No-Bake Oatmeal Bars with Peanut Butter

4.98 from 96 votes

No-Bake Oatmeal Bars with Peanut Butter

These chocolate peanut butter no-bake oatmeal bars are an easy & healthy dessert or snack! They only take 5 minutes to make, and are gluten and dairy-free! Plus they have no refined sugar and are vegan-friendly!

Prep Time10

Chill time30

Total Time40

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Low Calorie, Low Lactose, Vegetarian

Servings: bars

Author: Laura

Cost: $5

Equipment

Ingredients

For the bars:

1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup unsweetened coconut (shredded)
¼ cup almond meal
¾ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup honey
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Topping*

¼ cup chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon peanut butter

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the Oatmeal Layer

In a small bowl mix together oats, coconut and almond meal. Set aside
In a large, microwave safe bowl or in a pot on the stove, gently melt the peanut butter and honey together until smooth. (If your peanut butter is liquid at room temperature, simply mix the honey and peanut butter together without warming).
Add vanilla and salt (to taste...I love sweet/salty so I use ½ tsp) and stir until combined.
Add the dry ingredients and mix well.
Spread into an 8x8” pan and set aside.

Make the Topping

Melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter together on the stovetop or in the microwave (start by heating for 60 seconds. Stir then heat in 30 second increments until smooth).

Assemble

Drizzle or spread melted chocolate/peanut butter over bars.
Let the bars set up at room temperature or in the refrigerator until the chocolate is hardened.

Serve

Cut and serve at room temperature or cold.

Video

Notes

Ingredient Substitutions

Old-fashioned oats. Quick-cooking oats are a good substitute, just decrease the amount by 2 Tablespoons.

Almond flour. If you have a tree-nut allergy in your family, increase the amount of oats by ¼ cup and omit the almond flour. You can also substitute all-purpose gluten-free flour.

Peanut Butter. Any nut or seed butter works well in this recipe, however depending on the consistency you may need to adjust the amount used.

Honey. maple syrup is a great substitute.

*Refined Sugar Free Topping

¼ unsweetened chocolate
1 Tablespoon creamy peanut butter
1 to 2 tablespoons honey

In the microwave or on the stovetop, gently melt together the chocolate, honey (or maple syrup) and peanut butter.

Store/Freeze

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5-7 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw slowly at room temperature - do not microwave.

Nutrition