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Lunchroom-style Monster Crunchies. These treats are so easy to make with only a handful of ingredients and zero baking, there’s nothing not to love! Melted chocolate chips mixed with creamy or crunchy peanut butter, brown rice krispies, broken pretzels, and a big handful of M&M’s. These take just minutes to make and only seconds to disappear. Kids and adults love every little crunchy bite. Perfect for the lunchroom, as an after-school snack, or a treat to share with co-workers. These monster crunchies are so delicious!
I have the busy back-to-school season in mind. I don’t understand why, but this is one of my favorite times of the year. When I was a kid I hated heading back to school. But what I loved was the idea that my family would be getting back into routines and back to some structure.
If you know anything about me, you know I love a routine and I need structure. I’m very much that girl. So when back-to-school time rolled around it was sad, but I also think I felt a sense of excitement. Excitement for creating new routines. Excitement for the upcoming fall season. And oh my gosh, definitely excitement that the holidays would soon be here. Halloween is right around the corner!
Additionally, I adored back-to-school shopping more than anything. Both back-to-school clothes shopping and shopping for my list of supplies. That part was always fun!
Now as an adult, I still find this time of year exciting. And with the busyness of work, socializing, family time, football, and sports, I heard you all when you said you need simple, simple. So I’m rolling out some of my easiest recipes this month!
These monster crunchies are beyond yummy. I was inspired by everyone’s favorite monster cookies to create a simple 5-ingredient monster CRUNCH with brown rice krispies, broken pretzels, peanut butter, mini M&M’s, and chocolate chips.
The details
Step 1: melt the chocolate
Use the entire 24-ounce bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Melt them together with coconut oil in a glass bowl. I do this in the microwave, which is the easiest. It’s a gentle way to melt the chocolate without burning it.
The coconut oil is optional, but I would use it if you have it. It helps to nicely set the chocolate.
Step 2: mix everything in
Now add the peanut butter, brown rice krispies, pretzels pieces, and either M&M’s or mini M&M’s. Stir this all up until combined!
The peanut butter and M&M’s add the “monster” cookie element. You could also add dry oats, which are traditionally used in monster cookies. But I don’t think they’re actually needed for these.
Step 3: make the crunch clusters
Scoop out spoonfuls of the crunch mix onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Then put the entire pan in the fridge or freezer to quickly set up.
Once the chocolate is set, you can eat them all up! I usually add a pinch of sea salt to mine. So yum!
You can keep these stored in the fridge or on the counter, but be sure to keep them out of the sun. Either place or is great, but we love them most straight out of the fridge.
Asher says these are perfect for snacking. She loves every crunchy bite!
Looking for easy “lunchroom” style back-to-school desserts? Here are a few ideas:
Healthier Homemade Nutter Butter Cookies
Homemade Vegan Peanut Butter Twix Bars
Lunchroom Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Blondies
Giant Salted Espresso Hot Fudge Cookies
Lastly, if you make these Monster Crunchies 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!
Monster Crunchies
Servings: 40 bites
Calories Per Serving: 45 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 bag (24 ounce) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 3/4 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter
- 3 cups brown rice crisps
- 1 cup pretzels, broken
- 1 cup mini M&M's regular M&Ms work too
Instructions
- 1. Melt together the chocolate and coconut oil (if using) in the microwave. Mix in the peanut butter, brown rice krispies, pretzels and M&M's.2. Scoop a spoonful (1 tablespoon or so) out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Chill 10 minutes in the fridge or freezer, until set. 3. Keep stored in the fridge or at room temperature.
My sister has a gluten allergy, so I plan on substituting the pretzels with gluten-free pretzels. This is an interesting take on no-bake cookies because it does not have oats. I am excited to try this fresh spin on the recipe!
Hope you love these Lila! xT
I made these using sugar-free ingredients. They were delicious. Thank you for creating a recipe that can keep my diabetic husband satisfied.
So glad you were able to make this and sub things out according to your family’s needs! love to hear that!
These monster crunchies are such a great and easy treat!! They are a favorite request from my father and sister-in-law!! ❤️😍
Thank you Missy! xT
Where do I find brown rice crispies?
I usually get mine from whole foods! You can also use regular rice krispies! xT
I was in the middle of making the Monster Crunchies recipe and realized it does not say when to incorporate the pretzels. ????
Hey Donna! I’m so sorry for the confusion! I’ve fixed the recipe now! xT
Isn’t best to use refined or unrefined coconut oil when melting the chocolate??
Hi there! You can use either, I usually use refined coconut oil because it has a higher smoke point for cooking/baking! xT
I made a half batch of these fun crunchies yesterday. I split the half batch again and added peanut butter to mine, as my partner is not a fan of peanut butter. I also left out the M&Ms, adding extra rice crispies and pretzels instead. They are so quick and easy to make and they tasted delicious, perfect if you want to make a quick sweet treat. Great recipe, thank you!
Yummy! Thanks for giving the recipe a try!
These are amazing!! So easy and do yummy!
Thank you so so much Jayne! xT
So delicious, so many people already asking for the recipe! Couldn’t find mini M&Ms so I used regular but would have definitely been easier to bite into with mini.
Love to hear that!! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! xT
Is there a substitute for the peanut butter? We are a nut free house due to allergies.
You could just omit it and use chocolate!
You can use sunflower butter as to be nut free. Although it may very slightly alter the consistency.
What are brown rice krispies? I am excited to try this, but not sure if you can use rice krispies or what that actually means. Thank you.
Hi! They are just rice krispies made with brown rice but you can totally do regular rice krispies! xT
Hi Tieghan! Not sure if you are aware based on your own schooling, but a lot of schools are nut-free these days. I’d love to see more back to school/lunchroom style treats that follow these guidelines. Thanks!
Thank you for the input Kim! xT
Hi! Making your munchies now, so excited! You failed to mention adding the pretzels…I assume this is when I add the mms and crispies? Thanks!
Yes, they are added in with the m&ms and crispies! xT
So easy, so quick, so delicious! Don’t be fooled by storing them in the freezer. They’re just as delicious frozen.
That was meant to be a 5 star rating!
Thank you so much Toni! xT
These are so good, it’s hard to stop eating them! I did probably add extra pretzels, but otherwise it was perfect.
Thanks sooo much for trying out the recipe! I hope it was a hit! xT
I used lactose free chocolate and added shredded coconut ,pretzel and ric bubbles. We love them. thanks for the great school lunch box recipe xxxx