Healthy Peanut Butter Bars for a treat anytime! Made with peanut butter, almond flour, chocolate chips, a hint of salt, vanilla and sweetened with maple syrup, this healthy no bake peanut butter snack is a treat to have on hand when cravings strike! This easy to make recipe is vegetarian, vegan and gluten free.
This recipe is loosely adapted from Rachel Conner’s Book Bakerita; 100+ No-Fuss Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, and Refined Sugar-Free Recipes for the Modern Baker.
Table of Contents
Balancing That Sweet Tooth
Enjoying an indulgent sweet every now and then is something I look forward to, but for everyday, I crave something a little healthier. Always a fan of cake, cookies, pastries and the like, I’m forever finding ways to balance my sweet tooth.
So when Rachel of the blog Bakerita reached out to share her new cookbook with me, I was delighted to try something new to cure my sweet tooth. Her new book, Bakerita, is a collection of scrumptious gluten, dairy and refined sugar free recipes with vegetarian and vegan baked and no bake treats to enjoy. When I tried her cookie dough fudge recipe (healthy peanut butter bars), I knew I had to share it with y’all.
Easy Healthy Peanut Butter Bars
These easy and healthy peanut butter chocolate bars are a snap to make. With a short ingredient list and minimal hands on time, you’ll have these whipped up for snackin’ in no time! Here’s how to make em’ (for full recipe, see recipe card below):
- First, mix the maple syrup, peanut butter, vanilla, almond flour, mini chocolate chips and salt.
- Second, press the dough into a parchment lined loaf pan.
- Next, melt peanut butter and chocolate in a bowl and mix.
- Last, pour chocolate mixture over the dough in the pan and rest in the fridge for two hours until set.
Slice these no bake peanut butter bars to desired size and share with an optional sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
See how easy they are to make?
A Few Recipe Notes
- Freezer Friendly? Yes Please! These no bake peanut butter bars have a long shelf life. I’ve stored them in the fridge for up to two weeks. Rachel suggests they can be frozen wrapped snugly in plastic for up to three months.
- Variations:
- Rachel suggests using cashew butter or other creamy nut butter of choice. I use natural peanut butter, crunchy for the dough, creamy for the chocolate top. I’ve also used almond butter!
- I like mini chocolate chips for these healthy bars. Try subbing cacao nibs for a less sugar, richer, chocolatey flavor.
- Bar Size: These little peanut butter bars are super rich and satisfying. I cut them into 1 1/2″ x 1″ bar size to keep them small. This yields about 18 mini bars. Feel free to slice into larger pieces!
More Healthier Snacks to Love
- Maple Pecan Granola
- Chocolate Pecan Pie Bliss Bites
- Healthier Oatmeal Cookies
- Peanut Butter Banana Oat Bars
- No Bake Chocolate Almond Coconut Bars
- Pumpkin Energy Bites
the recipe
Healthy Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 1 C (255g) Natural Peanut Butter crunchy or creamy
- 1/4 C (85g) Pure Maple Syrup
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 1/4 C (125g) Almond Flour blanched, I use Bob's Red Mill. See note*
- 1/4 C (25g) Mini Chocolate Chips plus more for sprinkling
- 1/4 tsp Fine Sea Salt
For the Chocolate Topping:
- 4 oz (120g) Bittersweet Chocolate chopped small, I like 70% chocoalte, or use chocolate chips
- 2 Tbs Natural Peanut Butter creamy
- 1/2 tsp Flakey Sea Salt optional
Instructions
For the Dough:
- Line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper and grease the paper lightly with coconut oil. Set aside.In a medium bowl, mix the nut butter, maple syrup and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the almond flour, chocolate chips and sea salt and mix until the ingredients come together. Using your hands, press the dough into the prepared pan in an even layer.
For the Chocolate Topping:
- In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the chocolate and peanut butter for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave again for 30 seconds and stir until the chocolate is completely melted. The chocolate should be soft, smooth and shiny. Melt for a few more seconds in the microwave if needed. Pour and spread the chocolate over the dough into an even layer. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips if desired.
- Rest in the refrigerator for at least two hours, or until firm. Slice into 18 pieces or as desired. Sprinkle with flakey sea salt if desired.
To Store:
- Refrigerate in a lidded container for up to two weeks or in the freezer snugly wrapped in parchment and stored in a lidded container or freezer bag for up to three months.
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
Many thanks to Rachel Conner and HMH Books for sending Bakerita; 100+ No-Fuss Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, and Refined Sugar-Free Recipes for the Modern Baker to me. All opinions are my own. .
I made these and they are delicious, easy to prepare, and more satisfying than a peanut butter cup.
SO happy to hear Laura! Thank you for your note and giving the recipe a go!
Oh my Traci, I bet Rachel’s book is fabulous, just like these bars! So easy and such a delicious dessert/snack! And just a handful of ingredients too. I’m so in!
Love these! My sweetie made them a few days ago and I’ve been eating them up. They’re good for snacks, not too sweet, and they stay with me. Thank you, Traci!
Love hearing this Tom! Thank you for your note and giving the recipe a go!
Your peanut butter bars call for almond flour. If you’re severely allergic to tree nuts is there a substitute you recommend?
Hi Diane! Since I’ve not made this with any substitute, I’m not sure what would work specifically in this recipe.
Hi Diane, you could try substituting the almond flour for oat flour (ground oats). Haven’t tried it out yet but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work.
Is her book completely GF and vegan? It says dairy free, but not egg free. Some of the online reviews make this sound unclear.
Thanks!
Hi Amanda! Rachel’s book is gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free. It is not vegan. I hope this helps!
These look right up my alley! Yum! I’ll have to check out Rachel’s book!
You’d love these healthier treats Liz!
Always nice to have an easy healthy sweet snack recipe at the ready and this one looks like it would satisfy my sweet tooth for sure! Thanks for the introduction to Rachel’s book and web site. Also, been meaning to tell you that the updates on your site are incredible-so easy to navigate and love how everything is laid out. Can’t imagine how much work went into it all. Hope you enjoy this fall weekend. We are right at peak leaf viewing here now-knee deep in apples and pumpkins.
Hi Jean! Gotta have healthy options, right? Thank you for your feedback regarding the web site! I’m so happy to hear. Leaf viewing is such a delight… and the apples and pumpkins are giving me all the fall feels too!