Posted Dec 19, 2020, Updated Mar 16, 2024 These No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars are an easy and delicious treat made with 5 ingredients in 10 minutes (just like these Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars or these chocolate peanut butter balls)! This peanut butter chocolate oat bars recipe is my go-to treat when I’m short on time but need to make a dessert to bring to a holiday party, BBQ, potluck, etc. They’re also the perfect addition to your holiday cookie trays, along with all of our Christmas Cookie Recipes.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars: Ingredients & Substitutions
As always, I recommend making this no bake chocolate oat bars recipe exactly as written, however here are a few possible substitutions.
Salted Butter. unsalted butter, earth’s balance vegan butter, and ghee all are good substitutes. Light Brown Sugar. dark brown sugar and coconut sugar are good substitutions. Peanut Butter. Any nut or seed butter works well in this recipe – almond butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter, etc. Semi-sweet chocolate. Use chocolate chips, bars, or discs. The form doesn’t matter beacuse it is melted. Choose your favorite variety from milk to dark.
How to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
Like I’ve said, these no bake chocolate oat bars are so easy to make. We’ll walk through the process together step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video. Something to note is that this recipe moves quickly. Lay out the ingredients, line the baking dish, grease a spatula, etc. before you begin.
Melt Chocolate and Peanut Butter
Begin this peanut butter oatmeal bars recipe by making the peanut butter and chocolate layer first. That way it has a little time to cool before the assembly phase.
Make the Oatmeal Layers
Next, make the oatmeal layers. This process goes quickly! Begin by melting the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Then stir in brown sugar and sea salt until the sugar is dissolved. Once it’s dissolved, turn the heat to low and add the vanilla and oats. Cook the oatmeal mixture on low for about 2 minutes, or until the ingredients are combined. Next, press about half of the oatmeal mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish with a greased spatula. (Reserve the other half to sprinkle on top). Then, pour the chocolate peanut butter mixture gently and slowly over the bottom layer. Reserving about 2-3 tablespoons to drizzle on top. Very gently crumble the remaining oat mixture over the chocolate peanut butter layer & press it into place. Drizzle the top with the remaining chocolate/peanut butter mixture.
Chill & Cut
Refrigerate the chocolate peanut butter oatmeal bars for at least 2 hours, or until the chocolate is set. Once the chocolate is set, remove the peanut butter chocolate oat bars from the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature before cutting. This ensures straight lines and easy cutting. Cutting cold, hard chocolate is never easy.
Store/Freeze
Store the peanut butter chocolate oat bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for 2 months. If you make and love our recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along with us on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so we can see your creations!
