Chocolate Crunch Bars
53 Comments
Jul 29, 2024
This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.
These chocolate crunch bars are a dreamy pairing of chocolatey goodness and crispy puffed rice. Bonus – they’re a healthier take on everyone’s favorite candy bar!
Why You’ll Love these Chocolate Crunch Bars
My love for chocolate runs deep, even for those nostalgic candy bars I crave from time to time. But if you, like me, desire an option that’s a bit healthier, these homemade chocolate crunch bars are it! And I gotta say, they’re crazy good. If not, better than the packaged version. Here’s why you’ll love them:
- There’s just two ingredients (really): It honestly doesn’t get much easier than this. All you need are chocolate chips and puffed rice – that’s it!
- There’s no funky additives: Commercial candy always has sneaky ingredients. And the store-bought version of these chocolate crunch bars usually uses rice krispies (which contain sugar and sometimes sneaky gluten). Puffed rice or puffed quinoa is a simpler, and healthier approach.
Chocolate Crunch Bar Ingredients
- Chocolate Chips: I love to use Pascha Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, but feel free to use milk chocolate or dark chocolate as well – whichever is your favorite.
- Puffed Rice: Either puffed rice or puffed quinoa work in this recipe. They both have that larger shape and perfect crunch.
- Find the printable recipe with measurements below.
How To Make The Best Crunch Bars
Ideally, you want an 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pan for this recipe. It helps to create the perfect shape for grab-n-go bars.
- Line your pan. Make sure to use enough parchment paper so that it covers the sides and lifts out a bit.
- Make the chocolate mixture. Melt the chocolate either in a heatproof bowl over simmering water or in the microwave in 20-second increments.
- Pour and refrigerate. Stir the puffed rice into the melted chocolate, pour into the loaf pan, then refrigerate for 30 minutes, until the chocolate is firm and set.
- Slice it up! Pull the chocolate from the loaf pan and use a warm knife to slice into bars.
Storage Tips
Keep in mind these bars can melt a bit if it happens to be a hot day, similar to any regular chocolate bar. So it’s best to keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to enjoy.
- To store: Place them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- To freeze: Make sure to place parchment paper in between each bar before storing in a freezer-safe container. They’ll keep for up to 3 months.
More Easy Chocolate Recipes
It never hurts to have several easy chocolate recipes on hand!
If you make these chocolate crunch bars, let me know how they turned out! Your review will help other readers in the community. And if you’re hungry for more healthy food inspiration (and exclusive content), join my free newsletter.
Chocolate Crunch Bars
Description
Video
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups chocolate chips
- 1 cup puffed rice or puffed quinoa
Instructions
- In a heatproof bowl over simmering water or in the microwave in 20-second increments, melt the chocolate until smooth. Then stir the puffed rice into the melted chocolate.
- Line an 8½ x 4½ loaf pan with parchment paper, with enough paper up the sides to lift out. Pour the chocolate mixture into the loaf pan in an even layer. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set.
- Remove the chocolate from the loaf pan and use a warm knife to slice it into bars.
Lisa’s Tips
Nutrition
©Downshiftology. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
definitely a hit in this house. But I couldn’t find puffed rice! I
Ended up using what I had on hand…salt free rice cakes broken up. Worked but not as pretty
I actually have the puffed rice I’m using linked in the ingredients that you can buy from Amazon!
I want to sign up for recipes but not sure how to do that
Hi Roxanne – You can subscribe through the top bar where it says “sign up for free weekly recipes”!
I can’t wait to make this for my other half since he loves puffed rice in chocolate, but prefers dark chocolate. Do you know the weight of the 1 1/2 cup of chocolate chips so I can accurately measure the dark chocolate? Thanks!
Hello! I am just about to try this recipe and really looking forward to it since my other half loves puffed rice in chocolate but we cannot find it in dark chocolate. I happened to have some chocolate chips, and it may vary by brand but 1/2 cup worked out to 93g so multiplying by 3 and rounding up, gives me 279g. So I’ll be using that number to measure the dark chocolate. ☺️
So simple and delicious. When you have a chocolate or a sweet crish: Perfect ! Bring the rest to the office the next day 😉 if any…
I agree! And it’s one of my personal favorite simple, sweet treats as well. Enjoy!
Very good idea. Fast and delicious! I put some orange zest and some cranberries. Soooo good!! Thanks.
Yum, sounds delicious with orange zest and cranberries! I’ll have to try that myself next time!
I made these literally in 5 minutes and now I am in chocolate heaven! I initially wanted to freeze some, but now I am pretty sure I will finish them in a heartbeat ;-)
These chocolate crunch bars are so easy to make! Glad you enjoyed them, Babette!
So quick and easy, and so much healthier than store bought options!
