This wholesome take on Rice Krispies Treats gets sweetness from coconut nectar, chewy gooeyness from almond butter, and a host of goodness from hemp seeds, cacao nibs, and superfood chocolate. A gluten-free, vegan, and refined sugar-free recipe that still tastes like a treat.
The first job I had upon moving to San Francisco was at a gluten-free wholesale bakery. The communal kitchen where the bakery operated was home to several other businesses: caterers, bakers, and charcuterie-makers, to name a few. My predecessor at the bakery, Megan, was an artist who still lived in the neighborhood, and one day she came by the kitchen to work on her latest project: a giant Rice Krispies Treat which she would shellack and mount on the wall.
Sadly, my shift ended before I got to see her creation, but I was left with a hunger for the infamous cereal bars of my childhood. Even more sad was the fact that I now eschewed marshmallows. The craving didn't fade, and eventually, five years ago, I took a stab at a marshmallow-less (and slightly healthier) version of the bars made with almond butter, chocolate, coconut oil, and a combination of brown rice and maple syrups. I used organic brown rice crisps and topped them with chocolate ganache, and I made them vegan and gluten-free.
I called them Hippie Crispies.
The hippie crispies developed a bit of a cult following. They were named a Community Pick on Food52 when I entered them in a cereal contest. Bonafide hippies flocked to them in droves when we made them, summer after summer, at a music camp in the Mendocino Woodlands. They traveled to Tasmania where food blogger Dearna of To Her Coremakes them with puffed amaranth. And whenever I'm asked to bring a vegan sweet to a party or gathering, I whip up a batch or two and watch the hoards gather 'round.
When Aloha asked me to feature their superfood chocolate in a recipe, I knew it was time to revisit the hippie crispies. Aloha chocolate is sweetened with coconut sugar, which gives it a warm flavor, and it's packed with antioxidant-rich foods like spinach, spirulina, coconut, cashews, and raspberries. You might think that all of this stuff in your chocolate would be unpleasant, but their superfood mix is so powder-fine as to be undetectable; it just tastes like really rad chocolate. The texture is softer than regular chocolate, giving it an extra-creamy melt. I found it difficult to go back to regular chocolate after the Aloha experience, and had to exert extreme amounts of willpower to save enough for the recipe.
But as luck would have it, I did, because when gently melted with almond butter, coconut oil and coconut nectar, it forms the base for these addictive bars. I added hemp seeds and cacao nibs, and topped the bars with extra Aloha chocolate. A quick chill to set the chocolate, and the bars are ready to be cut and devoured.
I brought some crispy treats to dinner when Aloha's own Mimi (who is not only cute as a button but also knows her way around a kitchen [and a camera]) came to San Francisco for a visit. We ate vegan Mexican food at Gracias Madre which we chased with giant bowls of spiced hot chocolate before staggering out onto the street. We said our goodbyes and when I got home, Mimi reported that, despite our gigantic meal, she and her Lyft driver had devoured all of the crispies during the ride home.
I hope these superfood crispy treats become as big of a hit in your kitchen as they've been in mine. Like Megan, you may be tempted to make a pan as big as your wall (minus the shellack). If you do, give me a call.
Thanks to Aloha for sponsoring this post! All opinions (and crispy treats) are mine mine mine. Also, check out Sarah's incredible Vegan Strawberry Coconut Chocolate Chip Ice Cream made with Aloha chocolate – pretty much the best ice cream ever, vegan or no.
More Chocolate Recipes:
- Raw Chocolate+ Pistachio Butter Cups
- Vegan+ Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Cookies
- Raw Vegan Chocolate Cheesecakes
- Chocolate Pudding {vegan option}
*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this chocolate crispy treats recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*
Superfood Chocolate Crispie Treats {gluten-free, vegan, refined sugar-free}
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
The bars:
- 1/2 cup coconut nectar (5.5 ounces / 160 g) (or 1/4 cup each brown rice syrup and maple syrup)
- 1/4 cup almond butter (2.25 ounces / 65 g)
- 1 bar Aloha chocolate, broken up (2.2 ounce) (about 1/3 cup)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil (1/2 ounce)
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 1/2 cups crisp rice cereal (not'puffed' rice) (3 ounces / 85 g)
- 1/4 cup hemp seed hearts (1.25 ounce / 40 g)
- 2 tablespoons cacao nibs (.5 ounces / 15 g)
The topping:
- 2 bars Aloha chocolate, broken up (2.2 ounce / 65 g)
- 1 tablespoon cacao nibs (.12 ounces / 5 grams)
- 1 tablespoon hemp seed hearts (.12 ounces / 5 grams)
- 1/4 teaspoon flaky salt (preferably Maldon)
Instructions
- Line an 8x4 or 9x5" loaf pan with a sling of parchment paper.
