OH HIIIIIIII. Back from the weekend and ready for something a little sweet? Same. I have to admit I’m someone who always has something sweet in the house to keep me satisfied after dinner, or hey, even maybe a lunch dessert? YUM.
These allergy friendly chex bars were inspired by my healthy peanut butter rice krispie treats and have officially become our favorite no bake treat to keep in our freezer at all times. I wanted to switch up the original version, so I opted to use tahini instead of peanut butter, rice chex instead of rice krispies and of course Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips to keep the bars dairy free, soy free and gluten free.
They’re the perfect dessert to bring to parties and quickly whip up when you’re in the mood for something sweet. Best of all, they’re nut free so all the kiddos (and adults, let’s be honest) can dig in and enjoy.
Did you know that Enjoy Life chocolate is dairy-free, nut-free and soy-free and even free of 14 common allergens. Pretty impressive, right?
I love to use their chocolate chips in my baking recipes when I want to keep them vegan or dairy free, and am especially a huge fan of the mini chocolate chips and dark chocolate morsels. If you haven’t tried their chocolate, you must!
These chex bars are made with super simple ingredients and involve you making a tahini caramel made from tahini, pure maple syrup, vanilla and coconut oil (or sub vegan butter). It’s very similar to my tahini caramel millionaire bars, and yes, it truly does taste like real deal caramel sauce! If you haven’t experimented with tahini yet (just ground up sesame seeds), this recipe is your chance to be a little adventurous.
What makes these no bake chex bars allergy-friendly?
These tahini chex bars are great for sharing and bringing to parties because they’re vegan, gluten free, dairy free, and nut free. To keep them allergy-friendly, be sure to use Enjoy Life chocolate chips, pure maple syrup, gluten free rice chex, and tahini instead of another nut butter. If you’re sensitive to coconut, feel free to use vegan butter in places where the recipe calls for coconut oil. Easy AND SO FREAKIN’ DELISH.
How to store these tahini chex bars:
These chex bars should be kept covered in the freezer and will stay good for up to 2 weeks. Take bars out 5 minutes before you are ready to serve to ensure they aren’t too crunchy! They will soften up at room temp so storing in the freezer is best.
More sweet treats you might like:
No Bake Chewy Peanut Butter Granola Bars
Salted Tahini Caramel Millionaire Bars (vegan + paleo)
Vegan Paleo No Bake Cookie Dough Cups
Toasted Quinoa, Dried Fig & Dark Chocolate Nut Free Granola Bars
Healthy Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread (nut free!)
No Bake Salted Tahini Cookie Dough Fudge
Watch Monique make the tahini caramel chex bars:
I know you’re going to love these caramel chex bars, please let me know if you make them by leaving a comment and rating the recipe below. I’d love to hear from you and it helps encourage others to make the recipe too! xo.
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Allergy-Friendly Chocolate Caramel Tahini Chex Bars
Ingredients
- Wet ingredients:
- 3/4 cup drippy tahini
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil (or sub vegan butter)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Dry ingredients:
- 3 ½ cups rice chex
- 3/4 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil (or sub vegan butter)
Instructions
- Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper. Place a medium pot over low heat and add in tahini, coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth and well combined, about 1 minute. Alternatively, you can microwave this mixture for 45-60 seconds.
- Pour your wet ingredients over your chex cereal and stir until combined and cereal is completely coated. Pour into prepared pan, and use a spatula to flatten the top so it is even.
- Next make the chocolate topping by adding Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips and coconut oil to a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high in 30 second intervals, stirring in-between, until chocolate is completely melted. You can also melt the chocolate in a small saucepan over very low heat if you prefer.
- Pour melted chocolate over the bars and tilt your pan to spread out the chocolate evenly. Place pan in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until bars are completely cool and chocolate is melted. Sprinkle bars with fancy sea salt, then cut into 16 bars. Enjoy!
- Bars should be kept covered in the fridge and will stay good for up to 1 week. Take bars out 10 minutes before you are ready to serve to ensure they aren't too crunchy! They soften up at room temp.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
50 comments
These look really yummy! I would just like to point out that sesame is a top 14 allergen. So although the chocolate is allergy-friendly, the bars do include a top allergen. I realize that nothing can be completely allergy-free as people are allergic to all sorts of things. Pleasing everyone is impossible! There is a big push right now to include sesame on allergy warning labeling because it is so common. I am also shocked at how many people don’t actually know what tahini is! As someone who has seen the effects of an anaphylactic response in my 2 yr old son, it’s just something I feel passionate about. That being said, thank you for making an effort to include allergy-friendly recipes AND recipes that are easily adapted to suite different dietary restrictions! We love making your yummy treats! 😊
Sarah — so sorry to hear that but totally understand where you are coming from. These bars are very adaptable, and I’ve just added that you can use sunflower seed butter 🙂 hopefully this helps a bit! Typically though, when we talk about allergy friendly foods, seeds (including sesame) are ususally okay. Everyone is different though, and since this recipe is versatile, hopefully you can mix and match ingredients to make it work for you! 🙂
Can I replace the tahini with peanut butter? Oddly, I’m allergic to tree nuts, sesame and sunflower seeds. But, I can happily eat peanuts all day!
