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My Dubai Chocolate Bar is So Good!
The Dubai chocolate bar recipe was inspired by a similar one that went viral. The original chocolate bar is from a retailer in Dubai…and costs $25! It’s made with Kataifi (shredded phyllo), pistachio butter, and chocolate. You can add tahini to the pistachio butter for a richer, nuttier taste, and I like to drizzle white chocolate on top because it looks so fun.
When I saw the components of this pistachio chocolate bar, I had to give it a try. It did not disappoint and went viral on my TikTok page. The toughest thing about this recipe is that you’ll need a chocolate bar mold, but I think it’s worth buying so you can make this Dubai chocolate bar over and over again. If you don’t want to invest in a mold just yet, you can try my Dubai Chocolate Strawberries which is made in a cup!
This recipe is part of our monthly Cooking Challenge for April 2025!
Dubai Chocolate Bar Ingredients
- Chocolate: You can use any chocolate you like. I like to use milk chocolate because it’s softer and creamier, but I also love the dark chocolate and pistachio flavors together, so you can use any chocolate you like! For drizzling on top, I also use white chocolate, but it’s completely optional.
- Kataifi: This is basically shredded pastry dough that’s used in a lot of Middle Eastern desserts, like knafeh. It comes in long strands, so you have to chop it up to make it easier to fry on a skillet you can find it on Amazon.
- Pistachio butter: Pistachio butter isn’t as easy to find as peanut butter, unfortunately, but I buy it from Middle Eastern grocery stores, Italian specialty shops, or on Amazon. Go for crunchy or creamy. You can even make your own.
- Tahini: I didn’t use it the first time I tried this recipe, but I think it gives the filling a richer, nuttier taste.
Ingredients to Buy For Dubai Chocolate Bar
Popular Additions
- Cardamom. Mix ¼ to ½ teaspoon of ground cardamom into the kataifi mixture. I think the spice would go really will with the pistachio!
- Flaky salt. Who doesn’t like salty-sweet things? I know I do! Sprinkle flakey salt on top of the chocolate bar before the chocolate sets.
- Rosewater. This has such a nice, subtle floral flavor! Add up to a teaspoon to the filling.
- Dried strawberries. I love chocolate-covered strawberries and want to try sprinkling crushed, dried strawberries on this chocolate bar!
How to Make Dubai Chocolate Bar
My Best Chocolate Pistachio Bar Tips
- Don’t skip the freezer time. I know this Dubai chocolate bar recipe calls for freezing the bar multiple times at different steps, but this is so the chocolate sets properly.
- Use silicone chocolate molds. I find these make it easiest to unmold the chocolate bars after! They pop right out.
- Make sure the kataifi is crunchy. You’ll want to take your time toasting it so that the kataifi is golden brown and gives the filling the right texture! Kataifi can clump, so you might want to break it up with your hands before adding it to the skillet.
- Add a little coconut oil to the chocolate. If you’re worried about the chocolate melting smoothly (I’ve had it seize up in the microwave before), you can add ½ teaspoon of coconut oil to it.
Recipe Help & FAQs
For best results, I recommend storing any leftover chocolate in the fridge in an airtight container. That way it stays crunchy with the best texture.
Yes! Kept in an airtight container, it’ll last for up to 3 months in the freezer.
If you can’t find chocolate molds or don’t want to wait for some to get shipped, try making it in a loaf pan. Add parchment paper with an overhang to make it easier to pull out and you’ll have a chocolate bar about the size of what a mold would be. It may be a little hard to cut into chunks, but it works!
Make sure that you temper your chocolate correctly which means heating it slowly and then bringing it back down to room temperature before adding it to a mold.
More Middle Eastern Inspired Desserts:
If you try this Dubai Chocolate Bar recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so I can repost on Stories!
