Sweet, chewy, with just the right amount of crunch. This easy date bark recipe will become your new favorite sweet treat that just so happens to be nutritious too.
As a dietitian, I love a healthier sweet treat that’s just as satisfying as the real deal. This simple 6-ingredient date bark is exactly that — so delicious, surprisingly easy to make, and lower sugar than your typical candy bar.
Need more healthy dessert recipes? You’ll love my protein banana pudding, black bean brownie bites, or high-protein dunkaroo dip.
Recipe Highlights
- Sweet but lower sugar. You won’t miss your usual candy bar with this chewy and perfectly sweet date bark, made with whole foods ingredients.
- Easy to make. You’ll only need 6 ingredients and 10-minutes to prep this simple dessert.
- Kid-friendly. Kids and picky partners will love this healthier sweet treat. Even my husband can’t keep his hands off this date bark!
- Customizable. This blog posts includes lots of ideas to switch up flavors and textures to make this date bark your own.
Key Ingredient Notes
- Medjool dates: This variety is large, sticky, and soft — perfect for smashing and turning into date bark. Just make sure you remove the pits before getting started.
- Coconut oil: A touch of coconut oil helps thin the chocolate to make it easier to spread. And, it will harden as it cools. Leave it out if needed, don’t swap for liquid oils.
- Natural nut butter: You can use any natural nut or seed butter like peanut, almond, or cashew. I recommend looking for “natural” nut butters with just the nut and salt on the ingredients list. And I highly recommend choosing a salted nut butter for extra flavor.
- Chocolate chips: I use semi-sweet, but milk, white, and dark will also work. Feel free to use low-sugar or sugar-free chocolate chips. If you love chocolate, you’ll also love my chocolate banana muffins or no-bake chocolate peanut butter protein bars.
Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed recipe and full ingredients list.
How To Make Date Bark
Step 1: Open dates and remove pits.
Step 2: Press dates onto parchment, and roll or press them flat to form a rectangle.
Step 3: Spread peanut butter over dates.
Step 4: Spread with melted chocolate, and sprinkle with salt and peanuts. Freeze for an hour, then slice!
Variation Ideas
This simple recipe for date bark is my favorite variation, but it’s super easy to customize. Feel free to add toppings, swap the nut butter, or use different chocolate to make it your own. Here are some ideas of other combinations:
- Crunch bar: swap peanuts for puffed rice cereal.
- Caramel apple: omit peanuts and top with chopped apple and skor bits.
- Cinnamon cereal: use white chocolate chips and top with crushed cinnamon toast crunch cereal.
- Trail mix: use dark chocolate, and top with chopped mixed nuts and raisins.
- Monster cookie: top with rolled oats, mini m&m candies, and crushed peanuts.
Other Toppings
Explore other topping ideas to make this date bark your own. Here are some of my favorites:
- Other nuts: chopped, crushed, or sliced almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews. You can also experiment with dry roasted, salted vs unsalted, or candied nuts.
- Seeds: hemp hearts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds.
- Other nut or seed butters: tahini, almond butter, SunButter, mixed seed butter, cashew butter, macadamia nut butter.
- Swap the chocolate: dark chocolate, semi-sweet, milk, or white. You can also use no sugar added chocolate if preferred.
- Dried fruit: raisins, dried cranberries, chopped apricots, chopped dried apple, chopped dried mango, chopped dried pineapple. You can also experiment with traditional dried fruits vs freeze dried for extra crunch.
- Cereal: puffed rice cereal, fiber cereal, fun cereals like Lucky Charms or Cinnamon Toast Crunch. You could also use lower sugar cereals like Catalina Crunch.
Miranda’s Tips
Tips From My Test Kitchen
- Use food-safe gloves to de-pit dates. Medjool dates are soft and sticky, and they’re easier to handle with gloves.
- Really flatten those dates. Press dates down really firmly into the parchment paper, and flatten them as much as you can. This makes for a thinner bark that’s more pleasant to eat.
- Freeze before slicing. Give your date bark at least 30-minutes, but preferably longer, to set up in the freezer. If you cut it before it’s fully chilled, it will stick to your knife and fall apart.
Common Questions
Date stark should be sliced then stored in a food-safe container in the freezer. If desired, use parchment between layers to prevent sticking.
Date bark will stay good in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Make your date bark lower sugar by using sugar-free chocolate chips and natural nut butter. Steer clear of sugar-laden toppings too.
You can find flakey salt at some grocery stores, but I get mine on Amazon. Any brand works, but I use Maldon salt.
More Healthy Desserts
Trail Mix Bars
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Chocolate Banana Muffins
Dairy-Free Banana Pudding
Date Bark Recipe
Equipment
- small baking sheet (make sure it can fit in your freezer)
Ingredients
- 15 medjool dates
- ¼ cup creamy natural peanut butter, I highly recommend using salted
- ⅔ cup chocolate chips, I use semi-sweet
- ½ Tbsp coconut oil
- ¼ cup dry roasted and lightly salted peanuts, chopped
- flakey sea salt
Instructions
- Prep baking sheet: Line your baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Remove pits from dates: Use a butter knife to slice each date lengthwise and remove the pit. Repeat on all dates.
- Place dates on parchment paper: Open each date, and press it down firmly on the parchment paper, with the inside facing down. Repeat until all dates are on the parchment, closely touching each other. I like to arrange them in five rows with three dates each, so it forms a rectangle.
- Flatten dates: Cover the dates with another piece of parchment paper, and press down firmly to flatten. You can do this with a rolling pin, the flat bottom of a glass, or your hands. You're aiming for a thin and even layer.
- Add peanut butter: Remove the top piece of parchment paper. Spread peanut butter over dates, reaching the edges.
- Melt chocolate: Meanwhile, melt your chocolate with coconut oil. You can do this in the microwave in 15-second intervals, or on the stove over low heat. Stir frequently to prevent burning your chocolate.
- Spread chocolate: Pour melted chocolate over dates. Spread to the edges.
- Add toppings: Immediately top with crushed peanuts and a generous pinch of flakey salt.
- Freeze: Transfer to the freezer for 30-60 minutes.
- Slice: Working quickly, peel the parchment off the back of the date bark. You should be left with one large slice. Transfer to a cutting board and slice into squares. Keep stored in a container in the freezer. Enjoy!
Notes
- Use dairy-free chocolate chips if needed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
