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Home » Vegan » Peanut Butter Pecan Crunch Bars

Peanut Butter Pecan Crunch Bars

December 5, 2022 by Tracy | Updated November 22, 2022 This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

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pieces of chocolate crunch bars with peanut butter on top with Pinterest pin text.
a little hand holding a peanut butter swirled chocolate bar with Pinterest pin text.
a little hand holding a peanut butter swirled chocolate bar with Pinterest pin text.
stacked crunch bars with peanut butter drizzle Pinterest pin text.

Your favorite childhood candy, but taken up a notch! These Peanut Butter Pecan Crunch Bars are everything you love about the classic candy, but with peanut butter and some extra crunch from pecans!

stacked crunch bars with peanut butter drizzle.

This Halloween I found, disturbingly, nonexistent crunch bars in my kids' trick-or-treating candy. They were one of my favorites as a kid, which made me realize it was time to make them again but taken up a level. These Peanut Butter Pecan Crunch Bars are everything you love about the classic candy, but with that undeniably perfect PB and chocolate combination, crunchy pecans, and are an insanely easy no-bake recipe!

Ingredients Needed

bowls of cocoa powder, pecans, rice cereal, oil, peanut butter, and maple syrup.

  • Cocoa Powder - We use unsweetened dutch cocoa powder and also sometimes add in a little cacao powder, too.
  • Pecans - These are totally optional as you will still have delicious homemade crunch bars without them, but we just love the added crunch they bring to the party. Hazelnuts are also a delicious choice.
  • Puffed Rice Cereal - Rice Krispies or any of your other favorites. Use a gluten-free version to make these a vegan and gluten-free snack!
  • Coconut Oil - You can also use butter, but to keep them on the healthier (and vegan) side, coconut oil is the best. Unrefined vs. refined? For this recipe, that's up to you and your taste, either will work. Unrefined has a stronger coconut flavor while refined has a much more neutral flavor.
  • Peanut Butter - Because doesn't peanut butter make all chocolate snacks better?
  • Maple Syrup - This is our favorite natural sweetener, but you can also use your favorite like honey or agave.
  • Confectioner's Sugar - Also optional to add a touch more sweetness to some PB for a drizzle to finish it with.

No Bake and Easy to Make

two pictures, one of a pot with cocoa over liquid and then it all mixed.

Combine Chocolate and Peanut Butter

Add your oil, cocoa, PB, and syrup to a small saucepan and heat, and whisk it just enough to combine it all until it's nice and smooth.

three pictures, one of a bowl of rice cereal and pecans with chocolate being poured in and then two pictures of bowls holding a bowl and mixing the chocolate with rice cereal.

Mix It All Together

Add that chocolate peanut butter goodness to the cereal and pecans and give a good (gentle) mix! So easy that even my 4 year old can do it.

a parchment paper lined loaf pan with chocolate covered rice cereal and a spoon and then all poured in and frozen.

Freeze to Set

Add that chocolately peanut butter crunch bar mixture to a parchment paper-lined loaf pan and pop it in the freezer to set.

two pictures, one of cut up chocolate bars and one with peanut butter drizzle.

Cut and Drizzle

After at least 30 minutes, pull that parchment paper out and cut your little homemade crunch bars and give them a little drizzle of some extra peanut butter, oil, and confectioner's sugar.

pieces of chocolate crunch bars with peanut butter on top.

Peanut Butter Pecan Crunch Bars for the win! These have become an absolute favorite sweet treat in the lunchbox, and I'm always happy to provide a snack that we know exactly what's in it and that's (mostly) naturally sweetened.

Are you more of a crunch bar purist? Then give our classic Chocolate Crunch Bars a try!

a little hand holding a peanut butter swirled chocolate bar.

They're a snack loved by both kids and adults!

Other Chocolately Snacks

  • Peanut Butter Chocolate Energy Balls
  • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
  • Vegan Cashew Coconut Bliss Balls
  • Nutella From Scratch
  • Copycat Butterfinger Candy Bites
  • Healthy Edible Cookie Dough Bites
  • Homemade Peppermint Patties
  • Homemade Mini Almond Joys
a plate of chocolate crunch bars with peanut butter swirls.

Enjoy! As always, if you make this recipe or any of my others, I love to hear what you think! Leave a comment below, email me, or you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!

stacked crunch bars with peanut butter drizzle.

Peanut Butter Pecan Crunch Bars

Your favorite chocolate crunch candy, but with peanut butter, pecans, and a sweet peanut butter drizzle on top!
5 from 4 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Candy
Cuisine: American
Diet: Vegetarian
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Freezing Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 9 bars
Author: Tracy

Equipment

  • Loaf Pan
  • parchment paper

Ingredients

Crunch Bars

  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter 2.5 oz
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 cup puffed rice cereal
  • 1/4 cup pecans

Peanut Butter Drizzle

  • 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil
  • 1 teaspoon confectioner's sugar

Instructions

  • Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside.
  • Add puffed rice cereal and chopped pecans to a medium-sized bowl, mix well and set aside.
  • In a small saucepan, add coconut oil, 1/4 cup of peanut butter, maple syrup, and cocoa powder and heat over medium. Whisk continuously to incorporate all of the cocoa powder and melt peanut butter, approximately 2 minutes.
  • Pour the chocolate mixture over the rice cereal and pecans and gently mix to coat all of the cereal.
  • Pour coated cereal into the loaf pan and spread to an even layer.
  • Add loaf pan to freezer to set for 30 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, create the peanut butter drizzle by adding the peanut butter, oil, and confectioner's sugar to a small bowl and whisking until creamy.
  • After at least 30 minutes, remove the loaf pan from the freezer and pull out parchment paper, and place set crunch bars on a cutting board. Use a knife to cut into 9 bars.
  • With a spoon, drizzle the peanut butter mixture over the top of the crunch bars.
  • Store in the fridge and enjoy!

Notes

The nutritional value is approximately per bar. 
Storage
Fridge: Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks. 
Freezer: Store in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. 
Substitutions
Coconut Oil: Unrefined vs. refined? For this recipe, that's up to you and your taste, either will work. Unrefined has a stronger coconut flavor while refined has a much more neutral flavor.
Butter is another great option.
Puffed Rice Cereal:  To make these gluten-free, use a gluten-free rice cereal, but Rice Krispies is what we usually use. 
Cocoa Powder: Unsweetened dutch-processed cocoa powder is what we use. Cacao can also be used, but I wouldn't use all cacao since it is slightly more bitter in flavor, a mix of both is fine.   
Maple Syrup:  Use your favorite natural sweetener like honey or agave. 
Pecans: These can be totally optional if they're not your thing.  You can also use hazelnuts or walnuts.

Nutrition

Calories: 181kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 48mg | Potassium: 137mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 2IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Amy Liu Dong

    December 12, 2022 at 2:02 am

    5 stars
    Such an easy and delicious treat to make this weekend for my kids.
    I am sure they will love this!
    Yum!

    Reply
  2. Ann

    December 11, 2022 at 3:29 pm

    5 stars
    These bars sound delicious! These would be great for teacher gifts for the holidays! Thanks for the recipe share!

    Reply
  3. Jamie

    December 11, 2022 at 5:02 am

    5 stars
    Wow! This peanut butter pecan crunch bar looks incredibly yummy! The texture makes it enticing and tempting! Such a perfect treat for this Holiday season!

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Tracy!

Mom of two, lover of cheese, spinach, and replacing a box or jar of premade anything with a from scratch version. Here you'll find our whole foods recipes that'll add some easy, approachable from scratch flair to your cooking! Read More…

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