Slow Cooker Peanut Clusters
Slow Cooker Peanut Clusters made with roasted peanuts slow cooked in melted chocolate chips and almond bark, PERFECT for a Christmas activity or gifts!
Slow Cooker Peanut Clusters are a really easy holiday dessert, and make great holiday gifts! Add your peanuts, chocolate, and almond bark to the slow cooker until everything is melted, stir together, and scoop onto a sheet pan until they’re set. You can wrap these up to give out for Christmas, or keep them to have a sweet treat at home!
If you loved this recipe, you’ll also love my Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls, or my Easy Peppermint Chocolate Cookies!
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy to Make – The slow cooker does all of the work here, so you don’t need to worry about any crazy cooking methods or candy thermometers to melt the chocolate. Just set it, forget it, stir, and scoop!
Perfect for Parties or Gifts – Set out a tray of these at a holiday party, or wrap in little bags with ribbons as a Christmas gift!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Peanuts. I use two 16 ounce jars of roasted salted peanuts. You can use one jar of salted and one of unsalted if you want to cut down on the sodium.
Check to make sure they’re gluten free, because it can vary by brand, mostly from how they’re packaged at the factory.
Almond Bark. I like to use this because it’s a lot more forgiving than just using chocolate chips. Almond bark has vegetable oil in it, which helps keep the chocolate from seizing while it’s heating up.
It also helps the peanut clusters set up nicely when they cool down. I use a combination of vanilla almond bark and chocolate almond bark for sweetness and flavor.
German’s Sweet Chocolate. This is sweeter and has a more mild flavor, which balances out the chocolate profile really nicely. This helps give the chocolate a mild creamy flavor and texture. It’s similar to dark chocolate, but sweeter.
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips. This is the chocolate flavor that we all know and love, and mixes with the almond bark for the perfect texture and flavor combo.
Kitchen Tools
For this recipe you’ll need a 6-7 quart slow cooker, and 3-4 half-sheet pans with parchment paper (or two large sheet pans).
How to Make Slow Cooker Peanut Clusters
In a slow cooker add the vanilla and chocolate almond bark, breaking up the pieces so they fit nicely.
Pour the peanuts over the almond bark, spreading out in an even layer.
Add the chocolate chips and german’s chocolate bar in a layer on top of the peanuts.
Close the slow cooker lid and cook on low for 1 1/2 hours. Once time is up, stir everything together.
If there are any pieces of chocolate that haven’t melted, put the lid back on and cook an additional 30 minutes, or until everything is melted.
Stir everything together until well combined. Using and ice cream scoop, drop clusters onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving some space between each one.
Add any sprinkles now. Then let them sit at room temperature to set for 1-2 hours, or until hard.
Recipe Variations
- Try adding some flaky sea salt on top for a sweet and salty version.
- Stir in mini marshmallows just before scooping the clusters on to the baking sheet, and top with chopped almonds for a rocky road version.
- Make this with other nuts like pecans or cashews, or add peanut butter chips to the mix for a peanut butter cup flavor.
- Mix in some gluten free pretzels for another flavor combo.
- Try topping with sweetened shredded coconut.
Recipe Tip! You can use a spoon to transfer the peanuts to a sheet pan to set, but a cookie scoop makes this job a lot easier!
Frequently Asked Questions
This is entirely up to you, you can use regular salted dry roasted peanuts, lightly salted peanuts, or roasted unsalted peanuts. I like the flavor combination of sweet and salty, but I will make these salt-free for family members on a low sodium diet.
Recipe Tip! Always use the “low” setting on the crock pot. This will make sure the chocolate melts nice and smooth, and doesn’t burn.
More Chocolate Recipes
- Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows
- Slow Cooker Chocolate Lava Cake
- Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes
- Brownie Chocolate Cake
Storage
Refrigerate chocolate peanut clusters in an airtight container for up to a month. Use parchment paper to separate the layers so they don’t stick together.
Freeze for 3-4 months in a freezer safe container. I like to eat them right from the freezer for a cold treat!
Cooking Tips
- We’re using enough almond bark to mostly prevent the chocolate from seizing, but make sure there’s no moisture in the slow cooker before adding all of the ingredients, just in case.
- Line the baking sheets with parchment paper or wax paper. This helps keep the chocolate peanut clusters from sticking.
- Work quickly once the chocolate is fully melted. If you have to stop, place the lid back on the slow cooker, and stir it well before resuming. Once the chocolate cools down too much, it’ll be harder to scoop.
- The chocolate peanut clusters can take 1-2 hours to set at room temperature. After that, I move them to an airtight container in the refrigerator to maintain the best quality.
- Add any toppings you’d like, like sprinkles, before the chocolate peanut clusters set to make sure they stick.
- For a much easier cleanup, use slow cooker liners. If you don’t, the chocolate should clean right off with some warm water.
- If your chocolate is on the thinner side, you can scoop these into cupcake liners to set, so they don’t spread too much.
Tried this recipe? ⭐ Leave a review and share what worked best for you—your tips help other home cooks get the same delicious results!
Slow Cooker Peanut Clusters
Ingredients
- 32 ounces roasted salted peanuts
- 16 ounces vanilla almond bark
- 16 ounces chocolate almond bark
- 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, (1 bag)
- 4 ounces german’s sweet chocolate bar
- 3 tablespoons sprinkles, (optional)
Equipment
- 1 6-7 quart slow cooker
- 4 half-sheet pans (or two big ones)
- 1 cookie scoop
Instructions
- In a slow cooker add the vanilla and chocolate almond bark, breaking up the pieces so they fit nicely.
- Pour the peanuts over the almond bark, spreading out in an even layer.
- Add the chocolate chips and german’s chocolate bar in a layer on top of the peanuts.
- Close the slow cooker lid and cook on low for 1 1/2 hours. Once time is up, stir everything together. If there are any pieces of chocolate that haven't melted, put the lid back on and cook an additional 30 minutes, or until everything is melted.
- Stir everything together until well combined. Using and ice cream scoop, drop clusters onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving some space between each one.
- Add any sprinkles now. Then let them sit at room temperature to set for 1-2 hours, or until hard.
Notes
- This makes about 50 clusters, but that can vary depending on the size of your scoops.
- Always use the “low” setting on the crock pot. This makes sure the chocolate melts nice and smooth, and doesn’t burn.
- We’re using enough almond bark to mostly prevent the chocolate from seizing, but make sure there’s no moisture in the slow cooker before adding all of the ingredients, just in case.
- Line the baking sheets with parchment paper. This helps keep the chocolate peanut clusters from sticking.
- Work quickly once the chocolate is fully melted. Once the chocolate cools down too much, it’ll be harder to scoop.
- The clusters can take 1-2 hours to set at room temperature. After that, I move them to airtight containers in the refrigerator to maintain the best quality.
- Add any toppings you’d like, like sprinkles, before the chocolate peanut clusters set to make sure they stick.
Nutrition
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