An easy sub for chocolate chips, these homemade carob chips are rich in minerals and vitamins and delicious in baking! Or just for snacking…
A tasty substitute.
Even though half my blog is probably dedicated to my love of all the chocolate things, I actually do love carob, too. Growing up, my mom never really bought chocolate chips (or chocolate anything), so carob was our go-to treat. I have fond memories of finding all the places she’d hide the carob chips from me and my brother and enjoying my mom’s delicious banana carob chip smoothies, or hot carob in the winters (in place of hot cocoa).
If you’re not all up on what carob is, it’s a little fruit that grows in a pod, like peas and other legumes. Carob is high in many vitamins and minerals, like calcium, zinc, potassium, phosphorus, vitamin K, riboflavin, and vitamin E, and also contains antioxidants. It’s used around the world as a chocolate substitute, as it has a similarly sweet taste, but lacks the caffeine.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
The recipe for these easy homemade carob chips actually came out of necessity. I’d been wanting to try my hand at making my own carob chips for a while, and I finally got my chance when I used up the last of my chocolate chips.
At the time I was pregnant with baby #4, and as all you moms know, being pregnant in a house without chocolate is not a good thing. Though knowing me it probably wouldn’t be a good thing even if I weren’t pregnant.
I chose to make carob chips instead of chocolate because, for some weird reason, organic roasted carob was cheaper to get than cocoa powder, thus I have a ton of it. (Not literally, of course.)
Homemade carob chips.
Anyway, these carob chips were SUPER easy to make and taste wonderful. I’ve used them in brownies, cookies (recipe coming soon, hopefully), and currently I’m just eating them by the handful.
They’re made with simple ingredients, and can be as sweet as you want by adding more honey. You could also use butter to make them, if you can handle dairy. I can’t, so coconut oil it is!
More carob-y goodness.
Here are a few more delicious recipes with carob in them. You can pretty much sub carob or carob chips for any recipe using cocoa or chocolate chips, though. 🙂
- Banana Walnut Carob Brownies (pictured above)
- Carob Zucchini Milkshake
- Buttermilk Carob Zucchini Cake
In the recipe card I’ve linked to some of the products from my affiliate partners that I like to use. Purchasing through these links won’t cost you anything extra. Thanks!
Homemade Carob Chips
Free from grain, gluten, eggs, dairy, and refined sugar.
Ingredients
- 1 c. coconut oil
- 1 c. carob powder
- 2 T. honey
- 1 t. vanilla (I like to make my own)
Instructions
Line an 8×8 inch baking dish with foil or use a silicone loaf pan.
In a small saucepan, melt butter.
Add in remaining ingredients and quickly stir until smooth.
Pour into pan and smooth top with a spatula or spoon.
Freeze until hardened.
Remove from pan, cut into chunks and eat store covered in the fridge until ready to use.
Notes
Other than the links attached above, I also like to purchase my coconut oil, carob powder, and vanilla from Azure Standard.
That looks so easy! Do you miss the hit of chocolate though? I'm a diehard chocoholic, and I'm not sure these would satisfy. Any thoughts?
🙂 I wouldn't say that they satisfy the chocolate craving, but they taste great otherwise. 🙂 Next time I'll break down and try it with cocoa and a little more honey. I think carob is sweeter than cocoa, so it doesn't need as much sweetener. That helps me justify eating more of it! 🙂 Hope you enjoy them!
Will you please please please save some for tomorrow?
I'll try. . . . : )
I was looking for a recipe using butter and this was just perfect. I cut it down to a quarter since it was just me and I melted the butter in a pan (Takes less time to cool then melting it in my microwave) and I used a silicone mould and it worked wonderfully. Thanks so much!
I'm so glad you liked them! Thank you for taking the time to let me know – it's always encouraging to get positive feedback on my recipes! 🙂
Great healthy alternative to chocolate. I’m intrigued to try this!
Yes, they are a wonderful chocolate alternative!
These sound delicious and easy. I would love to use these in brownies, parfaits, or even a good hiking mic!
Thanks, Jenni! Yep, they’re tasty in all those options! 🙂
I had no idea how easy these were to make! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
You’re so welcome, Jessica! I love making them from home so that I can control how much sweetener is in them. 🙂
Great recipe to have. They look yummy, and seem to be easy to make! They are a good alternative to chocolate chips.
Thanks Denise!
Such a smart recipe dear! Thank you for this substitute! I’ll definitely try those!
Haha! Thank you! I hope you enjoy them, Michelle. 🙂