These 5 ingredient No bake Caramel Pretzel Crack Bars are filled with chocolate, salty pretzels, creamy caramel and peanuts. Its the perfect combination between sweet and salty, gooey and crunchy, plus it’s a no bake recipe that’s made in under 10 minutes once you have your ingredients ready!

It’s the perfect homemade dessert gift for Christmas time, valentine’s day, or just because!

Why you’ll love this Caramel Pretzel Crack bars

• It has only 5 yummy ingredients. No need of a long list, difficult-to-find ingredients
• It’s a great recipe, made in under 10 minutes once you have your ingredients ready. You can potentially be eating one of these bars 30 minutes from now!
• It’s a no bake recipe, so no need of an oven!
• It makes a great gift, for any time of the year. May it be Christmas, Valentine’s or a birthday, this is the perfect homemade gift for any age and gender.
• It’s for every baking skill level! no matter how inexperienced you are, it’s difficult to mess up these bars

Ingredients you’ll need to make these Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bars

These are made with just 5 simple ingredients, found in any big grocery store:

• Milk Chocolate. Feel free to use milk chocolate chips or a chopped chocolate bar
• Mini Pretzels. I used mini pretzels because of the size, it was easier to cut and more appropriate to the bar size
• Peanuts. I used salted peanuts
• Kraft Caramel bits. You can use butter caramels instead
• Milk. It is used for melting the caramel

For the full recipe take a look at the recipe card at the end of this post!

How to make this sweet and salty snack

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Using a double broiler or the microwave, -in 15 second increments, melt in medium heat 1 3/4 Cup of the chocolate. Spread it on top of your cookie sheet evenly, making sure the melted chocolate stays inside the parchment paper perimeter. Place pretzels on top of the chocolate, spreading them evenly, (it’s ok if they overlap). Fill the gaps with the peanuts and press slightly against the chocolate, so the peanuts and pretzels “stick” to the melted chocolate. Refrigerate while melting the caramel.

In a double broiler or the microwave, -in 20 second intervals, melt in medium heat the caramel bits with the milk, stirring constantly, until caramel is completely melted. Let the caramel cool and thicken slightly.

Spread the slightly cooled caramel on top of the pretzels and peanuts, using a spoon to fill the gaps (a few gaps are fine!). Refrigerate until caramel is set.

In the meantime, melt the remaining 1/4 Cups of chocolate. Pour the melted chocolate into a small plastic bag, and cut off a bit of the corner. Drizzle on top of the caramel layer with a zig zag motion. Refrigerate until set, then cut in 16 even squares.

Tips and tricks to make the best bars

• Make sure you have parchment paper lining your baking sheet, otherwise the chocolate will stick to the pan and it will be a nightmare to lift it without breaking everything apart.
• Chocolate should be set before adding the caramel. But don’t worry! you only need to refrigerate it or freeze it while you’re melting the caramel.
• Make sure the caramel is set before drizzling with chocolate. As with the melted chocolate, pop it in the freezer or fridge until set.
• Last but not least, bars should be completely cooled before cutting. This will ensure a clean and perfect cut

Add-ins and variations for this perfect treat

• To make this recipe gluten-free, substitute the pretzels for gluten free pretzels
• You can substitute the milk chocolate for white chocolate
• You can also substitute the milk chocolate for dark chocolate chips or semi sweet chocolate chips, for a more intense chocolate flavor
• Add mini peanut butter cups instead (or with) the peanuts
• Add Reese’s peanut butter chips instead or with the peanuts
• Top with sea salt for an extra sweet and salty flavor contrast
• Substitute the pretzel pieces with saltine crackers

How to store these sweet and salty treats

Store this easy recipe in an Airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days

Here’s a video of these No bake Caramel Pretzel Crack Bars, so you can see how quick and easy these are made.

Here’s a link if you’re looking for more treat recipes, or click the links below for some of my favorite chocolate treats:

Chocolate Covered Macadamia Nuts Recipe

Sugar Free Truffles

Easy Brownie Truffles

Sesame Chocolate Bark

Easy Chocolate Tahini Fudge

Peppermint Bark

If you make this recipe, be sure to give it a star rating and leave a comment!