I went out west to visit my sister in southern California this summer and was greeted by a huge pile of enormous pomegranates that were grown in her backyard. It really is amazing how much you can grow on your own in a small space out in California.
Her backyard is what I consider to be paradise. I remember I was smiling from ear to ear when I saw her beautiful garden for the first time. Besides having boatloads of pomegranates growing back there, she also has persimmon, passion fruit, jujubes, giant lemons, limes, and tons of herbs. Sometimes I think my sister and I should trade places or maybe one day I’ll be able to join her out there.
I needed to come up with a recipe that would use a good amount of pomegranates. I wanted to make something quick and easy to avoid completely taking over her kitchen. The answer was simple, make raw pomegranate chocolate bark!
In case you’re a pomegranate newbie like me, you should know the fastest and best way to avoid making a mess in your kitchen while opening one of these fruits. Trust me, I’ve had my battles opening pomegranates and it is never pretty. Not only has this fruit created a “bloody” mess and a disaster area in my apartment, I’ve also wasted a lot of time meticulously picking the seeds out.
The Best Way to Open a Pomegranate
- First, tap all around the outside of your pomegranate with a wooden spoon.
- Cut along the ridges in a bowl of water, you will be able to see and feel these ridges.
- Gently pull the pomegranate apart under water and the seeds should fall right out. The white piths will float up to the surface of the water and the seeds will sink down to the bottom.
- You might have to pull out a few seeds, but trust me it will be way less manual labor than if you didn’t tap the pomegranate with a wooden spoon.
- Skim the top of the water and throw out the white piths along with the skin.
- Strain out the water and your left with your ruby red pomegranate gems!
Now that you know the secret to opening pomegranates we can move on to the good stuff, chocolate bark! Store bought chocolate is usually highly processed with tons of ingredients you probably don’t want to be consuming. With a recipe this simple, you’ll have no reason to spend your precious dollars on that junk anyways.
Using just raw carob or cacao powder, liquid sweetener (date paste) and coconut oil you can easily make your very own chocolate bark. You can add whatever you like to jazz up the chocolate bark just like I did here with pomegranate seeds and sea salt. If you don’t have pomegranates, feel free to replace them with another fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts or seeds!
Want to drizzle some chocolate sauce over your dessert? This chocolate bark recipe is perfect for that too. Instead of letting the chocolate harden in the freezer, just pour it over your ice cream after combining the ingredients.
Does this raw chocolate recipe seem to good to be true? I’ll let you be the judge. Go ahead and try it out for yourself, you will not regret it!
- ⅔ c cacao powder (use carob for caffeine-free)
- ½ c maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener i.e. date paste)
- ⅓ c coconut oil, melted
- 1-2 pomegranates, de-seeded
- 1 tsp sea salt
- Add the first 3 ingredients to a bowl and mix well until you have a uniform consistency.
- Pour mixture into a parchment or Saran Wrap lined pan.
- Pour pomegranate seeds evenly across the chocolate and push them down gently.
- Sprinkle with sea salt.
- Place chocolate bark in the freezer for 20 minutes.
- Break chocolate sheet apart carefully with the pomegranate side facing down so you don't squirt yourself with juice from the seeds!
Hi Amanda,
Instead of date paste can I use honey? Thanks
– Haylie
Hi Haylie,
Using different liquid sweeteners will yield different results. I can’t say for sure that honey will work the same, but I would guess that it would work out pretty well. Please let me know if you give it a try! Xo
Such a good inspiration! ;) today I also created my first pomegranate chocolate bark and I have to say it’s sooo amazing!!! Thanks for sharing this great recipe :)
Greetings from Berlin,
Svenja
Hi Svenja!
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Have a wonderful day!! Xo
Hi! How many servings is this? Or about how much does it make? Thanks!
Hi Cameo!
This recipe makes about 2 cups, enjoy!! xx
I made a 24 piece mini muffin pan full.
you just eat the pomegranate seeds with the chocolate? those buggers are pretty unpleasant.
hmmm… i think i’d rather use a press and make sorbet, and put the chocolate on top instead.
I always thought it was weird that folks didn’t eat the pomegranate arils whole! I see people put them in their mouth and then spit out the seeds like you might a sunflower seed. I eat pomegranate arils whole and I LOVE the crunch from the seeds inside! This recipe sounds so good to me. :)
Hi Dee! I agree, eating pomegranate arils whole does give you an amazing crunch :) I love texture, and this recipe give you plenty of that! Have a nice day, xo
Great recipe! I love the flavours and texture.
After freezing it, I left a few pieces at room temperature to see if they would stay solid but they became really soft and chewy. Are they supposed to stay in freezer/fridge after they have hardened?
Hi Jessica!
Thank you so much for trying out my recipe, I’m thrilled you love it! I’m so sorry for not writing in the instructions that yes, you need to keep the chocolate in the freezer! When I stopped using artificial ingredients and preservatives, I realized most REAL food can’t just sit at room temp – it makes so much sense to me now! Thank you again :) Have a wonderful day!
x Amanda
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