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These simple No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Oatmeal Bars are rich and chewy with hearty rolled oats, creamy peanut butter, dark chocolate chips and a touch of maple syrup (optional) for a delicious afternoon snack and more!
This recipe was originally published February 2019 and updated July 2024 with slight tweaks to make the recipe even better!
There isn’t a peanut butter chocolate treat I have ever met that I didn’t LOVE. These rich chocolate peanut butter oatmeal bars are for sure a favorite in this house and I imagine they will be in yours soon as well.
Inspired by my favorite peanut butter oatmeal balls as well as the classic no bake cookies I grew up with, these bars are super simple to whip up and have the chocolate melted right into them. YUM!
Check out these other recipes if you love pb and chocolate as well: Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats, No-Churn Peanut Butter Cookies and Cream Ice Cream, and Chocolate Peanut Butter Overnight Oats.
Why You Will Love These Peanut Butter Chocolate Oatmeal Bars:
- No baking required. One less step needed to make this easy recipe. There is no need to turn the oven on, melt the chocolate peanut butter mixture and then stir, press, chill and eat. Always one of the easiest recipes!
- Minimal, simple ingredients. I always have every ingredient necessary on hand to make this recipe. That is one of the main reasons I love this sweet treat so much–when I have a craving, I can make them right away!
- Kid friendly! Peanut butter and chocolate–a kid favorite and just as well the entire family. A delicious treat most can’t resist, and by that I mean my son who turns his nose up to chocolate.
Recipe Ingredients:
- peanut butter: creamy peanut butter is ideal for these no bake bars, I don’t suggest crunch peanut butter. I have used several different kinds–JIF, Skippy, store brand, natural peanut butter, no stir–any will work. Just note if your peanut butter does not include any sugar or sweetener, you will likely want to make sure you add the maple syrup for sure when making this recipe. If you have an allergy to peanuts, almond butter, cashew butter or sunflower seed butter work well too.
- butter: salted or unsalted is fine. If using salted, you may want to omit any salt later in the recipe. If you are wanting to make these bars dairy free, you can use coconut oil or a plant based butter.
- milk: whole milk is ideal for a rich creamy texture and really brings out the shine in the chocolate in the recipe. Another milk should work great as well.
- maple syrup: pure maple syrup or another liquid syrup will work, and can be added as desired. I accidentally made these bars without the sweetener once and enjoyed them very much still.
- vanilla: vanilla extract versus imitation for richness if possible
- dark chocolate chips: this recipe can certainly be made with another type of chocolate instead of dark. Milk chocolate, semi-sweet, etc. I like that dark chocolate is not overly sweet. Use a high quality chocolate for creamiest texture.
- sea salt: a dash added in with the oats, but this is optional. I like to add flakey sea salt over top of the bars when serving as well.
- old fashioned oats: also known as rolled oats. You can use regular or gluten free. I have not made this chocolate peanut butter oat bars with quick oats, however, I believe they should still work fairly well using those as well.
Step-By-Step Instructions:
- Add the peanut butter, milk, butter, chocolate chips, and vanilla to a medium sauce pan.
- Over medium low heat, stir frequently until smooth and creamy. Make sure not to overheat the mixture. You can pull it off the heat just before the last few chocolate chips have melted and just stir until they melt into the mixture.
- Add the oats to a large bowl and toss with sea salt.
- Pour the peanut butter chocolate mixture over the oats and stir until all of the oats are fully coated.
- Line an 8×8 inch square pan with parchment paper. Press the peanut butter chocolate oat mixture firmly into the pan.
- Chill the chocolate peanut butter bars for about 30 minutes to allow the bars to cool and the chocolate to set.
Recipe Tips
- Almond Butter works great as well as cashew butter. I haven’t tried it with sunflower seed butter but I imagine that would be great as well.
- All about that drizzle! These are great with a nice peanut butter drizzle! I think it makes them look extra fancy as well.
- You can spoon these into cookies if preferred.
Storage:
Store these no bake bars at room temperature in an airtight container for about 3-4 days. I find that storing in the refrigerator can dry them out slightly so don’t suggest it.
You can freeze the oat bars for up to 3 months if desired.
Try these other simple snack recipes:
- No Bake Samoa Bars
- No Bake Cookie Butter Cookies
- Lemon Coconut Bars
- Copycat Perfect Bars
- Flourless Peanut Butter Chip Muffins
- No Bake Snickerdoodle Cookies
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No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- 1 c creamy peanut butter, or nut butter of choice
- 5 T butter
- â…“ c milk
- ¼ cup 100% pure maple syrup, optional
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ cup dark chocolate chips
- pinch of sea salt
- 3¼ cup rolled oats, regular or gluten free
Instructions
- In a small sauce pan, combine peanut butter, maple, vanilla, milk, butter, and dark chocolate chips.
- Heat at med-low heat stirring frequently until chocolate chips are melted.
- Remove from heat and pour mixture over oats in a mixing bowl and stir to coat oats.
- Press the mixture firmly into an 8x8inch square pan lined with parchment.
- Chill for about 30 minutes to 1 hour to set.
Notes
- Almond Butter works great as well as cashew butter. I haven’t tried it with sunflower seed butter but I imagine that would be great as well.
- All about that drizzle! These are great with a nice peanut butter drizzle! I think it makes them look extra fancy as well.
- You can spoon these into cookies if preferred.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The video showed ‘sea salt’ but it is not listed with the ingredients?!?!?! Such a great recipe! Thank You for sharing!
Oops! You are right!! 1/4 tsp! I am updating this recipe soon so will make sure to add that in. Thanks for catching it!
I don’t see anytihng about the drizzle and where do you even find a 6*8 pan?
Hi! The drizzle is just plain old peanut butter. I added it when I updated the photos but hadn’t updated the recipe to add it as an option. So I have a 6×8 Pyrex glass rectangle dish. However, I have made these in an 8×8 and not pressed it all the way to one edge, leaving a 2 inch space. I’ve also used a bread pan to make them nice and thick. Hope that helps!
What is serving size to = 1000 calories
Hi! I’m not quite sure. I don’t focus on calories due to my history and relationship with food. I’m sure you could plug the ingredient into a counter to get the details. Sorry for the inconvenience!
Just made these as an afternoon snack/treat…SO DELICIOUS!! Thank you for sharing your talent for food and wise words XOXO
Kat, I’m so glad you liked them! They are my new favorite for sure. I brought them to work to share and they were gone in an hour so I took that as a sign of approval. Thanks again for the kind words. 😉
Thank you so much for sharing yourself and showing what it’s like to be vulnerable. I am working on sharing feelings so I really appreciate your openness.
Sherry, I really appreciate this comment! Putting my fears and anxieties down on “paper” has been such amazing and freeing therapy. It’s not easy though that’s for sure so thanks for the encouragement! It really means a lot.