No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars
By Carine Claudepierre
Published on 05/03/2022 - Last updated on 11/06/2022
This recipe may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
These No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars are healthy desserts or snacks made with 6 simple ingredients, 100% sugar-free, gluten-free and vegan.
A delicious keto snack to fix your sweet cravings with no sugar in less than 20 minutes.
What Are Peanut Butter Bars?
Peanut Butter Bars are simple no-bake snacks made of 3 simple ingredients and topped with a chocolate layer.
It’s a recipe that can be made in under 20 minutes with minimal equipment.
Why You’ll Love These No-Bake Bars
These no-bake snack bars are full of peanut butter and chocolate so they are absolutely delicious.
They are made without any refined sugar, no dairy, and no eggs, so they are
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Vegan
- Keto-friendly.
How To Make No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars
Making these bars is crazy easy. You can do them in under 20 minutes.
Ingredients
You’ll need the following ingredients:
- Peanut Butter – choose natural peanut butter, the one made with only peanuts and salt. If all you have is raw peanuts, you can make it yourself with my peanut butter recipe. Natural peanut butter is always vegan and keto-friendly.
- Coconut Flour – coconut flour is a high-fiber low-carb flour that is perfect for no-bake recipes as it doesn’t go bad like all-purpose flour or almond flour would.
- Sweetener – pick any powdered sweetener you like. If you are on a low-carb diet, opt for powdered erythritol, but you can also use powdered coconut sugar or powdered brown sugar. It’s also possible to use maple syrup or coconut nectar.
- Cocoa Powder – prefer unsweetened cocoa powder to reduce the amount of unnecessary sugar.
- Coconut Oil – coconut oil is the key ingredient to keep the chocolate layer harder.
Making The Peanut Layer
Combine the creamy peanut butter, coconut flour, and sweetener of choice in a mixing bowl.
Stir the peanut mixture with a silicone spatula until it becomes sticky. Then use your hands to keep kneading it into a consistent peanut butter ball.
Line a 9-inch x 5-inch loaf pan with lightly oiled parchment paper. This is what we’ll use to make the bar and freeze them.
Transfer the peanut butter dough ball into the loaf pan and press it down into a flat layer.
Use a spatula to smoothen the top of the peanut butter layer before taking the pan to the freezer while making the chocolate layer.
Making The Chocolate Layer
Start the chocolate layer in another microwave-safe bowl by combining the peanut butter and coconut oil.
Microwave for about 30 seconds to melt the coconut oil.
If you don’t have a microwave, you can make a bain-marie. Place boiling water in a large bowl and dip the bottom of the bowl with the peanut butter and coconut oil into it.
Make sure no water comes into the peanut butter mixture though.
Add the sweetener and cocoa powder into the peanut butter mixture. Incorporate them gently with a silicone spatula.
Remove the loaf pan from the freezer and pour the chocolate layer on top of it. Spread it with a spatula to make the surface as flat as possible.
Pop the no bake peanut butter bars into the freezer again to chill them. It takes about 30 minutes to fully set.
Cut the no-bake chocolate peanut butter bars into 12 slices. To make cutting easier, place the blade under hot water.
Storage
These no-bake peanut butter bars soften quickly at room temperature, so they need to be kept in the fridge.
Since they are dairy-free, they can be stored for up to 4 weeks, but you’ll have eaten them long before that.
Allergy Swaps
You can make the following swaps if you need to:
- Peanut Butter: substitute the peanut butter for almond butter or sunflower seed butter for a completely nut-free alternative.
- Powdered Erythritol: if you are sensitive to erythritol, you can swap it for any other powdered sweetener, including powdered sugar. You can also use maple syrup or coconut nectar as a liquid sweetener option. If you use a liquid sweetener, you have to add a bit more coconut flour.
- Coconut Flour: you can swap the coconut flour for a protein powder of your choice or powdered Graham crackers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can freeze these bars! Probably not for more than 4 weeks, but this quick keto dessert can definitely be frozen!
Don’t microwave though, leave them to defrost for 30-60 minutes in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
Yes, incorporate semi-sweet chocolate chips into the peanut butter batter before spreading it into the loaf pan.
You can make my low-carb chocolate chips recipe.
The no-bake bars taste a lot like peanut butter, but they have both a soft chewy texture and a rich crackling chocolate shell.
Yes, you can use crushed graham cracker crumbs instead of coconut flour.
Use my low-carb Graham cracker recipe to make a low-sugar version.
You can add chocolate chips or vanilla extract to add a delicious taste.
More No-Bake Snack Recipes
If you like no-bake snacks, I have many more recipes for you!
