When you're craving a Reese's but want a healthier treat, make my reader fave recipe for homemade chocolate peanut butter bars! Made in no time with salted pb, chocolate chips, oat flour, flax, and sweetened with maple syrup. And they're no bake! Just freeze, slice 'em, and serve 'em.
Chocolate smushed with peanut butter...is there anything more magical? Five ingredients and done in 15 minutes? Yep. Topped with flaky salt, mind you! Healthy chocolate peanut butter bars are indeed a thing and we're making magic today!
I swear these peanut chocolate squares of heaven totally remind me of Reese's cups but BETTER! And when they're frozen? You know I have lots of healthy snack recipes, but these are seriously up-leveled.
The best part about these is that they're *actually* a delish, nourishing snack (over 5g protein and 3g fiber)! But don't take my word for it...
Reader Gretchen commented, "I’m OBSESSED with these bars!! I made them about a week ago and am already thinking about making another batch! ★★★★★"
Reader Steph commented, "An absolutely delicious frozen treat--no substitutions but I always add a little more flax for a health boost...I made them all summer long but am on my way to make some right now. Far more satisfying to eat than a peanut butter cup! ★★★★★"
Reader Kati commented, "Super good! Always skeptical to make 'healthy' desserts but I'll be making these weekly now!! ★★★★★"
Reader Katie commented, "I love this recipe so much! I’ve made it so many times recently. I will say that I do prefer it with almond flour, and the flaky salt on top definitely makes them! ★★★★★"
Let's make 'em!
Pour topping over bars. Freeze, slice, EAT!
I learned a thing or two during recipe testing...
- Salt is a game changer. When I tested this recipe I purposely didn't include salt in the dough because the salt in the PB plus flaky salt on top makes them the perfect salt level to balance the sweet chocolate.
- Natural PB is best. I developed this recipe specifically with natural, drippy PB that doesn't have added sugar and oils because it really yields the best texture. Hard PB will not work here--trust me, I tried it! P.S. If you want a morning version of this recipe, don't miss my baked oatmeal breakfast bars with nut butter!
- Peanut butter makes the chocolate topping easier to bite: When I recipe tested the topping with just chocolate, it got super hard and would break when you bit into it. The fat from the PB makes it a smoother bite! Other recipes call for more peanut butter in the topping, but I intentionally did less since the entire bar is peanut butter.
- Almond flour works, too! I made several batches of these with almond flour for a grain-free option and they were totally delish.
Storage
Once frozen, store sliced bars in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can store them in the fridge, but I prefer frozen. At room temp, they get super soft and the chocolate melts. No thank you!
Three cheers for the flawless union that is chocolate and peanut butter!
Print
5-Ingredient No Bake Chocolate PB Oat Bars
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 16 bars 1x
- Category: Muffins, Bites and Bars
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
When you're craving a Reese's but want a healthier treat, make my reader fave recipe for homemade chocolate peanut butter bars! Made in no time with salted pb, chocolate chips, oat flour, flax, and sweetened with maple syrup. And they're no bake! Just freeze, slice 'em, and serve 'em.
Ingredients
For the bars:
- 1 cup natural salted peanut butter*
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- ½ cup old-fashioned oats, ground into flour (I use my Nutribullet, can sub almond flour)
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed (or sub more oat flour)
For the topping:
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp natural salted peanut butter
Instructions
- Line an 8x8 inch baking dish with parchment paper. Combine peanut butter, maple syrup, oat flour, and flax in a medium mixing bowl. Mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until smooth. Press mixture evenly into the lined pan.
- Make topping by placing chocolate chips and peanut butter in small bowl. Microwave for a minute in 30 second increments, stirring each time until smooth.
- Pour chocolate on top of bar mixture and use a rubber spatula to smooth. Top with flaky salt.
- Freeze for an hour or overnight. Once solid, slice into 16 bars. Store in a freezer baggie or air-tight container in the freezer.
Notes
*This recipe was tested with drippy natural peanut butter. If your peanut butter is hard/refrigerated/needs to be scooped out, you won't need as much flour for these to come together. I have not tested this recipe with conventional peanut butter spreads like Skippy or Jiff and cannot verify the results. Add ½ tsp fine sea salt if your peanut butter is not salted.
Readers have tried this recipe with almond flour instead of oats and reported that it worked great!
Inspired by these bars.
Katy says
I substituted the oats for almond flour and These turned out amazing! They were very creamy and I used natural peanut delight no stir creamy peanut butter from Aldi, so I put the bars in the freezer for 30 minutes and they turned out Perfect! 😋
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
Yummmm that sounds amazing Katy, thank you!