- In a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the coconut nectar to a gentle simmer for 1 minute, stirring frequently with a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon (be careful not to let it boil over). Remove from the heat and stir in the almond butter, chocolate, coconut oil and fine sea salt until the mixture is smooth and the chocolate is melted.
- In a large bowl, stir together the rice cereal, hemp seed hearts and cacao nibs. Gently fold in the chocolate mixture and pack the mixture firmly and evenly into the lined pan (damp fingers can help here).
- In a small saucepan (or the same one from above, if you've scraped it clean), melt the remaining chocolate over very low heat, stirring constantly until just melted (be careful not to scorch the chocolate). Pour the melted chocolate over the rice mixture, spreading it smooth, and sprinkle with the nibs, hemp seed hearts and flaky salt.
- Let the bars set in the refrigerator until firm, about 1 hour. Lift the sling out of the pan, trim away the edges if you like, and cut into 8 squares or 16 thinner bars.
Notes
Nutrition
sophie|A Kitchen In Uganda says
This is amazing! Thinking of substituting the puffed rice with puffed corn.
Catherine Gagnon says
Hi, these look sooo amazing! I've been obsessing about making these for more than 2 weeks now but am unable to find crisp rice ceral here in The Netherlands. Are they like a corn flakes but made of rice? Would you have another suggestion of what I could use intead if all else fails? Thanks you so much!
Alanna says
Ack, sorry I never responded to this... hope you were able to find 'em!
Jessica says
Lovely recipe! I have made these twice, now, and they are always a hit. I haven't been able to get my hands on some Aloha chocolate yet, but I have been using a local organic brand that seems to be working well - albeit without the 'superfood' infusion.
For those of you in England, I have found Nature's Path Organic Crispy Rice (gluten free) to be fantastic in this recipe as it is very sturdy and holds up well, giving the crispies a pleasant crunch, even after a few days.
Bravo, Alanna! I am an instant fan. :)
Alanna says
Thanks so much for the great feedback, and help for Uk readers! So glad you loved these. :)
Kris says
Incase you haven't noticed, I've been going to your site non-stop for recipes over the past 3 weeks and (duh!) everything I make is fantastic. Just wanted you to know that I made a couple of versions of these now (including a double batch that I'll be taking up to the cottage for my friends to enjoy this week). Thanks for the inspiration and always delicious eats! xo
Alanna says
Kris, this completely makes my day - thank you!!! I want to know what variations you tried - spill it, girl! ;)
Danielle says
I just discovered your website while looking for buckwheat cookies and I'm in love! Until I got to the comments, I thought you were a guy, isn't that funny? Is it the darker colors in the gorgeous photos? Anyway, thank you so much, I'm excited to try hippie crispies and your chocolate chip cookies with alternative flours. Keep up the brilliant work!
Annie says
I made these last night and they are incredibly delicious. I'm so excited to find a healthier rice crispy treat recipe that doesn't need brown rice syrup for a binder. I sprinkled some crushed freeze dried raspberries over half of the bars and will definitely do that again. Thanks for the recipe!
Dee-Dee says
These look so tasty! One quick question... Do these really only stay good for just a few days? I was hoping to make a decent-sized batch to snack on post-workout for a week or two.
Alanna says
Hi Dee-dee, They soften up from the moisture in the sweeteners after a few days, but you could experiment with storing them in the freezer and maybe they would stay firm? Let me know if you play! :)
Anita Sabados says
These were great! I made them with a bar of regular sea salt chocolate as I have never seen Aloha in my town. It was a tad too sweet and I'd love to try it with the proper bar.
Alanna says
What percentage chocolate did you use? That might explain the excess sweetness?
Anita Sabados says
I used a bar of Lindt sea salt chocolate. I've put in an order for Aloha bars with my sister who lives in NYC :-)