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These homemade chocolate crunch bars are the easiest way to satisfy a chocolate craving! All you need is 2 ingredients and 25 minutes, and you’ll be ready to enjoy the best, crispy vegan chocolate bar.

Homemade Crunch Bar | Chocolate and Rice Cereal Vegan

Why you should make your own chocolate crunch bars at home

We’re not opposed to pre-made snacks and desserts, especially when they’re vegan. They’re convenient, fun to try, and a great way to support brands that are putting out plant-based options (check out our favorite spots to eat vegan in Portland and Oakland). But it’s no secret that making things at home is almost always healthier and an easy way to avoid weird preservatives and “natural” flavors.

Store-bought Crunch bars contain milk, natural flavors, soy lecithin, and more. If you’re looking to avoid preservatives and make a healthy, vegan-friendly chocolate Crunch bar at home, these are for you. You can even make your own homemade vegan chocolate bars with healthy ingredients to melt, too.

Homemade Crunch Bar Ingredients Chocolate and Rice Cereal Vegan 

The only two ingredients you’ll need

  • Chocolate – We use dark chocolate chips because they are the easiest to find in grocery stores. If you get your hands on vegan milk chocolate chips, use those! They will make a more authentic tasting chocolate Crunch candy bar. 
  • Cereal – Crunch bars are made with crisped rice cereal. We recommend looking for unsweetened or lightly sweetened rice cereal for the best results. The brands Nature’s Path and Arrowhead Mills would be good choices.

Equipment needed

Homemade Crunch Bar | Chocolate and Rice Cereal Vegan

How to make homemade crunch bars

  1. Melt the chocolate. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and place a fitted glass or ceramic bowl over the water. Add the vegan chocolate chips into the upper bowl or pot and allow the chips to melt slowly. Mix often with a spatula until the chocolate has completely melted. 
  2. Add in the crispy rice cereal. Remove the bowl with the melted chocolate from the heat and place it on a heat-safe surface. Pour in the crispy rice cereal and mix until uniform. 
  3. Pour into chocolate molds. Pour the chocolate mixture into the molds or onto the lined baking tray. Smooth it out with a spatula until in an even layer.
  4. Set in the refrigerator. Place in the refrigerator (or freezer) for about 10-15 minutes or until the chocolate has set and is firm to the touch. 
  5. Enjoy. Allow the chocolate crunch bars to sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes to soften before enjoying.

Variations

  • Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave: If you don’t have the right-sized glass bowl or pot to make your double boiler, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 20 or 30-second bursts, stirring in between until just melted.
  • Use our homemade chocolate bars: Swap the chocolate chips for 1 ½ cups of our homemade vegan chocolate. 
  • Use quinoa puffs: If you can’t find crispy or puffed rice cereal, try quinoa puffs or another small crispy cereal. 
Homemade Crunch Bar | Chocolate and Rice Cereal Vegan

FAQs

Are crunch bars gluten-free?

Yes, both the original Crunch candy bars and this homemade chocolate crunch bar do not contain wheat or other forms of gluten. That said, the nutritional label for the store-bought Crunch candy bars says “may contain wheat.” This means that Crunch candy bars are processed in a facility that produces other products that contain gluten, and cross contamination is possible. If you are gluten-intolerant, we highly recommend making our homemade chocolate crunch bars with gluten-free certified ingredients to be safe.

What brand of chocolate chips are vegan? 

Several brands of dark chocolate chips available today are “accidentally” vegan, meaning they are naturally made without animal products but likely aren’t labeled vegan. The best way to know if the chocolate chips you are looking at are vegan is to look at the ingredients. If the chocolate chips contain milk, it will always say “contains milk” at the end of the ingredient list. Watch out for ingredients like milk, milk fat, and skim milk. Cocoa butter, on the other hand, is vegan! Enjoylife makes a line of allergen-friendly chocolate chips that are all vegan-friendly and easy to find. 

Does the crunch bar have peanut butter?

The original Crunch bar does not have peanut butter. If you’d like to make a peanut butter variation, try adding 2 tablespoons of runny peanut butter to the mix.

