Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats (Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats (V, GF, DF): an easy 5 ingredient recipe for chocolate-topped PB rice crispy treats that taste like peanut butter cups. Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free.

How did it get to be October 10th already?! As the second week of Halloween Month, we’ve got to start getting our act together for the Big Day! See Halloween-perfect treats such as: 3 Ingredient Healthy Vegan Rice Crispy TreatsNo Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars, and Homemade Crunch Bars. .And since I know that some of you might not be huge fans of Halloween like my family is (or call Halloween “the Big Day”), we’re gonna be making treats that can work for the holiday or against it.

J/k! We’re gonna be making treats that you can enjoy any time of the year. 🙂

Allow me to present to you: my Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats!! I soooo had to put two exclamation marks at the end of that. I would be remiss not to!! Ahem. Plus, who doesn’t need a good dose of chocolate and peanut butter on a Monday?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats (V, GF, DF): an easy 5 ingredient recipe for chocolate-topped PB rice crispy treats that taste like peanut butter cups. #Vegan #GlutenFree #DairyFree | BeamingBaker.com

You might know that Halloween has an extra special spot in my heart because of certain spookiriffic All Hallows’ Eve shenanigans with my mom. Also because I love finding ways to mash the word spooky and an overexuberantly positive adjective together. Any suggestions?

Anyway… it’s been years since that incident, and well… this incident with my sister Monica, but there’ve also been so many wonderful Halloween family bonding events since then. The thing is, I spent so many years away from home that I probably worked myself up into a tizzy missing my fam over the holidays. But in the past years, I’ve been lucky enough to spend the big ones with them: Halloween, Christmas, and birthdays!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats (V, GF, DF): an easy 5 ingredient recipe for chocolate-topped PB rice crispy treats that taste like peanut butter cups. #Vegan #GlutenFree #DairyFree | BeamingBaker.com

The last couple of years, my mom, my sister Jenny, her dynamic superhero-in-the-making three-year-old Dylan, Erik and I have developed a new family tradition for Halloween: get amped up on healthy sweets (like these seriously amazing peanut butter cup rice crispy treats), paste ghost-, mummy-, zombie-, and witch-shaped stickers all over Jenny’s house, visit our local fave plant-based restaurant and… wait for it… hit up all the Halloween family-friendly events that we can.

My sisters Monica and Penny will FaceTime us and have a great giggle over all of our half-finished costumes, suggest Grams (my mom) join the Halloween bike-race thingy where everyone gets dressed up in mainly scantily-clad outfits, send over a ton of fun treats and ask PB (Dylan’s nickname—long story) what superhero he’s going as, and ask for a show-and-tell from Erik and I on all the homemade Halloween treats we’ve made.

Side note: Erik’s a most excellent candy-dipper, which soooo comes in handy during Christmas treat-bag making time! But I’m getting ahead of myself, as per usual. Anywho, here’s a couple pics from last year:

PB and I having a super, SUPER serious intellectual discussion about the merits of lollipops over stickers.

Halloween 2015

Grams, Jenny, PB, Erik and I all decked out in our half-costume-ish gear during the local mall’s Halloween trick-or-treat event. PB has clearly noticed someone doing something wrong that his superhero self MUST correct, to heck with the photo-op!

Halloween

Erik and I looking like perfect jack… -o-lanterns! Yes, that’s what I was gonna say.

Halloween

We’re all SO excited for this year’s lovely jaunt! We’ve just started our usual annual scramble for a family-themed costume. As always, we’re gonna aim really high (think hand-stitched, real-lasers-included lightsaber-wielding Skywalker family costumes) and realistically all end up wearing partially decorated t-shirts maybe/sorta encompassing a passable theme. 😉

Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats (V, GF, DF): an easy 5 ingredient recipe for chocolate-topped PB rice crispy treats that taste like peanut butter cups. #Vegan #GlutenFree #DairyFree | BeamingBaker.com

But of course, it’s not the facts that count, it’s the planning, the thought, and the speculation that does! Who hasn’t had loads of fun scrolling through costumes on Amazon? Have you seen the real-life photos people post of their Halloween awesomeness in their reviews? Totally inspiring. But not too much because we just end up getting the low-key t-shirts. Ahem.

