These easy turtle bars are rich and gooey, with a buttery graham cracker crust, melted chocolate and caramel, crunchy pecans, and sweetened condensed milk. Just layer everything in a pan and bake until golden.
These bars are easy enough for a casual weeknight dessert, but rich and indulgent enough for holidays, parties, or gifting.
Why you’ll love these turtle bars:
- One-pan recipe: Everything is layered right in the pan. No mixer or complicated steps required.
- Hard to mess up: This is a forgiving recipe that turns out well even if you’re a beginner baker.
- Make-ahead friendly: They store well in the fridge or freezer, so you can bake them in advance and slice when you’re ready.
- Classic turtle flavors: Chocolate, caramel, and pecans come together in bar form, so you get all the flavor of turtle candies without the extra steps of making them one by one.
Key ingredients
This isn’t a complete ingredient list, just a few notes on the ingredients that matter most in this recipe.
Rolos: These provide both chocolate and caramel in one ingredient. Once chopped, they’ll naturally clump together; just break them up as you scatter them over the crust.
Chocolate chips: Milk chocolate, semisweet, dark, or mini chocolate chips all work here. Use what you have or prefer; this recipe is very forgiving.
Pecans: Pecans add the classic turtle crunch. Chop them fairly coarsely so they don’t get lost in the bars. You can toast them first for extra flavor, but that’s optional.
Sweetened condensed milk: This is what holds everything together and gives the bars their rich, gooey texture. Be sure you’re using sweetened condensed milk, not evaporated milk.
How to make turtle bars
- Stir melted butter and graham cracker crumbs together in a bowl.
- Firmly press into the bottom of a 13- by 9-inch baking dish.
- Layer chopped Rolos, chocolate chips, and chopped pecans evenly over the crust.
- Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over that.
Then just bake, cool, slice, and serve! When finished they should look like the photo below.
Recipe notes and tips
Grease the pan well: Sweetened condensed milk gets very sticky as it bakes, so be sure to grease the pan thoroughly. You can also line the pan with parchment paper to make lifting and slicing easier.
Use sweetened condensed milk, not evaporated milk: They are not interchangeable, and using evaporated milk will prevent the bars from setting properly.
Toasted pecans are optional: Toasting the pecans adds deeper flavor, but the bars are still great with untoasted nuts.
Let the bars chill before slicing: Refrigerating them for a few hours helps them firm up and makes cleaner slices.
Storage and freezing instructions
Room temperature: Store turtle bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Refrigerator: They’ll keep well in the fridge in an airtight container for about a week.
Freezer: You can freeze turtle bars for up to 2 months. Because they’re fairly gooey, I like to freeze the bars in a single layer on a wax-paper-lined baking sheet until firm, then transfer them to airtight containers so they don’t stick together or lose their shape.
Variations and swaps
White chocolate: Swap the chocolate chips for white chocolate chips if you prefer a sweeter, creamier contrast to the caramel and pecans.
Different nuts: Pecans are classic, but chopped walnuts or almonds also work well if that’s what you have on hand.
Dark chocolate: Use dark chocolate chips for a slightly less sweet, more bittersweet balance.
A few more recipes you might enjoy:
Turtle Fudge
Nutella Magic Bars
Coffee Toffee Bars
Did you make these easy turtle bars? Awesome! Leave me a comment and rating below! And post a pic on Instagram. Tag @theitsybitsykitchen so I can see!
Easy turtle bars with chocolate, caramel, and pecans on a graham cracker crust. A rich, gooey dessert baked in one pan.
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs from 11 to 12 sheets
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 1/2 cups chopped Rolos
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13- by 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. (You can line the pan with parchment paper to lift the bars out easily for slicing but be sure to grease the edges of the pan well since sweetened condensed milk tends to stick.)
- Stir the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter in a small bowl until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Firmly press the mixture into an even layer in the bottom of your prepared baking dish. (Using the bottom of a measuring cup is helpful to really condense the crumbs into a crust.)
- Layer the chopped rolos, chocolate chips, and chopped pecans evenly over the graham cracker crust. The rolos will naturally stick together once they’re chopped. Just break up the clusters to ensure they’re evenly distributed.
- Pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over everything.
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until the edges are bubbling and the top is golden brown. Cool completely, then slice into bars and serve. (It helps to refrigerate them for a few hours so they get firm before slicing.)
- Store your turtle bars in an airtight container at room temp for up to 2 days.
- They’ll keep in the fridge in airtight containers for about a week.
- You can also freeze them in airtight containers for up to 2 months. Since they’re fairly gooey, I like to set them on a wax-paper lined baking sheet and freeze until firm, then transfer to airtight containers so they don’t become misshapen or stick together.
- Grease your pan really well (you can also line the pan with parchment paper). Sweetened condensed milk gets really sticky and the bars can be hard to release if the pan isn’t properly greased.
- Be sure you use sweetened condensed milk, not evaporated milk. They are not the same and your bars will not turn out if you use evaporated.
- You can toast your pecans for a deeper flavor if you’d like but that’s optional.
- To toast pecans: Spread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toast at 375 for about 5 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Cool completely before adding to your bars.
Leave a Reply