How to make craveable Coconut Seed Clusters

Coconut Seed Clusters

Coconut Seed Clusters are healthy fats, protein, and fiber from seeds with natural sweetness from honey and coconut make these healthy snacks craveable YUM!

Candy at the front desk. Girl Scout cookies in the break room. Birthday cake at 3:00. Is your office killing your health goals?

These tempting treats are a minefield that can wallop willpower and derail good intentions. So what can you do? Smarter snacks to the rescue!

Office snack ideas

  1. Rather than a candy dish, greet visitors with a pitcher of cold water infused with strawberries, apples, cucumbers or pineapple.
  2. Adopt a monthly birthday, celebrating all the birthdays in that month on the first day of the month rather than every. single. birthday.
  3. Save your extra calories for the treats you ❤️. Don’t waste time on jellybeans if chocolate is your thing. If someone in your office is a great cook, say ‘yes’ to those and pass on the bakery doughnuts.
  4. A “something now, something later” strategy may be your tool. This is especially helpful for those with diabetes.
  5. Downsize cups and plates. Great for root beer float days. Eating smaller amounts satisfies just as well as a larger portion. The theory is that once you’ve swallowed something there is not much memory of how much you ate—you just remember, mmm…that tasted good. So take a couple of bites and move on. After 10 minutes you’ll likely have lost the desire for more.

8 healthy snacks for adults

Rather than sweet treat celebrations, consider these 8 healthy snack ideas.

  1. A fruit basket with whole fruit
  2. Roasted nuts with dried fruit
  3. Yogurt parfaits with fruit and granola
  4. A cheese and vegetable tray
  5. Fresh fruit such as a big copper bowl of grapes, strawberries, tangerines or several varieties of apples
  6. Deviled eggs
  7. A tea tasting with a variety of teas
coconut seed clusters on parchment paper

Coconut Seed Clusters

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Coconut Seed Clusters give the cookie tray the boot

Or try these Coconut Seed Clusters. I love these little things! ❤️ The toasty coconut, the little bit of salt, the chewyness and the bit o’ crunch. I mean, for a snack, it hits just about every angle.

The ingredients

  • honey
  • unsweetened coconut chips or coconut smiles
  • raw pumpkin seeds
  • raw sunflower seeds
  • chia seeds
  • water and salt

These are super easy to make. Stir and bake. They can spread as they bake, so just a teense of water.

Coconut smiles and coconut chips are larger pieces of coconut, sometimes with a bit of husk remaining. Look in the natural food section or where you find dried fruit.

So good on their own, or crumbled over oatmeal, yogurt, or cottage cheese. I like the healthy fats, protein, and fiber the seeds provide. The coconut and honey add natural sweetness. You may not even miss the cookie tray!

Coconut Seed Clusters in a cup of cottage cheese and raspberries

top cottage cheese or yogurt with berries and coconut seed clusters

If you squirrel nuts like I do, you might like:

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5 coconut seeds clusters on parchment paper

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Coconut Seed Clusters

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.7 from 7 reviews

A nutty, seedy bite with a touch of sweet and salty. These are sooo good! I like them sprinkled over yogurt or cottage cheese with fruit for breakfast. I pack them when I travel. They’re a great afternoon treat.

  • Author: Judy Barbe
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 12 1x
  • Category: Snack
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon water
  • 1 cup unsweetened coconut chips or coconut smiles
  • 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
  • 1/3 cups raw sunflower seeds
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds

Instructions

  • Heat: oven to 325 F.
  • Stir: all the ingredient together until well blended.
  • Spoon: teaspoons of coconut mixture on to baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a baking mat. Bake 13-20 minutes, until coconut is lightly browned. Remove from oven and set pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before removing clusters. These harden as they cool, so if they cool completely, may break when you remove them.

Notes

You may get more spreading with Silcon mats than with parchment paper.

Coconut chips and coconut smiles are larger pieces of coconut rather than the more typical shredded coconut.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1
  • Calories: 80

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Coconut Seed Clusters

 

coconut seed clusters on baking sheet

Comments

  1. This recipe looks awesome! I need a quick boost at work. Looking forward to using your website as a resource to help control type 2 Diabetes and weight. How do I get the nutrition values?

    1. Author

      Thanks, Sue. I love this recipe and even take them as a snack when I travel. The recipes I develop use better-for-you ingredients with the intent of nudging people toward eating more of these foods. Because of that, I don’t do nutrient analysis on recipes. You raise a good point with diabetes, so will consider it in the future.

    2. These sound so easy and delicious.
      I bought a 7 ounce bag that had the ingredients with rice syrup. They cost $7. 00. I thought I’d lookup a recipe. Thank you for the recipe.

  2. I am diabetic and am using this recipe with alterations. I don’t exactly measure ingredients but you will get the idea. I use smaller amounts of honey and/or maple syrup, but added Xylitol to the water. Addition of sliced almonds and a little sesame seeds and hempseed hearts made an excellent mix. 15 minutes was all it needed to cook spread into a 10X15 pan. BTW, I tripled the recipe.
    Not so sweet as the Coconut bites from Creative Snacks.