I hope you guys enjoy this recipe too. As always, share a pic with me on Instagram if you try them. I will love to see your creation.
Did You Like This Recipe?
Leave a comment below or head to our Facebook page for tips, our Instagram page for inspiration, our Pinterest for saving recipes, and Flipboard to get all the new ones!
No-bake Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Layer
- 1 cup Natural Peanut Butter unsalted, no oil added
- ⅔ cup Coconut Flour
- ⅓ cup Powdered Sweetener Of Choice such as powdered erythritol or liquid sweetener like maple syrup
Chocolate Peanut Butter Layer
- ⅓ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 2 tablespoons Natural Peanut Butter unsalted, no added oil or sugar
- 4 tablespoons Coconut Oil melted
- 2 tablespoons Powdered Sweetener Of Choice
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, add peanut butter, coconut flour, and powdered sweetener.
- Combine with a spatula, then knead with your hand to form a consistent peanut butter dough.
- Transfer the peanut butter dough into a rectangle loaf baking pan covered with a piece of parchment paper. I used a 9×5-inch cake loaf pan.
- Press the dough to cover the bottom of the pan evenly. Use a spatula to smooth the top.
- Put the pan in the freezer while you prepare the chocolate peanut butter layer.
- In a small mixing bowl, add peanut butter and coconut oil. Microwave for 30 seconds, or bring on the stove for 1 minute under low heat, constantly stirring to combine both ingredients.
- Stir in erythritol and unsweetened cocoa powder. Make sure you stir the mixture fast to avoid any lumps or otherwise gradually add the powdered ingredients stirring after each addition.
- Remove the loaf pan from the freezer. Spread the chocolate layer on top of the peanut butter layer. It should set really fast as your base is very cold. Spread evenly using a spatula.
- Freeze for 30 minutes before slicing into 12 slices. Warm the knife blade under heat before cutting. It prevents the chocolate layer from breaking.
Storage
- These bars are soft and must be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Can store up to 4 weeks or freeze and eat frozen or defrost 30 minutes to 1 hour before eating.
Tools
Getting Started What Is Keto? Macro Calculator Sweetener Converter Intermittent Fasting Keto Fruits Keto Vegetables Keto Flours Fighting Keto Flu Healthy SweetenersWant My Kitchen Equipment?
Nutrition
About The Author
Hi, I'm Carine, the food blogger, author, recipe developer, published author of a cookbook, and founder of Sweet As Honey.
I have an Accredited Certificate in Nutrition and Wellness obtained in 2014 from Well College Global (formerly Cadence Health). I'm passionate about sharing all my easy and tasty recipes that are both delicious and healthy. My expertise in the field comes from my background in chemistry and years of following a keto low-carb diet. But I'm also well versed in vegetarian and vegan cooking since my husband is vegan.
I now eat a more balanced diet where I alternate between keto and a Mediterranean Diet
Cooking and Baking is my true passion. In fact, I only share a small portion of my recipes on Sweet As Honey. Most of them are eaten by my husband and my two kids before I have time to take any pictures!
All my recipes are at least triple tested to make sure they work and I take pride in keeping them as accurate as possible.
Browse all my recipes with my Recipe Index.
I hope that you too find the recipes you love on Sweet As Honey!
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Disclaimer
The recipes, instructions, and articles on this website should not be taken or used as medical advice. You must consult with your doctor before starting on a keto or low-carb diet. The nutritional data provided on Sweetashoney is to be used as indicative only.
The nutrition data is calculated using WP Recipe Maker. Net Carbs is calculated by removing the fiber and some sweeteners from the total Carbohydrates. As an example, a recipe with 10 grams of Carbs per 100 grams that contains 3 grams of erythritol and 5 grams of fiber will have a net carbs content of 2 grams. Some sweeteners are excluded because they are not metabolized.
You should always calculate the nutritional data yourself instead of relying on Sweetashoney's data. Sweetashoney and its recipes and articles are not intended to cure, prevent, diagnose, or treat any disease. Sweetashoney cannot be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or advice found on the Website.
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Is the peanut buter in the choc layer 30ml or 30g? Tks
Peanut butter has a density of 1.09, so 30g is very close to 30ml, you can use any – the difference is smaller than the quantity that get stuck at the bottom of your measuring cup!
A tip I use when using cacao powder is to use a tea strainer and mix.
Hope this helps.
Great tip!
Tried these for the first time tonight, and I must have done something wrong ….. they are delicious by the way …. but my peanut butter layer was not firm. I had to use xylitol for my sweetener and then make it powdered ….. so maybe that’s what happened. Will definitely make these again but will buy powdered sweetener. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Can you use other nut butters for people allergic to peanuts?
