Vegan Chocolate Bark will satisfy all of your chocolate cravings. Loaded with seeds, this easy to make recipe is a delicious treat any time of the day. Serve it for dessert, enjoy it as an afternoon snack, or crumble it over a yogurt parfait. It’s great in holiday treat boxes, too. This recipe is vegan and gluten-free.
Vegan Chocolate Bark
If you’ve been reading this blog for any amount of time, you already know that I’m a chocoholic. You can have your pumpkin and baked fruit, I want my chocolate!
Usually, when I get a new cookbook, I head straight to the mac and cheese recipe first, or maybe a taco recipe that strikes my fancy. But when JL Field’s new book The Complete Plant-Based Diet showed up in my mailbox, I ran into the kitchen and made Super-Seed Chocolate Bark. It satisfied my cravings, and the seeds and chopped pecans added a nice crunch.
I often see tins of fancy chocolate bark in stores around the holiday season. They always look lovely, but they’re never vegan, and they usually cost a small fortune. My advice to you so to make your own, which will cost a fraction of the price, and it will be more meaningful, too.
How to Make Vegan Chocolate Bark
This recipe is super easy to make! It’s as simple as melting chocolate! The hard part is the waiting.
- First you melt the chocolate in a double boiler.
- Then you spread the melted chocolate on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, about ¼-inch thick.
- Next you sprinkle your chocolate with seeds and chopped nuts.
- Finally, you pop it in the fridge. In about an hour, your bark will be ready! Just break it up into pieces and chow it down.
Setting up a Double Boiler
The idea of setting up a double boiler might be daunting, but it’s actually really easy.
- First you fill a pot with a few inches of water and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Then you lower the heat to medium to keep the water at a simmer.
- Next you place another pot or metal bowl on top of the pot, making sure the bottom doesn’t touch the water.
How to Melt Chocolate
Melting chocolate is super simple, but you need to keep an eye on it, so that it doesn’t burn.
- You simply place the chocolate in the top pot of bowl of your double boiler and stir consistently with a rubber spatula.
- It’s important to keep an eye on your chocolate to insure it doesn’t burn.
- Once the chocolate has melted you remove it from the heat.
Buying Vegan Chocolate
I’ve had people tell me that they could never go vegan because they don’t want to give up chocolate. Vegan chocolate, exists, y’all!
- When buying chocolate to make your chocolate bark, look for a cacao percentage between 55 and 85.
- Check the ingredients for milk, milk fat, milk solids, casein, and whey, which are all animal ingredients.
- Cocoa butter comes from cocoa beans and is vegan.
- Taste the chocolate to make sure you like it, because that’s what your bark will taste like.
You can use chopped chocolate bars, chocolate chips, or chocolate chunks in this recipe. I used Enjoy Life Mega Chunks.
The Complete Plant-Based Diet
This recipe is from The Complete Plant-Based Diet by JL Fields. Yes, chocolate is plant-based, since cacao comes from beans. It could be argued that chocolate bark is actually a bean salad.
JL begins the book with an explain of what plant-based actually means, and she explains the difference between vegan, plant-based and WFPB. She gives tips on how to build a balanced meal, and she also lives the low-down on ingredients that might be unfamiliar to newbies. There are lists of ingredients and tools that are handy to have you in your kitchen, too. For those that are new to plant-based foods, there’s a complete 21-day meal plan, along with shopping lists and meal prep tips.
Of course, The Complete Plant-Based Diet is loaded with recipes. When people hear the term “plant-based,” they often think about salads and plates piled with kale. Sure there are salad and kale recipes here, but you’ll also find recipes for such dishes as Cheesy Broccoli Soup, Avocado Sushi Rolls, Summer Squash Lasagna, and — my favorite — Super-Seed Chocolate Bark. There’s also a chapter full of basic, so you can make your ketchup, buffalo sauce, and vegan butter, if you feel so inclined.
Chapters in The Complete Plant-Based Diet Include:
- The Plant-Forward Plate
- Tools for Plant-Based Cooking
- 21 Days of Plant-Based Eating
- Breakfast and Smoothies
- Salads and Handhelds
- Soups and Stews
- Main Attractions
- Snacks and Treats
- Homemade Staples
If you want to include more plants in your diet, this cookbook is for you!
Super-Seed Chocolate Bark
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegan dark chocolate chips, chunks, or chopped bars
- ¼ cup chopped unsalted pistachios
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon raw hulled pumpkin seeds
Instructions
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Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper
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Fill the bottom of a double boiler o medium saucepan with a few inches of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Lover the heat to medium to keep the water at a simmer. Place the chocolate in the top of the double boiler or in a heatproof bowl that fits over the saucepan (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and place it over the simmer water. Using a silicon spatula, stir frequently until the chocolate has melted.
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In a small bowl, combine the pistachios, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds.
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Scrape the melted chocolate into the center of the prepared baking sheet and spread it into a layer about ¼ inch thick (the chocolate won’t cover the entire pan). Sprinkle the seeds over the top. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
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Break the chocolate bark into 10 to 12 rough pieces. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Recipe Notes
Excerpt from The Complete Plant-Based Diet by JL Fields, published by Rockridge Press. Copyright © 2020 by Callisto Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
More chocolate recipes you might enjoy include:
More holiday treats include:
I have a copy of The Complete Plant-Based Diet for one lucky winner! Follow the instructions below to enter. U.S. residents only please. Good luck!
Looks DELISH!
Favorite plant based meal? Tough one, as I love so many things. Lol. Maybe soy curls and dumplings?
I Ike’s your idea that “It could be argued that chocolate bark is actually a bean salad.” Sounds like a winner!