Made with just 5 ingredients including dry roasted peanuts and chocolate, this Crockpot Candy is a terrific sweet and salty treat that is ridiculously easy to make. Great for the holiday, gift giving, or any occasion.
If you’ve got extra peanuts, make some peanut brittle, too!
Crockpot Chocolate Peanut Clusters
Chocolate peanut clusters made easy! Making crockpot candy is so simple, perfect for the novice candy maker. The slow cooking melts the chocolate perfectly and the flavor is perfect. The peanuts go so well with the different flavors of white and dark chocolate in this candy, and the addition of butterscotch chips and toffee pieces add even more depth.
For a festive holiday twist, I like to top these chocolate peanut clusters with some red and green sprinkles, but you can use sea salt or even other sprinkles to switch these up for other holidays and occasions.
What Is Crockpot Candy?
Crockpot candy is a simple recipe to make large amounts of chocolate peanut clusters. Chocolate and butterscotch chips are melted in the crockpot over dry roasted nuts, then spoonfuls are transferred to a baking sheet to harden into cluster candy.
Ingredients Needed
This classic Christmas candy is made with just 5 ingredients.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Dry roasted peanuts – You could also use 1 jar of salted and 1 jar of unsalted, or honey roasted. Or use your favorite type of nuts for this. I recommend a salted nut to help balance the sweetness of the chocolate. If you don’t have salt included with the nuts, add in about 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Vanilla almond bark – This might seem like an unlikely ingredient since we’re going after chocolate peanut clusters, but don’t skip it! You need it for flavor and more importantly for the candy to harden and set up properly. Avoid regular white chocolate chips.
- Dark chocolate chips – You can use semi-sweet chocolate chips if you’d like, but the dark chocolate works super well with these other chocolates.
- Butterscotch chips – Butterscotch chips add another layer of flavor to this peanut candy.
- Toffee bites – For some delicious caramel flavor.
- Garnishes – I like to add sea salt or sprinkles to my crockpot candy for a final touch.
Easy Variations
This recipe is so versatile, so you can easily switch things up to suit your taste. A few examples:
- Add another type of nut, like chopped walnuts or pecans.
- Replace the butterscotch chips with peanut butter chips.
- Drizzle the end result with some caramel sauce.
- Crushed candy canes as a topping.
How to Make Crockpot Candy
Here’s the quick and easy way to make chocolate peanut clusters in the crockpot.
(Scroll down to the printable recipe card for details and measurements, and don’t miss the video below.)
- Add everything to the crockpot. Coat the crockpot with nonstick cooking spray. Layer the ingredients – peanuts, almond bark, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and toffee bits. Do not stir.
- Cook. Cover and cook on low for 1 hour. After an hour, stir to coat the peanuts completely with the melted chocolate. Cook for an additional hour, stirring every 15 to 20 minutes.
- Shape the candy. Drop tablespoons of the mixture onto parchment paper. Top with sprinkles and sea salt, if desired.
- Chill. Chill for 30 to 60 minutes in the fridge or let stand on the counter until set.
Do I Have To Use A Crockpot?
If you want to make chocolate peanut clusters without a crockpot, you can melt the ingredients in the microwave or double-boiler and add in the peanuts. However, since you’re working with such large amounts of chocolate, that method isn’t ideal. The microwave and double-boiler work best for smaller amounts of chocolate, as you run the risk of it burning. The slow cooker is the best option here.
Tips for Success
Here are a few tips for making these chocolate peanut clusters.
- Don’t skip or substitute the almond bark. Almond bark is essential for creating the perfect texture in these peanut clusters. It helps the chocolate set and harden to create the candy and should not be substituted with another type of chocolate.
- Don’t mix at first. When you add the ingredients to the crockpot, add them in layers and wait until after the first hour of cook time to stir them.
- Don’t get any water in the chocolate. Be careful when removing the lid, not to allow any water condensation that developed to drip down into the chocolate. Chocolate and water are not friends!
- Be sure to use roasted nuts. While you can substitute any type of nut you’d like for these, be sure to use roasted nuts and not raw nuts.
Video: Crockpot Candy Peanut Clusters
How Long Does Crockpot Candy Last?
