These creamy crunchy chocolate bars are inspired by the popular Dubai chocolate. You only need 4 ingredients to make these. The chocolate bars don’t contain any flour or dairy, have less sugar, and don’t require any special molds to make them.
A Dubai Chocolate Bar cut in half

These chocolate bars have been my new favorite treat to make for friends and family. I tried Dubai chocolate for the first time last month and immediately loved the creamy and crunchy filling. However, I did find it to be too sweet and the bars were enormous. This bite-sized version contains a lot of the flavors and textures that I love about Dubai chocolate but in an easy and simpler form.

Ingredients

  • Pistachio butter: The base of the filling is pistachio butter. Classic Dubai chocolate is usually made with a sweetened pistachio butter, which is usually sold as pistachio cream. To reduce the sugar in these bars, I am using unsweetened pistachio butter which is just made of pistachios. You can buy pistachio butter or you can make your own by just grinding roasted pistachios in a food processor until they become a creamy spread. I share a homemade pistachio butter in the recipe notes at the end of the post as well.
  • Unsweetened finely shredded coconut: The crispy crunchy filling in Dubai chocolate is made with kataifi, a type of finely shredded/spun phyllo dough used to make knafeh, a traditional Middle Eastern dessert. It can be difficult to get kataifi and it is made with wheat flour so instead of kataifi, my version uses unsweetened shredded coconut. When the coconut is lightly coated in maple syrup and baked, it becomes very crunchy and the texture is very similar to kataifi.
  • Maple syrup: The coconut is lightly coated in maple syrup which when baked, helps the coconut become very crunchy and stay crunchy even when mixed with the pistachio butter. Make sure to use maple syrup and not honey. The coconut does not stay crispy when using honey.
  • Dark chocolate: Classic Dubai chocolate is usually coated in milk chocolate though some newer versions also use dark chocolate. I used 60% dark chocolate on mine so that the chocolate bars are not too sweet. You can use a higher percentage dark chocolate if you want.

Dubai chocolate filling usually also contains tahini but I left it out for this version. Tahini often has a slight bitterness to it and is added to help balance out the sweetness of the pistachio cream and since the pistachio filling in my bars is not sweetened, adding tahini would make the filling a little too bitter.

How to Make Healthier Dubai Chocolate

  • The coconut is first coated in maple syrup and then spread out on a parchment lined baking sheet and baked until golden and crispy. It is then set aside to cool.
  • Once cooled, the coconut is mixed with the pistachio butter. Transfer the filling to a parchment lined loaf pan and place into the freezer to set.
  • Once it is frozen solid, cut the filling with a sharp knife into approximate 1 inch squares. Then place the bars back into the freezer to freeze again.
  • Make the chocolate coating by melting dark chocolate until smooth.
  • Coat the frozen filling in chocolate. If desired you can also drizzle some chocolate on top for garnish or add a little bit of finely chopped pistachios on top for garnish. Place the bars into the fridge until the chocolate coating is set.

Dubai Chocolate Bars with chopped pistachios on top

Texture and Sweetness

These chocolate bars have a creamy pistachio filling with crispy crunchy bits throughout. I did not stuff the filling with as much shredded crunchy coconut to keep them healthier, but there is enough in there to add a good amount of crunch. You can add more coconut if you want more crunchy filling.

The filling is only very lightly sweetened from the crunchy coconut. By itself, the filling doesn’t taste very sweet, but when eaten with the chocolate coating, I find it to be just sweet enough. If you do prefer a sweeter chocolate bar, you can use milk chocolate for the chocolate coating or use a sweetened pistachio butter for the filling.
A stack of Dubai Chocolate Bars

Expert Tips

  • These chocolates can be made without any molds but if you want your chocolates to look a little more perfect and uniform, you can freeze the filling in square silicone candy bar or ice cube trays.
  • The pistachio filling will completely freeze solid but it melts fast once it comes to room temperature, so you do need to work quickly when cutting the filling and also coating it in chocolate.
  • How green your filling is will depend on the pistachio butter you use. Natural pistachio butter tends to be a darker yellow green color. However, if you make it with peeled pistachios and a very green variety of pistachios, then you can achieve a brighter green pistachio butter.
  • You can also make the filling with pistachio cream, which is usually a light green color because it has been mixed with dairy.

