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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.
Just made these tonight and they are so good! I did make a couple of adjustments, based on comments and what I had on hand (got two feet of snow today so didn’t want to venture out!): I subbed butter for coconut oil 1:1 & honey instead of maple syrup, 1:1. I halved the cookie recipe, blended about half the oats into a flour & kept the others whole. I made these in an 11×7 Pyrex because I wanted taller bars. Used the full amount for peanut butter layer but didn’t use all the chocolate (just my preference, I really love peanut butter!). Didn’t have any issues with crumbly crust or other layers setting up. Highly recommend!
Oops, the review above is for the peanut butter oat bars, not the fudge bars!
Lol no worries:)
Hey Penny,
Happy New Year!🎆🎈 I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment! So glad to hear it was enjoyed! xx
This didn’t quite work as intended, but they were still tasty! My peanut butter was not spreading well, so I warmed it up, and it still wasn’t swirling into the chocolate batter. Next time, I would freeze the chocolate part, then once that is frozen, layer it with a peanut butter layer (adding more PB than the recipe calls for) and freeze again before dipping into the chocolate shell. The PB swirl was a nice try but a fail for me. Will tweak a bit next time, but these are a nice treat to have in the freezer for a little chocolate bite (I cut mine wayyy smaller than 16 bars, that seemed quite large!)
Hi Diane,
Thanks for making the recipe and sharing your feedback! I hope you have a great weekend! xx
Hello! These look amazing, but have you tried making them with any other nuts? My son is allergic to cashews.
Hey Leslie,
So sorry, for this recipe you will want to use the cashews. 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
Do you think she could sub macadamia nuts? Those usually tend to work the best in place of cashews. Just a thought 🙂 These look SO good I’m going to make them tonight!! You are one my favorite food blogs and one of only 2 that I immediately trust a recipe if I know it’s yours 🙂
Thanks so much Abby!! I’ve never tested this with macadamia nuts, so I can’t say for sure! xx
Hi,
These little guys are very tasty! Thanks for the recipe. The one change I made was to add a LOT more oil to the chocolate to make it easier to coat the bars. Not sure why but my chocolate did not look nearly as liquid as yours in your video. Let me know if you have any other suggestions to make it easier to dip.
Thanks.
Charlotte
Hey Charlotte,
Happy Wednesday!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it was tasty! Did you use a good quality chocolate bar? I really like Chocolove and Hu!?
Did you happen to use chocolate chips instead of a bar or melting wafers? I tend to notice if I use chips it’s gets SO much thicker bc of the wax and stabilizers
I need to add protein to my diet and have chocolate flavored protein powder. Could I cut the amount of cocoa powder in half replace with protein powder?
Hi Laura,
I’ve not tested this, but I don’t see why not! I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Hi! I’ve recently encountered your website, and there are a lot of great recipes here, thanks! I am looking forward to making these delicious treats; however, I am not an American and I couldn’t find canned coconut milk. I only managed to get boxed coconut water, do you think that’s ok?
Also, could you say how much chocolate is 12 ounces in cups? I have no idea what the measurements of ounces are..
Thank you!
Hi there,
Sorry, coconut water and coconut milk are not the same thing, you definitely want to see if you can find canned coconut milk. Maybe try ordering online? If you click “metric” under the list of ingredients, the measurements will convert for you:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Can you store them in the fridge as well? Or do they have to be stored in a freezer?
Hi there,
You are going to want to keep these in the freezer:) Let me know if you give the recipe a try! xx
Quick question… Did you use for coconut milk or lite coconut milk? I cannot wait to make these this weekend!
Hey Jenn,
I like to use full fat coconut milk for this recipe. Please let me know if you give it a try or have any other questions! xTieghan
I am finishing up the recipe and have a question. Once I dip them in chocolate and it sets do I individually wrap them to keep in the freezer? Thank you!
Hey Sarah,
Sure, you could do that! You can also just keep them in an airtight container. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope they are delicious!! xTieghan
Turned out great!!
Awesome!!
Hi there! I have a question. I want to make your vegan chocolate peanut butter bars which look amazing. I am confused at this point, am I supposed to melt the peanut butter? And is this the 12 OZ of dark chocolate, chopped? Thank you so very much! ……..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.
Message…
Hi Alison,
If you are using natural peanut butter you should be able to just pour and swirl, if your peanut butter is thicker then just pop it in the microwave for a minute to soften it. The chopped chocolate bar is used in step 5. Please let me know if you have any other questions!! xTieghan
These bars turned out just as pictured and taste delicious, too! I let freeze for 5 hours before cutting into bars just to be sure. I ran out of chocolate for my last bar otherwise it was perfect. Love the idea of turning these into bite sized treats next time!
Hey Lindsay,
Awesome!! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for making it and sharing your feedback!! 🙂
These are insaaaanely good. I love them even more than a regular ice cream bar! The mousse consistency is amazing and the flavour is absolutely delicious! Definitely a new summer staple in our freezer.
Hey Karly,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner and really appreciate you making it:) xTieghan
These are amazing!! Super luxurious treat – I made little bite-size nuggets, instead of bars. Thanks for such a wonderful recipe.
Hey Carrie,
Awesome!! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for making it and sharing your feedback!! 🙂
Any substitutes for the maple syrup? Not sure my Mrs Buttersworth would taste great in these
Hey Evan,
You could use honey, but then they wouldn’t be vegan:) Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
I have not seen coffee powder. I am assuming that I cannot use ground coffee, right?
I buy the little instant coffee packets from Starbucks for baking.
Great idea Tina, thanks for sharing!!
Can you use roasted cashews instead of raw? If so should you still soak them?
Hi Chelsea,
For this recipe, I would stick with the raw cashews for best texture:) Let me know if you give the recipe a try! xT
Hi Sarah,
Correct, ground coffee will not work in the same way. You should be able to find instant coffee or espresso powder at your local grocery store, if not you can also order online:) Please let me know if you have any other questions!! xTieghan
Right – ground coffee would add grit to the treat, since it’s ground beans – coffee powder is the beverage dehydrated, so it melts smoothly. Instant coffee would be a fine substitute, though, if you have any!
These are so tasty and also pretty! I have never used raw cashews before- amazing. They must be kept in the freezer and eaten as a frozen treat. Don’t skip the dusting of salt on the top. Delicious! I love this recipe.
Hey Beth,
Happy Monday!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a go! xxT