Mom’s Nanaimo Bars – Our Authentic Canadian Dessert
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Nanaimo bars are a classic Canadian dessert. This is Mom’s recipe, and it is a bit less sweet than most—which is a good thing! They are made with a graham crumb, coconut, and nut crust, then topped with a layer of buttery custard and finished with chocolate. You’ll love this no-bake dessert!
It’s no surprise that Nanaimo bars hold a special place in the hearts of Canadians like me. These delicious treats bring together a trio of irresistible layers: a crumbly crust of walnuts, chocolate, and coconut; a luxuriously velvety custard center; and a glossy chocolate ganache.
Being Canadian, I know a thing or two about Nanaimo bars. The biggest takeaway is that homemade Nanaimo bars are MILES above the ones you find for sale around British Columbia. Once you’ve tried my Mom’s recipe, you’ll never go back.
What is a Nanaimo bar?
A Nanaimo bar is a classic Canadian dessert! While it’s spread all over Canada, it originated in the city of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island in British Columbia—just a hop away from The Endless Meal headquarters! These no-bake tasty treats are made by layering three distinct tiers: a crumbly base, a creamy custard middle, and a chocolate topping. The result is like a layered bar cookie. They are loved year-round and hold a special place as a festive-season staple in Canada.
Why you’ll love this nanaimo bar recipe
- No bake: You don’t need to turn the oven on for this breezy recipe – simply assemble the layers then chill in the fridge.
- Mom’s recipe: You can taste the love that has gone into perfecting this recipe!
- Three-layer simplicity: Crafting these bars is as easy as 1-2-3. Each layer is as simple as melting and combining ingredients in a bowl.
- Make-ahead: Whip up a batch in advance and store them in the fridge for up to a week.
- Freezer-friendly: They freeze so well that you can stash them for up to three months. Simply put in the fridge the day before to let them thaw.
- Perfect for any occasion: Share the joy at your next gathering – these crowd-pleasers are perfect to bring to a potluck, bake sale, or for when your sweet tooth strikes.
Key ingredients
Ready to try a little piece of Canada?!
- Cocoa powder: Opt for unsweetened.
- Granulated sugar: For the base layer – you can use brown sugar if you’re in a pinch.
- Graham cracker crumbs: To achieve the best crumbly texture, don’t crush them down to a powder. They should maintain texture for the classic nanaimo bar crunch.
- Fine coconut: Also referred to as desiccated coconut.
- Chopped walnuts: Adds a nutty crunch to the base.
- Powdered sugar: Only use powdered sugar in the filling, as other types of sugar will make it too gritty.
- Bird’s vanilla custard powder: The most authentic option for nanaimo bars!
- Chocolate: The top layer is made with dark chocolate or chocolate chips mixed with butter for a glossy, decadent finish.
Tips for making the best Nanaimo bars
Nanaimo bars are surprisingly simple to make, but there are a few hot tips that will help you along the way. Here are our top advice:
- Parchment paper: Lining your pan with parchment paper makes it easier to remove the bars without smooshing them.
- Butter temp: Ensure your butter for the middle layer has been softened at room temperature. If your house is chilly in winter, one trick is to cut the butter into cubes, place it in the bowl you’ll mix the custard layer in, and place it in the oven with the light on. Don’t turn the oven on – the light will be enough to soften the butter.
- Even layers: This recipe works best when the layers are uniform. Press the base layer down firmly for evenness before adding the next, and use the back of a spoon or spatula to smoothen. After you add the chocolate layer, gently tap the pan on your counter to level out the chocolate.
- Chill out: Allow each layer to set properly before adding the next to avoid the layers blending into each other.
- Melt chocolate: Gently melt the chocolate in the final layer like it’s an art: don’t rush this step! Funny things can happen to chocolate that melts too quickly, so take your time and melt alongside the butter low and slow.
- Clean slices: There are a few tips for slicing up your nanaimo bars so the chocolate doesn’t break and so the layers don’t blend too much. First, cut the chocolate when it’s soft set rather than when it’s totally hard to prevent cracking. Dip your sharp knife in hot water then rather than pushing the knife down, cut it across for cleaner cuts.
Recipe FAQs
What is Bird’s custard powder?
Bird’s Custard Powder is that stuff in the red, yellow, and blue box tin that looks like the branding hasn’t changed since 1952. You can find it in the baking section at most supermarkets. The ingredients are simply: cornstarch, salt, color (annatto, a natural color), and flavor (vanilla). If you can’t find it, you could substitute cornstarch, a tiny pinch of salt, and some vanilla. But for ‘authentic’ Nanaimo bars, do see if you can find it.
How do I store Nanaimo bars?
Place these in a covered container in your fridge for up to a week.
Can you freeze Nanaimo bars?
Yes – store in the freezer in an airtight container for up to three months. To thaw, put them in the fridge overnight. Or simply let one sit on your counter for about 10 minutes – they don’t take long to thaw!
Mom’s Nanaimo Bars Recipe
Ingredients
Bottom Layer
- ½ cup butter
- 5 tablespoons cocoa powder
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 ¾ cup Graham cracker crumbs
- ¾ cup fine coconut
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
Middle Layer
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ¾ cup butter (softened)
- ¼ cup milk
- ¼ cup Bird's vanilla custard powder
Top Layer
- 8 ounces shaved dark chocolate or chocolate chips
- 4 tablespoons butter
Instructions
Bottom layer
- Lay a piece of parchment paper in a 9×11-inch pan, letting some hang over the sides. (This makes it easier to remove the Nanaimo bars.)
