Simple and delicious No Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars are easy to make with just 4 simple ingredients! A combination of creamy peanut butter, honey (or maple syrup), rolled oats, and dark chocolate chips are combined to create the perfect snack or healthy sweet treat.
This Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bar recipe is like oatmeal in bar form for an easy on-the-go breakfast or snack option. You need just 4 simple pantry staple ingredients and just about 10 minutes of hands-on time. And they’re way more satisfying and healthier than a packaged snack bar. These can even be changed up with different mix-ins based on what you’d like. They’re also great for meal prep, as they can be stored in the fridge for up to about a week or frozen for months!
Why you should make this recipe
- Quick & easy: No baking is needed to make this snack bar recipe! All you do is mix everything in one bowl, refrigerate to set, and then enjoy!
- Healthy: These are made with nutrient-rich plant-based ingredients that contain many vitamins and minerals, and they are rich in fiber and healthy fats. This recipe is naturally gluten-free and vegan if using maple syrup!
- Delicious flavors: Chocolate, peanut butter, and honey taste fabulous together! Everyone loves these bars, even picky kids!
- Versatile: Feel free to get creative when you make this recipe and try adding chopped nuts, dried fruit, and different nut butter.
Ingredients needed
- Creamy peanut butter: We typically use natural peanut butter with no added oils, sugar, or salt, but use your favorite brand. For an added crunch, try crunchy peanut butter.
- Sweetener: For best results, we recommend using honey. It has the perfect sweet flavor and the sticky texture helps to bind all of the ingredients.
- Rolled oats: Use regular old-fashioned rolled oats, not steel-cut oats or instant oats.
- Chocolate chips: The recipe calls for dark chocolate chips, but feel free to use milk chocolate chips. To keep these vegan and dairy free use nondairy chocolate chips.
Variations and substitutions
- Nut butter: Really any favorite nut butter will work in this recipe. Try almond butter or cashew butter for a different flavor. Sunflower seed butter is a good option to keep this allergy friendly.
- Sweetener: While we love using honey, maple syrup or agave syrup are great vegan options.
- Add-ins: If you’d like to substitute the chocolate chips, try dried cranberries, raisins, chopped pecans, or chopped walnuts. You could even add in a little shredded coconut, vanilla extract, or cinnamon.
How to make this oatmeal bar recipe
- Heat peanut butter and honey: In a microwave-safe bowl, add peanut butter and honey (or maple syrup) and heat in 20 seconds increments until melted. Mix to combine.
- Combine with oats: Add the rolled oats to the bowl of the peanut butter and honey mixture using a spatula and mix until they are well combined.
- Add chocolate chips: Fold in the chocolate chips and mix to combine again.
- Transfer to pan: In an 8×8-inch pan, place parchment paper. Lightly spray with non-stick spray. Place the peanut butter oats mixture into the pan. Press down using your hands or spatula.
- Chill to set: Place in the fridge for 30-60 minutes until set. Cut into 16-20 squares and enjoy.
Expert Tips
- Pressing the oat mixture: The oat mixture will be a bit sticky. To make it less messy when pressing it into the pan, dampen your hands or spatula before pressing.
- Lining the pan: Be sure to line the pan with parchment paper and then spray it with nonstick cooking spray to make it easy to lift the bars out of the pan.
- Cutting the bars: We cut these into 16 medium-sized bars. You can also make them a bit smaller and cut them into 20 bars.
Frequently asked questions
These particular bars are a much healthier option than store-bought oatmeal bars. Those tend to be loaded with sugar and preservatives. This homemade recipe only requires 4 simple ingredients and they are filling and delicious.
Cut into 16 squares, these oatmeal bars will have about 200 calories, 23 grams of carbs, 5 grams of protein, and 11 grams of fat. More nutrition information can be found in the recipe card.
Storage recommendations
- Storing: These no-bake square bars are best stored in a sealed container in the fridge to prevent them from getting too soft. They will keep for up to about 1 week. They are greatly enjoyed cold, at room temperature, or warmed.
- Freezing: Store in individual portions or in one large freezer-safe bag or container. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before enjoying.
More oatmeal recipes
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In a microwave-safe bowl, add peanut butter and honey (or maple syrup) and heat in 20 seconds increments until melted. Mix to combine.
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Add the rolled oats to the bowl of the peanut butter and honey mixture using a spatula mix until they are well combined.
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Fold in the chocolate chips and mix to combine again.
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In an 8×8-inch pan, place parchment paper. Lightly spray with non-stick spray. Place the peanut butter oats mixture into the pan. Press down using your hands or spatula.
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Place in the fridge for 30-60 minutes until set. Cut into 16-20 squares and enjoy.
- Storing: These no-bake square bars are best stored in a sealed container in the fridge to prevent them from getting too soft. They will keep for up to about 1 week. They are great enjoyed cold, at room temperature or warmed.
- Freezing: Store in individual portions or in one large freezer-safe bag or container. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before enjoying.
Serving: 1barCalories: 202kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 5gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 71mgPotassium: 164mgFiber: 3gSugar: 8gCalcium: 26mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
