Crispy, toasted quinoa and Peanut Butter Scotcharoos – rice crispy cereal coated in a sticky peanut butter glue and topped with a layer of peanut butter infused chocolate | Gluten Free + Vegan + Refined Sugar Free
✔️ Crispy ✔️ Crunchy ✔️ Peanut buttery-chocolate goodness
There’s a lot to love in these peanut butter scotcharoos and only 8 ingredients needed in these no bake snacks bars so let’s just get right to it!
How to Make: Peanut Butter Scotcharoos
It all starts out with the crispy, toasted quinoa. But first things first – you need to rinse the quinoa.
Prep the Quinoa
Why? Quinoa has a natural coating called saponin which can often times taste a bit bitter & soapy. All it takes is a quick rinse in a fine mesh strainer to get rid of all the weird bitterness & you’re good to go. That being said loads of prepackaged quinoa comes pre-rinsed so if you’re felling eager to get on with making these peanut butter scotcharoos (And why wouldn’t you be?) you might be able to skip that step.
Onto the toasting – this part is really easy and is done in no time! Just spread out your quinoa over a wok or skillet and gently toast over a medium heat. After a minute or two you’ll hear the quinoa start to crackle and pop. Turn the heat down to low and stir so that the bottoms don’t end up burning. Keep doing this for a few minutes to crisp up the quinoa and make them crunchy enough to eat in a no bake treat.
The Rice Crispy Layer
Once the quinoa is prepped move on to the peanut butter ‘glue’. It’s made up of only four ingredients: peanut butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract and sea salt. Whisk it all together over a low heat until combined and then pour it over your combined toasted quinoa & rice crispy cereal. Mix it all up well and then press into a lined baking tin.
The Peanut Butter Chocolate
The chocolate peanut butter layer is just as easy to prep. In the same sauce pot you were just using melt and mix some more peanut butter, maple syrup, coconut oil and cocoa powder. In less than a minute you’ll be whisking up a thick, rich chocolatey fudge that you just need to pour over your rice crispy layer.
Place in the fridge (or freezer if you’re feeling impatient) and let these bars set for about 45 minutes to an hour. The longer they set the easier they’ll slice later.
And voilà!
An easy, peanut buttery treat without even turning on the oven.
Enjoy!
Peanut Butter Quinoa Scotcharoos
Crispy, toasted quinoa and Peanut Butter Scotcharoos - rice crispy cereal coated in a sticky peanut butter glue and topped with a layer of peanut butter infused chocolate | Gluten Free + Vegan + Refined Sugar Free
Ingredients
Cereal Layer
- 1 cup |175 grams uncooked quinoa
- 1/2 cup | 125 grams unsalted peanut butter, smooth
- 1/2 cup | 160 grams maple syrup, can also use brown rice syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups | 50 grams gluten free rice crisp cereal
Chocolate Layer
- 1/2 cup | 125 grams unsalted peanut butter, smooth, can sub with another nut/seed butter
- 1/4 cup | 55 grams coconut oil, melted
- 3 tablespoons | 60 grams maple syrup
- 1/4 cup | 30 grams cocoa powder
Instructions
- Place the quinoa in a fine mesh sieve and rinse it well under water. Pour the wet quinoa in a medium skillet or wok over a medium low heat. Stir with a wooden spoon and cook until the quinoa dries. Turn the heat down low and continue to toast the quinoa until it begins to crackle and pop. Keep toasting a minute after the popping begins stirring every so often. Remove from heat.
- In a medium sauce pot over a low heat add the peanut butter, maple syrup (or sweetener of your choice), vanilla and salt. Stir until the mixture is all melted together. Stir in the rice cereal and popped quinoa.
- Remove from heat and press into a lined 10x10 inch baking tin in an even layer. Set aside
Chocolate
- Quickly wash & dry out the sauce pot you were just using. Over a low heat stir together the peanut butter, coconut oil, maple and cocoa powder until combined.
- Pour over the rice cereal mixture and let cool about 5-10 minutes before transfer to a fridge to set fully another 30 minutes.
- When your bars are set just slice and serve. Keep these stored in the fridge - will keep for about 3 days.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size:
square Calories: 206Saturated Fat: 4gSodium: 180mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 2gSugar: 10gProtein: 6gMore Peanut Butter Recipes
If you like these cookies you might also like some of my other peanut butter recipes:
- Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies with Millet Flour
- Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Peanut Butter No Bake Granola Bars
- Peanut Butter Cookie Bars With Oats (GF + Vegan Option)
- Healthier Homemade Tagalongs (Girl Scout Peanut Butter Cookies)
- Gluten Free Peanut Butter Blossoms (Grain Free + Vegan)
Manal says
Hi Sarah, unfortunately the quinoa did not crackle or pop despite stirring them over low and high heat as it got frustrating for almost 30 minutes. I don’t know if I should still proceed with the recipe as the quinoa might be too crunchy and I don’t want to waste the other ingredients if this is not going to be edible.
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Manal, I’m so sorry to hear that – that does sound frustrating! 30 minutes sounds like quite a long time to toast the quinoa without anything happening. I’d imagine by that point, even if the heat was on low that uncooked quinoa likely would been starting to burn at the least.
I’m wondering if the instructions weren’t totally clear – the idea is to toast the quinoa for a slightly nuttier flavor. As a result of toasting, the quinoa will start to pop a bit, but you’re not aiming to pop it all like popcorn. The sound is more just there to use as a clue to know you’ve got the heat and time right.
I do wonder if the heat just wasn’t high enough, but if you said that you still didn’t get anything when you cooked over a high heat then I’m a bit stumped. Did that quinoa start to blacken or burn when you turned the heat up?
Erika says
Warning GF folks: Rice crispies (the rice cereal brand) are NOT GF… barley malt extract is on the ingredients.. You can find the GF version in healthy market places though. : )
Sarah says
Thanks Erika! I should have made that more clear in the recipe – thanks for pointing that out to me so I can specify it!
Frances says
Do you have to use coconut oil, or will a different oil be ok?
Sarah says
Hi Frances! I wouldn’t recommend using a different oil – coconut oil is best here because it will solidify when cold. Any other type of oil other than maybe palm oil will just stay melty
Amy Agur says
Oh my goodness! These sound phenomenal and I absolutely cannot wait to try them. I’m particularly excited about the peanut butter infused chocolate on top!! Great recipe 🙂