No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
All you need is 5 ingredients to make these easy no-bake chocolate peanut butter bars! Their layers of rich and creamy peanut butter filling and crunchy semi-sweet chocolate topping makes them a completely irresistible and fun homemade treat.
A lot of us grew up with some version of this recipe— a super easy, homemade cousin to Reese’s peanut butter cups. And these are the no-bake chocolate peanut butter bars of my childhood. They’re what I craved as a child, and what I still crave as an adult.
With just 5 ingredients, only a few minutes of prep, no oven required, and the winning combination of chocolate and peanut butter, this treat has just about everything going for it!
Table of Contents
- Ingredients You'll Need
- How to make these chocolate peanut butter bars
- How to slice these bars
- A few tips for this recipe
- More chocolate peanut butter treats to love
- Chocolate peanut butter bars recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Peanut butter— Do not use “natural style” or your bars will be too soft. You can use either smooth or crunchy peanut butter. I think most prefer the texture of smooth peanut butter, but I grew up with crunchy and love it that way too!
- Graham crackers— Graham cracker crumbs add structure and help hold these bars together.
- Powdered sugar— Using powdered/confectioners’ sugar adds sweetness and easily combines with the other filling ingredients.
- Butter— You can use either salted or unsalted, per your preference and what you have on hand.
- Semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate— You can use a chopped chocolate bar or chocolate chips. (I typically use semi-sweet chocolate chips.)
How to make these chocolate peanut butter bars
- Prepare peanut butter layer. Beat butter and peanut butter until smooth, mix beat in powdered sugar. Pulse graham crackers in a food processor, or place in a ziplock bag and beat until they are crumbs. Mix into the peanut butter mixture.
- Make chocolate topping. Melt chocolate in a double boiler set over a pan of simmering water, or melt in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second intervals in the microwave until smooth. Spread over peanut butter filling.
- Spread into a 9×13-inch pan. If desired, line pan with greased foil or parchment paper for easy removal and slicing later, or grease with cooking spray. Spread peanut butter filling evenly into the prepared pan and top with an even layer of melted chocolate.
- Chill in the fridge. Store in refrigerator for at least 1 hour until solid.
- Slice and enjoy! If you lined the pan, use the edges of the foil/parchment to lift bars out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Slice into bars (slicing tips belpw), 4×6=24 small bars or 3×4=12 large bars. Bars are best stored in the fridge.
How to slice these bars
Since the peanut butter filling remains somewhat soft while the chocolate topping is very firm, these bars have a tendency to crack when you slice them. They taste amazing either way, but here’s my tips for getting clean square slices:
- Chill in the fridge according to recipe instructions.
- Score slice lines in the chocolate with a sharp knife. This can be done when the chocolate is completely set, or while it is still somewhat soft.
- Use the parchment paper to lift bars out of pan and transfer to a cutting board.
- Dip a sharp knife into hot water and wipe dry with a towel. Make a cut in the bars and wipe clean with the towel.
- Repeat until bars are sliced.
A few tips for this recipe
- Do not overheat the chocolate or it will scorch and seize up, making it unusable. Stop heating the chocolate when it’s mostly melted but a few small chunks remain. Give it a good stir and the remaining chunks should melt so chocolate is smooth.
- Sometimes I like to add a sprinkling of flaky salt or chopped peanuts on top of the chocolate before chilling, for a bit of flair and visual appeal. But it’s not necessary.
- This recipe should work with another nut butter, such as almond butter.
- This recipe doubles easily to fit into a standard baking sheet pan.
- These peanut butter chocolate bars will become too soft if kept out of the fridge for too long, especially on a hot day. Try to keep in the fridge as much as possible. They also freeze very well!
More chocolate peanut butter treats to love
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- No-Churn Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream
- Peanut Butter Blondies with Chocolate Frosting
Chocolate peanut butter bars recipe
No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
Easy no-bake chocolate peanut butter bars made with just 5 ingredients!
Ingredients
- 8 sheets (100 grams) graham crackers (1 sleeve, about 1 cup crumbs)
- ½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter , at room temperature (113 grams)
- 1 cups (270 grams) smooth or crunchy peanut butter (see Notes) (270 grams)
- 2 cups (227 grams) powdered sugar (227 grams)
- 1 ½ cups (255 grams) semisweet or dark chocolate chips (255 grams)
- Coarse salt , for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor until they are crumbs. Or place them in a ziplock bag and beat with a rolling pin. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat together the butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and beat on high until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the graham crackers and mix to combine. At first mixture will be very thick, but keep beating on medium high speed until it lightens and starts to stick to the sides of the bowl.
- Dump contents into a quarter-sheet pan or 9×13-inch pan lined with parchment paper and press into the pan evenly, using greased fingers or a greased spatula (I actually like to use the paper wrappers from the butter, they are perfect for a job like this.)
- In a double boiler over barely simmering water, melt the chocolate chips, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and pour on top of peanut butter mixture. Use a spatula to spread evenly. Sprinkle with salt, if desired.
- Chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours until set. Slice and serve. For best results, store in the fridge.
Video
Notes
NOTES
- Not natural-style peanut butter will work best for these bars. You can use natural style if you’d like, but the bars will be much softer.
Calories: 217kcal, Carbohydrates: 22g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 10mg, Sodium: 93mg, Potassium: 149mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 16g, Vitamin A: 118IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 44mg, Iron: 1mg
Have you tried this recipe?I’d love to hear about it! Leave a rating and review below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram @completelydelicious with #completelydelicious.
Note: This recipe was originally published January 2016.
These turned out amazing! My whole family loves them.
Yay! So happy to hear that Jordan, thank you for the comment and recipe rating! 🙂
This recipe is so good I wished I had made a double batch. (Next time!) I make my own “natural” peanut butter in my Vitamix, so the peanut butter has just ONE ingredient: Peanuts! That being said, I needed to keep these in the freezer, but who doesn’t love a frozen candy bar? I added some peanuts and Catalina Crunch cereal to the batter for extra crunch! (Next time I’d like to try corn flakes.) These reminded me of a Butterfinger candy bar. A light sprinkle of Kosher salt on top put the “YUM” over the top! This recipe is a KEEPER!!
Love all of this feedback Linda! So happy you enjoyed these bars. A double batch next time is definitely a good idea. 🙂
These bars are the perfect blend of chocolate and peanut butter—so easy to make with just a few ingredients, and they’re a hit every time! I love the simple steps and your tip about scoring the chocolate before slicing for clean squares. This recipe is definitely a keeper for quick treats and family gatherings. Thanks for sharing!
Was it tested with “junky” peanut butter (as we call Kraft, Skippy, etc.. – not trying to sound pejorative with the term “junky”!!) or “natural”? In our house, we have both cause I love ALL kinds of PB (from the junkiest to the most gourmet, small batch artisanal PB)! Haha!
I use traditional (NOT natural-style) peanut butter for this recipe. Kraft or Skippy, etc will be great!
I would love to try this recipe as my daughter is crazy for Reese but unfortunately you can’t get Graham Crackers where I live so are there any other suggestions for what I could use instead
Hmm, can you find a cookie or cracker that tastes similar to graham crackers where you live? I’m sorry, I don’t know an alternate that’s available worldwide.
Very good! I added a quarter cup both chopped salted peanuts and crushed pretzles to the base directly after adding the grahams. Extra crunch was superb.
These Peanut Butter Bars are so good, I have made them twice already, always have all ingredients on hand. They are so easy to make and everyone loves them. They don’t last long. Your recipe is clear and easy to follow.
Thanks Annalise
This is my favorite easy dessert!