When Mother Nature gives you a rainy, dreary weekend in October, I say dive into Halloween prep. Look online for costume ideas, troll the dollarstore aisles for decorations, buy a massive pumpkin, and make candy bars. You’ll be feeling better in no time!
As a kid, I always loved Crunch Bars. There’s just something about crispy rice cereal wrapped in chocolate that is so much fun to eat. Luckily, it’s really easy to make a vegan version of the popular candy at home. Unlike the store bought bar, my version is free of dairy, soy, and artificial flavour.
To take this bar to the next level, I drizzled on a peanut butter shell made with all-natural peanut butter, a bit of coconut oil (to help solidify the drizzle when chilled) and sweetener. For shizzle, my drizzle. As always, the chocolate PB combo was a match made in heaven. If you’d like a nut-free version, feel free to swap out the PB for sunflower seed butter (like Sunbutter) or you can just skip it entirely. Either way, this mini bar is an easy way to get your chocolate fix and it would make a fun treat to serve for Halloween too!
Mini Crunch Bars with Peanut Butter Shell Drizzle
Yield
12 mini bars
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Chill time
15
Total time
Like the store bought candy bar, only much tastier and better for you! This dark chocolate bar comes together in about about 15 minutes flat. Try serving it at a Halloween party, but make sure to keep the bars in the freezer until just before serving. They will get soft at room temperature so you can try serving them on a chilled plate. One thing is for sure, they won't last long!
Ingredients
Crunch Bar
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 5 tablespoons liquid sweetener (maple syrup, agave, etc.), or to taste
- pinch of fine grain sea salt, to taste
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup rice crisp cereal
Peanut Butter Shell Drizzle
- 2 tablespoons all-natural peanut butter (or any nut/seed butter of choice)
- 1.5-2 teaspoons coconut oil, as needed to thin out
- 1 teaspoon liquid sweetener (maple syrup, agave, etc.)
Directions
- For the crunch bar: Line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with two pieces of parchment paper, one going each way. In a pot over low heat, gently melt the coconut oil and then whisk in the rest of the crunch bar ingredients (except the rice crisp) to taste. Once the mixture is smooth remove from heat and stir in the rice crisp cereal. Pour mixture into prepared pan, smooth out, and then freeze for 10-15 minutes, or until the chocolate is solid.
- For the PB drizzle: Melt the coconut oil and then whisk in the peanut butter and liquid sweetener. Adjust to taste if desired. Scoop into a plastic baggie.
- Remove crunch bar from freezer and cut into 12 small bars. Snip a tiny hole in the baggie and drizzle the PB mixture onto the bar (you can also try drizzling it with a spoon, if desired).
- Return bars to the freezer until the PB drizzle is solid, about 5 minutes.
- Serve straight from the freezer or fridge. Bars will melt slightly at room temperature so I don't suggest keeping them out long. Store leftovers in the fridge or freezer.
Tip:
Note: To make these bars nut-free, use sunflower seed butter (I like Sunbutter brand) in place of the peanut butter.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Cookbook Giveaway Winner!
The winner of a signed copy of my cookbook goes to: Beth S.!
Congrats Beth!! I’ll shoot you an email this morning to collect your info. A BIG thank you to everyone who participated in the What Did U Do? Farm Sanctuary campaign! I just found out the fundraiser is extended until October 9th, so there is still time to donate if you still want to help out. hugs!
These are not only gorgeous, but they sound so great. Perfect for healthy halloween treats ;)
I made these yesterday – super easy and fast, and my 3 yr old and 5 yr old loved them! I’m really excited to have a treat they love that’s not full of junk :) Thank you so much!
You should know this:
When I am reading through my very long blog-roll or checking out recipes online, YOUR recipes are the only ones where I get up right away and make them. No, “Oh, I’ll bookmark this for later.” I make them straight away. This one included.
Multiple recipes of yours are my go-to sweet snacks! (Frosty glo-cakes made in muffin tins and your “rolos” are a very frequent presence in my house.)
Thank you Jen, that’s awesome to hear! :)
Wow, I just made these to take to a dinner party tonight, and yeah, I have already eaten one for breakfast (what? it has cereal in it!), and they are super delicious. Took all of ten minutes not counting the freezing time. Thanks for yet another amazing recipe!
I did something wrong…they were soft and dripping in oil. I used exact measurements.
Just amazing! My wife and I just made these and they’re delicious. We’re a big fan of your site. Keep the recipes coming!
Thanks!
Hey Mark, I’m happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know. :)
I love these! I added about double the rice crispies though as I felt the mix was a little too wet. I also threw in some shredded coconut. Next time I’ll add cherries too bu they are so yummy and dark chocolatey!
How about substituting with raw carob powder instead of cocoa?
Hey Andrea, If you love the flavour of carob you can certainly give it a shot. I find the flavour of it is a bit overpowering in large quantities, so I might only sub half for half. Let me know how it works out if you give it a go!
Made these today…YUM! Had to move to dairy-free with new baby, so I was excited to make a simple-to-make sweet treat. Delicious! Thanks.
I can’t wait to try these on cheat day! I also have a food blog, gluten and sugar free, so desserts are limited. Check out my page for your “entree” before having these for dessert :-) slowcarbsnacktime.com
Hi! I made these tonight and they tasted very bitter… I used dark maple syrup and puffed rice cereal with no added sweetener, just plain puffed rice. Should I have used a puffed rice cereal with some sweetener? Or does it make a difference to use light v. dark maple syrup?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Really want to make it work. Thanks!
