Quick and Easy Plant Based Peanut Butter Bars
My perfect dessert involves chocolate and peanut butter and is something I can make quickly with items I likely already have in my pantry. These bars are just that. They are made with only four common ingredients. Of course (like everything on this site), they are vegan. They are also gluten free, soy free, oil free and made without refined sugar. Oh, and another thing…they taste just like peanut butter cups!
My wife and I first made a version of these bars at Thanksgiving last year. I made the peanut butter layer and she was in charge of the chocolate. Before I realized what was happening she had melted 7 bars of chocolate to put on top of the peanut butter layer. SEVEN! My only complaint about the extra chocolate was that it made it difficult to slice and bite into the bars. We decided to tone it down a bit when we made another version of the bars for dessert at Christmas. Eventually we settled on two or three bars of chocolate as the perfect amount but you are welcome to increase that if you feel inclined.
The Process:
The hardest part about making these bars is melting the chocolate (and really, melting chocolate isn’t that hard). If you have a proper double broiler, use that to melt down the ingredients for the chocolate layer. No double broiler? Don’t fret. I don’t have one either. It is easy to improvise. In a pinch, you can use the microwave or a pan directly on the stove. With these methods you will need to heat it low and slow to prevent burning the chocolate.
If you have an Instant Pot you can use that as a double broiler. Put about 2 inches of water in the bottom of the Instant Pot pan. Place the chocolate layer ingredients in a glass or metal dish and rest that on a trivet in the water. Use the “saute” mode on your instant pot to heat the water and melt the chocolate. Here’s a picture of our set up:
The Ingredients:
This recipe requires only four ingredients and there is a good chance you already have them in your pantry.
Peanut Butter
Creamy or Crunchy? You can use whatever you prefer. I like to use a natural peanut butter that contains no added sugar or oil.
Oat Flour
You can purchase oat flour already ground. If you are sensitive to gluten, be sure to purchase oat flour that is gluten free. While oats themselves do not contain gluten they often come into contact with gluten both in the field and during processing. This cross contamination may not be an issue for you. It depends on your level of gluten intolerance/sensitivity. To be safe, find oats that are certified gluten free.
I generally make my own oat flour. Put oats (again, use gluten free oats if cross contamination is an issue for you) in the blender and process them until they are the consistency of flour. I do this in a high speed blender (I use my Nutribullet for this task). You can use a regular blender if that’s what you have. It will just take longer to get the oats to a fine consistency.
Maple Syrup
Maple syrup is a great alternative to refined sugar. Unlike white sugar, maple syrup contains minerals and antioxidants. It is also lower on the glycemic index than white sugar. While maple syrup is a great alternative to sugar it is important to remember that it is still sugar. What I love about this dessert is that the maple syrup is kept to a minimum so the bars aren’t overly sweet.
Chocolate
You can’t have chocolate peanut bars without chocolate! This recipe uses dark chocolate bars. In my house we like 85% dark chocolate. It’s smooth and not overly sweet. However, you can use whatever chocolate you enjoy. If you don’t have chocolate bars on hand, feel free to melt down chocolate chips instead.
That’s everything! You are only 4 ingredients and about 10 minutes away from having a batch of healthy and delicious peanut butter bars. Please let me know what you think of this recipe!
This site contains affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you. However, I only recommend products that I love and use myself. All recommended products are vegan and gluten free.
Easy and Healthy No Bake Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients
For the peanut butter layer:
- 1 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1 1/3 cup gluten free oat flour (you can purchase oat flour or just blend up rolled oats to a flour consistency)
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
For the chocolate layer:
- 1/3 cup peanut butter
- 2 bars vegan dark chocolate, broken into pieces (approx 3.5 ounces per bar, use more chocolate if desired)
Instructions
Prepare the peanut butter layer:
- In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cup peanut butter along with the oat flour and maple syrup. Mix everything until completely combined.
- Using a rubber spatula, spread the mixture in a 9×9 inch glass baking pan.
Prepare the chocolate layer:
- Melt the chocolate and remaining peanut butter in a double broiler. I don't actually own a proper double broiler so I just place the chocolate and peanut butter in a glass or metal bowl. I place a couple inches of water in the bottom of a saucepan or in the instant pot and I set the bowl of peanut butter and chocolate in that. This allows you to easily melt the chocolate without burning it. If you are extremely careful you can melt the chocolate slowly in the microwave or in a pan directly on the stove top.
- Pour the melted chocolate/peanut butter mixture over the peanut butter layer.
- Chill in the fridge for at least an hour to let the chocolate set. I recommend removing the dessert from the microwave 5-10 minutes before serving. This will soften the chocolate a bit and allow for easier cutting of the bars.