Rachel says
Amazing! I wanted to make these fruit sweetened so instead of maple syrup I put 1/3 c raisins in the food processor with 1/4 c water and the almond butter (used in place of the peanut butter). I absolutely love these! Thank you so much for sharing!!
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
Oh wow I'm SO glad to hear that fun swap worked, thanks so much for sharing Rachel!
Tanya Barber says
Oh wow ! These look amazing !! I can’t wait to try them ! Could I used ground chia seeds in place of the flax you think ? I just don’t have any on hand . ❤️❤️
Tanya Barber says
Oh wow ! These look amazing !! I can’t wait to try them ! Could I used ground chia seeds in place of the flax you think ? I just don’t have any on hand . ❤️❤️
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
Hmmm I feel like you may taste the ground chia—what about some almond flour?
Tanya says
Oh great will try that today, thanks so much for your reply ! Will let u know how it goes !
Mollie says
These are delicious and super easy to put together! I used almond flour.
Alexis Joseph says
Love that, thanks a ton Mollie!
Katie says
I love this recipe so much! I’ve made it so many times recently. I will say that I do prefer it with almond flour, and the flaky salt on top definitely makes them! Thanks for sharing.
Alexis Joseph says
Mmmmm need to make another batch! thanks, Katie!
Barbara Watson says
Five stars all around!! #1 chocolate and PB....I mean c'mon. 😋 #2 No bake. #3 You can cut these into little squares for a "bite" which is often all you really need to satisfy your sweet tooth. SO easy, SO good AND my company always loves them !
Alexis Joseph says
Right?! Such a delish snack! thanks, Barbara 🙂
melody sieglitz says
what if allergic to all nut butters what is an alternative DATE PASTE?
Alexis Joseph says
You can try sunflower seed butter! There's not date paste in the recipe.
Maureen says
Amazing!!! Who doesn’t love peanut butter and chocolate?! This recipe couldn’t be easier to make and is loved by all. I learned how easy it is to make it flour and have been using it in other recipes. I used Lilly’s chocolate to make these a bit healthier. Thank you!
Alexis Joseph says
Niiiice! That sounds perfect. Thanks, Maureen!
Kayla says
These bars are SO good! I've made homemade PB cups before but this is way easier!
Alexis Joseph says
Yayyy thanks so much, Kayla!
Kati says
Super good! Always skeptical to make "healthy" desserts but I'll be making these weekly now!!
Alexis Joseph says
Right?? Yay!
Kayleigh says
Delicious and easy to make with kiddos!
Alexis Joseph says
I'm so glad, thanks Kayleigh!
Amy says
Made these for the big buckeye game tonight! So easy and my taste test prior to the freezer told me they are going to be good!
I used all oat flour and chunky gooey natural PB and it seemed to work just as well!
Alexis Joseph says
I'm so glad you loved these, thanks Amy!!
Steph says
An absolutely delicious frozen treat--no substitutions but I always add a little more flax for a health boost...I made them all summer long but am on my way to make some right now. Far more satisfying to eat than a peanut butter cup!
Alexis Joseph says
Ohhhh love that you boost the flax!! Sounds fab. Thanks, Steph!
lisa4902 says
Do you grind the flax before adding?
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
Yes, the recipe calls for ground versus whole flax.
Ashley says
My kids loved them! They were the perfect after school snack!
Alexis Joseph says
Amazing, thanks Ashley!
Gretchen Thompson says
I’m OBSESSED with these bars!! I made them about a week ago and am already thinking about making another batch!
Alexis Joseph says
Heck yes!!! I think you should totally make another batch 🙂 Thanks, Gretchen!
chandra says
Made these a few days ago and they are so yummy! I was fortunate to get to eat a couple before they disappeared...
Alexis Joseph says
Hahaha my batch just disappeared too! Thanks, Chandra!
Meaghan says
Made this recipe with almond flour instead of oat flower....delicious! Will definitely be making them again because I’m sure this batch will not last long!
Alexis Joseph says
I'm so glad to hear almond flour worked! Thanks a ton, Meaghan 🙂
Stacy Selvaggio says
Easy, only 5 ingredients, super tasty, reminds me of a frozen Reese’s cup! Will make again, sharing the recipe with my parents, I made this recipe for them and they loved it!
Alexis Joseph says
Wonderful, thank you so much Stacy!
