Vegan Christmas Rocky Road (Gluten-Free)

These Vegan Christmas Rocky Road are the ultimate festive no-bake recipe. They combine all the best Christmas flavours with classic rocky road goodness. They are naturally vegan, gluten-free and so easy to make.

I just love the start of December and I also love chocolate so what better way to celebrate December 1^st then with these Vegan Christmas Rocky Road. They are so rich and chocolatey plus they have the richness from molasses which makes them taste just like Christmas. They are packed with everything you love.

What makes these Vegan Christmas Rocky Road so delicious?

These rocky road chocolate squares are bites of heaven. They are:

• Rich and chocolatey
• Naturally vegan and gluten-free
• Moreish and melt-in-your-mouth
• Full of Christmas flavour
• Easy to make and no-bake
• Packed with marshmallows, dried fruits, nuts and biscuits
• Fun for all the family
• A great festive dessert or snack

I hope you will love these as much as I do and want to dive straight into the recipe. If so, skip ahead to the recipe card or we will look at the ingredients and method a bit more.

What ingredients go into these festive rocky road?

The base recipe is adapted from my Easy Vegan Chocolate Tiffins and also inspired by my Easy Vegan Rocky Road:

• Vegan butter: this is just the best for a rocky road or tiffin as it means the base melts in your mouth and is so rich and delicious. You could also use vegan margarine spread and I have not tried coconut oil.
• Maple syrup: for the sticky sweetness. This is not as heavy or rich as the molasses which balances it out nicely.
• Molasses: for the pure Christmas flavour! It is so delicious and rich, a little goes a long way.
• Dark brown sugar: this adds to the Christmas flavour but light brown, golden or white sugar will also work here.
• Cocoa powder: or cacao powder for the double chocolate goodness.
• Pinch of salt: this really brings out all the flavours.
• Ginger biscuits: these are so great any time of year but work especially well with Christmas flavours. You can make your own Vegan Gingerbread or use gingernut-style cookies or biscuits. Other biscuits will also work here.
• Vegan marshmallows: I just love adding marshmallows to my chocolate bars as it makes them so delicious and sweet. Make sure they are vegan-friendly. In the UK, my go-to brands are Dandies or Freedom Mallow.
• Pecans: or you can use other nuts but I prefer pecans this time of year. You can swap these to seeds of extra biscuits/marshmallows/fruit to keep these nut-free.
• Mixed dried fruits: I use the kind of dried fruits with peel that you’d use for mincemeat. This adds the really festive feel although you can use any dried fruits, chopped small.
• Chocolate: as these Vegan Christmas Rocky Road are quite sweet, I like to use a dark chocolate but you can use your favourite chocolate here.
• Coconut oil: this helps the chocolate not set so hard that it won’t crack as easily when you slice the slab into bars. It’s not essential but it really helps and makes the chocolate much richer.

The method is very simple to follow, just be patient and allow the Vegan Christmas Rocky Road to set otherwise they will squish as you try to cut them.

How can I decorate these Vegan Christmas Rocky Road?

To make these into reindeer faces, I use melted chocolate to stick on the face parts:

• Pretzels: for the antlers. Break pretzels in half to make the antlers.
• Edible sugar eyes: buy these from shops.
• Redcurrants: or larger red sprinkles or sweets for the nose.

How do I make these rocky road so neat?

The trick to slicing these neatly is to use a hot sharp knife and to allow the heat of the knife to slice though the slab rather than forcing the knife down. I boil the kettle, fill up a tall mug with hot water and dip my knife in for 10 seconds or so In between slices, making sure to wipe off the water with a tea towel (just be careful as the water is hot).

Are these chocolate bars gluten-free and nut-free?

These Vegan Christmas Rocky Road are easily gluten-free if you use biscuits free from gluten. To make these nut-free, swap the pecans for an equal amount of biscuits, dried fruits or marshmallows.

How long will these last for?

These are so good they will not last long in the house, but they do keep well in the fridge for 1-2 weeks in the fridge. I advise to decorate them before serving as the pretzels soften and may fall off over time.

These Vegan Christmas Rocky Road are a new festive favourite and I hope you will love them. If you are looking for more Christmas recipes, how about my:

• Vegan Christmas Cake 3 Ways
• Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Panettone
• No-Bake Candy Cane Brownies
• No-Bake Vegan Gingerbread Cheesecake
• Mulled Wine Mince Pie Brownies (alcohol-free)

I look forward to hearing what you think of these Vegan Christmas Rocky Road so please let me know what you think in the comments below. If you do make these rocky road, I would love to see so please tag me in your no-bakes, I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With festive rocky road love x