Last year, Erik and I were running super late for the annual Halloween mall trick-or-treat jaunt. Grams and PB had already left for the mall. Jenny was meeting them early, coming straight from work. In typical fashion, we STILL hadn’t figured out our costumes.

So, we ran ALL the way to the Halloween costume store, darted through the store like we were made of lightning and hurriedly purchased two shirts that would fit the bill.

And that folks, is how we do Halloween.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats (V, GF, DF): an easy 5 ingredient recipe for chocolate-topped PB rice crispy treats that taste like peanut butter cups. #Vegan #GlutenFree #DairyFree | BeamingBaker.com

Heh. Heh. <– Is it just me, or did that sound really sinister in your mind? It might just be the fact that I’m listening to The Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack as I write this… And eating some of these

Anyway, this year, we’re gonna do it right! No last minute costume shopping trips for us. Okay, that’s probably still gonna happen. But let’s try to stay positive here, folks! But we’re for-suresies gonna make these chocolate peanut butter rice crispy treats, and totally gonna try to talk my mom into wearing the Hawkeye outfit my lil nephew picked out for her.

So what are your plans for Halloween? If you’re not big on Halloween, are you gonna be heading straight for the mall and shopping for Christmas decorations? Come on, we’re friends, there’s no need to be embarrassed about your Christmas exuberance! Let’s be honest, those orange and black lights we have hanging up are really just a covert way to get us pumped for Xmas!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats (V, GF, DF): an easy 5 ingredient recipe for chocolate-topped PB rice crispy treats that taste like peanut butter cups. #Vegan #GlutenFree #DairyFree | BeamingBaker.com

And before we both get totally sidetracked thinking about the next couple holidays (sorry for the lack of love, Thanksgiving… and hey Kwanzaa, how’s it going? Hanukkah, we’ll see ya soon!)… let me tell you all about these vegan and gluten free treats.

These seriously amazing Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats are:

  • tasty, just like a crispy peanut butter cup.  Yep, I said it.
  • made with just 5 ingredients
  • vegan, gluten free and dairy free
  • super thick, for maximum treat-satisfaction
  • packed with peanut butter
  • coated with a perfectly rich layer of chocolate topping
  • plant-based and allergy-friendly
  • so good Erik and I had to freeze the rest of the batch to keep it safely away from us
  • but still gonna be eaten super fast, bc: who are we kidding?
  • made with ingredients you can feel good about
  • perfect for Halloween, a party, or just a night in watching movies

So grab your favorite V+GF brown rice crisp cereal, your fave natural peanut butter and your healthiest appetite, it’s time to get snackerrific up in here. And forgive me for saying snackerrific? Friends let friends be embarrassing. And then some. I can’t wait to spend the holidays with you (or at least help you get some great goodies on the table!). Tell me, do you celebrate Halloween? Or are you looking forward to another holiday this season?

Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove (but lately it’s been a raven, because: HALLOWEEN). xo Demeter ❤️

☀︎ Click below to Pin ☀︎

Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats (V, GF, DF): an easy 5 ingredient recipe for chocolate-topped PB rice crispy treats that taste like peanut butter cups. #Vegan #GlutenFree #DairyFree | BeamingBaker.com

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats (V, GF, DF): an easy 5 ingredient recipe for chocolate-topped PB rice crispy treats that taste like peanut butter cups. #Vegan #GlutenFree #DairyFree | BeamingBaker.com

Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats (Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free)


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5 from 7 reviews

Description

Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats (V, GF, DF): an easy 5 ingredient recipe for chocolate-topped PB rice crispy treats that taste like peanut butter cups. Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free.


Ingredients

Scale

Rice Crispy Treats

  • 3 cups vegan gluten free brown rice crisp cereal
  • 1/3 cup unsalted peanuts, finely chopped
  • 1/3 cup unsalted, natural peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup

