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These homemade frozen Creamy Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Bars are the healthier vegan frozen summer dessert we all need to stash away in our freezers. Made simply with just 9 pantry staple ingredients…creamy canned coconut milk, maple syrup (for sweetness), plenty of chocolate, espresso powder, vanilla, and nutty-salty peanut butter. It does not get simpler.
Finish each bar off with a dip into a homemade “magic shell.” Put everything together and you have a frozen fudge bar that’s chocolatey, peanutty, extra creamy, and so delicious. You’d never guess they’re vegan.
It’s finally that time of year for creamy frozen desserts. I’ve loved any kind of ice cream bar since I was little. Who could not? Frozen treats are just more fun. Probably because they tend to be associated with summer, which as a young kid was definitely my favorite season. Schools out – suns out, time to chill. And ending the day with ice cream was the absolute best!
Literally the best right? I love thinking back to those memories.
Dairy Queen was my family’s “ice cream parlor” of choice. Mainly because it’s all our town had close by at the time. We were lucky, my mom would take us there pretty regularly on hot days. Were you a peanut butter cup or cookie dough blizzard kind of person? I loved both.
For as much as I loved DQ blizzards, one of my favorite frozen treats was a simple chocolate fudge bar. Last year I made these very, very classic fudge pops. This season, I’m changing up the recipe and sharing a different, but similar frozen swirled peanut butter chocolate fudge bar. And they are heavenly…creamy, peanutty, and with the best all-over chocolate shell coating.
Details
To make these bars I use a creamy chocolate cashew mousse. Soaked cashews, coconut milk, cocoa powder, vanilla, and a touch of espresso. There’s truly nothing better than this mousse. The key to the silkiest, smoothest, vegan “mousse” is to boil the raw cashews. This makes them extra soft and easier to blend up. When they’re plump and soft, they blend into the smoothest consistency that truly resembles a real mousse.
I like to add a touch of vanilla and coffee, to really bring out the chocolate flavors. So good.
It’s really important to take the time to boil the cashews and let them soak. Because of this, the prep time is a little longer, but by no means hard.
When the mousse is all combined, it goes into a square baking dish. Then the peanut butter is poured directly over top. Use a knife to just lightly swirl the peanut butter into the creamy mousse.
You don’t want to mix it in, but instead, you want swirls. Then just stash the pan in the freezer until frozen, then cut and freeze once more.
Once the bars are cut and frozen, dip them into the chocolate. Then finish them with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt for that salty-sweet combo we love so much.
At this point, you can begin to lick away. Or keep them in the freezer to enjoy later. You should always have a number of these on hand. Just stash them away in the freezer for when in need!
I love keeping these on hand as a snack or late-night dessert.
Looking for other chilled dessert recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Creamy Vegan Chocolate Fudge Pop
4 Ingredient Creamy Fruit Popsicles
5 ingredient Raspberry Peach Sherbet
Peanut Butter Brownie Ice Cream Bars
Coffee and Fudge Ice Cream Cake
Lastly, if you make these Creamy Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Bars be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Creamy Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Bars
Servings: 16 bars
Calories Per Serving: 274 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw cashews
- 1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee or espresso powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4-1/2 cup real maple syrup
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 12 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- sea salt
Instructions
- 1. Place the cashews in a medium pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil 2 minutes, then cover and remove from the heat. Let the cashews soak for 30 minutes or up to overnight. Drain well. 2. Line a 9×9 inch square baking dish with parchment paper. 3. Add the drained cashews, coconut milk, cocoa powder, instant coffee, vanilla, and maple syrup to a high-powered blender. Pulse until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides as needed, about 5 minutes. Taste, adding more maple syrup if needed to sweeten. Pour evenly into the prepared pan. 4. Drizzle the peanut butter over the chocolate, then use a knife to lightly swirl the peanut butter through the chocolate. Cover and freeze for 3 hours, until firm. Cut into 16 bars, then place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Freeze another hour, until firm.5. To make the chocolate shell. Melt the chocolate and 1 tablespoon coconut oil in the microwave until melted. Let cool 10 minutes. Remove the bars from the freezer and cover/dip in chocolate. Sprinkle with sea salt. Keep in the freezer until ready to eat!
Notes
For the Chocolate: if you are vegan, make sure to use a vegan chocolate bar.
