Slow Cooker Peanut Clusters
Are you ready for Christmas baking? December is absolutely my favorite time of the year, and I love nothing more than baking Christmas cookies and goodies. It just wouldn’t be Christmas without the classics and a few other new finds sprinkled in for good measure. While I love eating nut clusters, I had never actually made them myself; once I saw this insanely easy slow cooker recipe, it was only a matter of time!
My aunt shared this recipe on her Facebook page and I immediately saved the link. Two types of peanuts, two types of chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, AND you can make it in a slow cooker? I was immediately sold, and I think you will be, too.
It took me literally five minutes to make this. Everything gets dumped into the slow cooker, cover, turn on low, and let it go for 2 hours. At that point, it’s likely that everything will be melted (mine was), but if you need more time, an additional 30 minutes should be all you need. I experimented with scooping the nut clusters out in a variety of ways – with a large spoon, with a medium cookie scoop, and then I just poured the mixture into a parchment-lined pan and broke it into pieces. My verdict? I liked the clusters scooped with a cookie scoop the best – they were the most uniform and by far the most pleasing to the eye, which is important when it comes to Christmas cookie trays, right?! :)
While I am immensely partial to peanuts, you could absolutely make this with any type of nut you like, or a combination of them. My father-in-law even suggested skipping the nuts and using coconut for coconut clusters. There are tons of possibilities, and these little clusters would make fantastic holiday gifts – just place in a clear cellophane bag and tie with a pretty ribbon!
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Watch How to Make Crock Pot Peanut Clusters:
Slow Cooker Chocolate-Covered Peanut Clusters
Ingredients
- 16 ounces (453.59 g) unsalted peanuts, or dry roasted peanuts
- 16 ounces (453.59 g) salted cocktail peanuts
- 12 ounces (340.2 g) semisweet chocolate chips
- 12 ounces (340.2 g) milk chocolate chips
- 20 ounces (566.99 g) peanut butter chips
- 32 ounces (907.19 g) white almond bark or vanilla candy melts
Instructions
- Layer all of the ingredients in order in a 6-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 2 hours. [NOTE: While I have made this multiple times without an issue, it seems that many people have experienced the ingredients burning. I would recommend stirring all of the ingredients together and checking on it and stirring every 30 minutes to avoid an issue.]
- Remove the lid and stir to combine. If not all of the chocolate is melted, cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes on low.
- Using a spoon or cookie scoop, scoop mounds of the clusters onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Allow to sit at room temperature until completely set, 1 to 2 hours. The clusters can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. They also freeze very well!
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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These are grand….Thank you for such a nice addition to my cookie trays. I added dried cranberries to half
the batch!!! delicious
We’ve been using our slow cooker to make our chocolates for roughly 10 years now. It’s such an amazing hack! Plus, if you get tired or need a break, you can leave it on warm until you’re ready to go again or turn it off and re melt the next day. Such a huge time saver and so much less clean-up!
So excited to try this but we are a dark chocolate family. What substitutions should I make? Can you add caramel, or will substituting the PB chips for Butterscotch do the trick?
Hi Jennifer, You can swap the milk chocolate chips for dark chocolate (or use all dark chocolate if you’d like!). I wouldn’t add more liquid to these or they might not set up, so I would do butterscotch chips.
I’;ve used mint chips…I”ve thrown in coconut in original recipe..use your imagination..hard to ruin these
These are delicious and so easy to make! I read the recipe thoroughly and was surprised that people said it started to burn. I took the advice and stirred every 30 minutes. At the 1.5 hour mark, it was starting to burn, I couldn’t believe it. I caught it just in time, no burnt taste, I stirred like crazy, and everything was melted. They set up very well and they have a great texture.
If I want to make this with the dry roasted peanuts & pretzels, what quantity of pretzels would I use? Do the minis need broken? I can’t wait to make this! Sounds delicious.
Hi Bonnie, I would just swap out the 16 ounces cocktail peanuts for 16 ounces pretzels. I would break up the mini twists so you have uniform mounds. Enjoy!
Turned out delicious! And so easy!!
Looking forward to trying this! Being that you probably can be very generous with not measuring and subbing here and there and all will still work out, would the volume of 16 oz of pretzels be too much to swap in for the lesser volume of 16 oz peanuts?
Hey Michelle~I made these the first time you published it and have been making them all the time now for all occasions and people just go crazy over them so glad they make a bunch! Have a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.
I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying these, Sue! Merry Christmas to you! ❤️️
I have found that crock pots vary a lot in their temp settings and the actual temp they cook at (one of the reasons I don’t care for them). That being said, could this just be made in the microwave or on the stove over a double boiler?
Hi Juli, Yes absolutely, you can make it in any of those ways!
Can this be made with an instapot?
Hi Grace, I’ve never tried, but I assume so!
I just made these over the weekend! The only change up I made this year was swapping half of the peanut butter chips with butterscotch, only because I couldn’t find a second bag of peanut butter chips at the store! They are always a success and I can’t wait to package them up and spread some cheer to our neighbors!
I made these last week. Everyone loves them!
I’m thinking about making this soon for Christmas Gifts. We love Peanut Clusters anyways, I’ll need to hide these from my husband….haha
Has anyone tried adding toffee to this recipe?
Heath toffee bits in place of peanutbutter and was great!!
