These no-bake Peanut Butter Bars are a delicious, easy dessert to make any time of the year. They are rich, extra thick and perfect for any chocolate and peanut butter lover.
If you like peanut butter cups you will absolutely love these super simple Peanut Butter Bars. They have a thick and yummy peanut butter layer topped with a smooth and creamy chocolate layer that melts in your mouth. No oven, no baking, just pure chocolate and peanut butter goodness.
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Peanut Butter Bars Video Tutorial
No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
This dessert gets bonus points for using just 6 ingredients and taking only about 20 minutes to prepare. Plus, you can easily make them a day or two ahead of time and they freeze great. It is honestly one of the easiest dessert recipes to make and it’s hard to find someone who doesn’t love it.
Ingredients in Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars
- Peanut Butter - we recommend saving the more natural peanut butter for another project and using “regular” brands, such as Jif or Skippy. The natural brands tend to separate while these regular brands mix great with the other ingredients. Whether you use crunchy or creamy peanut butter is really up to you!
- Butter - you want your butter to be room temperature so that it mixes well with the other ingredients. You can use either salted or unsalted, depending on your taste.
- Powdered Sugar - any type of powdered sugar will work.
- Vanilla Extract - pure vanilla extract tastes best.
- Graham Crackers - you can either purchase and crush graham crackers, or buy premade graham cracker crumbs. Either way, you want them to resemble coarse sand. You can also substitute vanilla wafers, Teddy Grahams, biscoff cookies or Vanilla Oreo cookies.
- Chocolate Chips - we like to use either semi sweet or milk chocolate chips for this dessert.
Step-By-Step: How to Make No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars
- Prepare your baking pan. Line a 9" x 13" baking dish with parchment paper so that the paper comes over the edges of the pan about 1” to make it easy to lift out and cut when finished.
- Make the peanut butter mixture. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the peanut butter and room temperature butter. Using the paddle attachment, cream together until light and fluffy, or about 3 minutes. Add the powdered sugar slowly, making sure it is well-combined, then add the vanilla extract and graham cracker crumbs and mix well.
- Spread. Transfer the peanut butter mixture to your prepared baking dish and spread or press evenly over the bottom, then put in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare your chocolate.
- Make the chocolate layer. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler, or in a microwave save bowl for about 20-30 seconds at a time. You want it to be melted but not too hot. Remove the baking dish with the peanut butter mixture from the fridge, then spread the chocolate mixture evenly over the peanut butter. Return to the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour or even overnight.
- Cut and serve. Cut into 1" chunks and serve immediately, or store in the fridge (covered) for up to one month.
Tips and Tricks
- You can easily prepare graham cracker crumbs by adding whole graham crackers to a large ziplock bag and crushing them with the bottom of a glass cup or a rolling pin. The crumbs should resemble coarse sand.
- It’s a good idea to line your baking dish with parchment paper so it’s easier to remove the Peanut Butter Bars once they are completely set.
- These are a great dessert to make ahead of time since they can set up in the fridge overnight.
- If you want to make gluten-free bars, just substitute gluten-free graham crackers!
- Don’t use “natural” peanut butter. They tend to separate and won’t give the right consistency.
Recipe Variations
- Use Nutella instead of Peanut Butter
- Use crushed salty Pretzels instead of Graham Crackers
- Use Milk Chocolate Chips instead of Semi-Sweet
Storing Peanut Butter Bars
Refrigerator: your Peanut Butter Bars can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 month.
Freezer: if you prefer to freeze them, they will freeze well covered, or stored in an airtight container, for up to 3 months. You can easily thaw them in the fridge overnight once you are ready to eat them.
Peanut Butter Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups Peanut Butter crunchy or smooth
- 1 cup Butter room temperature
- 3 ½ cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
- 12 ounces Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips melted
Instructions
- Prepare a 9" x 13" baking dish by lining with parchment paper so that the paper comes over the edges of the pan to make it easy to lift out and cut when finished.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the peanut butter and room temperature butter. Using the paddle attachment, cream together until light and fluffy, or about 3 minutes.
- Add the powdered sugar slowly, making sure it is well-combined, then add the vanilla extract and graham cracker crumbs and mix well.
- Transfer the peanut butter mixture to your prepared baking dish and spread evenly over the bottom, then put in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare your chocolate.
- Melt the chocolate over a double boiler, or in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds at a time. You want it to be melted but not too hot. Remove the baking dish with the peanut butter mixture from the fridge, then spread the chocolate mixture evenly over the peanut butter. Return to the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour.
- Cut into 1" chunks and serve immediately, or store in the fridge (covered) for up to one month.
Nutrition
More Peanut Butter Desserts
- Reese’s Cup Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe
- Cornflake Cookies
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Buckeye Balls
- Caramel Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
- Smores Bars
- Coconut No Bakes
- Cookie Bars
- Peanut Butter Energy Balls
- More No Bake Dessert Recipes
- More Holiday Favorites
- More Dessert Bar Recipes
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These no-bake Peanut Butter Bars have a thick and yummy peanut butter layer topped with a smooth and creamy chocolate layer that melts in your mouth. They are rich, extra thick and perfect for any chocolate and peanut butter lover.
Virginia
Yum! My kids loved these I hardly got a taste!
Jill Baird
My kids love them too. Thanks for your comment! I appreciate it!