Peanut Butter Chocolate Puffed Quinoa Crunch Bars! If you’re craving a homemade snack that tastes like dessert and snacks like a treat, this one is a must.
These Peanut Butter Chocolate Puffed Quinoa Crunch Bars are seriously irresistible: sweet, salty, and packed with texture in every bite. Made with creamy peanut butter, puffed quinoa for that light, crunchy texture, and rich chocolate, they hit the perfect balance of sweet and salty, so they feel both indulgent and fun. Topped with extra peanuts for added crunch, these bars deliver all the beloved flavor vibe of a Reese’s Cup, but with extra crispy bits that make them super satisfying (and weirdly hard to stop eating).
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Hi there, Ameera here!
These bars are pure heaven. They’re loaded with that classic Reese’s Cup flavor, only this time, it’s taken up a notch with crunchy bits that make every single bite feel exciting and satisfying.
I’m not exaggerating when I say they’re dangerously easy to love: one bite and you’ll understand why they disappear fast. You gotta give this one a try!
Tips for Success:
- Flavor Profile: These Peanut Butter Chocolate Puffed Quinoa Crunch Bars are absolutely delicious. Full of peanut butter, puffed quinoa, and chocolate then topped with chopped peanuts, it’s chewy, with a slight crunch, they make for a fantastic treat. They have all the flavor of a Reese’s Cup with crunchy bits that is very satisfying.
- Pressing the Bars Down: This recipe is easy to make; however, carefully dollop chunks of the peanut butter mixture into the loaf pan and then pressing the mixture in the loaf pan does require a small amount patience. Once you dump blobs the mixture into the loaf pan on top of the loose puffed quinoa, press it down with your hands to get the quinoa to adhere to the mixture. Then after pressing and leveling out the peanut butter mixture, then place the remaining ¼ cup of puffed quinoa and place it on top of the mixture, then take a piece of parchment paper and lay it over top of the mixture and press with your hands trying to create an even well-compacted solid layer. You need this well compacted in order for the puffed quinoa to adhere to both the top and the bottom of the mixture. You will lose some of the puffed quinoa when you remove from the pan, but not an overly large amount.
- Creamy Peanut Butter: Use a good well-mixed natural peanut butter. In other words, do not use stiff, overly thick, dry or stiff peanut butter. We use Teddies and mix it really well after opening the jar. This ensures that all the natural oils are evenly distributed throughout the peanut butter creating a beautifully creamy peanut butter.
- IMPORTANT: Peanut Butter/Puffed Quinoa: We have found that some peanut butters are slightly runnier than others. This impacts the texture of the peanut butter “dough” that makes up the center of the bar. The “dough” should be able to be pinched and held together well. If your mixture appears too loose, then simply add more puffed quinoa. You really can’t go too wrong here.
- Homemade Crispy Puffed Quinoa: We purchased organic crispy puffed quinoa rather than making our own, simply for convenience. If you wish to make your own, you can follow Vegan Chef Mario’s YouTube video on How to Make Crispy Popped Quinoa. If you decide to make your own popped quinoa, we suggest using a Pre-Rinsed Dry Quinoa. See the Pantry Products Used section below for the Pre-Rinsed Dry Quinoa or if you wish, you can purchase the already puffed crispy quinoa to make it easier.
- Loaf Pan: We used a 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ¾ loaf pan; however, any similarly sized loaf pan will work fine.
- Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.
Leftovers and Freezing:
These bars will generally keep 7 days in the refrigerator. Store in a covered air-tight container.
These bars freeze well.
Pantry Products:
- Peanut Butter: We use Teddie All Natural Smooth Peanut Butter . It is unsweetened (dry roasted peanuts and sea salt only). Feel free to use your favorite unsweetened smooth peanut butter.
- Crispy Puffed Quinoa: We used Z Natural Foods Organic Crispy Puffed Quinoa. Feel free to use your favorite puffed quinoa or make your own.
- Vegan Chocolate Chips: We used Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mega Chunks. You can use your favorite dark or semi-sweet vegan chocolate.
- Tahini: We used Ziyad Premium Tahini (Sesame Paste). Feel free to use your favorite brand of tahini.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Kitchen Equipment:
- Loaf pan ( 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ¾ )
- Parchment paper
If you try these delicious sweet treats, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
Print
Peanut Butter Chocolate Puffed Quinoa Crunch Bars
- Prep Time: 30 Minutes
- Total Time: 30 Minutes (+Rest Time)
- Yield: 12 Bars 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Freezer
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These Peanut Butter Chocolate Puffed Quinoa Crunch Bars are seriously irresistible: sweet, salty, and packed with texture in every bite.
Ingredients
Base Ingredients
- 1 cup natural creamy peanut butter *
- 1 1/3 cups almond flour
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch to ½ teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
- ½ cup puffed quinoa *
Other Ingredients
- ½ cup puffed quinoa, divided (¼ cup top, ¼ cup bottom)
Chocolate Coating/Drizzle Ingredients
- 9 to 10 oz. vegan chocolate chips, melted *
- 1 to 2 Tablespoons runny tahini *
Optional Toppings
- Sprinkle finely chopped roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Line a loaf pan with parchment paper with excess hanging over the sides, set aside.
- Place the all the Base Ingredients (except the puffed quinoa) into a large bowl, stir well to combine. Then add ½ cup of puffed quinoa to the peanut butter mixture, stir well to incorporate. [See notes on peanut butter].
- Place ¼ cup of puffed quinoa into the bottom of the parchment lined loaf pan.
- Dollop the peanut butter mixture carefully on top of the puffed quinoa in the loaf pan. Press down to evenly distribute and level the peanut butter mixture. Create a solid, level, cohesive loaf of the peanut butter mixture.
- Then place the remaining ¼ cup of the puffed quinoa over the top of the peanut butter mixture and press down to get the quinoa to adhere to the peanut butter mixture.
- After pressing the mixture, use a square of parchment paper and place it on top to thoroughly flatten and level out the mixture. Press to ensure a solid cohesive layer.
- Place the loaf pan in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove from the freezer. Lift by grabbing the overhanging parchment paper and remove the peanut butter mixture from the loaf pan and place onto a cutting board. Cut the loaf in half widthwise, then cut each of the halves in half again. You now have 4 pieces. Then cut each of the pieces into 3rds. You now have 12 pieces. Place the 12 bars back into the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes. You want the bars really cold when dunking in the melted chocolate. This helps the chocolate quickly set.
- Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave for 30 seconds, then stir vigorously. Microwave and stir in 10 to 20 second intervals until the chocolate is completely melted, then stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of tahini into the melted chocolate. The amount of tahini used is dependent upon if you plan to drizzle the chocolate over the bars or coat the bars entirely in chocolate. Use 1 Tablespoon if drizzling. Use 2 Tablespoons if coating.
- If drizzling, place the bars on wax paper and drizzle with the melted chocolate and sprinkle with chopped peanuts.
- If coating, then remove 2 bars from the freezer at a time and dip one bar in chocolate and thoroughly coat with the chocolate and place on wax paper, then sprinkle with the chopped peanuts, then repeat with the other bar. Continue this process of removing 2 bars from the freezer at a time and coating with melted chocolate until all the bars have been dipped and coated.
- Place the coated or drizzled bars back into the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes or until the chocolate has set. Serve.
- Keep the bars in the refrigerator. If long term storage, they freeze well.
Notes
Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.
Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Servings: 12 bars
This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.
Leave a Reply