Easy Chocolate Quinoa Crisps Recipe 3 Ingredients

by Alex Turnbull, RDN, LD | Aug 13, 2026

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Looking for an easy puffed quinoa recipe? These chocolate quinoa crisps combine crispy puffed quinoa with chocolate and peanut butter for an easy three-ingredient, no-bake treat.

The puffed quinoa gives these little chocolate bites a light, crispy texture, while the peanut butter adds creaminess and that classic chocolate-peanut butter flavor.

As a registered dietitian and mom, I also love recipes like this because they don’t try to turn dessert into something it isn’t. Chocolate can just be chocolate. But we can also add foods like whole grains, nuts, seeds and nut butters to foods we already enjoy.

That’s what I call nutrition by addition.

Why You’ll Love These Chocolate Quinoa Crisps

These chocolate quinoa crisps are:

Made with just three ingredients
No-bake
Quick and easy to make
Crispy and chocolatey
Easy for kids to help make
A fun way to use puffed quinoa
Easy to store in the refrigerator or freezer

If you’ve bought a bag of puffed quinoa and aren’t quite sure what to do with it, this is a great place to start.

What Is Puffed Quinoa?

Puffed quinoa is quinoa that has been heated until it becomes light and crispy.

Unlike the fluffy cooked quinoa you might serve as a side dish, puffed quinoa has a crunchy texture that’s more similar to a tiny puffed cereal. That crunch is what makes it work so well in this chocolate quinoa recipe.

For these chocolate quinoa crisps, I’m using purchased puffed quinoa, so there’s no need to cook it before adding it to the chocolate.

You can use it directly from the package.

Does Puffed Quinoa Have Nutritional Benefits?

Yes, although we don’t need to turn these chocolate quinoa crisps into a “healthy dessert” to make them worthwhile.

Quinoa naturally provides nutrients including protein, fiber, iron and other minerals. Peanut butter adds additional protein, fat and other nutrients.

Puffed quinoa is simply quinoa that’s been heated until it becomes light and crispy. Unlike cooked quinoa, which absorbs water and becomes soft and fluffy, puffed quinoa stays dry and crunchy.

While you could eat a cup of cooked quinoa as part of a meal, we probably wouldn’t want to eat enough of these chocolate quinoa crisps to get a cup’s worth of quinoa. That would also mean eating quite a bit of chocolate and added sugar along with it! Instead, think of the puffed quinoa as a fun way to add some extra nutrients, texture and variety to a chocolate treat, not as a replacement for a serving of cooked quinoa.

There’s another benefit I love as a pediatric dietitian: exposing kids to foods in different forms.

A child might have no interest in a scoop of cooked quinoa at dinner but happily explore crispy puffed quinoa covered in chocolate and peanut butter. That exposure still counts.

Kids don’t have to learn about new foods in only one form. Seeing, touching, tasting and enjoying foods prepared in different ways can all help build familiarity.

Ingredients for Chocolate Quinoa Crisps

You only need three ingredients for this easy chocolate quinoa crisps recipe:

Semi-sweet chocolate chips

You can use milk, semi-sweet or dark chocolate depending on what your family prefers.

Creamy peanut butter

I used Jif Natural creamy peanut butter, but another creamy peanut butter should work. You can even leave this ingredient out if you don’t want the peanut butter flavor.

Puffed quinoa

You want puffed quinoa for this one. Regular uncooked quinoa is very much not the kind of crunch we’re looking for.

How to Make Chocolate Quinoa Crisps

1. Melt the chocolate and peanut butter

Place the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl.

Microwave in approximately 20-second intervals, stirring between each, until completely melted and smooth.

2. Add the puffed quinoa

Add the puffed quinoa to the melted chocolate and peanut butter.

Gently fold everything together until the puffed quinoa is evenly coated.

3. Make the quinoa chocolate crisps

Spoon the mixture into mini muffin liners or silicone mini muffin molds.

You can also drop small spoonfuls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet if you don’t have a mini muffin pan.

This recipe makes approximately 24 chocolate quinoa crisps.

4. Chill

Refrigerate for approximately 20–30 minutes, or until the chocolate has completely set.

That’s it. No baking required.

Chocolate Quinoa Crisps Nutrition

One batch makes approximately 24 crisps.

Each crisp provides approximately:

90 calories
2 grams protein
10 grams carbohydrate
5 grams fat
1 gram fiber
6 grams total sugar
5–6 grams added sugar
0.3 mg iron

Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the specific brands and ingredients used.

Can I Make Chocolate Quinoa Crisps Without Peanut Butter?

Yes. You can also make these chocolate quinoa crisps without peanut butter.

For a simple chocolate and puffed quinoa version, melt 1 cup of chocolate chips and stir in approximately 1 1/2 to 2 cups of puffed quinoa.

Without the peanut butter, the crisps will have a firmer texture and more pronounced chocolate flavor.

For a peanut-free option, you could also try sunflower seed butter or another nut or seed butter that works for your family.

Do I Need Coconut Oil for Chocolate Quinoa Crisps?

No. You don’t need coconut oil for this recipe.

Some puffed quinoa chocolate recipes use coconut oil to thin the melted chocolate, but the combination of chocolate and peanut butter works well on its own.

That’s one of the reasons I like this recipe: it really does only require three ingredients.

Do I Need to Cook Puffed Quinoa First?

No. If you’re using packaged puffed quinoa, you can add it directly to the recipe.

Puffed quinoa is different from regular uncooked quinoa. Regular quinoa won’t give you the same crispy texture and shouldn’t be substituted one-for-one in this recipe.

If you’ve been searching for a puffed quinoa recipe because you have a bag sitting in your pantry, there’s no additional cooking required for these crisps.

Can I Use Regular Quinoa Instead of Puffed Quinoa?

I wouldn’t recommend it.

Regular uncooked quinoa and puffed quinoa have very different textures. The puffed quinoa is what creates the light crunch in these chocolate quinoa crisps.

Cooked quinoa also contains significantly more moisture, so it won’t work as a direct substitute in this recipe.

How to Store Chocolate Quinoa Crisps

Keep your chocolate quinoa crisps in an airtight container in the refrigerator so the chocolate stays firm.

You can also freeze them for longer storage. If frozen, let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes before eating.

A Dietitian’s Take

One of my favorite things about this recipe is how simple it is.

There’s a lot of pressure online to make every snack or dessert as “healthy” as possible. As a registered dietitian who works with families, that’s not how I approach food.

Chocolate is allowed to be delicious because it’s chocolate.

At the same time, I’m a big believer in nutrition by addition. Instead of constantly asking what we should remove from our food, we can look for opportunities to add variety, nutrients, flavors and textures.

With these chocolate quinoa crisps, we’re taking chocolate and peanut butter and adding crispy puffed quinoa.

It’s delicious, it’s fun, and it gives kids another opportunity to experience quinoa in a completely different way.

And that counts.