One great thing about crockpot candy is that it will last for several weeks in the refrigerator and just slightly less time at room temperature. Allow the candy to set fully, then transfer it to an airtight container to store. It makes a great gift!
More Christmas Candy Recipes:
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Crockpot Candy
Ingredients
- 2 jars (16 ounces each) lightly salted, dry roasted peanuts
- 32 ounces white/vanilla almond bark (also known as candy coating), broken or chopped into smaller squares
- 10 ounces (1 bag) dark chocolate chips
- 6 ounces butterscotch chips
- 1/3 cup toffee bits
- Festive sprinkles , optional garnish
- Sea salt , optional garnish
Instructions
- Coat a 5 quart crockpot with nonstick cooking spray.
- Add to the crockpot in layers: the peanuts, almond bark, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and toffee bits. DO NOT STIR.
- Cover with the lid and cook on low for 1 hour – DO NOT STIR.
- After an hour, stir the mixture until the peanuts are completely coated with the melted chocolate. Continue to cook on low, stirring every 15 to 20 minutes for an additional hour. Turn off the crockpot.
- Line a couple large baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a tablespoon sized cookie scoop (or spoon), drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto the parchment paper, leaving space in-between. Sprinkle with festive sprinkles and sea salt, if using, before the chocolate hardens.
- Chill in the fridge for 30 to 60 minutes to fully set. (Or let stand on the counter at room temperature until set, which will just take longer.)
I used mixed cocktail nuts instead of just peanuts. This recipe is so easy and delicious!
I couldn’t find almond bark so I used candy melts which worked since they’re made of essentially the same ingredients great for candy making so the chocolate sets. These were a huge hit on my holiday work party. So easy, thanks!
This is so easy and customizable! We used the chocolate almond bark because we don’t care for the other. We also added dried cranberries to some of the candy. There are endless possibilities! I also put paper towels under the lid of the crockpot to ensure no condensation would get into the chocolate and ruin it. Super easy and we will definitely be making this again.
Great recipe! made just as stated. Huge hit! thanks Amy!
MAKE IT!! You won’t regret it! Can’t wait to take it to my family gathering. Thank you Amy!
Just wanted to say I just made this for the three year in a row. Thanks for sharing your recipe. Merry Christmas
Such an easy and tasty recipe. I made them for a work potluck and there wasn’t one single one left!
This is a great recipe! So easy to make. I made it last year with the peanuts and this year with a nut mix. Still comes out perfect.
So easy and good! Next time I will try it with chocolate bark instead of white, I’m a dark chocolate lover, these are more milk chocolate.
Absolutely delicious! I made these for our Thanksgiving gathering and they were a huge hit! Crockpot candy is so easy to make too. Yes, we added the festive sprinkles for fun!
Made this recipe and it’s a HUGE hit! I’ve been making it in batches for a week now! Thanks!
So yummy and easy. I will be making this again soon.
So excited to make this! Can I use a crockpot liner/bag or does that mess with the melting?
A crockpot liner is fine. Enjoy!
To die for!
This is a great easy recipe for even the non cooks/bakers like me. Was really easy and with perfect results. Thanks for the clear instructions.
For those with a nut allergy do you think substituting pretzels for the nuts would work? Or if you have any other suggestions I would love them. Thank you
Yes, you can try it with pretzels.
Can I add some caramel chips too
Omg these are tasty…not to difficult to make and they set up nicely.
Best Christmas candy ever!!!! LOVE THIS!!
I’m planning to try this recipe very soon. It calls for “toffee bits”. Is this the same as Heath Chocolate English Toffee Bits?
Yep!
This is so yummy!!
Definitely our favorite!!
Delightful candy! Delicious and so easy.
I couldn’t wait to try these! They were so easy to make. Added the chow mein noodles like someone suggested on TikTok. Yum! Also made your chicken tetrazinni 2 nights ago. Big Hit !!
Fantastic
This recipe was so easy and came out perfect! 78 pieces
Recipe was the easiest and so good! I used semi-sweet chocolate instead of dark and added some crushed potato chips at the end.
Great recipe
This looks great!
Excited to try! Could I half the recipe if I don’t need as many candies? Not sure if the time would need to change too.
Thanks in advance!
LOVE this recipe!! I’ve never added toffee bits or butterscotch chips and now I’ll never make these without them.