Nut Clusters
Chocolate drizzled nut clusters are nuts and seeds, baked with honey until crunchy, with a dark chocolate drizzle. Almonds, peanuts, cashews, pecans, coconut, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds toasted to perfection and finished with dark chocolate and flaky sea salt. The perfect balance of sweet and salty! Ready in 30 minutes and makes 3 cups (serves 12).
If you didn’t already know, I am a serial snacker. Chips, candy, popcorn, really anything crunchy with a sweet and salty note.
Nut clusters are like healthy granola or trail mix but with a bit of sweetness added. The drizzle of dark chocolate on them, along with that hint of sea salt, makes them a dessert like treat.
But these are still better than a humungous candy bar and have many of the same flavors. I’m thinking about you, Almond Joy!
Don’t worry if you think you can’t make them or have the time. It’s a simple as chopping some nuts (you can buy them already done) stirring in some honey and baking them until crispy and toasted.
The honey holds them all together to make the clusters and the chocolate drizzle takes them to the next level. And you can have them ready to go in under an hour!
More Sweet & Salty Snacks
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See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and their quantities.
Ingredient Notes
- Nuts: A combination of almonds, cashews, peanuts, and pecans.
- Seeds: Pumpkin seeds, or pepitas and sunflower seeds. Remember to take the shells off. You just want the seed inside.
- Coconut: I like to use the sweetened, shredded coconut but you can use the unsweetened flakes too!
- Honey: Use raw, unfiltered honey if you can find it. It has the best flavor!
- Chocolate: I use dark chocolate melting wafers but feel free to use milk chocolate or even white chocolate.
- Salt: Use the flaky sea salt for the best flavor. The larger flakes add a little bit of texture and a nice pop of salt next to the sweet honey. Plus it looks pretty too!
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How To Make Nut Clusters
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Rough chop all the nuts and place in a medium size bowl. Stir in the seeds and coconut.
- Add the honey and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Transfer mixture onto the baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. (Watch carefully so the nuts don’t get overly toasted). Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place on a wire rack.
- Allow to sit for about 15 minutes, undisturbed. While the nuts cool, melt the chocolate and drizzle it over the clusters. Sprinkle with sea salt. Allow chocolate to set before transferring to storage container.
For the full recipe and detailed instructions, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Storage
Store, at room temperature, in airtight container to keep them crunchy. Don’t store in the refrigerator or the moisture will make them sticky.
These stay fresh for 1-2 weeks in airtight container if you don’t eat them all first. I don’t recommend freezing them because they can get sticky when you thaw them.
Variations
These are so many ways to switch up these crunchy bites. Here are a few:
Different Nuts:
- Walnuts instead of pecans
- Macadamia nuts for a buttery richness
- Hazelnuts for different flavor
- Pistachios for color
- Use all the same nut
- Mix and match your favorites
Different Seeds:
- Chia seeds
- Sesame seeds
- Flax seeds
- Hemp hearts
- Any combination you prefer
Chocolate Options:
- White chocolate instead of dark
- Milk chocolate for sweeter version
- Mix of dark and white chocolate drizzle
- Skip chocolate entirely
Flavor Twists:
- Add dried cranberries or raisins after baking.
- Add ½-1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder for spicy kick
- Cinnamon and sugar for a sweeter version
- Maple syrup instead of honey
Creating Clusters (Not Crumbles)
The 15-minute trick: After baking, leave mixture undisturbed on pan for about 15 minutes. This allows honey to cool and act like glue.
It creates little clusters instead of all the individual nuts breaking apart.
Want larger clusters? Add more honey to stick larger pieces together. Then break into larger pieces.
Don’t disturb! Resist urge to move things around while cooling. Let honey do its work.
Valentine’s Day Treat Box
These Chocolate Drizzled Nut Clusters complete my Valentine’s Day Treat Box collection!
The Complete Collection:
- Heart Shaped Marbled Sugar Cookies
- Raspberry Meringue Cookies
- Vanilla Oreo Balls
- Chocolate Drizzled Nut Clusters (this recipe!)
Four different homemade treats that are all delicious AND pretty to look at. Package them together in pretty boxes or tins for Valentine’s gifts, classroom treats, or Galentine’s Day celebrations!
These three sweet treats (cookies, meringues, truffles) plus one sweet-and-salty option (nut clusters) is the perfect variety!
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Swap out any nuts or seeds according to what you like the best. Walnuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, and pistachios all work great.
Use only the nuts you can eat! All peanuts, all cashews, or all sunflower seeds work fine. Just keep total amount to around 2 cups.
Yes! Add more honey to help larger pieces stick together. Just drizzle extra tablespoon or two over mixture before baking.
Every oven bakes differently. Check the nuts after 7 minutes to make sure they’re not getting too brown. They should be golden and fragrant, not dark.
Yes! White chocolate creates a pretty color contrast. Milk chocolate is sweeter. Dark chocolate is my favorite!
No, but it really makes the flavors pop! That sweet-salty combo is what makes these special.
Yes! Stir ½-1 tsp chili powder into the honey for spicy kick. It adds heat without being too much.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Rough chop nuts: They don’t need to be all the same size. It creates more texture.
- Watch baking time: Every oven is different. Check at 7 minutes to prevent over cooking and ensure nuts don’t get too brown.
- Create clusters: Let nut mixture sit undisturbed on baking sheet for about 15 minutes after baking.
- Larger clusters: Add more honey to stick larger pieces together.
- Customize nuts/seeds: Swap in or out according to your favorites.
- Chocolate options: Dark chocolate is balanced. Try white chocolate for contrast or milk chocolate for a sweeter version.
- Spicy twist – add ½-1 tsp chipotle chili powder for spicy kick.
These Chocolate Drizzled Nut Clusters are little bundles of nuts and seeds, toasted to perfection. The honey brings everything together and the dark chocolate drizzle finishes them off. The perfect snack everyone will enjoy!
If you love this recipe as much as I do, please leave us a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ five-star review in the comment section below. Thanks!
Dark Chocolate Nut Clusters Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup almond
- ½ cup peanuts
- ½ cup cashews
- ½ cup pecans
- ¼ cup shredded coconut
- ¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds
- ¼ cup raw sunflower seeds
- 3 tablespoons honey raw, unfiltered
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup dark chocolate wafers
- pinch Flaky Sea Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 340 degrees f.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Rough chop all the nuts and place in a medium size bowl.
- Add the seeds, coconut and stir.
- Add the honey and vanilla and mix until incorporated.
- Transfer mixture onto the baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. (Watch carefully that the nuts don’t get over baked)
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place on a wire rack.
- Allow to sit for about 15 minutes, undisturbed. (This allows the mixture to stick together and creates little clusters).
- While the nuts are cooling, melt chocolate wafers in the microwave in 30 second intervals. Drizzle on top of the nut mixture.
- Sprinkle sea salt on top (if desired).
- Let the chocolate set up completely before storing.
Nutrition
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