You can certainly add more sweetener if you’d like!
I LOVE THIS RECIPE!!!! I’ve made it twice already and even my non vegan friends loved it. I’m about to make it again but I will try o sweeten it with dates :)
Thanks
So right now they are sitting in the freezer. I am so excited to eat these! Yay. Me and my girlfriend licked the bowl clean! From the taste of that I think these are going to be amazing. Too bad I can’t take them to school because now Ill have to stay at home all day. Btw thanks for this amazing blog, Ive already made 3 amazing dinners and have been thrilled. This blog makes me want to cook!
Ben
The last 2 times I have made these, I had difficulty cutting them evenly. They cracked and turned into sharp, uneven pieces. I want to make them for a potluck again.
Do you think these would work if I poured them into foil muffin cups?
I can’t see why not :)
Also, you might have more luck cutting them if you let them sit on the counter for a few minutes after removing from the freezer. Hope this helps!
I just made these, and they were a hit. The peanut butter stuff did not pipe nicely though. It just sort of poured out. Still delicious though!
I made these last night, and they were amazing! However, they I could really taste the coconut oil. Any other oil substitutions you recommend? Maybe half and half of something else?
This is probably my favourite recipe of yours (out of the ones I’ve tried!). Oh She Glows was probably one of the first blogs I started reading, way before I finally got the guts to do what I always wanted and start my own! I still get excited every time you post a new recipe haha :)
Hi! Is there a good substitute for the coconut oil, like would vegetable or olive oil work? If that’s a dumb question, sorry! I’ve never used coconut oil, so I don’t really know what it is. I’m not vegan, so a substitution doesn’t have to keep them vegan.
Just made these and can’t wait to taste them but I may have made a mistake..
I used liquid coconut oil. Is that okay??
Hi, I tried the mini crunch bars tonight, the chocolate / coconut oil became very clumpy. Perhaps the ingredients got too hot? It was on med low – low…but a gas stove…any thoughts.
I have all the ingredients to make these except parchment paper! Do you think wax paper would work?? I’d really love to make these :)
I made these for a movie night at our church and they were delicious! The bad (good?) thing was that they didn’t make very much…probably for the best though- they would’ve just gotten eaten :)
hi
I was just wondering is it really only one cup on rice cereal . I just didn’t seem like enough . There was so much liquid so add more .
thanks .
kids are dying to try them .
yes that’s correct :) Enjoy!
also I forgot to put the vanilla in oops and the salt . I was to excited .
I LOVE your recipes. I am new to GF, Soy Free, and Dairy Free so your site has been a HUGE help to me. I feel like I can make and eat these things- other sites have much more complicated recipes that have made this new diet change unnerving. Even my kids and husband love these recipes! Thank you again!
I so want to make these for an long haul flight overseas in a few days.
Exactly how soft do these get when stored at room temp? Or is it advisable to try another of your delicious recipes for plane snacks? :)
Thanks,
Mary
Oh my goodness, I made these bars this morning, and they were absolutely amazing! :D With organic coconut oil, organic brown rice cereal, and raw cacao powder, these bars are a hundred times more healthy than actual Crunch Bars, but they taste so decadent & delicious! Thank you for the recipe :)
These are awesome. I didn’t really like the cereal alone and can eat the whole box by making these now :)))
Has anyone tried making these? I just put it in the freezer and I have very bad feelings. It was super wet and soupy. I added another cup of rice cereal. Any suggestions?
I made this and for whatever reason it’s really strong and bitter.
I even added extra syrup to it but still still there was a bitter undertone to this ..was expecting something sweet.
It has good healthy ingredients so I’m giving it 3 stars.
I made these on 2 separate occasions. The first time, I used Cacao and Maple Syrup as the sweetener because thats all I had at the time. It was just O.K.- not sweet enough for me, the cacao was too strong and all I could taste was the oil coating in my mouth from the coconut oil.
I held out hope and tried again using unsweetened cocoa, agave and reduced the oil to 1/3C – This formula worked better, but I my mouth is still coated with oil after eating them. Kind of bummed but my boyfriend seems to have no problem finishing off the recipe. LOL
These are absolutely amazing! I’ve made them three times already and can’t get enough. Just chocolate and peanut butter perfection. And so easy to make as well!
Any reason why this recipe would bind up? and the oil would separate? Followed the directions and have a mass of cocoa and separated oil :(
Wow wow wow. These chocolate crunch bars are amazing, they taste super rich and the crunch in there is so nice. Thank you!
Do you think substituting the coconut oil for cacao butter would reduce the melt factor out of fridge/freezer?
My mouth is literally watering!
Looks great! Has anyone tried this recipe with quinoa crisps??
I just have to say, these are delicious. I love them, my kids love them, my husband loves them. I love the texture, how they’re cold, obviously the taste. I can’t believe they’ve only been rated at 3.3/5. Thank you for these gems!! (Among soo many others)
These are easy & delicious. Chocolate, crunchy, topped off with P/Butter. Yum! So happy to be finding vegan desserts I needn’t be afraid of :)
(Nearly started a riot the day I made your Turtle Oatmeal Cookies, we all loved them)
Hahaha, Turtle Oatmeal Cookies were such a hit!! :) Thanks for the lovely comment – happy baking!
These are absolutely delicious and very easy to make… A sure winner!!!!