Delectable chocolate coconut balls taste just like an Almond Joy on its best day! This melt-in-your-mouth combination of moist, chewy coconut and crushed almonds is divinely wrapped in decadent chocolate. And bonus—there’s no baking required!
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Table of Contents
  1. What We Love About This Recipe
  2. Ingredients
  3. How to Make Chocolate Coconut Balls
  4. Variations / Options / Add-In's
  5. What To Do If the Coconut Balls Won't Stick Together
  6. Storage Tips
  7. Other Easy Bite-Sized Desserts
  8. Chocolate Coconut Balls Recipe

Chocolate fans listen up! Delectable chocolate coconut balls taste just like an Almond Joy on its best day! This melt-in-your-mouth combination of moist, chewy coconut and crushed almonds is divinely wrapped in decadent chocolate. And bonus—there’s no baking required! This make-ahead recipe is a perfect treat for guests and definitely comes through in a chocolate emergency!

Chocolate Coconut Balls

What We Love About This Recipe

  • Easy to make
  • No-Bake recipe
  • Only need 6 ingredients (most of which you probably have in your pantry)
  • Customize by adding themed sprinkles or other crushed candy on top
  • Make-ahead recipe! Put in the freezer and pull out in case of a dessert emergency (stays good in the freezer for up to a month)
Chocolate Coconut Balls

Ingredients

  • Coconut Balls:
    • 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, plus more for decorating
    • ½ cup roasted, salted whole almonds (you can leave out the nuts to make more of a Mounds Bar ball!)
    • ¼ cup sweetened condensed milk
    • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Chocolate Coating:
    • 1 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
    • 1 Tablespoon shortening
    • Optional garnishes: Additional coconut, chopped almonds, sprinkles
Chocolate Coconut Balls

How to Make Chocolate Coconut Balls

  1. Put coconut, sweetened condensed milk & almonds in a food processor and pulse until the nuts are a little chunky and not quite ground up.
    Pro Tip: The nuts shouldn’t be so large that you can’t easily roll these into balls.
  2. Melt the chocolate chips and shortening.
  3. Roll the coconut mixture into 2-inch balls.
    Pro Tip: If desired, stick a toothpick in each ball, to help in the dipping process.
  4. Dip and coat the balls with the melted chocolate. TIP: Sometimes they are easier to dip if you put them in the refrigerator or freezer for a few minutes before dipping!
  5. As the balls are coated, put them back on the prepared tray. Sprinkle a little coconut on top of the balls before they harden, (optional).
  6. Put the tray into the freezer or refrigerator for 30 minutes to harden.
Chocolate Coconut Balls

Variations / Options / Add-In’s

  • Mounds Coconut Balls: Leave out the nuts and go straight for the chocolate coconut. Sometimes also called Bounty Balls, after the Bounty candy bar.
  • Almond Joy Balls: If you love that crunch that you find in the center from an Almond Joy candy bar, you can add a single almond in the center of each ball!
  • Toppings : We love to sprinkle some coconut on top before the chocolate coating hardens, but feel free to get creative with your toppings. some of our favorites are chopped Heath bar or Butterfingers, sea salt, white chocolate drizzle, or of course, sprinkles!
Chocolate Coconut Balls

What To Do If the Coconut Balls Won’t Stick Together

  • After you have done chopping the ingredients in your food processor, you should be able to easily roll them into individual balls. If they are not sticking together, it could mean that the almonds have not been chopped enough. If your almonds are too large, it’s going to make it very difficult for everything to stick. If that’s the case, pulse the food processor a couple more times and it should work great. 
  • If your almonds are at the consistency that you want, it helps to work the mixture in your hands before rolling it up. 
  • Another option is to add an additional 1-2 Tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk to the mix. The sweetened condensed milk acts as a type of “glue” to help all of the other ingredients stick together. You do not want to add too much or else the balls won’t be able to hold their shape. 

Storage Tips

  • Keep these in a plastic container in the refrigerator. To freeze, put chocolate coconut balls an airtight container and freeze for up to a month. If you need to stack the balls in the container, put a layer of parchment paper between the layers.
Chocolate Coconut Balls

Other Easy Bite-Sized Desserts

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Chocolate Coconut Balls

Author — Jennifer
Serves — 10
Delectable chocolate coconut balls taste just like an Almond Joy on its best day! This melt-in-your-mouth combination of moist, chewy coconut and crushed almonds is divinely wrapped in decadent chocolate. And bonus—there’s no baking required!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Chill: 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients
  

Coconut Balls:

  • 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut plus more for decorating
  • ½ cup roasted salted whole almonds
  • ¼ cup sweetened condensed milk

Chocolate Coating:

  • 1 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 tbsp shortening
  • Optional garnishes: Additional coconut chopped almonds, sprinkles

Instructions
 

  • Put a piece of parchment paper or a silicone mat on a tray that will fit in the freezer.
  • Pulse the coconut, sweetened condensed milk and almonds in a food processor until the nuts are a little chunky and not quite ground up, or to your preference. The nuts shouldn’t be so large that you can’t easily roll these into balls. (see notes below)
  • Melt the chocolate chips and shortening together in a microwaveable dish for 20-30 seconds at a time, stirring after each time. (It took 50-55 seconds in my microwave, but this will vary depending on your microwave).
  • Roll into 2-inch balls. If desired, stick a toothpick in each ball, to help in the dipping process.
  • If needed, put in the refrigerator or freezer to firm up the balls.
  • Using 2 forks, a dipping tool, or toothpicks, dip and coat the balls with the melted chocolate.
  • Melt and stir the chocolate again as needed.
  • As the balls are coated, put them back on the prepared tray. Sprinkle a little coconut on top of the balls before they harden (optional)
  • Put the tray into the freezer or refrigerator for 30 minutes to harden.

Notes

Notes & Tips:
If the balls are not sticking together, it may be that your almonds are too large and it’s going to make it very difficult for everything to stick. If that’s the case, pulse the food processor a couple more times and it should work great.
If you are still having issues, you can add an additional 1-2 Tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk to the mix. Do not add too much or else the balls won’t be able to hold their shape.

Nutrition Info

Calories: 246kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 181mg | Potassium: 235mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 29IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 2mg
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About MOMMA MADE MEALS

Hi! We are Jenn & Jake. Mom and son working together to pass our family favorite recipes down from generation to generation.

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