These rich and buttery Mint Nanaimo Bars are a refreshing twist on a classic Canadian dessert featuring layers of chocolate coconut crust, minty custard buttercream filling, and chocolate on top.
This recipe is adapted from my recipe for Homemade Nanaimo Bars. I used the same method for the crust but changed the filling slightly to include peppermint extract for that yummy minty flavor and some food coloring to achieve a pretty pastel green color.
The bars are topped with a mixture of melted chocolate and butter to create a 3-layer bar. My Coffee Nanaimo Bars also are made up of these elements but with a coffee buttercream filling.
If you are looking for more yummy and green desserts for St. Patrick's celebrations, be sure to check out my Oreo Pistachio Cookies or these decadent Homemade Mint Oreo Cookies. Or try my Andes Chocolate Mint Cheesecake if you love the combination of chocolate and mint!
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⭐️ Why You Need to Make This Recipe
- Buttery and rich. Butter is featured in every layer of these decadent squares.
- Different. The mint flavor in these bars is a delicious change from classic Nanaimo Bars.
- Great for St. Patrick's Day. The fun minty flavor and green color make these a great treat for St. Patrick's Day, kind of like a shamrock shake.
🧈 Ingredients
Here are the ingredients needed to make homemade chocolate mint Nanaimo bars.
- Salted Butter - I use salted butter in almost all of my baking and cooking, I like the slightly salty edge it adds to these bars.
- Graham Cracker Crumbs - Crush up graham crackers or buy pre-crushed graham crumbs.
- Custard Powder - This is a baking ingredient available at most grocery stores in Canada. You can purchase Bird's custard powder online if you aren't able to find it locally.
- Food Color - This natural food coloring is a great option if you are trying to avoid synthetic color.
See the recipe card for the full list of ingredients with measurements.
📝 Substitutions
Here are some possible substitutions and variations to use when making this recipe.
- Salted Butter - Use unsalted butter with ¼ teaspoon of added salt to each ½ cup of butter.
- Custard Powder - While I have not tested it myself, I have heard that people have had success using cornstarch, powdered milk, or even French vanilla pudding mix in place of custard powder.
- Coconut - If you dislike coconut, you may replace it with an equal measurement of finely chopped pecans, walnuts, or almonds.
- Food Color - You may omit the food coloring entirely.
📃 Instructions
Step 1: Melt butter and chocolate chips together in the microwave in 15-second increments, stirring between each increment.
Step 2: Stir together the graham cracker crumbs, coconut, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and melted butter and chocolate mixture. Press into a square pan lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate while making the other layers.
Step 3: Mix together the softened butter, powdered sugar, custard powder, milk, peppermint extract, and food coloring. Increase the mixer speed to high and beat for 1 minute.
Step 4: Spread the filling on top of the bottom crust layer, smoothing the top out well. Refrigerate while making the last layer.
Step 5: Melt together the chocolate chips and butter for the top layer. Heat in 15-second increments in the microwave, stirring between each increment.
Step 6: Spread over the mint filling layer, smoothing the top well.
Refrigerate the assembled bars in the pan for at least 2 hours before lifting them out of the pan using the overhanging parchment paper. Slice into squares.
💡 Top Tip
Make sure to melt the chocolate with the butter only very gradually in the microwave or using a double-boiler method on the stove. Heating chocolate too quickly will cause the chocolate to "seize" and become lumpy and unpleasant in texture.
❓ Recipe FAQs
Nanaimo Bars are a Canadian dessert named after Nanaimo, British Columbia. They consist of a chocolate graham crumb crust with coconut, a custard buttercream layer, finished with a layer of chocolate on top.
Nanaimo Bars are a rich dessert square featuring flavours of chocolate, coconut, graham crackers, and a buttery filling made with custard powder.
Yes, if you can find or make gluten-free graham crackers or a similar GF cookie/biscuit to crush up for the crust, you can make these bars gluten-free.
Custard powder is available at some grocery stores in Canada, however, it can be difficult to find in the United States. You can purchase it from Amazon if you cannot find it locally. Link to custard powder from Amazon.
Nanaimo Bars don't have to be refrigerated but they should be stored in the refrigerator to prevent them from becoming too soft. However, some people like their Nanaimo bars at room temperature when they are softer.
💚 More Mint Chocolate Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried these Mint Nanaimo Bars or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and write a little note telling me how it went in the comments below. Thank you!!
📖 Recipe
Mint Nanaimo Bars
Equipment
- 9x9-inch baking pan
- parchment paper
- mixing bowls
- measuring cups & spoons
- electric handheld mixer
- silicone spatula
Ingredients
Crust Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups graham crumbs
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut *
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar (confectioners sugar)
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- ½ cup salted butter *
- ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips
Custard Ingredients:
- ½ cup salted butter * softened
- 2 tablespoons custard powder
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar (confectioners sugar)
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 ½ teaspoons peppermint extract
- 2-4 drops green food colouring *
- 1-2 drops blue food colouring *
Topping Ingredients:
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons salted butter *
Instructions
For the Crust:
- LIne a 9x9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or wax paper. Combine graham crumbs, coconut, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder. In a separate dish, melt the butter and chocolate chips together in the microwave in 15-second increments*, stirring between each increment. Add to the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Press firmly into the prepared pan and refrigerate while making the custard layer.
For the Custard:
- Beat together softened butter, custard powder, powdered sugar, milk, peppermint extract, and food coloring using a handheld mixer starting on low and increasing to high as the mixture starts to come together. Beat on high speed for 1 minute or until fluffy. Using an offset spatula, gently spread the custard onto the chilled crust, being careful not to pull up the crust layer. Refrigerate while making the final layer.
For the Topping:
- Melt the chocolate chips and butter together in the microwave in 15-second increments* or on the stovetop on low. Once the other layers have chilled slightly, gently spread the chocolate mixture on top of the custard layer. Chill for at least 2 hours before removing from the pan. Slice into 32 squares to serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you dislike coconut, you may replace it with an equal measurement of finely chopped pecans, walnuts, or almonds.
- Use unsalted butter with ¼ teaspoon of added salt to each ½ cup of butter.
- While I have not tested it myself, I have heard that people have had success using cornstarch, powdered milk, or even French vanilla pudding mix in place of custard powder. Or you can buy custard powder from Amazon.
- This natural food coloring is a great option if you are trying to avoid synthetic color.
- Heating chocolate too quickly will cause the chocolate to "seize" and become lumpy and unpleasant in texture.
- Store finished Nanaimo Bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Try my Classic Nanaimo Bars or Coffee Nanaimo Bars next!
Debbie
Love your recipes 😋 and love how you present your website ❤️
Naomi Andres
Thank you, Debbie, I appreciate that!
Naomi
Elena
Hi, thanks for the recipe, easy to follow (well had just to convert into grams 🙂 ) and really delicious, will surely try the coffee version too!
Naomi Andres
Thank you for leaving a review, Elena! I'm happy to hear that this recipe was a success for you!
Naomi