Is the Crunch bar still owned by Nestle?

The Crunch bar was invented by Nestle in 1938 and is still produced by Nestle everywhere except in the United States. As of 2018, the company Ferrero produces the Crunch bar in the United States.

Storage and Freezing Instructions

Chocolate crunch bars will last for up to 1 month in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer. For best results, store in an airtight container or silicone bag.

More vegan chocolate candy bars you may enjoy:

Make sure you tag us on Instagram @sweetsimplevegan and @consciouschris and hashtag #sweetsimplevegan if you recreate any of our recipes. We love to see your photos! 🙂

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Homemade Crunch Bar | Chocolate and Rice Cereal Vegan

Homemade Crunch Bars (Just 2-Ingredients)


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5 from 1 review

  • Author: Jasmine @ Sweet Simple Vegan
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 2 bars

Description

All you need to make this classic chocolate bar is 2 ingredients and 25 minutes of your time! These copycat homemade crunch bars are easy to make, delicious, vegan, and taste just like the original without any weird ingredients.


Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups vegan chocolate chips*
  • 3/4 cup crispy rice cereal

Instructions

  1. Prepare your chocolate molds or a small baking tray. We used these chocolate molds for the recipe, but you can also use a baking sheet or a pan of choice if you do not mind the chocolate in a different shape. Simply line a baking sheet (or dish) of choice with parchment paper. It is ideal for the dish to be very narrow as it will result in a better thickness. Set aside.
  2. Prepare a double boiler: Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Once it is boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and place either a fitted glass (or ceramic) bowl or another smaller pot over the water. The key here is to make sure that water does not get into the bowl or pot and mix in with the chocolate. Add the chocolate chips and allow them to slowly melt, mixing often with a spatula. Once the chocolate has melted, turn off the heat and remove the upper bowl or pot.
  3. Set the pot with the chocolate on a heat-safe surface and add in the rice cereal. Mix through until uniform.
  4. Pour the chocolate mixture into the molds or the lined baking tray. Smooth it out with a spatula and set in the refrigerator or freezer for about 10-15 minutes to set.
  5. Remove the chocolate from the molds and allow it to sit for 5 minutes before digging in.

Notes

  • You can use dark or vegan milk chocolate chips. The latter is more spot on with the original bar, but we used dark.
  • We used these chocolate molds for the recipe.
  • Quinoa puffs or another small cereal would work well in place of the rice puffs.
  • Prep Time: 25 minutes
  • Category: Snack, Dessert
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Candy, Halloween

Nutrition facts label provided by Nutri Fox.

Disclaimer: The nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional’s advice. This page may contain affiliate links, which simply means that we earn a commission if you purchase through those links, but your price remains the same. Thank you for supporting Sweet Simple Vegan!

Meet The Bloggers

hey there! we’re jasmine & chris.

Hi, we’re Jasmine and Chris! We share fresh and fun recipes to show you that vegan cooking is easy, approachable and delicious. When we’re not blogging, you will probably find us enjoying live music, tending to our backyard garden or playing with our dogs Berry and Louie

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1 Comment

  1. I make these! I thought I was the only one. I used allergy free Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips and Kelloggs Rice Krispies. I use a Le Creuset pot to melt the chips, a little 2 quart enameled cast iron. Works like a dream! Over low heat I melt 4 bags of Nestle morsels in just a few minutes, stirring the entire time until creamy smooth. Then I pour the chocolate in a 9×13 stainless baking pan, stir in enough Krispies to my desired texture and cool! They are SOOO good! Nestle Crunch bars were always my favorite chocolate bar. But with age came allergies and dietary issues. I can’t eat milk and almost all candy bars have the tree nut warning. So I make my own. Even better, Nestle morsels are organic! No soy lecithin or added junk so the crunch bars are actually healthy. Hope this helps make things easier for those who don’t have a double boiler. I never had any luck with them. My Creuset pots handle any job. I think any enameled cast iron would work because it hold the heat and you can melt the chocolate slowly without scorching. Happy crunching!