I’ve got a new recipe for you today that’s technically part of my baking series. But no one will mind if you don’t actually have to bake them in the oven, will they? I’m personally a big fan of skipping steps (i.e., saving time) in the kitchen, so I’m excited to share these new No-Bake Peanut Butter Oat Bars with you today that my girls absolutely LOVE. I’m talking dance around the kitchen love when they see me making them. :)
And I love it when I have a batch of these bars on hand because then I am prepared with yummy, filling snacks when I hear the inevitable, “I’m hungry…” These bars would also be a great way to supplement a lunch or even have as a quick breakfast with a side of fruit. I think the moral of the story is that it’s hard to go wrong with this recipe, so I hope you and your family enjoy them just as much as we do!
No-Bake Peanut Butter Oat Bars
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups peanut butter could sub sunflower seed or almond butter for those with allergies
- 6 tablespoons pure maple syrup can sub honey
- 1 cup oats purchase "gluten-free" oats for those with allergies
- 1 cup puffed rice cereal Arrowhead Mills is a good option or you can sub more oats
Instructions
- Line an 8 x 8 inch square baking dish with wax or parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, stir together the peanut butter and maple syrup until it's mixed together thoroughly.
- Pour in the oats and cereal and stir with a rubber spatula until well combined.
- Spread the bar mixture into one even layer in the bottom of the pan. Refrigerate for at least one hour. Cut and serve or store in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition Facts
These are delicious! I substituted Kamut (puffed wheat) for the rice and added in crushed Walnuts and raisins. Yum!
What is the serving size?
Hi! One bar is a serving. There should be about 16 bars total. – Nicole
I guess I was looking for the peanut butter balls no bake. I couldn’t find it when I clicked on the link.
Are you looking for the energy balls? You can find those here: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/recipe-powerballs-two-versions/
-Nicole
I’d also love another suggestion for cereal to use since they won’t be making any more of the enjoy life crunchy flax.
Uncle Sam cereal has flax seeds
Hello. Lisa just updated this recipe. See above and here is the link to the new cereal: http://amzn.to/2ims1kW.
Since this cereal is discontinued, so you suggest any substitute?
Hello. Lisa just updated this recipe. See above and here is the link to the new cereal: http://amzn.to/2ims1kW.
I made these with Fiber One Honey Clusters cereal. Delicious!
I tried this with Trader Joe’s High Fiber O’s, and i thought it was good!
At the top of the recipe it says “cook time 1 hr” but as these are no-bake bars….typo???
The “cook” time is the fridge time.
DOH!!!
Thanks!
That cereal has been discontinued. Is there an alternative that you recommend?
Hi. We’ve not tried this with a different cereal just yet. Another whole grain, low ingredient choice like puffed rice might be a good option.
Hello. Lisa just updated this recipe. See above and here is the link to the new cereal: http://amzn.to/2ims1kW.
Does it matter what type of oats are used? Quick oats or old-fashioned oats? Looking forward to trying this.
I use Bob’s Red Mill Organic Quick Oats. :)
Can all natural peanut butter be used? By all natural I mean just ground peanuts…no added oils, sugars, etc.
Absolutely. We only use peanut butter with peanuts and maybe a little salt as the ingredients.
I can’t find this cereal either can you please give me a substitute?
Hi. You could use any other whole grain cereal.
Hello. Lisa just updated this recipe. See above and here is the link to the new cereal: http://amzn.to/2ims1kW.
I have looked online for the Enjoy Life crunchy flax cereal and I can’t find it. Do they still make it?
Hi. They do. This might help you locate an outlet that sells it near you: http://shop.enjoylifefoods.com/Crunchy-Flax-with-Chia/p/ENJ-00979&c=EnjoyLife@Cereals.
They discontinued it. I called them and was so disappointed.
Hello. Lisa just updated this recipe. See above and here is the link to the new cereal: http://amzn.to/2ims1kW.
I don’t see the recipe on this page. Can someone post it, I would love to try these.
Hi Julie. The recipe is there. We might have had a brief website hiccup. :)
Delicious!! I eat them for breakfast, and when I get that mid-day slump and need a snack. My husband really likes them too.
(I added a little coconut oil and vanilla extract to mine, and I didn’t have this exact cereal so I used Ezekial’s sprouted grain cereal.)
These look great! I have a similar recipe that I have found and used. http://cathyscleaneatingchronicles.blogspot.com/2016/06/peanut-butter-oat-bars.html
how many calories does a bar have?
Hi there. We do not provide those details. This post might help you see why: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/.
Where is everyone finding this cereal? It’s sold out and discontinued online…. Any tips on where to find it? I’m not near a Whole Foods.
Hi there. I know you could order it online. Here is one source: http://www.iherb.com/p/32781.