I wanted to give you five stars but your reply section wouldn’t work for me. These are super delicious and easy. I wanted to speed up the process so I made half a recipe using a double boiler. and it worked great. The yield was 50 pieces of candy using a medium-sized cookie scoop.
Second time making these, and they’re so easy! I must’ve followed a different recipe before, because I didn’t recall the candy melts/almond bark. For those who have inquired, it worked just fine with 2 bags of Ghiradelli white chocolate chips. They set up perfectly! My slow cooker runs hot, so they were done in under an hour. I stirred after 30 minutes, the again after another 15, and they were done after that. I used 2 jars of lightly salted dry-roasted peanuts. Makes a TON! I packaged several up for my husband’s co-workers and still have loads left to use throughout the holidays!
I put vanilla almond bark in a boiler on low and stir until melted. Then I add Cheerios, mini marshmallows and dry roasted nuts. Stir well to combine. Drop onto waxed/parchment paper using an ice cream scoop. Let sit several hours to set up. Sooo yummy!!
Made them for the first time today. They are so easy and soooo good. My family loved them . Will make them frequently.
First, I have made this recipe for several years and it always turns out perfectly. For those of you with burning issues, maybe your crockpot runs hot… consider using the warm setting? Second, Michelle – can this recipe be adapted for a nut allergy? I was thinking about substituting some kind of pretzel. Do you have a recommendation for one that would hold up through the melting process? What would be a good substitute for the peanut butter chips?
Would love to hear your thoughts :) Happy holiday baking season
Hi Annie, Pretzels sound delicious! You could try crushed sour dough or the mini twists or dipping sticks (those are my favorite two!). You could substitute butterscotch chips for the peanut butter – I think that would be a good complement flavor to the pretzels and chocolate. Let me know how it goes!
I have been making these since the recipe was first posted! They are a favorite and lend themselves to so many variations. This year I added some rice krispies which make them crispy and crunchy. Thanks for these and enjoy the season with your beautiful family!
I love that addition! Thank you for sharing; have a wonderful holiday season!
Has anyone added caramel?
I made these (1/2 batch) using a double boiler (for the chocolate) and then mixed the nuts and chocolate together in a big bowl.. Turned out great! I ate so many I have to make another batch! Question: Can you use white chocolate bits in place of the white almond bark? I think the quality of the Ghirardelli bits would be better. Can you do that? And what brand of peanut butter bits do you use? They seem hard to find. Thanks Michelle!
Hi Kathy, I’m so glad you enjoyed this!! I would not use pure white chocolate, but Ghiradelli does now make melting wafers, and you could use those! I buy Reese’s brand peanut butter chips.
Do you think something like the Ghirardelli white chocolate bars or white chips would work as well as the vanilla melts? Or are they too different? Thanks!
Hi Deb, I would advise against white chocolate, as it can clump and seize when melted. I do think that Ghiradelli does not make melting wafers, so you could try those!
Got this recipe from a friend that passed some time ago. Did I write it down? Of course not. Thank you for bringing it to the surface of my world again (with various versions) my experiments didn’t turn out too well. Bless you all for helping me
This was so easy and came out so well! I’m glad I followed the instructions fully. Our slow cooker runs a bit warm so the candy was ready 30 minutes earlier than the original instructions. I don’t know if I needed to or not, but I also put a clean cup towel over the top to catch any possible condensation – just in case. I set it up and wrapped gifts/did things in the kitchen near the cooker. Every half hour I stirred. It came out perfectly. My only “complaint” was it made so much every available flat surface in the kitchen and dining room was covered with candy as it set up. I even had to open up the microwave and stash some in it. (The perils of a too-small kitchen.) My ridiculously picky 97 year old grandmother even asked for the recipe. 6 stars out of 5 and will make again.
Yumm! Yumm! I tried this Slow Cooker Chocolate-Covered Peanut Cluster Recipe because my husband is a peanut cluster-aholic! It worked perfectly. I read that sometimes the peanuts burned; this did not happen to me. I literally dumped everything, left it and when I came back at the allotted time! It looked the same…but when I stirred, it was perfect. The clusters hardened up, but we felt we had to store them in the refrigerator. I assumed this was because I did not find the the white almond bark in 16 oz packages and only had used 24 oz. But it didn’t matter as we store them in the refrigerator anyway! But the second time we made them, we left the peanuts out until the chocolate was melted and added the correct amount of almond bark. They are the same and still perfect! What is especially great about this recipe is the ratio of chocolate to peanuts. The end result is not too many peanuts nor not enough. My husband is no longer buying peanut clusters, I converted him! Thanks for such a great recipe.
Mine took 1 1/2 hours in my slow cooker. I gave it away as a Christmas gift. People are now asking for the recipe. I can’t believe how easy it was to make. I stired mine every 30 minutes. I plan to make it again for my church.
Hi Michelle. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I’ve made it for several years now. One question. Can I half the recipe I’m my large crockpot without it burning? Money is a little tight right now so I can’t afford a full batch, but still want to give some ya s gifts. Paula
So easy and delicious! I made these for friends and neighbors and they turned out great.
Is there a condensation issue? Water can ruin chocolate
I love this recipe. I have been making these candies for Christmas for the last 7 years. They are so easy and so tasty. They’re the only gift my brother requests from me.
My family fell in. Love with this. Candy… very simple and easy.. comes out perfect every time…..