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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 โmagic shell.โ Put everything together and you have a frozen fudge bar thatโs 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. Thereโs truly nothing better than this mousse. The key to the silkiest, smoothest, vegan โmousseโ is to boil the raw cashews. This makes them extra soft and easier to blend up. When theyโre 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.
Itโs 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, donโt 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.ย 2. Line a 9×9 inch square baking dish with parchment paper.ย 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:ย if you are vegan, make sure to use a vegan chocolate bar.ย
Can I replace the blended raw cashews with cream cheese if I donโt need this to be vegan? Or what substitute would you recommend?
Hey Sarah,
Sure, I bet the cream cheese would work for you! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope it’s delish!! xx
So happy with how these delicious bars turned out! Theyโre easy to make and the texture is amazingโjust like a fudgesicle! I wish I wouldโve heated my peanut butter a bit to make it more of a drizzling consistently so that it would have distributed more evenly throughout bc those are the best bites.
Thank you for the yummy recipe!
Hi Brittney,
Amazing!! Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it and your comment! xx
How would this do with a scoop or 2 of protein powder to turn them into protein packed bars?
Hi Amber,
I’m so sorry, I have not tested this so I really don’t know how they would turn out. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try! xT
Hi, I donโt really like coffee or coffee flavoured things am I just able to leave the coffee powder out? Or do I need to replace it with something? Thanks ๐
Hi Hilary,
You can skip the instant coffee:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx