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Home » Desserts » Homemade Chocolate Crunch Bars (Vegan and GF).

Homemade Chocolate Crunch Bars (Vegan and GF).

May 19, 2020 · Modified: Aug 9, 2022 by Kelly Roenicke · 16 Comments

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Homemade chocolate crunch bars are a delicious treat that’s allergy friendly. It’s easy to use a chocolate bar mold to make these at home. You will love how rich and smooth the homemade chocolate is – and it goes perfectly well with crispy rice cereal.

stack of chocolate crunch bars on a cutting board

Candy. Kids love it, (and so do adults). If you grew up without food allergies, you probably thought nothing about it! You were able to enjoy packaged candy on Halloween or at Christmas time.

When you’re dealing with food allergies, though, candy is a different story. Mainstream candy bars like Snickers, Almond Joy, and Nestle Crunch are off limits.

What’s the solution? Thankfully, there are some great allergy friendly brands out there, like Enjoy Life and No Whey Chocolate. We love those brands.

But, you can also make your own homemade candy. It’s really easy to make different shapes with melted dairy free chocolate and a variety of candy molds.

If you want to make different candy bars, you can also do that! We love homemade sunbutter cups, caramel cups, and these easy chocolate crunch bars.

The base of this recipe is homemade chocolate made with cocoa powder, maple syrup, and coconut oil. It’s super smooth and delicious, and when you add a little crunch, it’s the perfect homemade candy bar.

Jump to:
  • Ingredient Notes
  • Instructions
  • Special Equipment
  • FAQs
  • Storage
  • More Homemade Candy Recipes
  • Recipe
chocolate crunch bars wrapped with paper and twine

Ingredient Notes

  • Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – I use Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa powder, and it works well in this recipe.
  • Coconut Oil – I used organic, unrefined coconut oil. We like the mild coconut flavor that it brings to the candy. If you prefer to have less coconut flavor, use refined coconut oil.
  • Cereal – There are a lot of options for crisp rice cereal. Be sure to call and make sure that any cereal is safe for your family’s particular allergies. If you can’t have crispy rice cereal, you can also make these with toasted quinoa. Or you could break up a safe cereal that works for your diet, like rice Chex or corn flakes.
  • Maple Syrup – I prefer to use maple syrup as a sweetener in this recipe. You could also use honey or agave syrup.
ingredients for homemade chocolate in a mug

Instructions

  1. Melt the coconut oil in the microwave. Allow it to cool just slightly before adding the maple syrup and cocoa powder.
  2. Stir until smooth.
  3. Pour the mixture into a candy mold.
  4. Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm.
melted chocolate in a cup

Special Equipment

It’s best to use a silicone candy mold for this recipe. Silicone makes it easy to remove the chocolate once it’s solidified.

You can use any type of candy mold that works for you! Make fun shapes for the holidays, make little chocolate squares or big bars. This recipe can be adapted – double or triple it to make more.

I love how easy it is to make these neat looking bars – the silicone really works so well to mold the chocolate, and it’s super easy to remove it once it has hardened. I think chocolate hearts would be pretty for Valentine’s Day, and little trees for Christmastime would be very festive.

molded chocolate trees

FAQs

Can I use a different oil other than coconut oil?

Since coconut oil turns solid when cool, it is important that you use coconut oil for this recipe. A different oil, like canola oil or avocado oil will not turn solid, and you can’t have runny chocolate bars! That won’t work.

What type of coconut oil should I use to make chocolate?

If you don’t like the flavor of coconut, you will want to use a refined coconut oil for a neutral taste. I enjoy the flavor of coconut, so I use unrefined coconut oil.

candy bars wrapped in paper and twine on a cutting board

Storage

This chocolate does get a little melty, so you definitely need to store it in the refrigerator. And you also need to make sure that little hands aren’t just holding on to pieces of it until it is a melty mess. :)

You can also store it in the freezer in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.

More Homemade Candy Recipes

  • Chocolate Coconut Bars
  • Dairy Free Caramels
  • 3 Ingredient Dairy Free Fudge

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Recipe

dairy free chocolate crunch bars
5 from 2 votes
Print

Homemade Chocolate Crunch Bars (Vegan and GF).

These chocolate crunch bars are so simple to make and so rich and delicious! This is a dairy free, allergy friendly candy that kids and adults love.

Course Dessert
Cuisine gluten free, vegan.
Keyword easy
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 107 kcal
Author Kelly Roenicke

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup organic coconut oil measure it after it has melted – if you start with a scant ¼ cup of solid coconut oil, that should be about right
  • ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 ¼ Tablespoons maple syrup
  • ¼ cup crispy rice cereal
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  1. Combine the melted coconut oil, cocoa powder, and maple syrup. Stir well until smooth.

