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You know what I have found surprising?
That throughout this entire month of January I was able to stick with my goal of showing you all healthy, colorful recipes, AND that these healthy recipes have also been some of my FAVORITE recipes to date. I guess this isnโt actually all that surprising, since I truly love healthy foods. But since I cook for the people around me, I also end up cooking a lot of meats, grains and um CHEESEโฆbut I really donโt mind, especially the grains and cheese, and duh, obviously the chocolate too!
So weโve made it to the last week in January, and you guysโฆ I donโt plan on stopping the healthy eats here. Iโve always tried to haveย a good balance of healthy to decadent foods here on the blogโฆ and donโt worry, decadent will beย backโฆ next week, with lots of fun Super Bowl eats. I canโt lie, Iโm pretty excited to show you all those recipes too!!
Anyway, let me tell you about this superfood bark. I donโt have a whole lot of rambling time today since Asher is literally demanding my attention. Clearly I am having a hard time balancing the whole sister watching and work doing thing. The struggle is REAL guys.
SIDE NOTE: I totally got to pull out Asherโs tooth the other night. That was a first for me. I think I have pulled a few of my own baby teeth, but that was a long while ago. The girl was PUMPED (this is only her second tooth that has fallen out), and Iโm so excited for the tooth fairy to come! I have to say, I was pretty excited to get to BE the tooth fairy too. BUTโฆ then she fell asleep, and I went into work mode and forgot all about the stupid tooth. OH NO! The poor girl woke up to nothing under her pillow and I felt so bad. I made up some excuse that the tooth fairy takes Saturday night off and that he would come on Sunday. And then I went out and bought a new sparkly nail polish and put that + a dollar under her pillow to make up for it. Thankfully that worked and she was very pleased come Mondayย morning. Few.
Ok,so back to this superfood chocolate quinoa bark!
The bark is KILLER in so many ways. For one, itโs full of all the things that are best for our bodiesโฆ quinoa, seeds, nuts, maple syrup (or honey), coconut oil, coffee (if you are into it, which I so am, I love the flavor it adds), and super dark chocolate. Second, itโs SO incredibly quick and easy to make. You just add all the ingredients to a pot and set it over the stove until they are melted together. Then stir in all the dry ingredients until combined. Spread everything out into an even layer on a baking sheet and bake until crisp. Top with chocolate and then chill to allow the chocolate to set.
Done and DONE.
I got a little fancy and added some cacao nibs + dried rose hips to the top of the chocolate, but you could add flaky sea salt, another drizzle of chocolate or whatever sounds good to you. Totally adaptable to your tastes, or whatever you might have on hand.
And itโs as simple as that. For those of you wondering about using raw quinoa, I know if sounds weird, but I promise it works for this recipe. The quinoa gets toasted and caramelized in the oven. The end result is perfectly crunchy and sweet quinoa. Basically, weโre treating the quinoa just like the seed that it is (yes, quinoa is technically a seed and not a grain) and toasting it like you would any other seed.
Just try it, you guys will love this healthy dessert! Itโs perfect for when a sweet craving hits but you donโt want likeโฆ a giant piece of chocolate cakeโฆ OK so you probably really do want a giant piece of chocolate cake, BUT you donโt really want to go there. This is the treat to satisfy those cravings and leave you feeling amazing from the inside out.
Completely corny, but itโs actually so true!! Example: my mother is currently on this kick of no added sugars. Sheโs convinced that cutting way back on sugar will keep her moving till sheโs at least 100 (sheโs insane like that). Well, maybe not? Anyway, she CANNOT live without chocolate, she just physically cannot do it, so she has been loving this bark (and all the other chocolate treats Iโve shared this monthโฆ especially the one coming up on Friday!). This bark is her GO-TO after lunch treat, and Iโm right there with her.
It is kind of addictive.
Superfood Chocolate Quinoa Bark.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup (either works great, I like the maple flavor I think best)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules (optional, but I LOVE the flavor)
- good pinch of flaky sea salt
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed + dried
- 1/2 cup raw almonds, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup raw cashews, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup mixed raw seeds (I used hemp seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds + sesame seeds)
- 12 ounces vegan or dark chocolate, chopped (I like to use 92% dark chocolate)
- Cacao nibs + dried roses, for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large microwave safe bowl, melt together the honey or maple and coconut oil on power level high, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth (this took about 1 minute for me). Whisk in the vanilla, coffee granules and salt.