Chocolate Topping


Instructions

  1. Make the rice crispy treats: Line an 8-inch square baking pan with wax paper, parchment or greased foil. Set aside for later. Add cereal and peanuts to a large mixing bowl. Stir together and set aside.
  2. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add peanut butter and maple syrup. Whisk until well incorporated. Then, stir occasionally, heating until this mixture begins to bubble. Stir frequently for about 2 minutes. The mixture will resemble thick caramel. Remove from heat and carefully pour over the dry mixture. Stir and fold until well-incorporated.
  3. Pour this mixture into the prepared baking pan. Using a rubber spatula, press down firmly, smoothing the treats into an even, tightly packed layer. Chill in the freezer for 25-30 minutes.
  4. Make the chocolate topping: About 5 minutes before the treats are done freezing, prepare the chocolate topping. In a medium, microwave-safe bowl, add the Chocolate Layer ingredients: 1/3 cup chocolate chips and 3 tablespoons peanut butter. Heat in 20-second increments until just slightly softened and melted. Stir until smooth and well-incorporated.
  5. Remove treats from freezer. Grab the lining and lift treats out of the baking pan. Set onto an flat surface. Using a rubber spatula, pour the chocolate mixture over the treats and spread into an even layer. Place back into the freezer for 10-15 minutes, until the chocolate tops are hardened.
  6. Remove treats from freezer. Cut into 16 squares. Enjoy! Storing notes below.

    In the mood for more irresistible goodies? Try my 3 Ingredient Healthy Vegan Rice Crispy Treats and my Peanut Butter Cup Rice Crispy Treats.

Notes

– Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer for up to 1 week.
– Chocolate topping softens to a frosting-like texture are room temperature. Straight out of the freezer, the topping is deliciously hard, like magic shell.
– More Halloween treats: Jack Skellington Mounds Cups, Paleo Almond Joy, Spiderweb Brownies, Paleo Spider Treats.
– Peanut butter lover recipes: PB cups, PB chocolate chip cookie dough bites, PB breakfast bars, PB cup brownies. All vegan, gluten free and dairy free.

  • Category: Dessert, Snacks, No Bake, Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free

© beamingbaker.com. All content and images are protected by copyright. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please re-write the entire recipe using your own words and include a link to this post for the recipe.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter = Soul Mates. If you think so too, try my Gluten Free Vegan Peanut Butter Cups (V, GF, Dairy Free). So. Good.

Gluten Free Vegan Peanut Butter Cups (V+GF): a simple, 5-ingredient recipe for rich, chocolate cups stuffed with peanut butter filling. #Vegan #GlutenFree #DairyFree | BeamingBaker.com

If you love cookie dough and peanut butter, this recipe’s got your name all over it. Try my Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites (Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free). Okay, it doesn’t literally have your name on it… but it could. If you write it in chocolate chips. Or something.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites (V, GF, DF): an easy, whole ingredient recipe for protein-packed cookie dough bites bursting with PB and chocolate flavor. #Vegan #GlutenFree #DairyFree | BeamingBaker.com

Halloween Treat Idea #5: Gluten Free Vegan Peanut Butter Cup Brownies. Even better than they look.

Gluten Free Vegan Peanut Butter Cup Brownies (V+GF): rich, fudgy, decadent brownies stuffed with delicious peanut butter cups. #Vegan #GlutenFree #DairyFree | BeamingBaker.com

Nightmare Before Christmas FUN. Try my Jack Skellington Mounds Cups (Paleo, Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free). Just 4 ingredients to creeptacular deliciousness.

Jack Skellington Mounds Cups (V, GF): a spooktacular 4-ingredient recipe for paleo mounds cups inspired by The Nightmare Before Christmas. #Paleo #Vegan #GlutenFree #DairyFree | BeamingBaker.com

What’s your favorite flavor combo?

I can’t wait to hear your responses.

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35 Comments

  1. I love your snackerrific rice crispy treats! And I love when you share pictures of you and your super cute family! As for Halloween, we never do anything around here, other than handing some treats to the kids that knock at our door. Maybe this year we can make your wonderful chocolate pb rice crispy treats and snack on them while watching for the nth time “The corpse bride” (one of my favorites!).

    1. Snackeriffic ideas are the best, aren’t they? 😉 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoy the photos, Nicoletta. <3 Handing out treats sounds like so much fun! So does watching the corpse bride. Here's to watching our old Halloween favorites over and over again. xo

  2. I have NO clue where the year went, but I’m pretty sure if we blink it will be Halloween… and then Thanksgiving, and then Christmas, and then 2017. WHAT? Gah. Anyways, all your traditions for Halloween are so cute!! And I absolutely LOVE all those phots!!! Can I just say PB is the cutest on the planet! And that costume… do you think they make that in my size? 😉 Anyways, you better get your cute lil tookis to the store and get your costume choosing on, because I expect MORE than just a festive T-shirt from you, the spook-tastic QUEEN! Rice crispy treats ALWAYS make me reminisce about the good ole days, but back then they never looked THIS good!!! Leave it to you to jazz up rice crispys with PB and chocolate! My husband would gobble these up in about .23445 seconds flat! Pinned! Cheers, sweets! xoxo