Absolutely! I’ve tried it and it’s delicious!
Delicious
Thanks, Patricia!
These bars look SUBLIME. Tahini, chocolate, chex, and maple syrup all are wonderful together. Could you substitute the rice chex with a puffed cereal like puffed rice or kamut?
Hi Cassie! Feel free to use brown rice krispies/puffs!
These look amazing! You have me loving tahini now. Can I make a request for a tahini caramel corn recipe?
Omg that sounds incredible! I’ll add it to my tahini list 😉
I have to confess, I don’t LOVE tahini. I think it’s okay, but it can be a little bitter. That said, I decided to try making these anyways (with rice krispies), and they are legit amazing. I will definitely be making these all summer long.
Tahini on its own can be a bit earthy/bitter, but I promise it’s amazing in baked goods and even sauces! Give these recipes a try 🙂 Glad you loved these ones!
These bars are better than Special K bars or anything close to it. I made them over the weekend and we had the whole pan finished off in no time 🙂 Tahini was something I’ve never used before, but now I look for it as an ingredient in Monique’s recipes & know it will be yummy!! Perfect bar for Summer!
YES my delicious twist on Special K bars 🙂 glad you loved them! More tahini treats to come, too.
Excellent – perfect, need not change a thing. My sons (17 and 13) love them!
Amazing! So happy to hear that 🙂
I did everything right but it does not stick together enough to do anything else apart eat it at home over a plate. I did not use different ingredients. I was looking for other comments that would give me clues about why it comes loose but surprisingly, there is no comment! Did they disappear with the new site? 🤔
Sorry to hear that you had an issue. You really have to crush up the chex a bit when you are pressing them into the pan in order for them to stick together nicely.
Could I use rice krispies in this recipe?
Try this recipe! https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/healthy-peanut-butter-rice-krispie-treats/ 🙂
WHERE DOES THE CARAMEL FIT IN? I DON’T SEE IT IN THE INGREDIENT LIST. AM I MISSING IT?
Hi! The wet ingredients form the caramel substance that you’ll mix in (it’s not a “traditional” caramel) 🙂 enjoy!
These were absolutely FABULOUS!!! I only had 1/2 cup of tahini and substituted the rest with peanut butter. INSANELY GOOD. Would completely make again.
I’m glad that worked out well! Yum!!
I LOVE how you use tahini and make it so versatile for both sweet and savory dishes! These are delicious and not overly sweet. We keep them in the freezer, and with just a few minutes of sitting on the counter they are prefect for eating.
Absolutely! Love cooking & baking with tahini 🙂 and great tip to keep them in the freezer!
You’re so talented at creating such diverse recipes with it! I love tahini too. I am currently obsessed with putting tahini on sweet potato toast or crackers with a sprinkle of cinnamon and a drizzle of honey!
Thank you! 🙂 and YES love that!
Hi! I love your website and the recipes but this name of this recipe is misleading. Sesame is the fastest growing food allergen in the country and is already considered the 9th top food allergen although still waiting on FDA approval. . 🙁
Hi! Thanks for your note 🙂 I do mention that it is allergy-friendly (not allergy-free) as I recognize that there are tons of different types of allergens out there. The tahini can also easily be swapped 🙂
Can I use corn Chex instead of rice Chex?
Wow! These are amazing! I used cinnamon Chex because my grocery store was out of regular. These are 10/10!!
Great idea, I bet that was delicious! So happy you enjoyed them, Jennifer 🙂
This is super easy to make and delicious!
So glad to hear that, Kerri! 🙂
So good! My picky 4 year old and I are obsessed! The tahini caramel is dreamy.
So good. A crunchy and super easy twist on the millionaire bars from AK that I have also made a million times. Mmmmmm
These are delicious! Made them for my niece that has a nut allergies. She loved them. And my husband calls them “crack bars” because he can’t stop eating them!
Omg love that!! So glad to hear you guys all enjoyed these 🙂
Husband loved these!! I think I found out I’m not a fan of tahini. 🙈😅 But I’m going to try again with peanut butter! Overall, these were a huge hit in my house.
These would be great with PB! Glad that he loved them, and hope you can try them again ASAP! 🙂
So yummy! Everyone in my house loved them. They didn’t last long
So yummy!
Hi,
I’m just wondering if I can substitute the tahini with sunflower butter?
Thank you!
WOWZA! Had an excessive amount of chex leftover from a chex mix I made for the Super Bowl and made these gems. SO SO delish! always love your recipes, Monique! xx
These were SO good! Bringing them to the cabin this Memorial weekend with a peanut allergy in the family. My husband’s new fav 🙂
Yum! glad these turned out great ❤️
These were amazing and are a new family favorite!
Hi Monique, We love all your recipes! Do you think cheerios might work for this recipe? Thank you!
Hmm, great idea. I haven’t tried it, but I am sure they would work just fine. Enjoy!