Passover Quinoa Crunch Chocolate Bars

As delicious as they are beautiful, these Quinoa Chocolate Bars are the perfect healthy-ish treat when you want something special, but don't want to spend too much time in the kitchen. This no-bake dessert will satisfy your need for something chocolaty and crunchy.

How often do you find a treat or dessert with some nutritional benefit? Enter this chocolate bars. With Ruth's background as a dietician, we know exactly how to find the perfect sweet treat. The crisped quinoa is a complete protein with nine amino acids, antioxidants, and minerals. Dark chocolate has minerals, antioxidants, and flavanols.

Why We Love This Recipe

• Tastes like a candy bar
• It is made with simple ingredients
• Tastes amazing.
• It's a perfect gluten-free after-school snack
• Grab-and-go breakfast bar
• Or a pick-me-up hiking treat
• Full of flavor
• Easy and quick to make

This is the perfect sweet treat to eat while we celebrate the Jewish holiday of Passover.

Ingredients for Quinoa Chocolate Bars

• Dark Chocolate Chips. You may also use semi-sweet chocolate chips or even milk chocolate. You will need two bags. As always you can also use baking chocolate
• Uncooked Quinoa. This is used to make puffed quinoa, so cooked quinoa will not work.
• Roasted Hazelnuts. learn how to roast hazelnuts.
• Dried Cranberries. You can use these whole or chop them up depending on how big you want the pieces in your bars. Any dried fruit would work such as cherries or blueberries. We love the little tartness that the cranberries provide in this recipe
• Himalayan Pink Salt. Or Fleur de Sel or simply flaky salt to sprinkle on top. This is optional, but we love the contrast of sweet and salty!

How Do You Toast Quinoa?

The first step to this recipe is to toast the quinoa. Heat up your non-stick skillet until it is good and hot. Then reduce the heat to medium, add the quinoa to your hot skillet, stir often, and let it toast for one or two minutes until it starts to pop and start browning. Remove it from the heat and let it cool while you melt the chocolate.

How to Make Quinoa Chocolate Bars

Start by toasting your quinoa; while it is cooling, melt your chocolate. A double boiler will give you the smoothest results, but you can also use a microwave.

Add the toasted quinoa, cranberries, and chopped hazelnuts to the melted chocolate. Pour the mixture into your parchment paper-lined pan. Use a 9 x 13 pan for a single recipe or a baking sheet for a double recipe. Sprinkle your reserved hazelnuts on top and press them slightly into the melted chocolate. Sprinkle the coarse salt over top. Allow the chocolate to cool in the refrigerator or freezer. Cut the chocolate into strips or break it into serving-size pieces.

Tips for Perfect Results Every Time

• To make a double boiler, simply use a metal mixing bowl that will fit over the top of one of your saucepans. Add water to the saucepan, but make sure it doesn't come up high enough to touch the bowl. Heat the water on medium heat. Add the chocolate to the mixing bowl and stir until it melts from the indirect heat.
• To heat chocolate in a microwave, place it in a microwaveable bowl and heat for twenty seconds at a time, stirring between each twenty-second increment until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Melted chocolate holds its shape so make sure to stir.
• Don't expect perfect edges. If you want straighter edges, cut your chocolate into bars when it is almost, but not fully hardened. Once the chocolate has fully hardened, it will be easier to break it up into individual portions than it will be to cut it with a knife.

Variations for Chocolate Quinoa Crunch Bars

• Instead of cranberries, you can use dried blueberries or dried strawberries, dried cherry, or dried apricots. Leave out the fruit entirely, if you prefer, but we like the contrast in flavor and texture that the dried fruit provides.
• If you aren't a fan of hazelnuts, you could use peanuts, almonds, or pecans or leave use seeds such as pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds or sesame seeds.
• Change things up for your homemade chocolate bar with the addition of toffee bits, crushed caramel candies, popped popcorn, toasted coffee beans, crushed peppermint or butterscotch candies, or cacao nibs.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to store homemade chocolate quinoa bars?

Store your chocolate quinoa bars in an air-tight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

What is the difference between quinoa and puffed quinoa?

Regular quinoa is uncooked and raw. Puffed quinoa is simply quinoa that has been heated at high heat until the grain pops because the inside expands and breaks the outer shell.

Does quinoa puff up when cooked or does it pop like popcorn?

Yes. It puffs up or pops when it is heated on high heat. If your quinoa doesn't pop, it's because you didn't get your skillet hot enough.

More Great Snack Bar Recipes

• Oh So Comforting Apple Oat Bars
• Chocolate Bark with Pistachios and Tahini
• Crispy S'mores Bars
• Homemade Vegan Twix Bars
• Vegan Meyer Lemon Bars

If you enjoyed this recipe, it would help us tremendously if you left us a star rating in the comments below or on the recipe card. Do you have any questions about the recipe? Do you need a swap for any of the ingredients? We are here to help, just leave us a question in the comments below.