5 Ingredient CRUNCH Bars (Paleo and AIP)

These chocolate bars with a crunch are amazing and taste just like Nestle’s CRUNCH bars. These bars are also free of the common allergens – dairy, gluten, soy, eggs, nuts and are also refined sugar free!

I have used grain free Lovebird cereal for the crunch factor and so they are grain free and paleo. They can be easily made AIP too by swapping the cacao powder for carob!

What are the ingredients in these Paleo and AIP CRUNCH bars?

These Paleo and AIP CRUNCH bars are made from clean ingredients and are completely allergen free.

1. Raw Cacao: Organic raw cacao powder provides great depth of flavor to these bars. I like this brand.For an AIP version, you need to swap the cacao with carob. But a word of caution: not all brands of carob mix well with coconut oil. I recommend only the Terrasouls brand of Carob for this recipe.
2. Coconut Oil: Organic unrefined coconut oil works well for this recipe. The recipe calls for melted coconut oil so make sure you melt the oil before measuring it.
3. Raw Honey: I like to use raw honey that I get from our local farms. If the honey you are using is solidified at room temperature, you may need to heat your coconut oil so it can dissolve the honey.
4. Vanilla Extract: I like to use pure vanilla extract like this one. Vanilla helps to further accentuate the chocolate flavor.
5. Lovebird Cereal: I used Honey flavored Lovebird cereal for this recipe. But you can also use the unsweetened version.
6. Sea Salt(optional): I like to add a pinch of sea salt as it helps to accent the sweetness further! You can omit if you don’t want it.

What are the steps needed to make the bars?

These Paleo and AIP CRUNCH bars can be made very quickly in less than 15 minutes!

1. First, you measure the required amount of cereal and crush it using a chopper or food processor. Or you can just crush it by placing it between parchment sheets and running a rolling pin over them. You want them coarsely crushed not finely powdered. So make sure not to process them too much if using a food processor.
2. Measure all the rest of the ingredients and keep them ready.
3. Line a loaf pan with parchment sheet with an overhang to it. Keep it aside.
4. Take a glass mixing bowl and add the melted coconut oil to it. Then add all the rest of the ingredients except the crushed cereal and mix using a hand whisk. If the honey is too thick and is not dissolving, then place the bowl (hence use a glass bowl) in the microwave for about 10-30 secs and then whisk again until you get a smooth runny mixture.
5. Immediately pour half of the mixture to the loaf pan on top of the parchment sheet. Give it a quick twirl so the mixture spreads all over the bottom completely.
6. Then quickly spread the crushed cereal all over the bottom chocolate layer.
7. Next quickly pour the rest half of the chocolate mixture over the cereal layer. At this point if your chocolate mixture has become thick, quickly warm it in the microwave again for 10-20 seconds again before pouring it. Use a spatula to spread the chocolate mixture completely over the cereal layer.
8. Place the loaf pan in the refrigerator for about 1 hour to set the bars.
9. Remove the pan from the refrigerator and lift the parchment sheet out and place the bar on a cutting board.
10. Using a sharp knife cut the bar into chunks(about 10 square) or smaller bars (about 6)