Vegan Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Crispy Bars
These Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Crispy Bars have a pumpkin spice rice crispy base, topped with a layer of dark chocolate and a pumpkin spice swirl. These bars are easy to make, beautiful, delicious, and gluten-free + vegan!
Pumpkin spice season is HERE! I love myself some delicious pumpkin recipes and this one fits right into the pumpkin spice obsession. Meet Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Crispy Bars – a crispy, flavorful, delicious combination of pumpkin spice and chocolate in the form of something like a rice crispy treat.
These bars have a base made with brown rice crispy cereal. You’ll toss the cereal with a mixture of maple syrup, cashew butter, pumpkin puree, coconut oil, and pumpkin pie spice, which is so flavorful and helps hold everything together.
Then, melt the dark chocolate and spread it all over the top, and then swirl with pumpkin spice cashew butter. Holy cow, they are good, and absolutely easy to make too.
Once the Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Crispy Bars ars are all finished, you’re ready to cut and devour. They turn out crunchy, tasting like fall, full of all your favorite pumpkin-enhancing spices. The dark chocolate pairs so beautifully with the pumpkin spice flavor, too.
How to make the pumpkin spice swirl: the looks beautiful and impressive, but it’s truly so easy. Just a quick mix of cashew butter, pumpkin spice, and a little coconut oil. It’s dolloped and drizzled all over the bars and then swirled in with a knife.
They’re gluten-free, vegan, and refined sugar-free, so you can totally eat more than one ;) If you’re a pumpkin spice fiend like most of us during this time of year, I think you’re going to love these. Enjoy, my loves! xoxo
Want more pumpkin recipes?
- Vegan Chocolate Pumpkin Bread
- Healthy Pumpkin Spice Syrup
- Easy Pumpkin Oatmeal
- Soft Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
- Pumpkin Pie Crumb Bars
- Vegan Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies
- 30+ Healthy Pumpkin Recipes
Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Crispy Bars
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 16 bars 1x
- Category: Dessert
Description
These Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Crispy Bars have a pumpkin spice rice crispy base, topped with a layer of dark chocolate and a pumpkin spice swirl. These bars are easy to make, beautiful, delicious, and gluten-free + vegan!
Ingredients
For the bars
- 3 cups gluten-free puffed brown rice cereal
- 2 tablespoons (30g) pumpkin purée
- ½ cup (128g) cashew butter
- ⅓ cup (107g) maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons (37g) coconut oil
- 1¼ teaspoon pumpkin spice
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, optional – use if your cashew butter is unsalted
For the chocolate topping
- 6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
- 2 tablespoons cashew butter
For the swirl
- 1 tablespoon cashew butter
- ¼ teaspoon pumpkin spice
- ½ teaspoon coconut oil
Instructions
- Line an 8×8” square baking pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Place the puffed brown rice cereal in a large mixing bowl.
- In a small saucepan, cook the pumpkin puree over low-medium heat, stirring almost constantly, for a few minutes until thickened slightly. Add the cashew butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, pumpkin spice, and salt if using. Whisk to incorporate and melt the coconut oil, and then bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and let bubble for 3 minutes, whisking the whole time.
- After 3 minutes, remove from the heat and pour over the brown rice cereal. Stir to combine completely, making sure to coat all of the cereal.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and use your hand or a spatula to press the bars down firmly. Set aside to let them firm up.
- While the bars firm up, place the chopped dark chocolate and cashew butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 seconds increments, stirring between each, until it’s smooth and melted.
- Spread the chocolate over the peanut butter crispy bars. In another small microwavable bowl, combine the cashew butter and coconut oil and heat until the coconut oil is melted. Stir to combine, and then dollop over the melted chocolate. Use a knife to swirl the chocolate and cashew butter together.
- Let firm up in the fridge for at least 2 hours before cutting into 16 squares. Be sure to use a SHARP knife and cut them while they’re cool or they’ll crumble. Store in the refrigerator or freezer.
Nutrition
- Calories: 183
- Sugar: 7
- Sodium: 68
- Fat: 12
- Saturated Fat: 6
- Carbohydrates: 16
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 3
Keywords: no bake, rice crispies, pumpkin spice, chocolate, vegan, gluten-free
The flavours are delicious, but the puffed rice is not crunchy at all. I wish I had added nuts/seeds to the base. I’ve frozen them now in the hope they’ll be crunchier when really cold!
Hi Labyrinth, I believe that certain brands of puffed rice cereal are crispier than others! I use Barbara’s brand and it’s always stayed nice and crispy for me. If your rice crispies were stale at all or if your pumpkin was pretty watery, that can make them softer too. Hopefully they’re more to your tastes after being frozen!!
Since I love pumpkin so much, this recipe’s so mouth-watering just by reading it. But I wonder if I could substitute the puffed rice as the base into another ingredient that’s less containing carbohydrates (it would be better if it could contain more fiber). Do you have any idea? Do you think roasted pumpkin seeds could be a good substitution without ruining the texture or crispness? Thank you :)
★★★★★
Hi Amelia, I’ve only tested this recipe as is, so unfortunately I can’t say how it would turn out any other way! Roasted pumpkin seeds would make these a lot heavier, but you could try another puffed grain like amaranth.