Melissa says
These are so good! Extremely easy to make, it basically took me less than 10 minutes (minus the freezing time). Only change I made was to mix together the peanut butter layer in my food processor -- it made it faster and smoother since my peanut butter was just slightly clumpy.
Will definitely be making this recipe again in the future!
Alexis Joseph says
Thanks a ton for the feedback, Melissa! Glad you loved these.
Lindsay says
So easy! used a mix of the nut butters I had (finished off cashew butter, some almond, and peanut) and also tried to make them a bit more doughy with an additional cup of almond flour and a splash of almond milk, very forgiving recipe!
Alexis Joseph says
I'm so glad that worked! Thanks a ton for letting me know, Lindsay.
Angela says
Love these! So easy to make. For me the hardest part was spreading out the mixture as mine was so stiff I could have rolled it out! For the topping I ran out of peanut butter so I mixed coconut oil with the chocolate - just enough so it was a nice spready consistency. They are totally yummy - remind me of Snickers bars (am I allowed to say that?!) and I nibble them straight out of the freezer (as I do now with flapjacks) - which makes them somehow more filling! A delicious satisfying indulgence!
Alexis Joseph says
Oh man! Was your peanut butter the natural drippy kind? Did you spoon and level the oat flour? Thicker peanut butter or packed flour can definitely impact the texture. You can always add less flour if that helps. I love Snickers bars! What a compliment. Thanks for your feedback, Angela!
Anita says
I struggled with this a bit too! Do you leave your opened jars of nut butter out of the fridge Alexis? I've never known if that's safe to do!
Alexis Joseph says
I do not refrigerate nut butter--should be drippy, natural PB. If it's hard and needs to be spooned out, I'd try 1/4 cup less flour? Feel free to play with it depending on how hard your nut butter is! It says to refrigerate to protect the fats so they don't oxidize and go rancid. I go through nut butter quickly so it's never been a concern. You'd know if it went bad because the flavor would be off 🙂
Angela says
Aha - that’s it! It was super crunchy dense peanut butter! Yes less flour next time - and I need to make more as they’ve all GONE! Thank you Alexis - so happy to hear your wonderful news too! 😀 💕
Alexis Joseph says
Hahah I love it! I just added a recipe note clarifying how to adjust the recipe depending on the peanut butter consistency. Thanks, Angela!
Shawna says
I make these as energy bites with honey and choc chips, but I would love to do the bars! Less time consuming I would imagine! I'm nursing, and these are a great snack to have on hand and oatmeal and flaxseed are great for you while you are nursing. Sometimes I throw in a little brewer's yeast (not too much).
Alexis Joseph says
Love, that--I will totally remember this in 6 months 😉 Thanks for leaving a review and thoughtful comment, Shawna!
Caitlin says
Soooo good and I'm so happy to have them on hand all week for snacks/dessert!!
Alexis Joseph says
Woop! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed these, Caitlin!
Katie says
These look amazing, and I’m definitely going to make them ASAP! Could you sub something for the ground flax? Or just omit entirely? Wondering if that would change the consistency of the base layer.
Alexis Joseph says
Thanks! I think you could leave it out and they'd just be more peanut-buttery, but since they're frozen, it wouldn't be a huge deal. Or add more oat flour! Let me know how they turn out 🙂
Molly says
I just made them with an additional 1/4 cup of oat flour and they turned out great! Never tried them with the flax so I really cannot compare, but they are delicious.
Alexis Joseph says
SO glad to know that worked, thanks Molly!
Whitney Long says
Yum! I love your cookie dough protein bars. I will have to try these!
Alexis Joseph says
Love those! Let me know if you try these 🙂
Melissa says
Delicious and super easy and quick to make. These bars will definitely be a frequently requested in my house.
Alexis Joseph says
Woop! Thanks so much for letting me know and leaving a rating, Melissa!
Annie says
Very peanut-butter forward! The salt on the top was a nice way to break up the richness. Super easy to make.
Alexis Joseph says
Glad you liked them! You can almost add more maple syrup if you want to cut the pb down.
Alexis Joseph says
I love that, Gertrude! Thanks a bunch!
Lisa says
Easy to make and delicious! I’m a chocolate-pb fanatic and these bars hit the spot! I melted coconut oil with the chocolate just bc I love that combo but otherwise followed the recipe exactly.
Alexis Joseph says
Ohhhh love that. I bet they had an awesome texture. Thanks, Lisa!
Colleen Delaney says
These came out so well, super tasty and easy to make!
Alexis Joseph says
Amazing, thanks a ton Colleen! I'm super pumped you loved them.