Healthy Butterfingers feature a classic toffee-like crunch, smooth chocolate coating, and much less saturated fat and sugar than the packaged candy bars!
Why you’ll love these healthy Butterfingers
- You need just 5 ingredients to make the recipe.
- As if by magic, they have the exact same crispy, crunchy texture of store bought peanut butter Butterfinger candy bars!
- You’ll immediately become obsessed with the rich chocolate peanut buttery flavor.
- The homemade healthy candy bars defy all logic. Whole grain, dairy free, refined sugar free, gluten free, and vegan options are all included.
- Plus, unlike packaged Butterfinger bars, there is NO corn syrup. Instead, they are naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup and nutrient rich blackstrap molasses.
It’s one of those recipes you really have to try in order to believe!
You may also like: Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Step by step recipe video
Update: I’ve since made the no bake Butterfinger bars even healthier and easier to prepare, by eliminating the granulated sugar and cooking step altogether.
The original healthy Butterfinger bars
You may now find hundreds of healthy Butterfinger recipes on the internet.
This is the one recipe that started it all, which I first shared almost 15 years ago.
My inspiration for these homemade Butterfinger candy bars came from a dollar bin cookbook I saw at a local fabric and craft store.
The book recipe, which yielded a standard 8 inch pan just like mine, called for a full cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of shortening, and 3/4 cup of corn syrup!
Yes, 3/4 cup of corn syrup in addition to the cup of sugar…
It was basically screaming for a healthy makeover.
I got to work on the challenge as soon as I got home. Luckily, this is one of those recipes that turned out perfectly on the first try, and the healthy “Betterfinger” bars really do taste like actual Butterfinger candy bars!
If you’re looking for a healthy dessert that will impress even the most skeptical or pickiest of eaters, these healthy vegan Butterfingers are definitely the recipe to try on all your friends.
In the years since I first published, it’s become one of the site’s most popular recipes. The copycat Butterfingers are a delicious snack or dessert for Halloween, Easter, or any time you are craving crispety, crunchety peanut buttery chocolate candies.
Readers often write in to tell me that even their health-food-hating dads, moms, brothers, sisters, girlfriends, or boyfriends love the bars too!
Katie, these are AMAZING!!! My husband said and I quote “These are better than any chocolate bar I have ever tasted!” Needless to say they are a hit in my house! I will definitely be bringing these to my next party!!
Key ingredients
Flake Cereal – I like bran flakes, but multigrain or gluten free corn flakes work well too.
Peanut Butter – This can be crunchy or creamy. Natural peanut butter is the healthiest option, although brands like Skippy or Jif are fine. Make them more allergy friendly by substituting almond butter, cashew butter, or nut free sunflower seed butter.
Pure Maple Syrup – An unrefined liquid sweetener like maple syrup, agave, or honey (not for vegans) adds sweetness and the stickiness needed to bind the bars together.
Blackstrap Molasses – This is my favorite healthy sugar alternative. It provides a classic toffee or caramel flavor while also giving you iron, calcium, and magnesium.
Salt – A pinch of salt balances the sweetness in these homemade Butterfingers.
Chocolate Chips – I like semi sweet or dark chocolate chips, which contain more flavanols than milk chocolate. Use dairy free chocolate chips for vegan Butterfingers.
Oil (optional) – Stirring a teaspoon of coconut oil into the chocolate yields a smoother sauce. You can absolutely omit the oil if you prefer.
While the peanut butter is out, make Chocolate Oatmeal Fudge Bars
How to make healthy gluten free Butterfingers
Step 1: Bring peanut butter to room temperature. You want the nut butter to be soft and easy to stir. Either let it sit out of the refrigerator until easily stirrable, or warm it up with the pure maple syrup and molasses in a saucepan on the stove top.
Step 2: Combine all ingredients. Add the softened nut butter, sweeteners, salt, and flake cereal to a large measuring cup or saucepan.
Step 3: Mix everything together. Stir the ingredients vigorously with a fork or heavy spatula. Crush the cereal well. Keep stirring until everything is thoroughly mixed and evenly coated.
