Vegan white chocolate is the key to making these delicious rice crispy treats. With gluten-free rice cereal, freeze dried raspberries, and white chocolate these bars make the perfect allergy-friendly Valentine’s Day treat!
Allergy-Friendly Treats for Kids!
This recipe is perfect for those who have peanut, gluten, dairy, or egg allergies. Yes, it’s vegan too! Because life is too short to miss out on your favorite treats, especially if you have kids living with these allergies.
I hear it all the time: “My kid has _______ allergy. And I don’t know what to make them for holiday/birthday/school snack, or healthyish treat in general. HELP!”
Oh friends, this is a plea that I receive often. Not to worry, I’ve got you covered!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Below is an overview of the ingredients and recipe. Please be sure to scroll down to the recipe card below for the complete details and nutrition information.
- Coconut butter (manna) (coconut oil may be used as a substitute)
- Cashew butter – Other allergy friendly nut butters like sunflower seed butter will also work
- Vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar – To cut down on the sugar content, you can use powdered monk fruit sugar or GMO-free powdered erythritol.
- Puffed rice cereal – If you have a gluten allergy, be sure to use gluten free puffed rice cereal.
- Freeze dried fruit – I’m using freeze dried raspberries in this recipe. You can swap for whatever you like; strawberries, blueberries, etc.
Coconut butter vs cocoa butter
Coconut butter, the key to making vegan white chocolate, is not the same as cocoa butter. They’re similar in the fact that they’re both dairy free and vegan, but that’s where the similarity ends.
Cocoa butter comes from the fatty portion of cocoa (chocolate) beans. Coconut butter is made by grinding dried coconut until it liquifies, like a puree.
So, if it’s vegan too, why not just use cocoa butter? Well, because coconut butter is a healthier choice. All of the nutrients in raw coconut remain in coconut butter. This means, my recipe for vegan white chocolate makes a sweet treat that offers:
- Manganese – This is essential for bone strength, and it helps the body metabolize carbohydrates.
- Iron – Essential for healthy red blood cells.
- MCT – Medium-chain triglycerides are saturated fats that the body uses to produce energy. (To learn more about them, see my post, 3 Ways to Use MCT Oil.)
- Soluble fiber
How to make vegan white chocolate crispy treats
- Finely chop the coconut butter and add it to a heat safe bowl. Place the bowl above a medium sized saucepan with 1 cup or so of water in it. Be sure that the bowl is not touching the water. This setup creates a homemade double boiler. Set the heat so that the water simmers; you don’t want it to boil.
- Stir the coconut butter gently with a silicone spatula over the hot water to help it melt. Once melted, mix in the nut butter, sugar, salt and vanilla extract. The batter will be thick, but keep stirring while the bowl is still over the hot water, so that the mixture stays hot. Stir on medium heat until everything mixes in easily and is smooth. Set aside. If you want to keep the white chocolate by itself, see my notes in the recipe card.
- Fold in the freeze-dried raspberries and puffed rice cereal, then mix thoroughly. Spoon into a lined 9-inch square pan and press down with the back of a spoon.
- Chill the bars in the fridge until set, about 30 minutes. Then, if you want to dip the bars in more vegan white chocolate, go for it. If so, you will need to chill them again before you can cut and serve the bars.
More of Our Favorite
Allergy-Friendly Dessert Recipes
Vegan White Chocolate Rice Crispy Treats
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 9–11 bars 1x
Description
Vegan white chocolate is the key to making allergy friendly rice crispy treats. With freeze dried raspberries, the bars make the perfect Valentine’s Day dessert!
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups raw coconut butter, chopped + extra for coating (see notes)
- 2 Tablespoons (60g) cashew butter or sunflower seed butter
- 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar or powdered sugar substitute, sifted
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups unsweetened puffed rice cereal
- ½ to 1 cup freeze dried berries, crushed into small pieces
Instructions
- Line an 8×8 or 9×9 inch square pan with parchment paper or spray generously with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Add the chopped coconut butter to a heat-safe bowl and place it on top of a medium-sized saucepan with 1 cup water in it or enough water to cover 1″ up from the bottom of the saucepan. Be sure the bowl is not touching the water. This setup creates a homemade double boiler. Bring the water to a simmer not a full boil.
- Stir the coconut butter gently with a silicone spatula over the hot water to melt. Once melted, whisk in the nut butter, sugar, salt and vanilla extract. The batter will be thick, but keep stirring over the heat until combined. Set aside. (See notes for using the white chocolate for other uses.)
- Remove from the heat and stir in the freeze dried raspberries and puffed rice cereal. Spoon into the prepared pan and press down with the back of the spoon.
- Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes or until the bars are set. Cut and dip in white chocolate (see notes) and sprinkle with crushed freeze dried berries, if desired.
- Let the chocolate cool again before eating or storing. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
Cooking Tips – If wanting to dip the rice crispy treats in vegan white chocolate after chilled, make an additional batch. We don’t recommend doubling the recipe as it will not mix thoroughly. To make homemade chocolates, allow the white chocolate mixture to cool briefly before transferring to a measuring cup and pouring into molds. For a refined sugar free option use monk fruit powdered sugar. Crush freeze dried fruit by placing in a ziploc bag and pounding with a spoon or pulsing in a food processor.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: desserts
- Method: no bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 148
- Sugar: 12.7 g
- Sodium: 246.9 mg
- Fat: 7.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 5.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 20.2 g
- Fiber: 2.1 g
- Protein: 1.6 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Hey! Thanks for sharing the recipe and taking into consideration the allergies people might have from peanut,gluten,dairy or eggs. The recipe looks really simple and easy, i will definitely try this on Valentines day.
Happy to help! Keep me posted Sophy!
This looks incredibly good! Love how simple the ingredient list is too!
These sweet treats are so perfect for Valentine’s Day! Delicious and still vegan!
Yes, I think so too! Thanks!
I love how easy these were! They make the perfect Valentine’s Day treat, and the information on cocoa butter and coconut butter was really helpful!
Yes, they really are easy to make! So glad that info was helpful to you Katie!
thank you for sharing an allergy friendly recipe like this!
You’re welcome Lisa!
My kids loved it! Such a great idea for Valentine’s Day treat.
Glad they loved them! Thanks, Toni!
I absolutely love white chocolate and this one looks incredible! Thank you so much for this recipe!