    1. Thanks J! I just about managed to find one photo where most of us were paying attention. Haha. I’m SO excited about The Big Day! Thanks J! xo

  3. Traditions are the best! And PB? Looks so adorable! You guys are definitely having quite the conversation 😉 Running around looking for the best costume is certainly exciting, but I usually just do a very basic set up. Last year, I just put on some face makeup and had a little cat headband and way to go. I was thinking of dressing scary, but then afraid of scaring the kids who came around, lol 😀 Hubby wore a Mario costume. That was pretty funny! Usually on Halloween we make sliders. We started it and it’s kinda a tradition now. And who doesn’t like a slider? It’s been so long since I’ve had a rice krispie treat and I do really love them and especially your version with chocolate and peanut butter! These need to happen ASAP. Pinned! Have a lovely week 🙂

    1. He’s so focused, it’s not even funny… but it is. Lolol. Dawn, you’re probably SO adorable as a cat! Sometimes the basic costumes are the very best! You’re so thoughtful not to scare children away. Hahaha. Sliders sound like so much fun for Halloween! Thanks D! Have an awesome week! 🙂

  4. OMG I’ve never been as excited for halloween as I am this year and all because of your epic dessert lineup. We don’t really do halloween in Trinidad but since I moved to Canada for school in 2010 I’ve participated a few times. I have no plans to celebrate this year but I’ll be making some of your treats anyway. Dessert is always applicable, right?

    1. Aw… thank you Giselle! 🙂 As a Halloween fanatic, I’m probably way too pleased about your compliment! 🙂 So interesting to hear about where Halloween is and isn’t celebrated. I hope you get a chance to celebrate this year. 🙂 Dessert is ALWAYS applicable! xo

  5. Your family is so stinking adorable and your Halloween sounds like the best! We’re decorating the outside of our house for Halloween this week, which is a ridiculous amount of fun, as you know, complete with spooky music and hot chocolate 🙂 These look so fantastic. I can’t remember the last time I had a rice crispy treat and I love them! Of course, I’ve always had the marshmallow kind and since I’ve been clean-eating, those have been out of my life. I love the ingredients here and come on, it just doesn’t get any better than chocolate and peanut butter! Pinning!






    1. Aw, thanks so much Steph! 🙂 Omigosh, I’ve totally got to see pics of that exterior. ALso, hocho and Halloween music might be one of the best combos ever. Love it. Glad you love the ingredients! Thank you for stopping by, Steph! xo

  6. Like everyone else I grew up eating rice crispy treats, but I usually avoid them now that I’m an adult. I like this version, chocolate, and peanut butter is a tasty combination. I love the idea of family themed costume, when I have a family, I look forward to borrowing your tradition.






    1. You’d totally be able to enjoy them without all of the guilt that’s usually associated with traditional rice crispy treats! 🙂 It’ll be so fun to have a family themed costume one day! 🙂 Thanks Mary! 🙂

    1. Thanks so much Casey! 🙂 Childhood treats are the best! I hope you get a chance to try these and love them. 🙂

  7. HI Demeter,

    Thank you for getting me so excited about Halloween!! I love all your ideas and stories!
    These chocolate peanut butter rice krispy treats look INCREDIBLE! And, i just happen to have ALL the ingredients in my house, so, obviously, i HAVE to make them this week. And then maybe again for Halloween. 🙂






    1. Hi Lucy! 🙂 Halloween’s totally the best, isn’t it? . You have all of the ingredients? That’s fantastic! I hope you love it as much as my family does! Happy Halloween Month! 🙂

    1. You got that right, Karen! It’s so hard to resist these! Erik and I actually had to freeze the rest of the batch to maintain some semblance of control. Lol. It’s the best combo! 🙂

  8. I always loved trick or treating as a kid! I would always go with my brother and his friend and we would hit multiple neighbourhoods and fill our pillowcases. Then we’d some back home and dump everything out, sort it into piles and do our trades!
    No plans this year (:P) but who knows!? Maybe some apartment/dorm hopping trick or treating?