When you click on the link it says the item is discontinued and not in stock.
Hello. Lisa just updated this recipe. See above and here is the link to the new cereal: http://amzn.to/2ims1kW.
Can I make these bars without the cereal (just the oatmeal)? Or is there another version of it? Thank you!
Hi Gwen. We’ve not tried that.
sounds great! Do you use regular or natural pb.? We are a natural pb house but worried the bars would be too runny as its a lot more loose than regular pb
Hi Tara. Lisa uses organic peanut butter.
What should the texture be like before these are chilled? I found it was almost runny so added a little more of the dry ingredients and then it was hard to spread out in the tin. I’m wondering which is closer to the original. Being British I’m not as comfortable measuring with a cup, especially ingredients like peanut butter, as I would usually just weigh it out. I also think my peanut butter is runnier than some other brands.
Hi there. They will be soft and a little sticky but firm up in the fridge.
These were delicious! I melted semi-sweet chocolate chips and spread on top of the bars before cutting. A yummy desert the kids and I loved.
Do you use rolled oats or quick oats?
Rolled oats.
I have been using quick oats but ran out so I’ll try rolled oats next batch. I’ve been making this continuously as a great workout food for my family. This is a great replacement energy source.
Where do you find this cereal?
I found it at grocery outlet. .79 per box.
Hello. Lisa just updated this recipe. See above and here is the link to the new cereal: http://amzn.to/2ims1kW.
What kind of oats do you use for this – steel cut, rolled, quick-cooking, etc? Seems like the bars could be too chewy/crunchy if you use the wrong type. Thanks!
Rolled. ;)
I love this recipe! So simple yet delicious! I substituted the peanut butter for homemade cashew butter (my husband has peanut allergies) and the bars barely lasted the afternoon! Thank you for sharing this with us.
These are sooo good! Great crunch! Not too much peanut butter for my family:) They were gone within a few days. Making more now….thank you!
I made these and they were good, but I also thought it was way too much peanut butter. Either add more cereal and/or oats or reduce the peanut butter to a cup. I also found them to be crumbly.
I made these yesterday and they are absolutely delicious. We enjoyed them this morning with our green breakfast smoothies (also a recipe from this website), and we all loved them. I would go so far to say that I prefer them over sugar-laden peanut butter cookies — they could totally pass as dessert. I made them as-is; I found Enjoy Life cereal at our local Whole Foods and for the peanut butter I used Adams crunchy and it worked great. I did not find them to be crumbly as others have reported. I used a spatula to spread out the mixture and made sure it was pressed very firmly into the pan. I chilled for about 4 hours before cutting and stored them in an air-tight container. This will definitely go into our grab-and-go breakfast rotation. Thank you!
Do you think you could sub the Maple Syrup for Honey? Have a sensitivity to maple so I’m trying to eliminate from my diet. These look soo good, I ordered my flax cereal this weekend can’t wait to make them!
Hi Kristen. Yes, we often use them interchangeably.
Made these today and they did not disappoint. They came out a little bit crumbly, but I’m thinking it’s the peanut butter I used (Teddy’s). So glad I found this recipe and thank you for sharing it! They are so good!
Hi – I love Lisa’s recipes and usually have good luck. I’ve made these twice exactly as instructed and they do not hold together. As soon as I try to cut them into squares they crumble. Super frustrating as they are not inexpensive to make.
Try using a muffin tin so you don’t have to cut.
I just made these as I found the crunch flax cereal today at big lots! We haven’t tried them yet as they are chilling but it just seemed like way too much peanut butter compared to the 2 cups of cereal/oats. I think next time I would use only 1 cup peanut butter
Would you adjust the amount of maple syrup if you were using conventional peanut butter (Skippy or Jiffy)?
Yes, you would since both already have a lot of added sugar.
I have regular flax seeds. Would that be just as good? I didn’t see the cereal when I was shopping last.
Hi Laura. Since flax seeds are so tiny, there would be a pretty big difference in volume. You could try nuts or a different whole grain cereal.
Hello. Lisa just updated this recipe. See above and here is the link to the new cereal: http://amzn.to/2ims1kW.
This sounds so good. How sweet would you say they are? We don’t really do much sugar here. Also, what do you think adding mashed banana to this? I don’t know why but I love bananas in almost everything and would like to know what you think.
Thank you!
Elizabeth B
Hi. The maple syrup makes them sweet and the banana would make them sweeter. :)
This looks delicious! You mention in the blog post honey and raisin juice concentrate. I don’t see those in the recipe.
Hi. Those are ingredients in the cereal.
Thank you so much for introducing new whole foods but keeping it real!
