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An EASY recipe for chocolate crunch bars made with just 3 ingredients!
Rich and decadent chocolate enrobes crispy rice cereal for a deliciously crunchy, crispy chocolate treat in the BEST homemade crunch bars! Gluten Free.
When I was little, crunch bars were one of my favorite candy bars. There was that delicious crunch, the chocolate that melted in your mouth, and the sweet, rich creaminess of milk chocolate.
Now that I’m older, I find that making my own homemade crunch bars are actually kind of fun—and bonus: I get to use my favorite chocolate and gluten free rice crisp cereal to customize these chocolate crunch bars to my taste. Another treat I love making is this tasty Christmas Crack.
Wanna join me? Grab your favorite chocolate chips and head on over to the kitchen with me to make today’s tasty rice crispy chocolate bars!
What are Chocolate Crunch Bars?
Crunch bars are a store-bought candy made by Nestle. It’s made with 2 ingredients: chocolate and rice crisp cereal. Essentially, it’s a chocolate bar with crispy bits in it to make it crunchy.
Today, we’re making chocolate crunch bars, homemade-style, with 3 simple ingredients.
Homemade Crunch Bars with 3 simple ingredients
- Chocolate Chips – use your favorite chocolate chips to make your own favorite homemade crunch bars.
- Coconut Oil – you can use 1 teaspoon of peanut butter in place of the coconut oil, or skip it altogether!
- Rice Crisp Cereal – you can use that blue box of rice crisp cereal you might have on hand, or try this vegan gluten free rice crisp cereal.
How to Make Homemade Crunch Bars
Line
First, line a square baking pan with parchment paper or wax paper.
Melt
Now, melt chocolate and coconut oil until smooth and well incorporated. You can also substitute the coconut oil with 1 teaspoon of peanut butter, or skip it altogether.
Add Cereal
Add your rice crisp cereal to the melted chocolate mixture. Stir and fold everything together until not one piece of cereal is exposed (aka cover it all in chocolate!!). Pour this mixture into the prepped pan and smooth it into an even layer.
Set & Enjoy
Allow the chocolate crunch bars to set at room temperature or chill until firm. Then, slice and enjoy the best homemade crunch bars!
How to Store Chocolate Crunch Bars
- Storing Instructions: Store chocolate crunch bars in an airtight container for 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator. Best if stored in the refrigerator.
- Freezing Instructions: If storing your crunch bars in the freezer, allow to thaw for about 10 minutes before enjoying. In the freezer, homemade crunch bars can keep for 1-2 months.
Are Crunch Bars Gluten Free?
Store-bought Crunch Bars are not gluten free [1], as confirmed by the official crunch bar website [2]. For allergens, under wheat, the Crunch Bar website lists “Wheat: may contain wheat.”
Today’s homemade crunch bar recipe is gluten free if you use this vegan gluten free brown rice crisp cereal.
q&a for homemade crunch bar recipe
- Where do I find gluten free brown rice crisp cereal?
I get this question all the time! Click here for the exact vegan gluten free brown rice crisp cereal that I use.
- What vegan chocolate chips do you use?
If you’re looking high and low for vegan chocolate chips, try these super tasty vegan chocolate chips.
- Where can I find refined sugar-free chocolate to make my homemade crunch bars?
When I want to make sure my chocolate candy recipes are refined sugar-free, I chop up this chocolate bar and use it in place of the usual chocolate chips.
- How do I make these homemade crunch bars low-carb or lower in carbs?
Use these chocolate chips. They’re super tasty & practically sugar-free.
Crispy, crunchy, decadent: chocolate crunch bars made with just 3 ingredients for the best homemade crunch bars ever!
What’s your favorite candy this time of year? Let me know in the comments below, or let me know what you think of today’s chocolate crunch bar recipe! I can’t wait. ‘Til our next chocolate adventure…
Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ❤️
Delicious Chocolate Recipes and more!
- Chocolate Coconut Candy Clusters
- 3 Ingredient Rice Crispy Treats
- 5 Ingredient Coconut Chocolate Bars
- Vegan Hershey Kisses
- Brownie Cookies
- Rolo Pretzels
3 Ingredient Homemade Crunch Bars (Gluten Free)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups chocolate chips
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil*
- 3/4 cup rice crisp cereal
Instructions
- Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or wax paper. Or, use this break-apart candy mold. Set aside at room temperature.
- Melt the chocolate using the double boiler method, or do the following: add chocolate chips and coconut oil to a medium, microwave-safe bowl (large enough to add cereal later). Heat in 20-second increments until softened and melty. Stir in between heating increments, until smooth.
- Add cereal to melted chocolate. Here is the vegan gluten free brown rice crisp cereal I use. Using a rubber spatula, stir and fold until well incorporated. Pour this mixture into the prepared baking pan. Using the spatula, smooth into an even layer. Tap the pan a few times to help even out the mixture.
- Allow to set at room temperature until firm. Or, for a quick fix, follow freezing instructions. Transfer this pan into the freezer. Freeze for 10-15 minutes. Remove from freezer and allow to thaw for 10-15 minutes. Slice into 18 rectangular bars (3 rows by 6 columns). Enjoy! Storing instructions below.
- Also try the peppermint version: 4 Ingredient Peppermint Chocolate Crunch Bars.
Video
Notes
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Thank you so much for this. My son is allergic to dairy, eggs and wheat. It’s hard finding good vegan dessert recipes that aren’t complex and this is so easy.
You’re so welcome, Trang! 🙂 It was so wonderful reading your comment. I hope you and your son enjoy these homemade crunch bars! 🙂
These are our favorite! I always have to make a double batch because they never last long enough here.
Yay!! I love hearing that, Lauren! Enjoy. 🙂
I just have to say that these look far to indulgent to be healthy! These were a hit with my family!
Woohoo! I’m beyond happy to hear it Danielle!
These are so easy and so yummy! Perfect treat this autumn! Will be making these again.
That’s great to hear Tonje!
Wow, how wonderful all that yummy looking flavor and only 3 ingredients? I am so excited to make this recipe in the coming week. I will let you know what the family thinks!
Awesome! Can’t wait to hear what they think!
I love how easy these are to make. Even better that they are vegan.
Exactly! I’m all about those easy snacks! 🙂
These crunch bars are so good! I’ve made these a few times now and they are perfect. They are now our favourite vegan sweet treats, thank you for sharing this x
Oh I’m so happy to hear it Michelle! . Thank you for sharing those kind words!
I want to try these but I don’t like coconut can I just leave it out or can you recommend a substitute
Hi Andrea! You could leave out the coconut oil if you’d like. 🙂 Happy candy making!
Made this twice. First as just a test run and gave it to friends who require gluten-free. They loved it. I thought it was a little too dark chocolatey. Made two batches for a party…used semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips (this lessened the dark chocolate taste a little) and more rice crispies. They were a hit again and were finished by everyone, not just those with gluten allergies. Plan to add nuts to the recipe and see how it goes.
Thank you Demeter! I’m going to try your GF vegan peanut butter cups soon.
So happy to hear that everyone enjoyed them Irwin! . Hope you enjoy the PB cups!
Can I freeze these?
Hi Jan! Yes you definitely can. 🙂