- Melt the butter in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Whisk in the cocoa powder and sugar. Remove the pot from the heat then add the egg and whisk until it has thickened, about 30 seconds. Stir in the Graham cracker crumbs, coconut, and walnuts. Press the crust firmly into the prepared pan.½ cup butter, 5 tablespoons cocoa powder, ¼ cup granulated sugar, 1 large egg, 1 ¾ cup Graham cracker crumbs, ¾ cup fine coconut, ¼ cup chopped walnuts
Middle layer
- Add all the middle layer ingredients to a large bowl and cream them together using electric beaters. Pour the custard over the first layer and smooth the top.3 cups powdered sugar, ¾ cup butter, ¼ cup milk, ¼ cup Bird's vanilla custard powder
- Place the pan into your fridge for at least 20 minutes, or until the custard is firm.
Top layer
- Add the chocolate and butter to a medium-sized pan over low heat and let both melt. Whisk to combine and then pour the chocolate over the custard. Smooth the top first with a spatula then by gently tapping the pan on your counter.8 ounces shaved dark chocolate or chocolate chips, 4 tablespoons butter
- Chill in your fridge for about 20 minutes, or until the chocolate is soft-set. Cut the Nanaimo bars into bars then place them back in your fridge until they are completely set. (Cutting the bars first prevents the chocolate from cracking.)
- Store the bars in a covered container in your fridge for a week or up to three months in your freezer. The bars can be eaten cold or at room temperature – they take about 10 minutes to warm once out of the fridge.
Video
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
Make this recipe all the time! Potlucks, family dinners. Love it!
I can’t remember actually trying these out when I used to live in BC, but nostalgia made me look up your recipe. I only had a 9×9 pan so I halved the recipe, but maybe next time I’ll leave the full bottom layer. full middle with less sugar, and just over half chocolate. I didn’t have much baking experience so I didn’t mix the middle layer long enough and I need more work on the top chocolate. But thanks for the simple recipe and I’ll take advantage of the all the time at home these days to explore more baking projects!
You’re very welcome!
This recipe was delicious, but I made a few notes. Use a 9x9inch pan, or the bottom layer will be too thin. With that in mind, I reduced the middle layer by 1/3 – so 2 cups of icing sugar, 1/2 c butter, 3 TBSP custard and 2-3 TBSP milk, and added 1 TSP vanilla extract because it wasn’t vanilla-y enough. Made the chocolate as written in the recipe because theres nothing wrong with a little extra chocolate. So if you’re pressing the base into your 9×11″ pan and it looks too thin, switch to a 9×9″ pan and get a sturdier bar.
Thank you for letting us know, Goldie!
Question:
Is the milk quantity in the middle layer correct? I made this and it turned out like extremely stiff frosting rather than a custard. I double checked my ingredients…
That’s right … it should be like stiff frosting. 🙂
Thank you for all the tips in this recipe, as many people commented already, one being how to cut it with out having the top crack. What’s great about this recipe is that we can always modify it to our liking. We added a 1/4 more of the bottom ingredients because we prefer it to be thicker. Also I have used semi sweet chocolate chips in the past but love the dark chocolate option for the top.
You’re very welcome!
Wow! This recipe was super easy to make. I appreciated the work-around of being able to use ingredients that I already had at home: corn starch, salt and vanilla instead of custard powder or instant pudding powder. And even my husband, who normally doesn’t like Nanaimo bars loved these!
That’s wonderful to hear!
This recipe is wonderful. We’re Canadians living in Australia and feeling a bit homesick with everything happening. I made these this afternoon. The balance between the three layers is perfect. I really liked your suggestion to cut them into bars before the chocolate layer hardens. The base layer balances the sweetness of the middle layer perfectly. Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
You’re so very welcome! I’m happy that my recipe made you feel a little less homesick. 🙂
I just made this, after losing several of my own recipes when I moved from Canada to the US. Any idea what the “average” calorie content might be for an “average sized” bar? Probably a lot, but I couldn’t find any info on your recipe about it. Thanks
Thanks for the recipe! It’s the first time I made nanaimo bar and they look good. Is the middle layer should taste like buttercream?
It does. 🙂
thank you for the recipe, all the layers turned out perfect. one problem for me though was my family found the custard layer too sweet. it was much sweeter than what i am used to, and i’m from nanaimo! every other recipe i looked at afterwards, asked for 2 cups of icing sugar instead of 3, and that would be the difference. everything else was great and went smoothly, thank you, just wish i had managed to realize the difference in sugar before i had a whole batch done. will use your recipe next time just one cup less sugar 🙂
You can definitely reduce the sugar!
These turned out amazing! Super easy to make & taste fantastic!
Thank you so much for letting us know that you love them!!
Followed the recipe exactly and ended up with a squishy custard layer and cracked chocolate, not very pretty — definitely do not look like the photo with the recipe. Suggestions?
The custard layer should be squishy, especially if it is at room temperature. When I cut them, I only let the chocolate barely set before cutting into it. If it is hard, then it cracks for me, too.
I found this recipe way too sweet. I found the middle layer too thick and the bottom layer was too thin.
Thank you for sharing your feedback.
Question- can I add mint extract to this recipe?
There is no mint extract in this recipe. 🙂
Tasty bars but the bottom layer was so greasy with too much butter. The middle layer was too sweet and soft. I allowed them to cool exactly 20 minutes in the fridge an the top has awful, ugly cracks. I am too embarrassed to serve these to guests.
I’m sorry to hear that the recipe didn’t meet your expectations.
Great recipe and instructions as they really do matter when it comes to the chocolate especially. Thank you
Thank you!