Step 4: Spread into a pan. Line the bottom of an eight inch square baking pan with wax or parchment paper. Transfer the peanut butter cereal mixture to the pan, and smooth it down evenly. It will fill the whole pan, or you can make thicker bars by only filling it up halfway.
Tip: I like to use a second layer of parchment paper to really press the mixture into the pan.
Step 5: Freeze. Place the baking pan in the freezer until the bars are fully hardened.
Step 6: Add chocolate. Carefully melt the chocolate chips in a microwave or double boiler. Remove the frozen Butterfingers from the freezer and pour the chocolate sauce on top. Alternatively, you can slice into bars and then dip each bar in melted chocolate.
Step 7: Return to the freezer. Freeze the pan again for just a few minutes, to set the chocolate. Remove when the topping is still a little soft, to prevent it from cracking when you slice bars.
Step 8: Enjoy! If you somehow happen to find yourself with leftovers, store them in a very cool place on the counter for up to a week. (Emphasis on cool, as they will slowly start to melt at room temperature.) Or cover tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or freezer for up to three months. Or just ship the bars to me. I’ll eat them for you!
Leftover melted chocolate? Try this Chocolate Raspberry Bark
Reader tip
Crumble up a homemade Betterfinger bar into Banana Ice Cream or Almond Milk Ice Cream for your own copycat DQ healthy Butterfinger Blizzard!
Homemade Butterfinger health benefits
High iron. Thanks to powerhouse blackstrap molasses and antioxidant rich chocolate, the crunchy chocolate peanut butter candy bars give you 10% of the daily iron recommendation.
High protein. Each bar provides over 6.5 grams or protein, even without any protein powder!
Good source of fiber. You get whole grains and close to 10% of the RDA for fiber in 1 serving.
Low sugar. These contain just 10 grams of sugars, as opposed to more than 20 grams in a packaged Butterfinger candy bar.
Low saturated fat. The homemade version has just 2 grams saturated fat instead of the 5 grams in the store bought version. They are lower calorie and lower carb too.
Healthy Butterfingers
Ingredients
- 1 cup peanut butter or allergy friendly nut or seed butter (240g)
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup or honey (80g) (For keto, try these Keto Candy Bars)
- 1 1/2 tbsp blackstrap molasses or additional maple syrup (22g)
- 1 1/2 cups flake cereal (such as bran flakes or gluten free corn flakes)
- 1/8 tsp salt (increase to 1/4 tsp if using unsalted nut butter)
- 3 oz chocolate chips or sugar free chocolate chips (increase to 9 oz if you wish to coat the entire bar in chocolate)
Instructions
- 1. Let peanut butter sit out until easy to stir. Alternatively, warm it in a saucepan on the stove top with the maple syrup and molasses.
- 2. Stir the softened nut butter, sweeteners, salt, and cereal in a large measuring cup or saucepan. Crush the cereal with a fork or heavy spatula, and keep stirring until all cereal is evenly coated.
- 3. Transfer the mixture to an 8 inch square pan lined with parchment paper. Smooth it down to fill the whole pan, or make thicker bars by only filling up half of the pan. Press down very firmly.
- 4. Place the pan of healthy Butterfingers in the freezer to harden.
- 5. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave or a double boiler. Pour the melted chocolate over the frozen Butterfingers or dip each bar in chocolate.
- 6. Freeze again to set the chocolate shell. If cutting into bars, remove from the freezer when the chocolate is still a little soft to prevent cracking. Slice into bars.
- 7. Store any leftovers tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to two weeks on in the freezer for up to three months.
Video
Notes
More healthy candy bar recipes
I just made these, except I used Gluten Free Rice Krispies instead of corn flakes. Worked beautifully!
These look soooo nice! I’m a succer for butterfingers, so it’s great to be able to find a healthy alternative. I usually like to check out a site called Matts Backpack when I’m looking for healthy dessert recipes – http://www.mattsbackpack.co.uk. Personally, I love what this blog is all about. Their overall ethos of “life’s too short not to eat nice food” is what always inspires me to keep going when the chocolate comes calling!
