly’s chocolate chips.
Just made these tonight. The taste was wonderful but, mine, too, came out dry and crumbly. I timed the convection oven for 25 minutes to make sure that I wasn’t over doing it. Could the convection oven be the culprit for why they crumbled? Mind you, they were so good that every one had seconds, including me. I would like them to be gooey and not fall apart, though. Thank you so much.
From other readers, I am coming to understand that some people are using thin watery coconut milk and not the coconut cream that I have specified in the recipe. That seems to be the issue if these are coming out dry.
Can I use my Blendtec instead of a food processor?
If it has a chopping function, sure.
These are so amazing! I made them for this weekend since I was going to my sons house. I can only make your delicious recipes when I visit someone or I have company to share with. I don’t have a lot of will power when it comes to your desserts. Every one I have tried, is over the top (according to my son). I have been keto for 1 1/2 yrs, thanks to all your hard work on creating your wonderful recipes!!! Thank you!
So glad you liked them. And I agree…desserts are meant to be shared! 🙂
Maybe I missed it but would like to know the size pan you used and how many bars does this recipe yield?
Yes, you did miss it. The number of bars is right at the top of the recipe card and the pan size is in the instructions, as is usually the case for recipes.
i made these yesterday, they are great. had the caramelized onion/bacon pork chops last night. thanks for such great recipes.
wanted to let you know, i have 2 of your cook books and waiting for the third, purchased them through Barnes and Noble so was not able to leave a review on amazon.
oma
No worries about not leaving an Amazon review, I appreciate this so much!
Yuuuum. Just made these! Winner! I love to read all comment here and on IG before baking. Your followers have such good tips.
I ran into a sale on Mac nuts last week, then saw your IG feed, and just returned from Hawaii…..so, I knew I had to make these.
‘They are perfect as is and I will try them with a few Lily’s choc chips at some point. Thank you Carolyn!
I made these and they are cooling…my house smells so wonderful!!!!
They were easy to make!!!
I can’t wait to try one!!!!