Toffee Crisps used to be one of my favorite chocolate candy bars growing up, alongside snickers and twix bars!
The original toffee crisp bars consist of crispy cereal, biscuits, and chewy caramel covered in milk chocolate. Kind of like a chocolate-coated caramel rice crispy treat.
These bars were, of course, not vegan-friendly at all - but don't worry, this recipe has got you covered. You only need 6 ingredients to make them too!
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🔪 What To Expect
- TASTE: Sweet, toffee, chocolatey goodness!
- TEXTURE: Crispy, crunchy, and chewy center with a silky chocolate outer layer.
- LEVEL OF EASE: This is an easy recipe, as long as you use a candy thermometer and work quickly! Plus, they use just 4 main ingredients with a few optional extras!
- BEST SERVED: For special occasions like Halloween, they make a great dairy-free treat. Also, I just love keeping a stash in the freezer for when that sweet tooth kicks in!
- ALLERGENS: These vegan caramel crisp bars contain no nuts, no eggs, and no dairy. They can also be adapted as gluten-free with GF cereal.
📝 Which Rice Cereal is Vegan?
It's important to note that Kellogg's Coco Pops and Rice Krispies are unfortunately not vegan in most countries.
They often contain added vitamin D which is harvested from sheep's wool.
Look for puffed rice cereal without added dairy, honey, or D vitamins. Sometimes you can find a brand suitable for vegans in the "free-from" aisle in your local supermarket.
In Spain, I use Carrefour's own brand Chocolate Puffed Rice.
Here are some other free-from-animal products that I found:
- Nature's Path Choco Chimps - UK & Ireland.
- Koala Crisp Organic Chocolate Cereal - USA.
- GoFree Rice Pops - UK & Ireland.
🧾 Ingredients Needed
Here's everything you need to make these tasty homemade toffee crisps from scratch:
Ingredient Notes
- Sweetened condensed coconut milk. I use Nature's Charm, but you can also use homemade vegan condensed milk. This makes the perfect base for caramel and toffee-based desserts (it also tastes great straight from the tin!)
- Crispy rice cereal. You can use any vegan brand (like those listed above), just make sure the cereal is actually crispy. Some rice cereal can be more like cardboard puffs, which won't give you the right crunch.
- Coconut milk. You need full-fat canned coconut milk or coconut cream for these toffee bars. Chill the can of coconut milk the night before, and then scoop out and use only the thick part from the top of the can.
- Vegan chocolate. You can make your own dairy-free chocolate or use storebought. Non-dairy milk chocolate will give you that classic toffee crisp flavor, but you can use dark chocolate if you want them less sweet.
- Vanilla. A touch of vanilla bean paste or vanilla powder helps to bring the coconut-based caramel sauce to the next level.
- Sea salt. Is caramel's best friend and it helps balance the sweetness of these bars.
🥣 How To Make Vegan Toffee Crisp Bars
Before you start, prepare everything you need for the recipe as it's important to work quickly where caramel is involved:
- Measure out all of the ingredients.
- Prepare your equipment (large saucepan, large mixing bowl, small bowl, rubber spatula, loaf pan, parchment paper, spoon, and candy thermometer).
- Line the loaf pan with a sling of parchment paper.
- Heat the vegan condensed milk in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer, stirring constantly. Once it reaches 120°C (248°F) remove it from the heat. Separate 100g of the caramel into a heat-resistant bowl - this will be added as a layer of toffee afterward to give the bars an amazing caramel pull!
- Stir the coconut milk, sea salt, and vanilla into the remaining caramel until smooth.
- Combine the rice cereal and caramel-coconut milk mixture in a large mixing bowl with a spatula until evenly combined.
- Press the mixture into the base of the lined loaf pan.
- Pour the reserved 100g of caramel sauce on top, and use a spoon to spread it out if needed - it will be very sticky! Freeze for 2 hours until set.
- Cut into bars and dip them in melted chocolate until fully coated. Add the chocolate-covered bars to a baking sheet lined with parchment and refrigerate them for 10-15 minutes until set.
💬 Tips + FAQs
- Don't throw away the leftover coconut milk from the bottom of the can. You can refrigerate it and reserve it for adding to smoothies, soups, and curries.
- To get the most accurate results from caramel, I strongly recommend using a candy thermometer.
This is most likely down to the brand of cereal used. Some puffed rice cereal can be on the softer side and won't hold up well.
I've included the best brands to use further up in this post.
No, but you can make it at home using my recipe for homemade coconut condensed milk.
Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to a week.
I personally store them in the freezer and defrost them for an hour before serving. They'll stay fresh for up to 3 months that way!
Simply add a couple of teaspoons of coconut oil to the melted chocolate. This will thin it out and make it much easier to coat the bars.
🍫 More Vegan CopyCat Candy Bars
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Description
Ingredients
- 480 g (16.93 oz) vegan condensed milk
- 50 g (⅕ cup) full-fat canned coconut milk or coconut cream, *see notes
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla powder, or vanilla bean paste
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 80 g (2.8 oz) vegan-friendly rice cereal, *see notes
- 250 g (8.8 oz) vegan chocolate, *see notes
Instructions
- Prepare your equipment. You'll need a large saucepan, large mixing bowl, small bowl, rubber spatula, loaf pan, parchment paper, spoon, and candy thermometer).Line a loaf pan with a sling of parchment paper.
- Make the caramel. Add the vegan condensed milk to a saucepan and bring it to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula to prevent it from burning to the bottom of the pan. Insert the candy thermometer into the caramel to keep an eye on the temperature.Once it reaches 120°C (248°F) remove it from the heat. Separate 100g of the caramel into a heat-resistant bowl and set aside - this will be added as a layer of toffee afterward to give the bars an amazing caramel pull!
- Stir the coconut milk, sea salt, and vanilla into the remaining caramel until smooth.
- Mix in the cereal. Add the rice cereal and caramel-coconut milk mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir with a spatula until evenly combined.
- Transfer to the loaf pan. Press the mixture into the base of the lined loaf pan, compacting it down using a spatula or the back of a spoon.Pour the reserved 100g of caramel sauce on top, and use a spoon to spread it out if needed - it will be very sticky! Freeze for 2 hours until set.
- Melt the chocolate over a double boiler, and if it's too thick, add a couple of teaspoons of coconut oil to thin it out.
- Cut into bars and dip them in melted chocolate until fully coated. Add the chocolate-covered bars to a baking sheet lined with parchment and refrigerate them for 10-15 minutes until set.
- Storage. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to a week. I personally store them in the freezer and defrost them for an hour before serving. They'll stay fresh for up to 3 months that way!
Notes
- Rice cereal: Check labels to ensure vegan-friendly (Kellogg's rice Krispies are not vegan). Here are some that are plant-based: Nature's Path Choco Chimps - UK & Ireland, Koala Crisp Organic Chocolate Cereal - USA, GoFree Rice Pops - UK & Ireland.
- Coconut milk: Refrigerate the tin overnight, then only use the thick cream from the top of the can. Reserve the rest and use it for smoothies, soups, and curries.
- Chocolate: If the chocolate is too thick, simply add a couple of teaspoons of coconut oil. This will thin it out and make it much easier to coat the bars.
- To get the most accurate results from caramel, I strongly recommend using a candy thermometer.
Nutrition
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*This recipe was originally published in September, 2020. The recipe has since been improved and updated to minimize the ingredients used and to simplify the instructions.
