These No-Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars are made with only 4 ingredients to create a wholesome treat that is packed with whole grains, fiber, and protein!
Along with homemade granola bars, these soft and chewy peanut oatmeal bars are a simple, no-bake snack that everyone loves!
why you will love pb oatmeal bars
- Easy Recipe. This recipe for oatmeal peanut butter bars comes together using just a handful of ingredients in less than 5 minutes. These snack bars don't even require baking. Easy-peasy!
- Refined-Sugar Free. While these peanut butter bars taste sweet and decadent, they actually are naturally sweetened using honey or maple syrup.
- Nutrient-Dense. When I am looking for a healthy snack for kids (or myself), I look for something that is made with whole grains, healthy fats, and protein. These peanut butter oatmeal bars check all those boxes!
- Delicious. If you love peanut butter, you will love these peanut butter bars. They have a rich peanut butter flavor, are perfectly sweet, and soft, and chewy.
- Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Recipe: These peanut butter oatmeal bars make a great snack for anyone looking for a dairy-free and/or gluten-free treat.
Notes on Ingredients
- Peanut Butter: This recipe works with natural peanut butter or shelf-stable peanut butter. I personally prefer using all-natural peanut butter, to keep these bars are pure and wholesome as possible, but either variety works.
- Oats: Use rolled oats or quick-cooking oats to make these bars. Do not use steel-cut oats. Be sure your oats are certified gluten-free if needed.
- Honey: I love the combination of honey and peanut butter together. However, feel free to use maple syrup if you would like to make these peanut butter oatmeal bars vegan-friendly.
- Salt: Even if your peanut butter is salted, you want to add just a touch of kosher salt to the oatmeal bars to bring out the flavors.
Tips for The Best Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
These bars are super, super simple to make. But I do have a few tips to keep in mind that will make the process even easier and ensure perfect results.
Tip #1: Microwave the peanut butter with the honey. I recommend combining the peanut butter, honey, and salt in a glass measuring cup or medium heat-safe mixing bowl and microwave this mixture for 30-60 seconds. This will help to loosen up the peanut butter and honey and make it super easy to mix together.
Tip #2. Use a handheld mixer to combine the ingredients. While you can use a spatula or spoon to mix the oats into the peanut butter mixture, I find it is quickest to combine them together using a handheld mixer on low speed.
Tip #3 Use parchment paper. The mixture for the peanut butter oatmeal bars is quite sticky, therefore parchment paper will help tremendously. First, you want to be sure to line your baking pan with parchment paper as that will make the bars super easy to remove from the pan after they set. Secondly, I recommend using parchment paper to press the mixture into the lined pan. This will help prevent your hands from getting sticky.
Tip #4: Chill thoroughly. While you can certainly dig into the peanut butter oatmeal bars right away, I find it is best to allow the bars to chill for 30 minutes to set up and be easier to cut.
recipe modifications
- Add Chocolate: No one will complain if you add chocolate chips to these peanut butter oatmeal bars. Stir in up to 1 cup of mini or regular chocolate chips to the oat mixture before pressing into the pan.
- Peanut-Free: It may sound odd, but you can make these Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars peanut-free. Simply use almond butter or soy butter in place of peanut butter.
- Vegan-Friendly Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars: Use pure maple syrup in place of honey to keep these bars vegan.
Storage Instructions
I recommend storing peanut butter oatmeal bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I don't recommend freezing the bars, as the texture is not the same once defrosted.
More Kid-Friendly Snack Recipes
- No-Bake Granola Bars
- Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
- Homemade Larabars
- Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars
- DIY Yogurt Tubes
If you tried these Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars, I would love for you to leave a comment and review below.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup natural, creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt *see note
- 3 cup rolled oats
Instructions
- Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper.
- Combine the peanut butter, honey, and salt in a glass measuring cup or medium heat-safe mixing bowl. Microwave this mixture for 30-60 seconds. After heating, stir the mixture well to evenly incorporate the honey and salt into the peanut butter.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats with the peanut butter and honey mixture. Mix the mixture together until evenly incorporated using a handheld mixer on low speed or by hand using a spatula.
- Using an additional piece of parchment paper, press the oat mixture into an even layer in the prepared pan. Chill the bars for 10-30 minutes in the refrigerator to allow the bars to be easier to cut into squares.
- After chilling, remove the bars from the baking dish. Cut the bars into 12 squares and enjoy.
April
I love how simple these are to make! They're awesome as an on the go snack, breakfast, or a fun treat in my kids lunchboxes!
Kristen Chidsey
We love these oat bars too! I am so happy to hear you enjoyed how easy they are to make 🙂
Agnes
These bars are exactly the kind of healthy snacks I love to have on hand ! I like to add in a handful of dark chocolate chips in sometimes too. Thank you!
Kristen Chidsey
Chocolate chips are always a great addition! So happy to hear you enjoyed them!
jess
this is the best bar recipe that I ever made, thank you for sharing!
Kristen Chidsey
You bet Jess! So happy to hear you enjoyed so much!
Jim
These are very good. Makes for a quick and easy breakfast. I think that next time I will add a small amount of almond milk or water so the the oats are a little softer in the final product.