I made these tonight with these alterations: changed the cereal to rice chex and used 3 1/2 tbsp of agave nectar for sweetener instead of xylitol. I used a range burner that runs very hot (gas) and timed a minute after the mixture started a frothing boil–I am not sure if it is supposed to be like stretchy toffee or taffy (you say toffee-like crunch but mine was like soft caramel-toffee-stretch aka taffy-like) but I saved some of the mixture after adding the peanut butter but before adding it to the cereal and it was like a delicious peanut butter taffy–which is a great dish all on it’s own. After mixing it with the cereal and crunching it up a bit I pressed them into a pan, scored it into bars, and put it in the freezer. About a half hour later I dipped them in the coconut oil-chocolate sauce (not just the top–the whole thing because that’s how I roll). I am not sure if it is supposed to be like stretchy taffy but they will break your teeth if you leave them in the freezer so I put mine in the fridge (though there aren’t many left). Very good work Katie–my family and I love your recipes! My almost 2 year old daughter spins around in circles saying ‘choc-late! choc-late!’ every time we make your 3 ingredient chocolate bars and your peanut butter breakfast pudding is one of her very favorite breakfast treats.
So sorry! I used “sugar” instead of xylitol–not agave in the above post. I made these again with the same alterations except today I used homemade syrup instead of agave (2 cups brown sugar + 1 1/2 cups water + a pinch of salt–cook on low stove top for 25 minutes–keeps at least a month in the fridge–we use this for pancakes mostly–cheaper and more delicious than the corn syrup stuff at the store–I actually like it better than real maple syrup). I didn’t keep the heat so high this time and the taffy-effect did not happen. They are more crumbly–which I think is the way Katie intends them to be. It is still a great recipe either way! Thank you Katie!
Made them last night for the family and they were a huge hit. Crispy and crumbly just like the real thing. I think they taste BETTER than the real thing, too. And so easy.
I just made these with maple syrup and they taste amazing! I was really surprised at how close the taste is to actual butterfingers!
Katie! Wow!! I can’t wait to make these. You are a brilliant one! I can already tell they will taste amazing too. Thanks! Have a great weekend.
Hey Katie!
I received this list of healthy cookies in an email earlier and look who takes the last spot!
http://caloriecount.about.com/blog/partners/5-healthy-cookie-recipes-fall-b589690?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_20121020&utm_term=title2
Made them and loved them! So delicious! My husband and kids loved them, too.
looks like we just left almost identical comments! 🙂
these are fantastic. even better than real butterfingers!
thank you for creating such a delicious recipe. my husband and son thank you too. we LOVE your website!
Hi Katie
Your blog is just lovely! Thank you so much for sharing! I just made these, but now I wonder, should they be eaten frozen or at normal temp?
Thanks again!
//Anna
They are best kept frozen, but you can thaw a little before eating…
Unfortunately, they begin to get extremely sticky at room temp.
If you want to eat them at room temp, boil the sugars together a bit longer, until they reach soft-ball stage (meaning a bit dripped into cold water forms a soft ball. I forget what temp that is if you have a thermometer, but you can look it up). I did that, and they hardened up beautifully and do not need to be kept in the fridge. Be aware though that they will be less crumbly, if butterfinger-crumbly is what you’re going for.
From Safari 5.1.7
I made these but instead of cereal (I didn’t have any) I toasted 1.5 cups oats with some coconut oil at 350 degrees until crunchy. They probably aren’t as crunchy as the cereal, but it’s another option!
Made these last night and they were amazing. Thanks, Katie! I am thrilled about this recipe. It might be my new favorite! 🙂
Katie, these are AMAZING!!! my husband said and i quote “These are better than any chocolate bar I have ever tasted!”. Needless to say they are a hit in my house! I will definitely be bringing these to my next party!!
I made these twice this weekend. The first time I used Better ‘n PB and they were quite gooey. Delicious, but a sticky mess. The second I used half Better ‘n PB, half PB2 powder (no added water) and they were much, much better. I should have known better than using all BnPB but oh well. You live, you learn. I ate them all up though. Mmmmmm
Oh my gosh. I remember butterfingers, but since they have milk in them I’ve always had to avoid them. But now I don’t! Thanks, Katie! 😀