Dubai Chocolate Bars drizzled with chocolate and topped with chopped pistachios

More Chocolate Candy Recipes

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4.80 from 5 votes

4 Ingredient Healthier Dubai Chocolate Bars

These creamy crunchy chocolate bars are inspired by the popular Dubai chocolate bars but are made with less sugar, no wheat and no dairy. Just 4 easy ingredients and no special molds required.
Servings: 21 bars
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
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Ingredients

  • 1 cup (80 g) finely shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 2 tbsp (1 fl oz/30 ml) maple syrup
  • 1 cup (256 g) unsweetened pistachio butter, can use homemade or store bought
  • 3 cups (458 g) dark chocolate chips, 60% cocoa

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a medium bowl add shredded coconut and drizzle maple syrup across. make sure to get all the maple syrup from the measuring spoon or cup onto your coconut. Use a spoon to stir vigorously for about 20-30 seconds until all the coconut is evenly coated in syrup.
  • Transfer the coconut to your prepared baking pan, spreading it out in as thin as a layer as possible. It’s okay if the coconut is clumped together as long as it is still a very thin layer.
  • Bake for about 8 minutes or until all of the coconut is a medium brown (you want it cooked more than golden brown but before it starts getting burned). Baking time can vary and it doesn’t take long for the coconut to turn from brown to burnt so I do recommend watching the oven carefully starting around 5 minutes. Let the coconut fully cool. Once cooled, the coconut should be very crispy.
  • Once coconut is fully cooled and crispy, add pistachio butter to a mixing bowl. Add in the crispy coconut and stir until the coconut is fully incorporated. Stirring in the coconut should break up the clumps as well so they become mostly individual coconut shreds again. The mixture should also thicken to a very thick paste.
  • Line an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Spread the pistachio mixture evenly across the bottom of the pan. Your filling should be slightly more than 1/2 inch thick. Place into the freezer to freeze solid, about 2 hours. (If you want more uniform chocolates and don't want to have to cut frozen filling, you can also freeze the filling in silicone chocolate molds or silicone ice cube molds that are about 1 inch squares.) Once completely frozen, cut with a large sharp knife into approximate 1 inch squares. If your mixture is breaking, you can let it thaw for a minute or two before cutting, but don’t wait too long because the pistachio butter does start to thaw and melt very fast, within a few minutes after being removed from the freezer. After cutting into individual squares, place the square bars back into the freezer for about 15-30 minutes to fully firm up again.
  • Meanwhile, add chocolate chips to a large mixing bowll. Heat in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until it’s completely smooth and melted, about 2 minutes total. If you prefer a thinner chocolate coating, you can add a little melted coconut oil, stirring in 1 tsp at a time, until the chocolate reaches your desired consistency.
  • Once chocolate is ready, remove the bars from freezer. Using your favorite dipping tool, dip each square into the melted chocolate, ensuring it is fully coated. Avoid making your chocolate coating too thin. Since the filling will expand when its no longer frozen, you do want to make sure your chocolate shell is not too thin so that it can hold the filling. Shake off any excess chocolate off before placing the square back on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Try to wipe or break off any excess chocolate that will pool a little at the bottom of each chocolate bar. Repeat with remaining bars. You do need to work quickly because the filling will start to melt. You can keep about half of the bars in the freezer while you are dipping the first half to prevent them from melting.
  • If desired, you can add a thin drizzle of chocolate on top for garnish and/or sprinkle with some finely chopped pistachios. Place the bars into the fridge until the chocolate shell is set (this should only take a few minutes). The bars are then ready to serve. If the filling is still very cold, you can let the bars sit a little longer at room temperature before serving. Uneaten bars can be stored in an airtight container for 1 day at room temperature and longer in the fridge or freezer.

Notes

  • Maple syrup note: Make sure to use maple syrup to coat the coconut and not honey. Honey will not keep the coconut crispy.
  • If you want to add sweetener to unsweetened pistachio butter, use powdered sugar. Do not use maple syrup as the sweetener which will cause the pistachio butter to seize and turn into a thick, dry paste. (The maple syrup coated on the coconut is solid enough that it won't mix with the pistachio butter and cause it to seize up too much).
  • Sweetness note: These chocolate bars are not as sweet as classic Dubai chocolate. If you prefer sweeter chocolate, you can use pistachio cream for the filling or a sweetened pistachio butter. You can also coat the bars in milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate.
  • If you want your bars to have more filling, you can make 1.5 cups of crispy coconut filling. 
  • I used Member's Mark Organic Maple syrup* and Whole Foods 365 Coconut Shreds* I used 60% cocoa dark bittersweet chocolate chips. You can use a higher percentage dark chocolate. I also used homemade pistachio butter.
  • *These product links are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
  • Pistachio butter note: You can use store bought pistachio butter to save time. Make sure to use an unsweetened pistachio butter which is made of just pistachios and doesn't contain added oils or sugar. Store bought pistachio butter tends to be a darker yellow green color. For a brighter green color you can buy pistachio cream (which is sweetened with sugar and dairy) or make homemade pistachio butter (recipe here)
  • Estimated nutrition assumes 1.75 cups of 60% dark chocolate used because not all of the melted chocolate ends up on the bars.
Serving: 1bar, Calories: 169kcal, Carbohydrates: 13g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Sodium: 1mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 7g, NET CARBS: 10
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. This is not a comprehensive list of all the nutrients in the recipe (i.e., does not include vitamins, cholesterol, etc). I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
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