So many people are cooking with highly specialized food now and it’s discouraging for eating healthy to mean I must have high priced ingredients shipped in for every day cooking. I keep coming back to your site and cookbook because I can find what I need for your recipes at my local grocery. And, your recipes are healthy and delicious!
What kind of peanut butter do you like to have on hand? I’m just starting out the cleaning eating and trying to find a good peanut butter, as I love peanut butter but know that JIF is a no no for this lifestyle change.
We look for organic peanut butter that has peanuts as the only ingredient (maybe salt).
how many calories. what is the nutritional value?
Hi there. Sorry but we do not provide nutrition details. This post will help you understand why: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/.
Do the oats need to be cooked? I’m I missing a step?
Thanks!
Nope, these are no bake. :) Give it a try!
Thank you for using Enjoy Life products in your recipe! My son has multiple food allergies and there company makes a lot of great products that are safe for people with food allergies. I will be whipping up a batch of these.
We can I substitute for oats?
While I don’t no exactly how to sub in this recipe. If you do a google search for no-bake gluten free cookies, you might find a recipe that you like. I know some use puffed-rice cereal.
What brand and kind (old fashioned, quick cooking, etc) of oats did you use? Thank you.
You can use any brand. I like Bob’s Red Mill or Trader Joe’s.
So easy! These sound fabulous. I know my “littles” would love these. Thanks!
Do you think that grape nuts would be a good cereal to try in this recipe?
Hi there. I’m sure they would work.
How long do you think these will last in the fridge?
They should be good for up to a week.
These sound amazing and so simple. Could they be frozen? I like to make big batches to use later. My kids always beg to eat a whole batch if they are just in our fridge :)
Sure, you can freeze them!
I definitely don’t mind that these aren’t baked – it means there is significantly less time between prep and eating! The crunchy flax cereal looks delicious too :) do you think I could use buckwheat kernels as a substitute?
Hi. That’s not something we’ve tried.
Did you use quick oats in this recipe?
Hi Naomi. You could but I use regular rolled oats.
@Admin
I have another formula for you today that is in fact a piece of my preparing arrangement. Be that as it may, nobody will mind on the off chance that you don’t really need to prepare them in the stove, will they?
regards
rakhi
Just made these taste great! Thanks for the recipe. Love that cereal too
What type of peanut butter are you using? When I try to bake with natural peanut butter it never sets up.
Hi there. We use organic peanut butter with no added ingredients; just nuts and a little salt. These are not baked.
Yum! I love peanut butter and these look great. It is nice to give the kids a wholesome snack with so little ingredients.
Thanks for sharing!
Mmmm these look like the perfect afternoon pick-me-up snack! Peanut butter and crunch is what I need at 4 pm!
Great recipe! My local grocery outlet actually had this exact cereal for just 1.49 a box!! I didn’t have maple syrup, so I substituted honey and actually cut that in half bc I don’t like too much sweetness. Whipped them up this morning and added a few mini chocolate chips pressed into the top. My boyfriend actually moaned with happiness when he tried them! Great recipe!
Outstanding! And a good “base” recipe. I didn’t have the cereal on hand so I used chopped pecans. Oh my it was good. Now I’m thinking of other combinations. Thank you!
I love a good no bake bar – you have to save time where you can when sticking to a real good lifestyle!
I have all of these ingredients on hand (we are GFCF) What a good way to use up the 3 boxes of this cereal I bought my boys don’t care for it. Do you think you could add chocolate chips to it somehow? My kids probably won’t eat them otherwise!
I added chocolate chips to mine! All I did was press some on top after I had placed them into the pan :)
Yes, the chocolate chips are definitely needed, otherwise too peanuty buttery for us. Mine crumbled when I cut them, is this normal? I followed the directions exactly. Almost like they are too dry.
Really? Mine were almost too wet!
Hmmm what am I doing wrong. I used Skippy peanut butter. I measured everything to, whereas I usually “eye” it in these types of recipes. Maybe add more syrup?
Would love to try to make these with PB2! Thanks for posting.
Love this! Where do you buy this cereal locally (Charlotte?)
There is a store locator on the product website – looks like Whole Foods, HT and Bilo’s all carry this cereal :-)
I really do adore your recipes Lisa- simple, to the point, and damn tasty!! Do you think puffed brown rice might work with these? I have a bag languishing in my pantry…
Hi Emma. Yep, it should work well.
I can’t wait to try these. Thank you for posting a recipe that caters to people with allergies.
Can you buy this cereal in stores, or is it only sold on their website?
If you go to the company’s website they have a store locator for their products. You choose the product and they give you a list of stores close by. Many stores around me carry them!
We’ve seen it at Target too!
Does it matter what kind of oats you use? Quick, rolled, etc?
I’ve used both for no-bakes but prefer the texture that results from rolled oats.