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Sweet & salty baked coconut chips are a healthy energy snack you can make with 3 humble ingredients! Make a double batch, because you will love them.
A New Healthy Snack to Love: Baked Coconut Chips
How was your weekend?
Mine began with a Friday night dinner with friends (Yay! Contact with other humans! :)), followed by a long, early run with buddies Saturday morning (a nap followed) , and then baseball, baseball and more baseball with the Nickster. Somehow, I managed to crank out a few healthy snack recipes for toting along to the games. One that I made expressly for Nick is this: Baked Sweet & Salty Coconut Chips.
Warning: they are addictive!
I purchased a packet of coconut chips for our flight home from California in August, and my son ended up eating almost all of them. Faintly sweet, with a hint of sea salt, I knew I had try making them (especially since one itty bitty packet cost a small fortune).
It turns out that they are ridiculously easy to make!
Recipe Benefits
- Made with three whole food ingredients
- Vegan (egg-free, dairy-free)
- Grain-free
- Gluten-free
- Oil-free
- Quick and easy to make
Ingredients for Baked Coconut Chips
The exact amounts of each ingredient are indicated in the recipe card at the end of the post. Toggle between US Customary (volume) and Metric (weights) for preferred measurement option.
These humble, yet amazing, chips require no more than 3 humble ingredients.
- large, unsweetened coconut flakes
- a hint of maple syrup
- fine sea salt
It used to be much harder to find large coconut flakes, but not so these days. My local supermarket, and superstore, carry them. The former even has an in-store brand. Look for them in the baking section or the health food section of the store. If you cannot find them, they are also easy to find from multiple online sources.
How to Make the Baked Coconut Chips
Note that the complete directions are also in the recipe card below.
- It took a few rounds to get the proportions of coconut & syrup balanced–enough of the latter to coat the former, but not so much as to make them dessert (the reject batches were still delectable).
- Preheat oven to 275F (190C). Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the coconut flakes in a large bowl. Drizzle with maple syrup and sprinkle with salt. Using your hands, gently toss to coat, being careful not to break the large pieces of coconut.
- Spread the coconut in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven 10 minutes; open oven and gently stir the coconut, moving browner pieces at the edge closer to the center. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer until coconut is golden brown.
- Transfer sheet to a wire rack an cool completely (coconut will continue to crisp as it cools).
How to Enjoy Baked Coconut Chips
These make a great late-afternoon snack, or pre-workout nosh, especially when you want to satisfy sweet cravings without a subsequent sugar crash. I like to grab a small handful before a run or before I teach spin class, and they are also an excellent, high-energy snack for Nick in between his games (a great contrast to more typical energy bars and balls).
Here’s why coconut chips are a great choice: The fat in coconut is made up of medium-chain fatty, which are metabolized in the liver and then quickly converted to energy from our cells, allowing us to use the fat immediately for fuel. Delicious + healthy = one great snack!
So grab an extra nibble if you are power hungry!
FAQ
- How should I store the baked coconut chips? Store in an airtight container (a glass jar, with a tight-fitting lid, works especially well) at room temperature in a cool place for up to 2 weeks,
- Can I use honey in place of maple syrup if I do not need the recipe to be vegan? I do not recommend it. I tried the recipe with honey, and it did not work as well as maple syrup. It was difficult to coat the coconut with the honey (I solved this in a later batch by heating the honey first), but the primary issue was stickiness: despite toasting, the chips remained sticky. In addition, the chips lost all of their crispiness within a day.
- Can I make the recipe with finely shredded coconut flakes? Yes, but the results are better used as a topping, not a handheld snack (the pieces are too small).
Related Posts:
- Keto Vegan Coconut Flour Cookies {grain-free, gluten-free}
- Chocolate Chip Banana Quinoa Muffins {vegan, GF, flourless}
- Stuffed Breakfast Sweet Potatoes {Vegan, 4 ingredients)
- Oil-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies {vegan, grain-free}
- Coconut Almond Flour Banana Bread {4 ingredients, vegan, oil-free}
Baked Coconut Chips (3 ingredients)
Ingredients
- 3 cups large unsweetened coconut flakes
- 4 teaspoons pure maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275F (190C). Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the coconut flakes in a large bowl. Drizzle with maple syrup and sprinkle with salt. Using your hands, gently toss to coat, being careful not to break the large pieces of coconut.
- Spread the coconut in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven 10 minutes; open oven and gently stir the coconut, moving browner pieces at the edge closer to the center. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer until coconut is golden brown.
- Transfer sheet to a wire rack an cool completely (coconut will continue to crisp as it cools).
Notes
Nutrition
