This copycat Heavenly Hunks recipe is quick and easy to make, made with real ingredients, and my kids DEVOUR them! They keep well in the fridge or freezer and are made with real, wholesome ingredients. Naturally gluten-free and dairy-free.
Heavenly Hunks are no-bake, chewy oat squares that taste a bit like granola bars. This Heavenly Hunks copycat recipe is quick and easy to make yourself with real ingredients, and it costs less than buying them in the store (yay!)
Updated 8.1.2026 for user experience and decreased the sweeteners per reader comments (I always appreciate your feedback)
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Shareable - every time I bring these to play dates or lake days to share, everyone asks for the recipe. I have yet to meet someone who didn't like them.
- On-the-Go Eating - I keep a container of Heavenly Hunks in the freezer for the kids (and myself) to grab when we need something quick and healthy, like grab-and-go breakfast on busy mornings, or an after school snack before activities.
- Lunchbox Friendly - This recipe is tree nut and peanut free, so you can safely pack in your child's lunchbox and take anywhere you go.
Ingredients You'll Need
Celeste's Notes
- If you're making these gluten-free, be sure to use safe oats. While oats are naturally gluten free, they're often contaminated with wheat during growing, harvesting, or packaging. Choose oats that are certified gluten free, bonus points if the brand uses purity protocols. My go-to is One Degree because I can find it at a great price in Costco.
- Buckwheat flour is not related to wheat, and is naturally gluten free. I actually love buckwheat in many forms! If you don't have any on hand and want to simply use what you have, you can swap sorghum flour, oat flour, or almond flour in this recipe.
- These Heavenly Hunks are soft and chewy at room temperature. Some of my kids like them this way, and some (me included) prefer them straight out of the fridge or freezer.
Featured Review
Yum! My son and I may have had some on a spoon right out of the bowl before they made it to the freezer! -Kyrstin
Substitutions
- Honey/Maple Syrup: I like using a combination so the flavors are more balanced, but you can use all honey or all maple syrup if you wish.
- Can't have coconut? You can use butter in place of the coconut oil and leave out the desiccated coconut.
More Recipes You'll Love
Try another tried-and-true recipe from the Life After Wheat kitchen:
Video: Watch How to Make Heavenly Hunks
Happy Baking!
Ingredients
- 5 cups rolled oats gluten free
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ¼ cup buckwheat flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup real maple syrup
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup coconut oil melted and cooled
- ¾ cup mini vegan chocolate chips
Method
- Line an 8x8 inch square baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large food processor, measure oats and process on high for 15-20 seconds.
- Add unsweetened shredded coconut, buckwheat flour, and salt. Process on high another 5-10 seconds.
- Measure real maple syrup, honey, and coconut oil into your food processor with the dry ingredients. Process on high another 15-20 seconds until it is well combined. The mixture might seem a bit too soft, but it will set as you chill it.
- Use a sturdy spoon or spatula to stir in the chocolate chips.
- Transfer the dough to your parchment-lined pan, then pack it down tightly.
- If you want to jazz things up a bit, sprinkle a few more chocolate chips and a bit of flaky salt over the top and press down gently.
- Freeze the bars for 1-2 hours, or put in the fridge overnight.
- Once the dough is firm, remove from the pan using the parchment paper, and cut into squares. I like to cut into 25 squares, which are about 1.5x1.5 inches (this is around the same size as the Heavenly Hunks you would buy at the store). If you want larger chunks, you can cut 4x4.
- Store copycat Heavenly Hunks in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. You can also freeze for longer, just thaw in the fridge before eating.
- This copycat Heavenly Hunks recipe is perfect for after-school snacks, grab-and-go breakfasts, and more! My kids absolutely love them...and so do I!