    1. Author

      Hi Jean,
      Perfect way to adapt to your dietary needs. Almonds, sesame and hemp are all great additions! Thanks for sharing. Judy

      1. Oh my goodness so good! I add almonds and use brown rice syrup instead of honey because it was what I had. YUM!






        1. Author

          Hi Lorie, thanks for the note. SOO glad you liked these!! Almonds seem a great addition. I’m all about using what you have. Judy

    1. Author

      Hi Suz, I haven’t cooked with Swerve so don’t know if it’s a good substitution. Let me know if it works. Thanks,
      Judy

      1. These are really easy to make and super delicious!
        Would you know the net carbs approximately for each cluster Judy, when following your recipe to the T?
        We are on a low carb menu, so this would be very helpful to know the net carb count.






        1. Author

          Hi Lynn, so glad you like these. I do too! I don’t know the net carbs. Because of so many variable in ingredients and measurements, I don’t do nutrient analysis.

  3. I will be making these. I just purchased a bag at Cosco’s. They are delicious, however, I think I can beat their price by making my own. Thanks for the recipe.

    1. I too have been purchasing these at Costco. Very addictive, and not exactly cheap, so I found you in my search for a DIY recipe. Costco’s version uses sugar and brown rice syrup, so I imagine this one is healthier. And I love honey! Looking forward to the comparison…thank you!

      1. Author

        Thanks for the note. I like all the chewy, crunchy, sweet and salty. Hope you enjoy them!
        Judy

  4. This is a delicious recipe. Made a double batch; spread between two cookie sheets; baked one at a time. The first batch I took out of the oven too early, a bit soft and crumbly (even after 12 minute cooling period). The second batch I used the convection setting of my oven and then baked a bit longer (15 minutes). These “clustered” together much better. Thank you for posting a great recipe.

    1. Author

      Hey Melissa, thanks for sharing your baking tips. Our ovens have their own personality so each batch can be a bit different. Happy to know you’re enjoying them as much as I do.
      Judy

  5. Hi Judy! I live in the Philippines and we don’t have coconut chips here, but we do have plenty of fresh coconuts! I’m planning on getting fresh coconut and slicing them to make the chips. Do I need to bake the sliced coconut first before I use them in this recipe? I’d love to hear your advice. Thank you!

    1. Author

      Hi Maxine, aren’t you lucky to have fresh coconuts! They don’t grow in Wyoming!! I haven’t made Coconut Seed Clusters with fresh coconut but do suggest you dry/bake it first. The fresh coconut will have more moisture than the seeds and that impacts baking time of the clusters. Plus when you crack a coconut, the meat is so hard it’s difficult to get a uniform size…a chunk of fresh coconut vs. thinner pieces and flakes. Make sense? Happy baking! Judy

      1. Yes, they’re super cheap too! A whole coconut is about 50 cents in your currency. I might try slicing the coconut meat with a mandoline and putting them in a dehydrator. Thank you for the advice Judy, I really appreciate you replying to your readers!

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    1. Author

      Hey Jamie, I haven’t found shelf life too big of a problem because they get eaten so quickly! BUT, nuts and coconut are rich in oil, so they could become rancid in long-term storage, like a few months. The other storage issue is that honey and water add moisture so they can become gummy. But these will keep for a couple of weeks. Thanks for stopping by!

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  8. I baked these last night and really like them a lot. I’ll incorporate some of the tips to make them lower carb with maple syrup. They would be really good crumbled over Greek yogurt. I’ll try that today. Thanks for the great recipe.






    1. Author

      Hi Barbara, I agree, crumbled over yogurt is good. Or try cottage cheese! Thanks for stopping by.
      Judy

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  10. Im going to make these fir sure!
    Margarita trevino from Mexico City

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  12. I love this combo for a snack as I’m a diabetic. I didn’t have a silicone mat or parchment paper and didn’t grease my air bake pans so you can imagine what I ended up with. Almost impossible to get off the pan. After fighting and scraping the pan, I ended up with granola instead of clusters. Still delicious. My question, do they not stick with a silicone mat?

    1. Author

      Hi Shelley, Poor you! They don’t stick with a mat. I think they’re worth the investment. I use them when I bake cookies, crackers, and fish. Saves a lot of scrubbing. I think if you greased the pans, they would have spread out into one big mess. Or more granola!
      Judy

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    1. Author

      Hi Susanna, coconut chips and smiles are larger pieces or shards of coconut. Not the typical shredded coconut. Find them near the dried food or natural foods section. Thanks for the question! I clarified it in the recipes post.

  15. How do you store these, just made my second batch, loved them. But they got soft in a plastic container?

    1. Author

      Hi Carmela, these do soften over time. A little bit might help, so try not sealing them tightly.
      Glad you like these!
      Judy

    1. Author

      Hi Joyce, I’ve not added chips. I think you could stir some in. Let me know how it goes.
      Judy

    1. Author

      Hi Alison, Glad to hear you liked these. Honey tends to hold moisture so they don’t crisp.
      Judy

  16. Hi Judy,

    Thanks for this recipe, I will definitely try this. Although, I wanted to ask if there is a substitute for honey I could use and in what quantity. Science says we should not heat up honey because it looses its benefits and can become harmful.

  17. Absolutely love this snack. I have made them twice, but don’t know if I am not cooking them long enough. The come out a little chewy each time. I reduced the honey the second time, but still chewy/sticky. Maybe I should cook long but afraid the coconut will burn. Any suggestions?

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