A complete fail!!!! Spent $50 on ingredients, followed the recipe to the letter, and they never made it out of the freezer. Cut them into bars? How? It was the consistency of semi melted ice cream.
Hi Leslie,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, sorry to hear you had some issues! Was there anything you may have adjusted? I would say they need to sit in the freezer longer. Please let me know how I can help for next time!! Also, $50 seems way to much to have spent on the ingredients. xTieghan
I think they just needed more time in the freezer. After 4 hours mine were the same consistency as you describe so I kept them in overnight and the next morning they were solid.
I have a ton of walnuts and no cashews at the moment but am desperate to try these. Do you think walnuts would work? Or possibly oats?
Thanks,
Paige
Hey Paige,
So sorry, you need to use cashews for this recipe:) Please let me know if you have any other questions!! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan,
Could I substitute the cashew mousse for your chia mousse recipe here? https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/6-ingredient-vegan-chocolate-chia-mousse/
If so, would I need to double that recipe?
Thank you!
Kylie
Hey Kylie,
I think your best option would be to make this recipe, but into bars and adding peanut butter:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/chocolate-fudge-pops/
Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
I made these night and used coconut cream instead of coconut milk, because that’s all we had. I also subbed the instant coffee powder for vanilla powder and used about half cocoa powder to half chocolate protein powder because we ran out of cocoa powder. They are delicious!! I made bite sized pieces instead of bars to keep them in the freezer longer. Does the filling eventually get completely solid? Mine got solid but kept melting while I was coating it in chocolate, so I had to do a few at a time out of the freezer.
Hey Toni,
Amazing!! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback and making this recipe:) I love to hear that it was a winner! Yes, if they are in the freezer long enough, they will become solid. xTieghan
How do you recommend getting the peanut butter soft enough to “pour” on top? When I tried the peanut butter was stuck in clumps and then too thick to swirl.
Hi Stephany,
You can always pop it in the microwave for a few second to soften it up! Let me know if I can help in any other way:) xTieghan
Can you sub the coconut milk with anything? My husband doesn’t like coconut. Thanks!
Hi Julia,
Sure, you can use another milk that he enjoys. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xTieghan
What brand of peanut butter do you use? Thanks!
Hi Shawna,
I like Whole Foods brand peanut butter:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Made these today and they are delicious indeed. We subbed instant dandelion powder for the instant espresso and I think it was a success! Added just a little more depth of flavor to the cashew mousse. Thank you for the recipe!
Hey Kristen,
Perfect!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit and appreciate you giving it a try! xxTieghan
Sounds yummy! Wondering if almond flour (ground almonds) could replace the boiled and blended cashews? Thank you.
Hi Allyson,
So sorry, that will not work:) You could do this recipe though, add some peanut or almond butter, and make them into bars:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/chocolate-fudge-pops/
I hope this helps! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan,
In step 4, when you say “pour over chocolate” do you mean the cashew mixture?
Thanks,
Genevieve
Hi Genevieve,
Yes, that is correct, the cashew mixture will be chocolate once blended:) I hope this makes more sense! xTieghan
The instructions for this recipe seem segmented and steps missing?
Hi Monica,
Can you elaborate specifically on what you feel is missing? All of the steps are there:) Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
I just made these and they are amazing!
Hey Kim,
Happy Monday! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it and sharing your feedback!! Have the best week:) xx
What if I were to use roasted cashews instead of raw?
Also – I bet my kids would love these but I don’t want them to have the coffee… can I just exclude or should I sub in extra cocoa powder?
I tried it and it was runny. I think the raw would make it creamier. In the freezer now so I can’t say how the finished product will be
Hi Missy,
For this recipe, you will want to use the raw cashews and totally fine to omit the coffee powder. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Can you use cashew butter instead of soaking cashews? Thanks! Can’t wait to try 🙂
Hi Heidi,
Sorry, that is not going to give the same consistency, you’ll want to follow the recipe as written:) Please let know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Ok, thank you for responding!! About to give it a shot.
My mousse turned out much runnier than what was shown in the video, any thoughts? I didn’t sub anything. I’m new to using coconut milk, are you supposed to use the solid and liquid in the can?
Love your recipes!
Hey Monica,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, sorry to hear you had some issues. Yes, you will want to use the whole can and everything in it of the coconut milk. Did you do that? Let me know! xx