Nutrition
Serving1gCalories192kcalCarbohydrates26gProtein3gFat9gSaturated Fat7gPolyunsaturated Fat0.5gMonounsaturated Fat1gTrans Fat0.01gCholesterol1mgSodium54mgPotassium104mgFiber3gSugar13gVitamin A12IUVitamin C0.1mgCalcium24mgIron1mg
Notes
I updated this recipe on 8.19.2024 by reducing the coconut oil from ¾ + 2 tablespoons to ½ cup. I did some experimenting and found that these are just as good with less coconut oil. The recipe was later updated with less maple syrup and honey, per reader feedback (I always appreciate you!)
To make gluten-free, be sure the oats you use are certified gluten free (and preferably also purity protocol). I use One Degree because I can get a huge bag for a good price at Costco.
You can also roll these into energy balls if you want!
SUBSTITUTIONS:
- If you can't have coconut, you can sub the unsweetened coconut for an additional ½ cup oats, and swap palm shortening or butter for the coconut oil.
- I love using buckwheat in this recipe (which is naturally gluten-free despite its name), but you could also use sorghum flour, oat flour, or almond flour.
- You can use all honey or all real maple syrup, but I prefer the taste of 50/50 as written in the recipe.
- If you don't need these to be dairy-free, feel free to use any chocolate chips.
- Most mini chocolate chips are semi-sweet, but feel free to use chopped dark chocolate chips.Save some dough by getting ingredients at Costco. I buy the One Degree oats there, along with bulk coconut oil.
Emma says
I do not have coconut oil, is there any way I can sub olive oil?
Celeste Noland says
Olive oil will not work, it a liquid instead of solid with a very different flavor.
Cynthia says
I do not wheat flour. Could I use tapioca flour or oat flour instead? I made these once using a recipe from a different blog and they were so dry and just crumbled apart. They were okay but not even close to the real heavenly hunks, which I’m obsessed with! However the price of them makes me gasp everytime so I’m on the hunt for a homemade version that satisfies the craving. The 1 recipe I’ve tried so far didn’t even come close. However the is recipe looks very promising. I also do not have semi sweet chocolate chips but I do have cocao nibs I’ve been dying to try in something! Would they work? Or I have some 60% dark chocolate bars I could cut up.
Celeste Noland says
Oat flour should work in place of buckwheat flour, and the chocolate is really up to you but chopped dark chocolate would be much more like the real Heavenly Hunks than cacao nibs. I'm really excited for you to try this recipe, they're not dry at all!
Cynthia says
****CORRECTION TO MY PREVIOUS POST******
I do not have *buckwheat* flour.
Cindy Thomas says
Delicious! I think the consistency is right on, to those in the package. But I think they are way too sweet. If I eliminate 1/2 cup of honey and 1/2 cup syrup, what can I use to replace... for once again, the consistency is right on with the 1 cup honey and 1 cup syrup. But, they are way to sweet. Any ideas for a replacement?
Celeste Noland says
Hmmm I'm not sure. You could try cutting it down a bit, maybe use a little extra coconut oil to add in moisture if needed.
Lesley says
Can I use whole wheat flour in place of buckwheat flour?
Celeste Noland says
It should work, but obviously wouldn't be gluten-free. I'm assuming you don't need to be 🙂
Sabreana says
These look so good! We can’t wait to try them! We are not gluten free, could regular flour be used?
Celeste Noland says
Yes, I recommend using a whole-grain flour like buckwheat or oat.
Kyrstin says
Yum! My son and I may have had some on a spoon right out of the bowl before they made it to the freezer! I don't have a full size food processor, so I used my nutribullet for the oats in two batches, then I used a hand mixer to mix up the rest. It turned out great, just thought I would let others know in case they also don't have a food processor.
I too found it a bit sweet for me so I am going to try to cut down the honey next time to see how that goes!
Janet says
I don’t have a food processor. Can I make these using my electric hand mixer?
Celeste Noland says
Great question, in the post notes I mention that you can use a blender in place of the food processor for the first two steps, then stir by hand for the remainder. Hope you enjoy them!