Healthy Vegan Rocky Road Slice (2024)

This healthy rocky road recipe is a delicious chocolate bar filled with nourishing nuts, dried cranberries, and homemade popcorn. It’s a healthy twist to the favorite rocky road candy bars made with no mini marshmallows for no sugar added and 100% vegan and gluten-free.

Table of contents

I love easy desserts full of chocolate. You might have tried my Vegan Rocky Road, Date Bark, Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark, or Chocolate Dipped Stuffed Dates. They are both delicious and easy to make.

What Are Rocky Road Bars?

Rocky road bars are crunchy thick chocolate bars filled with peanuts and chewy pieces of marshmallows. Rocky road bars are very popular in Australia and New Zealand, while in the US, rocky road is generally sold as ice cream.

The origin of these delicious bars is believed to be a way for bakers and sweet shops to sell confectionery spoiled on the long trip from Europe to Australia. Coating it in chocolate and mixing it with fresh nuts was covering the taste of the spoiled cherries! This healthy rocky road recipe is a variation of my vegan rocky road.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This healthy rocky road recipe is naturally:

• Dairy-free
• Vegan
• Gluten-free
• High-protein and fiber

Ingredients and Substitutions

Let’s see what you need to make a healthy rocky road slice at home.

• Coconut Oil or half coconut oil/half cocoa butter – while cocoa butter is expensive, it makes the best tasty homemade vegan chocolate. Also, refined coconut oil is the best here to avoid coconut flavor in your chocolate.
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – I prefer unsweetened to make it easier to balance the sweetness.
• Dark Chocolate – I used 85% dark chocolate but 70% versions work as well. You can use sugar-free chocolate as a keto option.
• Maple Syrup or any liquid sweetener you like, including sugar-free liquid sweetener for a low-carb option.
• Peanut Butter or almond butter for less saturated fat.
• Vanilla Extract – for taste.
• Puffed Cereals like puffed spelt, puffed quinoa, or popcorn – it’s a natural way to add a chewy texture to the bars without using store-bought marshmallows.
• Dried Cranberries or dates pieces – they add natural sweetness and extra chewy texture.
• Nuts – use any nuts you like, but roasted almonds and macadamia nuts bring out the best flavor.
• Freeze-Dried Raspberries for a crunch.

How To Make Healthy Rocky Road

Healthy vegan rocky road slices are made of nourishing, wholesome ingredients and homemade chocolate. They don’t contain marshmallows but instead use chewy cereals and dried fruits. They are vegan, gluten-free, and made with simple staple ingredients.

1. Before you start, cover a square 8-inch pan with lightly oiled baking paper. Set it aside.

2. In a saucepan over low-medium heat, melt coconut oil with peanut butter, dark chocolate, sweetener, and vanilla extract.

3. You can also microwave the chocolate base ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl.

See Also

Malteser Rocky Road - Malteser Rocky RoadCoconut Chocolate Chunk Cookies (Dairy Free)Rocky Road Fudge - Quick and Easy - Top Rated - Perfect for Holiday Gifts.Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies

4. When the chocolate is smooth and melted, stir in the dry ingredients: nuts, puffed cereals, freeze-dried raspberries, and dried cranberries.

5. Pour the mixture over the prepared pan, spread with a silicone spatula, and press well to bring the ingredients closely together.

6. Refrigerate the bar for 10 to 15 minutes or until the chocolate is hard.
7. Cut the healthy rocky roads into 16 squares.

Allergy Swaps

You can adapt this recipe to some allergies:

• Nut-Free – You can swap the nuts for more puffed cereals and replace peanut butter with sunflower seed butter.
• Keto rocky road option – Use sugar-free dark chocolate and sugar-free syrup. For the filling, focus on low-carb nuts and seeds, including macadamia nuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, and peanuts.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Vegan Dessert Bars

If you love an easy vegan dessert bar, I recommend you also try:

About Carine

Hi, I'm Carine, the food blogger, author, recipe developer, photographer, and published author of a cookbook and founder of The Conscious Plant Kitchen with my husband Damien.Learn more about us.