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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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Milk chocolate chips or sent sweet? Thank you@
Whichever you prefer! 😄
Hi Ceridwen! I haven’t tried it with rice bran oil, so I can’t say for sure. But, you are fine to omit it all together. Hope you and your friend enjoy!
Hi Ceridwen! I haven’t tried it with rice bran oil, so I can’t say for sure. But, you are fine to omit it all together. Hope you and your friend enjoy!
Could I use rice bran oil instead as my friend can’t have coconut
Hi Ceridwen! I haven’t tried it with rice bran oil, so I can’t say for sure. But, you are fine to omit it all together. Hope you and your friend enjoy!
Hi Demeter, thank you for another delicious recipe! I doubled the recipe and and used dark Lindt chocolate along with a little honey just like one of your other readers did. The best part for me, was licking the chocolate bowl. I used the silicone chocolate molds just like you recommended, and couldn’t wait to share these with my children and grandchildren. 😊
Hi Nancy! Okay, that sounds simple delish. And licking the bowl is definitely my favorite part as well. 😂 Sounds like you’ve got some very lucky grandchildren, too.
So fast and easy and really tasty. We added a tsp of honey to the mix with dark chocolate chips and it added a little bit of extra flavour.
Sounds delish! So happy you enjoyed the recipe Ash!
Demeter, I am so glad I found you. And please do not go away to open a candy shop 🙏I love all the variety of recipes you make. At long last on an anti inflammatory diet I can make things that actually taste good.
LOL don’t worry, I don’t have plans to open a candy shop anytime soon. Though we do always joke that our kitchen turns into one around the holidays 😂 I’m just so happy to hear that you’re enjoying the recipes Anne, and that you’ve got some tasty treats to keep you satisfied. 😊
I LOOOVE the simplicity of this recipe! I understand you can leave the coconut oil out, but I’d like to include the fat. However, my family doesn’t appreciate coconut oil. Would bacon fat or another fat work in place of coconut oil? Also, is there anything we can use in place of rice cereal? I’m trying to get back towards the paleo diet. I know I’m basically asking you to remake this recipe. But if you could throw out some options, that would be great! I LOOOOOVE three ingredient recipes (or recipes with very few ingredients) Muchas gracias~
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Ana! As for the fat change, I’m not sure if that one would work as I haven’t tried it. I will say that if you use refined coconut oil (not virgin) it will have a neutral taste, so they shouldn’t be able to detect it (especially in that smaller amount). As for the swap from rice cereal, you could try coconut shreds. I’d recommend giving this recipe a try: 2 Ingredient Chocolate Coconut Candy Clusters. Hope this helps!
WOW! These turned out great! Loved how simple and easy they were to make!
Yay! Nothing beats a good easy treat. 🙂 So happy you enjoyed them Suzy!
Made this earlier with my 8 year old baby and my MIL. It was sooo delicious! We all really liked it! My baby got a piece for my husband to try and he approved too! Yayyyy! Thank you for another wonderful recipe, Demeter!
Oooh! I’m so happy to hear it, Michelle! Isn’t it the best when the entire fam can agree on one recipe? ☺️. You’re so welcome! Can’t wait to see what you try next. 🙂
Oh these are so delicious!
Yay!! So glad you enjoyed them, Becky! 🙂