Peanut Butter Crunch Bars (gluten-free, vegan options)

These peanut butter crunch bars are super quick to make and can also easily be made gluten-free and vegan. Using natural peanut butter and maple syrup or honey, these no-bake bars are much healthier than your traditional recipe!

I’m all about no-bake desserts right now. I’m just too tired to do anything else.

These peanut butter crunch bars really couldn’t be any easier. It’s basically just honey or maple syrup, peanut butter (I used my homemade peanut butter), vanilla, cornflakes, coconut and chocolate. 

You don’t even need to turn on the stove for these! You do have to melt chocolate, though. But the microwave works just fine for that!

Simple ingredients, simple directions. The only downside is that they should be kept in the freezer. They’re too soft if just refrigerated.

You don’t even need to really defrost them. They’re great straight from the freezer!

I’m also not in love with cornflakes but hey… it’s a treat. 😉

If you need these peanut butter crunch bars to be gluten-free, make sure to use gluten-free cornflakes. Kellogg’s, Corn Flakes at least in the US, are not gluten-free.

Erewhon Corn Flakes are just corn + salt and are certified gluten-free. There are several other gluten-free varieties out there. It seems like other than Erewhon, they’re all sweetened, from what I can see.

I used store-brand corn flakes from a German store called Alnatura. They’re lightly sweetened but these bars still weren’t overly sweet. 

This recipe also calls for shredded unsweetened coconut. If you’ve only got sweetened, I think it’d be fine. You need to grind it as finely as you can get it. A food processor, coffee grinder, a Magic Bullet, a Blendtec / Vitamix (or similar) all work.

This recipe is a lot less junky than regular peanut butter crunch bars, but with lots of honey, peanut butter and corn flakes, these really are a treat. I hope you’ll enjoy them! 🙂

Resources:
Is Honey Gluten-free?
Is Peanut Butter Gluten-free?
Is Peanut Butter Vegan?
Is Maple Syrup Gluten-free?
Is Maple Vegan?

5 from 41 votes

Peanut Butter Crunch Bars (gluten-free, vegan options)

Course Dessert

Print Recipe

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

• 3/4 cup (192 grams) natural peanut butter (no added fat / sugar)
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) maple syrup or 1/2 cup (160 grams) honey (use maple for vegan)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup (85 grams) unsweetened shredded coconut ground as finely as possible
• 3 cups cornflakes make sure to use gluten-free cornflakes, if needed
• 4 ounces (112 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
• 1 tablespoon (14 grams) coconut oil (unrefined if you don't mind some coconut taste / refined if you don't want coconut taste)

Instructions

• Line an 8"x8" pan with plastic wrap or parchment paper.  Set aside.
• In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the peanut butter, maple and vanilla. Add the coconut and cornflakes and mix until the cornflakes are well covered. It's totally fine if the cornflakes break.
• Press firmly into the prepared pan. You can use a firm silicone spatula or the bottom of a glass to do this. Press down as tightly as possible. 
• To prepare the chocolate topping, melt the chocolate and coconut oil over low heat, stirring frequently, until melted. Pour the chocolate over the bars and spread out with the back of a spoon or a silicone spatula. Freeze until the chocolate is hardened (about 30 minutes) and then cut into squares. These should be kept frozen. They're best eaten after thawing for about 5-10 minutes.

Notes

A food processor, coffee grinder, a Magic Bullet, a Blendtec / Vitamix (or similar) all work to grind the coconut.

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Photos updated 5/2020. Here’s an old one: