If you've ever opened a bag of Undercover chocolate quinoa crisps from Costco, you know how hard it is to eat just one. These homemade chocolate quinoa crisps have the same light, snappy crunch, and you can make a whole batch with puffed quinoa, dark chocolate, peanut butter, and a pinch of sea salt.
What makes this quinoa chocolate crisps recipe work is a quick toast. A few minutes in a dry pan dries out the puffed quinoa, so every chocolate covered quinoa crisp stays crunchy after it sets. The peanut butter goes in last and swirls through the dark chocolate, which gives the crisps a nutty flavor that tastes a little like a peanut butter cup.
If you're looking for more easy bites that go light on salt, browse our collection of low sodium snack recipes.
Most crispy treats need butter, marshmallows, or syrup to hold them together. In these quinoa dark chocolate crisps, the chocolate does that job on its own, which keeps the ingredient list short. Puffed quinoa is a whole grain, and it adds a little fiber and protein along with all that crunch. Since every crisp comes already portioned, it's also easy to enjoy a serving of two and put the rest back in the fridge. Like every recipe on Health eCooks, this one was reviewed by our dietitians before we published it.
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Homemade chocolate quinoa crisps can be a smart snack. A serving of two has 130 calories, which is fewer than most full-size candy bars, and it still feels like a real chocolate treat. Like any sweet, they're best enjoyed in small portions.
Start by toasting puffed quinoa in a dry pan, then let it cool. Melt dark chocolate with a little olive oil, stir in the sea salt, and fold in the quinoa and peanut butter. Scoop small mounds onto parchment paper and chill them for about 30 minutes, until the chocolate sets.
Puffed quinoa pulls in moisture from the air once the bag is open, so it can turn a little stale and chewy. Adding it to the chocolate while it's still warm from the pan can also trap steam. Toasting the quinoa, letting it cool all the way, and storing the finished crisps in the fridge will keep your crispy quinoa chocolate crunchy.
Heat a large, dry frying pan over medium heat and add the puffed quinoa. Stir it often for about 3 minutes, until it smells toasty and feels dry. Then pour it onto a plate in a single layer, because it keeps getting crisper as it cools.
You can, and the ingredients are easy to find. Undercover's dark chocolate crisps are made with dark chocolate, quinoa, and sea salt, so a homemade copycat starts with those same three. Our version also adds creamy peanut butter for flavor.
If chocolate and peanut butter is your favorite pairing, these snacks put the two together in different ways, from bite-size truffles to fudge and bars. Each one has fewer than 200 calories a serving.
Love a good crunch? These treats skip the oven, too. Two of them use crispy rice cereal and peanut butter, while the chocolate almond bark gets its crunch from roasted almonds.
Undercover crisps are handy to keep in the pantry, and they're gluten-free like ours. If you came here for an Undercover chocolate quinoa crisps recipe, though, making them yourself lets you pick your chocolate, add peanut butter, and change a few numbers on the label. Here's how a serving of each compares:
*Store-bought figures come from Undercover's Costco product listing. Serving sizes may not match exactly.
Each of the five ingredients has a job to do, so here's what to look for when you shop:
The same mixture can take on a few different shapes. As long as you divide the batch into 16 servings, the nutrition stays the same:
Recipe yields 16 servings
Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the puffed quinoa and toast, stirring frequently, until dried out and crispy, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet to cool completely.
Place the dark chocolate and olive oil in a medium microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high in 30-second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Stir in the sea salt. If using the peanut butter, stir it into the melted chocolate now.
Pour the toasted quinoa into the melted chocolate; mix until well combined and all of the quinoa is coated. Stir the peanut butter into chocolate-coated quinoa until fully incorporated.
Scoop tablespoon-sized dollops of the quinoa mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Chill in the refrigerator or freezer for at least 30 minutes until set. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
No microwave, or curious how to make quinoa crisps from scratch? These options give you a little more flexibility:
Two crisps make a nice afternoon snack on their own, and they're even better with a mug of heart healthy hot cocoa on a chilly day. For something lighter, pair them with a bowl of easy fruit salad or a raspberry yogurt parfait.
Almond butter or sunflower seed butter works in the same amount. Sunflower seed butter keeps the crisps peanut-free, and a no-salt-added kind keeps the sodium low.
Semisweet or milk chocolate will give you sweeter milk chocolate quinoa crisps, though they also add more sugar. Some cooks make cocoa quinoa crisps with cocoa powder, coconut oil, and a sweetener, but those set softer and need to stay in the freezer.
Coconut oil or another neutral oil works in the same amount.
Puffed brown rice or crispy rice cereal can replace some or all of the quinoa. If you need the crisps to stay gluten-free, check the label.
When you're in the mood for chocolate but want something a little different, each of these snacks is ready in an hour or less.