  2. Stir in the crispy rice cereal. If the mixture is still warm from the melted coconut oil, let it cool to room temperature before moving on to the next step.
  3. Spoon the mixture into chocolate bar molds. Smooth it out with the back of a spoon.
  4. Place in the refrigerator for about an hour or until firm.
  5. Pop the bars out of the molds and enjoy!
  6. Store leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer.

Recipe Notes

The molds I used are about 3 inches by 6 inches, and rather flat. Nutrition facts are for â…“ of a candy bar.

If your molds are smaller, the serving size will be different.

Please call the company to make sure that any ingredients are safe for your allergies. At the time of this original post, we had a brand of crispy rice cereal that I trusted. Now I make my own toasted quinoa to make crunch bars.

You could also use any type of crispy cereal that works for you.  Rice chex, corn chex, corn flakes, etc.

Store leftover chocolate in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

You can also store this in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Nutrition Facts
Homemade Chocolate Crunch Bars (Vegan and GF).
Amount per Serving
Calories
107
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
10
g
15
%
Saturated Fat
 
8
g
50
%
Polyunsaturated Fat
 
0.2
g
Monounsaturated Fat
 
1
g
Sodium
 
1
mg
0
%
Potassium
 
72
mg
2
%
Carbohydrates
 
8
g
3
%
Fiber
 
1
g
4
%
Sugar
 
5
g
6
%
Protein
 
1
g
2
%
Calcium
 
13
mg
1
%
Iron
 
1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Lightly adapted from My Whole Food Life.

Related

« Egg Free Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting.
Chocolate Covered Coconut Bars. »

Filed Under: Dairy Free, Desserts, food, Gluten Free, Holiday Cookies, Recipes, Sweets, Vegan Tagged With: chocolate, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Fish Free, Garlic Free, Gluten Free, Mustard Free, Nightshade Free, Nut Free, Peanut Free, Sesame Free, Shellfish Free, Soy Free, top 8 allergy free recipe, Tree Nut Free

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Kelly Roenicke
Kelly Roenicke
Mom to two boys with food allergies and sensitivities, Kelly is passionate about allergy friendly cooking and baking. She believes that you can enjoy amazing, easy recipes even when cooking for multiple food allergies.
Kelly Roenicke
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ariel

    June 07, 2020 at 6:40 pm

    5 stars
    This was AMAZING!!!! Thank you so much! I haven’t had a crunch bar in so many years. Last time I had to use an epipen. :( I’m allergic to gluten, dairy and eggs. Thank you so much!!!!

    Reply
    • Kelly Roenicke

      June 13, 2020 at 7:22 pm

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

      Reply
  2. Megan

    January 23, 2018 at 11:27 pm

    5 stars
    These are way too delicious! I have been craving chocolate for months since I went on a vegan diet for my nursing daughter with food allergies, and this definitely hit the spot. I made these and ate them in less than 24 hours.

    Reply
    • Kelly Roenicke

      January 31, 2018 at 11:46 am

      So happy you liked them! Thanks for letting me know!

      Reply
    • Amanda

      June 16, 2020 at 2:02 am

      You said you made this version as dark chocolate. What makes this one dark chocolate as opposed to the original? I know Hershey’s makes Special Dark unsweetened Cocoa powder. Would that be better to try for dark chocolate results?

      Reply
      • Kelly Roenicke

        July 08, 2020 at 8:02 pm

        Milk chocolate has milk in it, which makes the chocolate flavor less intense. This recipes doesn’t have milk, just the cocoa powder and coconut oil, so it is a dark, rich chocolate taste.

        Reply
  3. Nancy

    March 31, 2016 at 7:59 pm

    Where do you find the candy bar molds?

    Reply
    • Kelly

      April 01, 2016 at 9:47 pm

      I got this one on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Freshware-CB-607BR-Silicone-Break-Apart-Chocolate/dp/B00CBGPPTC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1459561642&sr=8-1&keywords=candy+bar+mold

      Reply
  4. Bethany

    October 31, 2015 at 5:04 pm

    Yum! These look great.

    Reply
  5. whiskandshout

    October 31, 2015 at 4:34 pm

    So yum! Vegan homemade candy is basically what Halloween needs :)

    Reply
  6. Steph | The Grateful Grazer

    October 30, 2015 at 12:17 pm

    This could be dangerous for me…but also super delicious so that’s okay! ;)

    Reply
    • Kelly

      October 30, 2015 at 10:09 pm

      It is dangerous! :) I agree.

      Reply
  7. Strength and Sunshine

    October 30, 2015 at 10:25 am

    Can I come trick or treating at your house? ;)

    Reply
    • Kelly

      October 30, 2015 at 10:09 pm

      Sure! :)

      Reply
  8. Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice

    October 30, 2015 at 7:19 am

    Oh these bars sound delicious, Kelly! I love the crunchiness in here!

    Reply
    • Kelly

      October 30, 2015 at 10:09 pm

      Thanks, Gayle!

      Reply

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