Chocolate Clusters are an easy homemade treat made with just a handful of ingredients and almost no prep time. Rich melted chocolate coats a mix of crunchy nuts to create bite-sized clusters that are perfect for snacking, gifting, or adding to a holiday dessert tray. If you enjoy simple chocolate recipes, you'll also love my Dark Chocolate Bark with Pistachios, another make-ahead treat.
Chocolate Clusters At A Glance
- 🕒 Total Time: 17 minutes (15 minutes prep + 2 minutes melting)
- 🍫 Yield: 21 chocolate clusters
- 🌎 Cuisine Type: American / No-Bake Dessert
- 🥜 Flavor Profile: Rich chocolate combined with crunchy mixed nuts for a sweet, salty, and satisfying bite with plenty of texture.
- 🌱 Dietary Info: Naturally gluten-free and easily adaptable with your favorite chocolate and nut combinations.
- 📦 Storage Notes: Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Freeze for up to 2 months.
- ⭐ Why You'll Love It: These chocolate clusters come together with just two main ingredients and require no baking. They're perfect for holiday gifting, dessert trays, afternoon snacking, or those moments when you need a quick chocolate fix without a lot of effort.
Save And Summarize This Recipe
If you enjoy easy chocolate desserts, these chocolate clusters deserve a spot alongside some of my other favorite treats. For a festive dessert board, pair them with Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark, Dark Chocolate Orange Bark, White Chocolate Bark With Cranberries, and these fun Haystack Candy. Each recipe highlights the rich flavor of chocolate in a different way, making them perfect for holiday gatherings, gift boxes, or whenever a chocolate craving strikes.
Jump to:
One of the things I love most about these chocolate clusters is how easily they fit into an entertaining menu. Add them to a dessert spread with Pistachio Tiramisu, serve them alongside Italian Almond Cookies, or finish a special meal with Mixed Berry Pavlova. The combination of crunchy nuts and smooth chocolate makes these clusters a simple make-ahead treat that looks right at home next to more elaborate desserts.
Key Ingredients
You will need the following ingredients to make these chocolate nut clusters:
- Dark Chocolate - The chocolate is the foundation of this recipe, so using a good-quality chocolate makes a noticeable difference. During testing, I made these clusters with both chocolate chips and chopped chocolate bars. The chopped chocolate bars melted more smoothly and produced a richer flavor, while chocolate chips created a slightly firmer texture once set. If you're a fan of dark chocolate desserts, you'll also enjoy my Dark Chocolate Bark with Apricots, which uses a similar simple approach.
- Mixed Nuts - Mixed nuts give these chocolate clusters their signature crunch and make every bite a little different. I tested the recipe with a combination of almonds, pecans, cashews, and pistachios, and found that roasted nuts delivered the best flavor. Chopping the nuts into smaller pieces also helped the clusters hold together better and ensured each bite had a good balance of chocolate and nuts rather than large chunks competing for attention.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Do You Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from A Sweet Thyme
Variations
- Dried fruit - stick to just one kind depending on what you have on hand. Cherries and chocolate tend to be a very rich and indulgent taste while something like dried apricots or strawberries are more refreshing and uplifting.
- Nuts And Seeds - you can even make these clusters nut-free and use pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and hemp seeds in place of nuts. If you want to go wild, swap the nuts for something like Roasted Nuts which will give the chocolate another flavor.
- Sprinkles - make the chocolate nut clusters more festive by topping the chocolate with red and green sprinkles, shredded or ground coconut, or some edible glitter before they set.
- Extracts - Add a bit of peppermint extract to the chocolate once melted to make it have the coveted chocolate peppermint flavor.
How To Make Chocolate Clusters: Step-By-Step
Step 1: Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave it in 30-second intervals stirring occasionally until melted. If you prefer, melt the chocolate on top of the stove using a double boiler.
Step 2: Set aside 1 tablespoon of the nuts and combine the rest of them into the chocolate until coated.
Step 3: Use a small spoon or cookie scoop to scoop some of the mixture into mini cupcake liners.
Step 4: Tap each cluster down lightly and then sprinkle the remaining nuts on top.
Place the pan into the refrigerator for 1-2 hours for the clusters to set and solidify. Then store either on the counter or in the refrigerator.
Recipe Tips
- Chocolate - make sure to heat the chocolate in increments, stirring every 30 seconds. Stop once the chocolate has just melted. If it burns it will become too sticky to mix.
Gwen's Pro Tip
These chocolate nut clusters are best served in the mini muffin cup liners as individual, bite-sized servings.
Making The Chocolate Clusters into Gifts
These nutty clusters make thoughtful but easy gifts for friends and neighbors! Since they're already in mini muffin cups you can either add them to a candy tin or stack the muffin cups together for last minute gifts any time of year.
If you're stacking the clusters, wrap the stack in cellophane and tie it with a bow.
Add a homemade label with the ingredients and you're done.
Keep in mind you could also use these nutty clusters as part of a larger food basket with homemade cookies, caramels, and even chocolate cherry clusters.
Chocolate Clusters FAQ's
You can use any nut you like to make chocolate nut clusters. Roasted nuts, raw nuts, or salted nuts all work in the recipe; however, roasted nuts will give the best flavor.
Hazelnuts, almonds, and peanuts pair well with dark chocolate, resulting in a rich, indulgent flavor.
More Desserts
Let me know your thoughts on these Chocolate Clusters by leaving a star rating below or by sharing it on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Thank you!
Gwen
Chocolate Clusters With Mixed Nuts
Do You Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from A Sweet Thyme
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups dark chocolate chips or chopped up bars
- 1 cup mixed nuts chopped, roasted, divided
Instructions
- Line a mini cupcake pan with liners. Set aside.
- Add the chopped chocolate to a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second intervals. Stir in-between untiil melted.
- Add all but 1 tablespoon of the mixed nuts to the chocolate. Combine.
- Spoon the chocolate nut mixture into the liners filling ¾ of the way to the top.
- Tap down the chocolate to release any bubbles.
- Sprinkle the remainder of the nuts on top.
- Let sit in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours or until set. Store in an airtight container either on the countertop or in the refrigerator.
Anonymous says
Yum