This simple Valentine's chocolate bark is an easy and quick treat to celebrate a (vegan) Valentine's Day. Pairs best with cozy slippers, a bubble bath, and a face mask.
Chocolate and Valentine's day, groundbreaking I know, but I'm here for any reason to eat chocolate.
A few reasons why I love this vegan Valentine's chocolate bark;
- Crumbling freeze-dried strawberries creates a naturally sweetened sprinkle, leaving out processed sugars and/or color additives that traditional sprinkles have
- Easily adjust to include your favorite nuts and/or fruits
- It comes together quickly with things that you most likely already have on hand
For my fellow chocolate connoisseurs, I highly recommend making a batch of these peanut butter cups too. There is just no such thing as too much chocolate, especially on a holiday.
Taylor Swift circa 2008 makes anyone want to fall in love, so hit play and dance away any worries. Permission to use the spatula as your microphone has been granted (and highly encouraged). Jump to the recipe below or keep reading to see what ingredients are needed.
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Ingredients for vegan chocolate Valentine's bark
Chocolate chips (or chocolate bar): some of my favorites include; Enjoy Life semi-sweet mini chips and Wegmans semi-sweet chocolate chips. Additionally, Endangered Species Chocolate has a ton of vegan chocolate bar options; their oat milk dark chocolate is a creamy delight.
Unrefined coconut oil: adds to the overall coconut flavor, but refined also works
Sliced almonds
Cranberries
Coconut flakes
Freeze-dried strawberries
Sea salt flakes
For exact measurements and detailed step-by-step directions, scroll to the recipe card below.
How to make homemade bark
- First, melt chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave. Then stir in sliced almonds until coated.
- Add to a parchment lined baking tray and spread evenly. Top with sprinkles and freeze for 20 minutes or until hard.
- Cut into squares or break apart as desired.
For heart-shaped pieces of bark; remove the bark from the freezer after 7 minutes (the chocolate should be firm but not totally hardened yet). Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter and cut the bark into pieces. Place back into freezer to harden.
Substitutions
- Semi-sweet chocolate: substitute with vegan white chocolate or dark chocolate.
- Almonds: swap with peanuts, walnuts, pecans or other nut of choice.
- Freeze-dried strawberries: used to bring a festive color to the bark, but feel free to omit or alternatively use any freeze-dried fruit of your choosing (raspberries, cherries, etc.).
- Dried cranberries: swap with dried cherries, dates or apricots.
Additional bark topping ideas
- Extra sweet toppings: vegan marshmallows, vegan sprinkles, crushed cookies, vegan white chocolate, and/or mini chocolate chips
- Seeds: pumpkin, hemp, and/or chia seeds
- Nuts: peanuts, walnuts, pistachios, pecans, and/or macadamia nuts
- Extra chocolatey bark: drizzle melted vegan chocolate over the bark before chilling.
Storing vegan chocolate bark
I prefer to store this Valentine's bark in the freezer (in an airtight container). It will be good for up to 2 months. Alternatively, store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Do not store at room temperature, as the chocolate will easily melt.
If you made the recipe, let me know how it went in the comments below! Enjoy!
📋 Recipe
Vegan Valentine's Chocolate Coconut Almond Bark
Equipment
- microwave safe measuring cup or bowl
- baking tray + parchment paper
Ingredients
Bark
- 1 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used enjoy life mini chocolate chips)
- 1 tablespoon unrefined coconut oil
- ½ cup sliced raw almonds
Toppings
- freeze dried strawberries
- coconut flakes (or sub desiccated coconut)
- handful dried cranberries (or sub dried cherries)
- large pinch sea salt flakes (or sub Himalayan pink salt)
- optional; vegan white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Prep: line a baking sheet with parchment paper and make room in the fridge or freezer.
- Melt chocolate: Add chocolate and coconut oil to a microwave safe cup or bowl. Place into microwave for about 1 minute, stirring well every 30 seconds. If all chocolate hasn't melted (and doesn't melt as you stir) place back into microwave for ten seconds and stir again.
- Stir in almonds: Add almonds into melted chocolate and stir until the almonds are well coated. Pour onto parchment paper and smooth with a spatula. Top tip: slide/shake the baking pan back and forth to help the chocolate level out
- Sprinkle with toppings: Crumble freeze dried strawberries, coconut flakes, cranberries, and salt over the chocolate *I used about 4 freeze-dried strawberries and just pinched them in between my fingers to have them easily dust over the chocolate
- Chill: Place into the freezer for 20 minutes or until hard. Remove and break apart (or cut into desired shapes). *if chocolate doesn't break easily, it hasn't hardened enough yet. Place back into fridge or freezer for ten minutes.
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