    1. That sounds like so much fun, Rebecca! 🙂 Tradesies is the most fun time, for sure. It might even be more fun that actually trick-or-treating. 😉 I hope you get a chance to go this year! Why not? 🙂

  9. I am so excited for Halloween and love reading about your Halloween times! Yes, Halloween also gets me looking forward to Christmas! How time flies.

    Rice Crispy treats were (and still are!) my favourites as a kid. I am loving these chocolate and peanut butter ones! 🙂






    1. Yeah!! I’m so happy to get excited about Halloween with you, Marsha. 🙂 Halloween and Christmas work so perfectly together–one getting us excited for the other! Glad you like these, my friend! 🙂

  10. In my (not so) safe hands no dessert disappears as fast as a dessert with rice crispies in them. Nothing! The crunchy + sweet + sticky–it’s just too good. And then you just casually make them taste like peanut butter cups…um yes!!! By yes I mean I want them ALL right now (yes, yes it is breakfast time, but cereal is a breakfast food ;)). You know those dog feeding balls that slowly release kibble for dogs that eat too fast? Just pretend, kay 😉 Well I think a contraption like that would be very appropriate for humans and these Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy treats. Last minute costumes and kid-friendly Halloween events sounds like a spectac- I mean spooktacular way to do Halloween! Now if only I had a sister with a small child. I love the lollipop discussion pic, you look very engrossed in this ever so important topic haha! Love it <3

    1. Bestie revelation time! Okay, now I have to make sure ALL of the treats I bring you have rice crispies in them. It must be done. 😉 Cereal is totes a breakfast food. 😉 Lolol on the dog feeder. Spooktacular sounds MUCH better. Just sayin’. Come on over and you can look totally normal trick-or-treating with us! 😉 It is a most important topic, of course! xo <3

  11. Peanut butter and chocolate – a match made in heaven, for sure. It’s my go-to overnight oats flavor combo. I wish I had a three foot high stack of these on my desk to just munch upon for the rest of the day. That would be better than being at work on this chilly, chilly Monday. I picked out a costume for my dog but haven’t sorted out one of my own yet. I’m sure I’ll scramble to put something together on/around October 29-30th and into the morning of Halloween itself. I work best under pressure 🙂

    Have a great week, friend!

    1. The tastiest match! 🙂 Oh, this combo would be SO good in overnight oats! I hope these pics at least got your more quickly through your work day. 😉 Pressure can be quite the motivator! I can’t wait to hear about your dog’s costume–I’m sure it’s adorable! Have a wonderful week, Jess! xo

  12. YASSSS – Monday’s sure do call for a good dose of chocolate and peanut butter – and that’s when I get so bummed that I’m doing the Splenda 30 Day Sugar free challenge – November is gonna be filled with all the treats – or, maybe I’ll find some sugar free chocolate and go to town with a tray of these decadent rice crispies!
    I love y’alls Halloween family tradition, Demeter! When my daughter was younger, we’d hit up all the Halloween family-friendly events that we could do – from the mall to child-friendly haunted houses and the like! I bet whereever y’all go in y’alls partially decorated, themed t-shirts, the fun AND treats are sure to follow!
    Happy Monday my friend! Thanks so much for shairing this recipe post and the family pics! xoxo

    1. Monday’s are just SO much better with chocolate and PB. 😉 The mall and family-friendly haunted houses are the best. Neither of us want to actually get scared. Lolol. Can’t wait to hear what you and your daughter end up doing this year! Happy Monday. Thank you for chatting with me. xo

  13. Time is flying by WAY too fast! And I love your Halloween traditions, Demeter! Sounds like you have a blast and create special memories every year! Do you have your costumes ready for this year? I can only imagine you darting through the store last minute from last year haha! 🙂 Rice krispy treats are a favorite of mine, and I love this chocolate and pb combo! Definitely a winning dessert ALL year long. Pinned of course! Hope your week is off to a wonderful start!

    1. It totally is!! I can hardly believe it’s the end of the year already. Seems like just yesterday that it was the beginning of summer! Aw, I’m so glad you enjoyed hearing about my family traditions. 🙂 Our costumes are SO not ready. Lol. Yep, you are probably calling it, frame for frame. Lolol. Thank you for pinning! Have a fantastic week, G! 🙂