Sure, almond butter for example is a great keto option
I’ve made these as peanut butter cups several times using muffin tins and they are amazing. I’ve used swerve powdered and it was awesome. Tonight I tried Anthony’s powdered and it is nowhere near as sweet. I’ll have to try Anthony’s in a other recipe to see if it’s still as bland
I really love swerve too in my treats ! Enjoy the recipes here and thanks for the lovely feedback, XOXO Carine
Can I leave out the sweetener in the peanut butter layer?
It will be very liquid without it.
Just made the no bake cookie dough bars….a winner…very rich.. I cut them into 12
Thank you! So gla you love the recipe, Take care XOXO Carine
So you said to not substitute coconut flour, but unfortunately am very allergic to coconut, so is there something I can?
Interestingly, I started to make these for my daughter-in-law before I remembered that she hates coconut! Since I had already started I decided to try using some unflavored whey protein powder, same amount. Of course I don’t know what the texture of these are like with the coconut, but they worked up well with the whey powder and are soft, but kept in the fridge or freezer are awesome! I swapped out butter for the coconut oil in the chocolate topping. These completely satisfy my occasional crave for a peanut butter cup! I will be making these often!
Definitely a great idea for a high protein peanut butter snack! Thanks for sharing your tips, Enjoy the recipes on the blog, XOXO Carine
I haven’t tried anything of yours yet that I haven’t loved! And it all began with your fabulous eggless peanut butter cookies! ????❤
That is so lovely 🙂 Thanks for the kind words. Enjoy the recipes here, XOXO Carine
I am sorry to hear that you have coconut allergy. I didn’t try something else in this recipe so I am not sure what could work. Probably almond flour but you may need way more and the texture will be softer too. I ope you will find more coconut free recipes on the blog, XOXO Carine.
What gives? In your write up, you specify “peanut butter – I use 100% natural peanut butter with no oil added, no sweetener added made with 100% peanuts” but the link in your recipe takes me to a product that includes: “Organic Valencia Peanuts, Organic Flax Seeds, Organic Coconut Sugar, Palm Oil, Sea Salt, Probiotic.” Do you have the wrong link??
I am not sure what happened with the link redirection sorry for that. It has been updated. I am using 100% natural peanut butter made in New Zealand where I live. I updated the link and you can find it on Amazon. Enjoy ! XOXO Carine.
I did not like the strong coconut taste, had to toss out.
I am sorry to hear that! Coconut flour is very often use on keto recipe that is too bad that you can’t enjoy it. I hope you will enjoy another recipe on the blog, XOXO Carine.
Love the peanut butter almond flour cookies!!!!!!
Thank you! I can’t wait to see what you are making next from the blog, look forward for your next comment, XOXO Carine.
These are amazing. Thank you! I’m wondering what the saturated fat might be? Trying to figure out Weight watcher equivalent points
Bless your pea picking heart for the recipe….I can hardly wait to try it!!!!
Sheila….south Georgia
Enjoy the treat Georgia! XOXO Carine.
These are super easy to make and really help curve the sweet tooth. There was a strong coconut flavor.
Thanks for the feedback. Enjoy the low carb recipes on the blog. XOXO Carine.
Hello! Do you have any experience using maple syrup. I am not a fan of Stevia and other sugar replacements. Thanks!
Any liquid sweetener will work in this recipe, maple syrup is a great swap if you eat refined sugar free like brown rice syrup. Enjoy ! XOXO Carine.
Hi, im going to try these for sure. Where abouts do you buy you monk fruit powder from? Thanks for your great recipes. They have inspired me to start eating healthy again.
You can buy powdered monk fruit fron Lakanto, you get 20% off if you use my coade sweetashoney at the checkout or buy crytal monk fruit and bring it into a powder in your blender ! Enjoy the bars. XOXO Carine.
Hi Carine, I live in Germany and can’t purchase the sugar product from the US website. I have at home erythritol but I am not sure it is the right kind since it is the very small grains kind. Is the “powdered sugar” the equivalent of “sucre glace”? In that case I will need to look for it on Amazon since I didn’t manage to find powdered sugar for diabetics in the shops. Can’t wait to try your recipe as soon as I have figured out which sugar I need to use, My husband loves peanut butter and I’m curious to see if my son will enjoy it too 🙂 XOXO Emilie
Hi Emily (BFF), You can find powdered erythritol on Amazon . It is sugar free and diabetes friendly. It is basically the grainy erythritol, powdered into an icing sugar texture (like sucre glace texture in French). I am sure you are all going to love this bar, such a treat for peanut butter lovers like Oli. XOXO Carine.