Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

It’s hard to think of a more quintessential American treat than these peanut butter oatmeal bars. Made with just five ingredients and showcasing a thick chocolate peanut butter topping, kids and adults will love them for a sweet snack or dessert.

My mom despises peanut butter so it was never in my house growing up. I feel like I missed out on many classic American treats because of this. While kids at school all ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I was over there nibbling at my cream cheese and jelly (on whole wheat to boot because mom didn’t do white bread either). No shade at cream cheese and jelly though, it’s delicious.

Unfortunately in the 80s and 90s, alternative nut butters had yet to become mainstream so treats like these peanut butter oatmeal bars wouldn’t have even crossed my mom’s mind. Thankfully, I’m an adult now and delicious wonders like this can now be made any time I want.

Once you realize this is a five ingredient recipe and it hits all those sweet snack craving desires, I have a feeling these bars will be appearing weekly in your house like they are in mine.

Why These Bars Are The Best

1. Simple: With just 5 ingredients and 10 minutes of hands on prep, they’re quick to make and perfect for weekly meal prepping.
2. Satisfying: They’ll satisfy any sweet tooth craving without making your teeth hurt.
3. Thick chocolate layer: As a chocolate lover, this is my favorite part. Nothing goes together better than peanut butter and chocolate and the generous layer of chocolate coating these bars is happiness in each bite.
4. Great snack: Whether it’s an after school treat or a mid-afternoon pick me up at the office, these bars give everyone something to look forward to.
5. Storage: They store wonderfully in the fridge all week.

Ingredient Highlights

When a recipe only requires five ingredients total (including salt!) there’s not much to say. But a few notes of importance:

• Oats: You’ll want to make sure to use quick cooking or instant oats for these bars. Since we’re not cooking the oats, they’re the thinnest, most processed of all the different types of oats and therefore easiest to digest and chew.
• Honey: To make the peanut butter oatmeal bars vegan friendly you can swap the honey for maple syrup in the same quantity. The two are totally interchangeable and I use both depending on what I have on hand.
• Salt: The salt is used in the oat mixture but also sprinkled on top of the bars for that sweet and salty kick. I use a finer salt for the oat mixture and a flaky coarse salt for topping the chocolate layer.

How to Make Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars Step by Step

The full set of ingredients and directions can be found at the bottom of this post in the recipe card. This is a quick visual walk through for reference.

Additions and Variations

This base recipe is perfect as it is, but if you want to play around with some fun add-ins, there are plenty to choose from.

• Protein powder: this is the addition I use the most often. I try to make protein a focus of everything I put in my mouth (otherwise it’s quite hard to hit my daily protein goals!). You can mix in a scoop of your favorite protein powder to the oat base and you shouldn’t need to adjust the ingredients for most protein powders. I most frequently use a half and half blend of Equip’s unflavored and vanilla beef protein isolate.
• Vanilla extract: add a teaspoon of vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste to the honey and peanut butter mixture for extra flavor. Almond extract is good too, especially if you’re using almond butter as suggested below.
• Different nut butters: maybe you don’t love peanut butter like my mom — try a different nut butter. This recipe works perfectly with creamy almond butter or cashew butter.
• Unsweetened coconut flakes: I make energy bites that are chocolate chip, oat and coconut based and I absolutely love the combination. You can add some coconut flakes into this mixture too for a great flavor combination.

With add-ins like coconut flakes and protein powder, start with no more than 1/4 cup and see how the oatmeal base feels. If it’s not sticking together well enough just add a touch more peanut butter and/or sweetener to help bind it.

Storage

These bars store like a dream. They’ll easily keep in the refrigerator for a week (longer even if they last!) and they freeze well too.

To freeze, cut the bars into squares after they’ve chilled and set in the refrigerator and then transfer the bars into a freezer safe bag. They’ll last in the freezer for 3-4 months in sealed container or bag. Thaw at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes so the chocolate becomes easier to bite through.

More Snack Bars To Try

The no-bake nature of these oatmeal peanut butter bars is one of their best features. If you like that aspect, you’ll want to try these chocolate coconut pumpkin bars too.

Cookie dough bars with chocolate chips and cherries are another no-bake treat that’s healthy but decadent at the same time.

These pumpkin chocolate chip bars are baked but full of nuts, chocolate chips and flavorful pumpkin. You can play around with an array of add-ins with this recipe and they make a great hearty snack.