Baked peanut butter oatmeal bars are a delicious treat!
Oatmeal bars are so good as a snack, but also double as a quick breakfast oat bar on the go!
Why We Love These
- These come together easily and prep time is super fast.
- Peanut butter bars use simple ingredients you likely have on hand.
- They can be baked ahead of time and frozen for snacks or treats.
- Use either wheat flour or all purpose flour.
- They come out nice and moist with lots of peanut butter flavor.
Ingredients
One of the things we like about this recipe is that the ingredients are so mix-and-match!
FLOUR Switch out the whole wheat flour for regular all purpose if it’s what you have on hand.
PEANUT BUTTER Creamy or chunky peanut butter will work.
SWEETENER Brown sugar gives these bars a rich flavor.
MILK Use regular milk or go for a non-dairy alternative for equally delicious results.
How to Make Oatmeal Bars
Homemade oatmeal bars are so simple to make, why not do a double batch and freeze half? They come together in 1, 2, 3:
- Mix oats, peanut butter, & brown sugar with a hand mixer. Add milk and vanilla.
- Whisk dry ingredients together and fold into the oat mixture. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Press mixture into the pan & bake. Cool before cutting into squares.
Tips for the Best Homemade Oatmeal Bars
- Try toasting the rolled oats on a baking sheet so they stay extra crunchy and firm when used in the rest of the recipe.
- Line the pan with parchment paper to make the bars easy to lift out and cut.
- Keep bars in an airtight container at room temperature for about 4 days. Ensure they’re cooled completely before storing.
- Freeze peanut butter oatmeal bars between sheets of parchment paper in zippered bags with the date labeled on them. They should keep about 8 weeks in the freezer. Let them come to room temperature and serve.
More Oats We Love
- Brown Sugar Baked Oatmeal
- No Bake Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Banana Oatmeal Cookies
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Oatmeal Cookie Dough Dip (Eggless)
- Easy No Bake Energy Balls
Did you make these Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup whole wheat flour or all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ⅓ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper.
- Mix the rolled oats, peanut butter, and brown sugar in a mixer on high until combined.
- Add the milk and vanilla and mix until combined.
- Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and add to the mixture.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Press mixture into the lined pan and bake for 18-20 minutes.
Notes
- Toasting the rolled oats on a baking sheet will add extra flavor.
- Chocolate chips can be swapped out for chopped nuts or dried fruit.
- Line the pan with parchment paper to make the bars easy to lift out and cut.
- Keep bars in an airtight container at room temperature for about 4 days. Ensure they're cooled completely before storing.
- Freeze peanut butter oatmeal bars between sheets of parchment paper in zippered bags with the date labeled on them. They should keep about 8 weeks in the freezer. Let them come to room temperature and serve.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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I love your recipes they are easy to follow and you don’t need lots of expensive ingredients to make them.
Thank you.x
Wanted a slightly lower-carb version and subbed all-purpose flour for almond flour; used maple syrup instead of sugar; used a mix of natural peanut butter and almond butter; omitted the chocolate chips (just because I didn’t have them on hand); used almond milk instead of dairy; and used quick cooking oats instead of rolled oats (because I wanted the flavor or oats with a less obvious texture). Tossed in a handful of chia seeds to account for the “gooey” nature of the almond flour…and they turned out AWESOME! Gently flavored of peanut/almond butter and maple (?!), lovely texture with a slight crispiness to the outside and a soft-but-not-oozy/gooey center. The chia seeds are barely noticeable, aside from an occasional little “pop” between the teeth. Will definitely be putting these in the vegan breakfast rotation! Thanks so much for sharing!
I used this recipe as the guideline for the amounts and swapped out the peanut butter with all natural peanut butter, used truvia brown sugar, almond milk and lilys sugar free chocolate chips. Fantastic! Thank you!
I love your recipes….simple. easy to find ingredients. Great reviews!
Thank you.
So glad you’ve loved the recipes Cynthia!
I’m wondering if I can use almond milk? Has anyone tried it?
Hi Bobbi, I haven’t tried this recipe with almond milk but it should turn out well. Let us know how it goes.
They weren’t bad, but they definitely taste like a super healthy breakfast bar and not a dessert. I was expecting and hoping for a dessert. Like some other commenters mentioned, the rolled oats are unpleasant because with such little moisture, they don’t cook. So you end up gnawing on them. I would suggest quick oats. Also, if you are making these and want a dessert, add butter and more sugar. If you want a very healthy snack, these are it.
Just made this and it’s delicious! Not overly sweet so would work well as a breakfast or snack bar. I added some walnuts for more texture and used Greek yogurt instead of milk since I’m out. Would make again. I love that I had most of the ingredients on hand. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
So happy you enjoyed it, Christeen!
Very nice! I added a few extra chips on top of my bars before baking them. They are not too sweet, taste like delicious peanutty oats, and aren’t swimming in sugar and unhealthy fats. Definite breakfast snack for me and my husband!
These cookies make healthy breakfast bars, but they don’t have much peanut butter flavor. They are also quite crumbly.
Hi Bambi, you can increase the peanut butter a little to help them stick and have more of the peanut butter flavor. They may end up a little on the sticky side though once baked.
Hi I am 12 years old and it is so easy….. Definitely recommend this…..
Followed the recipe exactly. Definitely didn’t turn out like the picture. Would have been better off making no bake peanut butter balls. What a waste of ingredients.
Hmmm, sorry to hear that Gina. Did you use natural peanut butter or quick cooking oats? This uses old fashioned oats which are also called rolled oats.
Why don’t you list what kind of peanut butter to use also quick oats have a better texture when you bake it
It is mentioned in the post – PEANUT BUTTER Creamy or chunky peanut butter will work. This recipe asks for old fashioned oats, not quick oats. If you prefer quick oats, you could try this no bake cookie recipe. Enjoy!
Just made these, I only had natural peanut butter on hand but it came out just fine. It wasn’t as sweet as I thought it’d be. It came out soft, however I only tried to eat it while it was warm lol I didn’t want to wait for them to cool off. I was sad that most of the chocolate chips sunk, only a few remained at the top. I will definitely be making these again and will probably add more chocolate chips.
OMG if your family are peanut butter lovers then save this recipe! So incredibly easy and tastes amazing! My husband polished off the first batch that was meant for school lunches so I tripled the recipe the next time and still turned out great!
Glad to hear everyone loved them, Kim!
Yum! These look delicious. Could you substitute the whole wheat flour with oat flour or almond flour?
I’ve only tried the recipe as written Staci, but maybe other readers can help you with that!
These rang a bell in my mind that reminded me of a peanut butter oatmeal cookie recipe of yours that I made and just loved loved loved them. My question is, you used quick oats in the cookies but regular in the bars. Why?
Regular oats have a different consistency and provide a nice chew for the bars!
I made these as soon as I saw the recipe These were very easy to make, and they are delicious
A great treat for any time of day
Thanks Holly!!
So glad you loved these Susan!
Would it be ok to sub instant quick oats?
I’ve only tried this as written so I can’t say for sure. Let us know how it works out for you!