- Add the quinoa, almonds, cashews and mixed seeds. Stir until all the dry ingredients are evenly coated in the wet ingredients. Spread the mixture out in an even, thin layer on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the the bark is golden in color and crisp. You'll know the bark is done when the cashews and quinoa look caramelized and are a deep golden brown in color.
- While the bark is baking, melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave, heating on 30 second intervals and stirring after each interval until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Spread the melted chocolate over the bark in an even layer. Sprinkle with cacao nibs.
- Place the pan in the fridge to set, about 30 minutes (or the freezer for 15). Remove and break into pieces. Store in a sealed container in the fridge.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
I mean, clearly.
Love this! Skip the cacao nibs, rose and chocolate, and you still have a healthy, divine snack that everybodyโs been asking for the recipe
Hi Crystal,
Wonderful! Thank you for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it turned out nicely for you! Happy New Year!๐ xT
Re: superfood quinoa chocolate bark
Okay..I trying this for the first time and Iโm already stuck. Quinoa.. rinsed and dried? How do we dry quinoa? Does it matter how dry? Just pat it dry? Toast it dry? Air dry? Sorry.. I was so excited and have all my ingredients but now I have wet lumpy quinoa sitting on a cookie cooling rack. ๐ฅด๐คฃ
Hi Patti,
No worries! You will want it to be fully dry, so I like to leave on a dish towel for a few hours so I know it’s dry enough. I hope this helps! xx
This is a really nice sweet snack to have on hand! I have made this a couple of times. The bake time really depends on how thin you get it. I have made it before where I got it quite crunchy because it was thin/well baked. This time I made it a little thicker and when I pulled it out I was a little concerned it might not be baked enough; however, I actually like it better this way! It is a little chewy but still stays together. I also added some dried cranberries this time which I will keep doing. A repeat recipe for sure!
Hey Makayla,
Wonderful! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and appreciate you giving it a try! Have a great weekend!๐
This is my absolute favorite dessert/bar recipe! At bake sales it’s the first to go. It’s a lovely hostess gift when placed in a gift bag. I love sharing it with friends and neighbors. This is the recipe that drew me to this site years ago and I have been a fan of all the recipes since.Thank you Tieghan!
Hey Sara,
Awesome!! I am so glad you have been enjoying this recipe, thanks for making it so often! xx
Ahhhh just realised I don’t have baking parchment… any chance i could use foil?
Hey Rosie,
Foil should be just fine for you to use. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Do you frost both sides of the bark with chocolate or just the top? The photos look like thereโs chocolate on both sides, but maybe thatโs due to the toasting. Just wondering.
Hey Lynn,
I only did one side with chocolate:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This is really good, and really easy to make. I decided to leave off the cocoa nibs, and sprinkled some flaked sea salt on top and it was great.
That is so amazing to hear! Thank you so much for trying this one Shannon! xTieghan
The recipe says to keep the bark in the fridge. Curious if itโs because some of the ingredients might perishable or is it because of texture? Iโm considering making this to mail in a care package but wasnโt sure how it will hold up. Looks delicious, thanks!
Hey Julia! It’s just how we prefer it. You can ship this! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
I would like to make these and take them on vacation–do you think you could freeze them? Thanks, Kristine
HI! Yes, I think you can freeze these and then pack them up for vacation. I am sure that will be great! Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! ๐
Where is the nutrition information about this recipe? I couldn’t find it.
Hi Heidi! I actually do not calculate the nutritional information of my dishes, but if you would like to see the calories, fat, etc., I recommend putting the ingredients into a online calculator and dividing it by the serving size! I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions! (:
Looks really good. What size baking pan do you use? Thanks.
Hi Norma! I used a baking sheet pan with sides. I believe it measures 18×13 inches, but any sheet pan with sides will work. Let me know if you have questions. Thank you!!