Dubai Chocolate Bar Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ounces white chocolate chips
- 12 ounces milk chocolate bar chopped
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 8 ounces kataifi shredded dough finely chopped
- 2 (7-ounce) jars pistachio butter
- ¼ cup tahini
Instructions
- Place the white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at 30 second intervals. Stir the chocolate in between each 30 seconds until all the chocolate is melted. Drizzle with a fork into 2 16-ounce chocolate molds and set aside in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Place the milk chocolate chips in another microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at 30 second intervals. Stir the chocolate in between each 30 seconds until all the chocolate is melted. Pour about half the chocolate over the white chocolate drizzle and use a pastry brush to make sure it evenly covers the bottom and sides. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the kataifi and cook, stirring constantly until browned and crispy, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the pistachio butter and tahini, allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan while waiting on the chocolate molds to freeze.
- Divide the pistachio filling mixture equally into the chocolate molds. Spread them out evenly to the top of the mold.
- Pour the remaining half the melted chocolate over the pistachio filling and use a an off set spatula to evenly cover the pistachio mixture so it’s flat with the chocolate mold. Place in the freezer again for 20 minutes.
- Remove from molds, cut into pieces and enjoy immediately. Keep stored in the fridge for best texture.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
I’ve been so curious to try the viral Dubai chocolate bar and when I saw your recipe, I couldn’t wait to have a go. Wow—so rich and delicious. Your directions were really clear and helpful. Here are some notes from my first attempt (there will be more attempts!):
-The molds I could find locally are actually small loaf molds. They made 12 small bars instead of 2 giant bars
-I used dark chocolate instead of milk
-I used your pistachio cream recipe in place of purchased pistachio butter (and saved $20!)
-I used kitchen scissors to cut up the kataifi while it was toasting
-Next time, I will freeze between steps 4 and 5. It was a little tricky to spread the chocolate on the pistachio kataifi layer because it was quite soft even after cooling
-The flavor is excellent as is. However, I may experiment with avocado oil for toasting the kataifi to see if less butter might be nice too
Thanks for breaking this down and making it accessible and delicious for us to try, Yumna! I had a lot of fun making it.
Aww, thank you so much! So happy to hear you found the tips and instructions helpful and enjoyed the recipe, Emiley!! Have fun experimenting with new versions!
I did not have a chocolate bar mold for this, but I did have these cake pop mold things that I used, and ended up with the most incredible Dubai truffles! I will say that hitting order on the ingredients was painful, but oh, it was so worth it! I did use dark chocolate (Trader Joe’s Pound Plus bar) for the outsides, and I also added a pinch of salt to the filling. Honestly, I have no words. This could potentially be dangerous to my finances because I now want to make everything with the filling! I mean, I could stuff donuts, cookies, even brownies with this stuff! Moral of the story, consider whether your life can handle an addiction before making this 🙂
Wow, thank you so much!! Love that you made Dubai truffles with a cake pop mold. They sound so good! So happy you loved the recipe, Adelaide!!
This Dubai Chocolate bar recipe looks delicious. I need to get a chocolate mold and some of the other ingredients before I can try to make this bar. Cannot wait. Thank you for this recipe.
So excited for you to try it!! Please let me know how it turns out!
Tastes good. Good recipe
Thanks, Arwa!
I’ve never had the Dubai Chocolate, but I trust Yumna’s recipe and looking forward to making it! I will report back – lol
So excited to see what you think!
This is a beautiful recipe easy to follow. I just wanted to let you know the real Dubai bar calls for pistachio cream not pistachio butter as one is sweetened one is not.
So happy you liked the recipe, Jackie! I prefer using pistachio butter and tahini to give the chocolate bar a nuttier taste.
It was so good and the crunch was amazing, I wish it included a more detailed guide to make sure the chocolate doesn’t melt straight away when you touch it!
Hi Seb, so happy you liked the chocolate bar! It sounds like your chocolate wasn’t tempered correctly, I have some information on stopping it from melting in the FAQ section: “Make sure that you temper your chocolate correctly which means heating it slowly and then bringing it back down to room temperature before adding it to a mold.”