Vanilla Bean Crunch Almond Butter Bark

By Rachel Conners @bakeritablog

This Vanilla Bean Crunch Almond Butter Bark is takes about 5 minutes with just 5 ingredients. It’s crunchy and creamy, and sure to satisfy sugar cravings. It tastes like candy, but it’s Paleo, sugar free, vegan, & gluten-free!

T-2 days until my last semester of college starts. This isn’t real. We’re not going to talk about it.

Instead, we’re going to talk about how you can prep this almond butter bark in literally, about 5 minutes, less if you’re speedy. Oh, and don’t turn on your oven, no cooking is required (except to melt the coconut oil – which is microwave friendly).

But first, let’s talk about what almond butter bark is, because that’s what’s awesome. So often…”bark” is an excuse for chocolate loaded to be more sugary garnishes and candies. And bark is awesome, and we all love getting it for Christmas, but…it’s probably not the best thing for us to be eating all of the time, right?

THIS bark, however, is two things we can totally eat all the time: almond butter and coconut oil. That’s it. In the right proportions, the coconut oil helps solidify the almond butter to create a creamy, snap-able bark that’s totally addicting.

Of course, on the base of those two ingredients, the options are endless, but I opted for simple and it turned out incredibly. The vanilla bean paste adds a beautiful, soft vanilla flavor that’s definitely noticeable, and the toasted almonds add the best nuttiness and crunch. The salt ties it all together, but you can skip it if you’re using salted almond butter – mine was unsalted.

I love that this is only 5 ingredients (barely, does salt even count?), sooo quick and easy, and 100% free of sugar and gluten and all that stuff. It’s 100% Paleo, too. But seriously, I’m just mentioning that, because everyone will like this recipe, not just people with dietary restrictions and allergies.

You can play around so much here too. I’m dying to try making a mocha version! You could also switch out the almond butter to peanut butter or any other of your favorite nut butters, even sunflower seed butter to keep it nut free.

I’d love to hear how you like it, so leave me a comment down below, and enjoy!

Vanilla Bean Crunch Almond Butter Bark   Save Print Prep time 5 mins Total time 5 mins   Author: Rachel Conners Ingredients
  • ⅓ cup coconut oil
  • ¼ cup almond butter
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste (if you don't have it, substitute 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
  • ¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted
  • Sprinkle of sea salt
Directions
  1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine coconut oil and almond butter. If coconut oil is solid, melt mixture together in the microwave for about 15-30 seconds until the coconut oil is melted. Whisk to combine.
  3. Add in the vanilla bean paste and toasted almonds, stir. Pour mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt (I used Maldon).
  4. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes, or until the bark is hard and can be snapped apart. Snap into pieces, and store in the refrigerator.
Notes Inspired by I Quit Sugar 3.2.2925