They taste wonderful and I can see addition things like dry fruit/berries, coconut flakes, nuts/whatever else your heart desires.
I love how easy and customizable this is! I added more rice puffs than the recipe called for because I like more crunch and it was still amazing.
These are a go-to when I’m short on time or when it’s warm out and I don’t want to turn on the oven for a dessert! So easy and So delicious! They disappear quickly!
Glad you’re loving these chocolate crunch bars!
This recipe is exactly what I was looking for wanting to mimic a candy bar I used to eat when I was living in Italy. Unfortunately the puffed rice I purchased from Nuts.com smelled rancid as I had bought it a while ago, so I could not make the recipe today. I will order some more, but I was wondering if you ever tried to add nuts to this recipe and, if yes, how do I adjust the other ingredients? Thank you.
I haven’t tried adding nuts to this recipe yet, but I think you can :)
Could you use carob for this recipe instead of chocolate?
You could use carob chips, but these will generally taste better if the chocolate is semi-sweet.
They all lock great yum yum
Karen
These were so delicious. I thought the amount was too little in the loaf pan so I doubled the recipe, , but now I understand why you make a single batch in the pan. It’s too thick to cut once cold! Really enjoyed this recipe and will make one batch in the pan from now on.
Yep! Be careful when you’re slicing these up :)
This recipe looks amazing! Chocolate candies with rice puffs are always my favorite. I’m pinning.
I made these for my kiddos today! They are delicious and incredibly easy to make. My kids have several severe food allergies and these bars are only two ingredients. Thank you so very much for this recipe.
I made the chocolate crunch bars today and can’t wait to try them. Of course I had every size loaf pan EXCEPT for the one you suggested LOL. I made it in a 9.25×5.25. I guess I’ll have to cut them into larger sized pieces! As always, thank you for all you do.
Update: the bars came out awesome. I sprinkled them with a bit of sea salt…YUMMY!
Hope they turned out okay in the pan you had Debra!
Love these bars, so easy to make, made one lot with milk chocolate for the family and one with dark chocolate for me everyone’s happy.. 😀
Happy to hear the whole family enjoyed these crunch bars Lisa!
May I ask what brand of chocolate and puffs you used in this recipe? Thank you Lisa!!
Hi there! I’m using a brand called Pascha chocolate chips, which can be found in the Shop page on my website. As for the puffed rice, I just used a Whole Foods brand.
I loved it!!!
Glad you enjoyed these crunch bars Esther!
Is the Whole Foods brand of puffed rice gluten free? I’m struggling find a brand that is labeled GF. Thanks!
Puffed rice is actually a GF item :)
Thank you.
Oh my word! These are the best! We love them…thank you so much. They are so simple to make but so delicious!
Thrilled to hear you loved these crunch bars Lyn!
Can you use dark chocolate
Yes, you can use dark chocolate if you’d like.
I couldn’t find any puffed rice without added sugar or gross stuff. What did you use?
The puffed rice I’m using doesn’t have any sugar added to it.
These look so yummy. Does the puffed rice still allow the bars to be crunchy? I love the idea of the crunch factor. Thank you so much, Lisa. I love every one of your recipes!
Yes! The puffed rice will give it a crunchy texture with every bite :)
Hi Lisa! 🌼
I AM going to lie to you and say no worries, I don’t miss you, take your time, your book is very important. There’s really no rush to be back to your normal recipe & video schedule.
BUT…. your book IS important, DO take your time and come back to us when ever you’re ready!
You have so many delicious recipes on your blog, I’ve made many of them.
I’ll patiently wait for a new post from you sometime in October……LOL! 😃
Thank you for giving out this “sweet” treat, I LOVE chocolate!!
Really liking the short ingredient list, it’s right up my alley on busy days.
Good luck and (hopefully) be hearing from you soon!!
Have a great day Lisa!! 🌺
You are so sweet Dalila! The book has been a real struggle – but I know in the end it’ll be worth it, and I can’t wait to share it with all of you :) In the meantime, enjoy these crunch bars and I’ll be back shortly with new videos and recipes weekly in October!
YUM! Can’t wait to try this. I rated it 5 stars because how can it not turn out well?!? Now you’ve got me thinking about what I could make for my 1-year-old with puffed rice, too…she ain’t getting any chocolate. Haha!! Thank you, Lisa!
So excited for you and your little one to try these crunch bars Katie!
Such a classic treat! Love the healthier twist. Hang in there with the cookbook writing! And enjoy the chocolate goodness :)
Thanks so much for all your support Liz!
I avoid chocolate with soy lecithin. It has been found to have an estrogenic effect. I hunt out chocolate with sunflower lecithin.
These bars look great! I’ll try some on my husband; he’s a chocoholic.
Hope you and your husband enjoy these crunch bars!