These No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars are easy, healthy peanut butter bars topped with a silky, luscious chocolate peanut butter ganache. It’s a comforting, healthy vegan dessert recipe ready in less than 20 minutes with a bonus! Yes, the recipe is not only vegan but also grain-free, paleo, and keto-friendly!
I am so glad you are here today to try these easy, luscious peanut butter bars! You know my passion for peanut butter and easy vegan desserts, right? I’ve made Perfect Bars, 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls, or No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars to fill your vegan dessert platters.
So this is my new creation, or should I say an improvement of my 3-ingredient peanut butter cookies, turned into no-bake peanut butter bars.
That’s pretty much what it is, but you will love the chocolate peanut butter ganache on top of these bars. It brings the previous cookie recipe to the next level of decadence.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Let’s see what you need and also how you can adapt the recipe to your taste.
- Peanut Butter – No surprise, peanut butter bars are made of peanut butter but make sure you are using the healthy kind. You need pure peanut butter here, no added oil, no added sugar or salt.
- Maple Syrup – You can replace this with any unrefined liquid sweetener like agave syrup (the bar will taste sweeter!), coconut nectar, sugar-free monk fruit syrup (the texture will be dryer), or brown rice syrup to decrease GI.
- Coconut Flour – It is a delicious grain-free, gluten-free, keto-friendly, perfect for raw baking. It is also high in fiber and perfect to stabilize blood sugar levels and create a healthy dessert. While all-purpose white wheat flour shouldn’t be eaten raw, it is safe to eat raw coconut flour. If you don’t like coconut flour, I recommend using fine oat flour in the recipe. See the variation of ratio in the recipe notes. If you are concerned about eating raw flour, read my article about the raw flours that are safe to eat.
- Dark Chocolate – most 70% cocoa chocolate is vegan-friendly. The darker, the less sugar it will have, so choose what you prefer.
- Coconut Oil – You need coconut oil for the ganache, but you can use refined coconut oil to avoid the coconut flavor or unrefined coconut oil.
How To Make Healthy Peanut Butter Bars
All you need to make this delicious healthy vegan dessert are 5 ingredients.
- Line a 9×9-inch baking dish with parchment paper and oil it with coconut oil to make it easier to unmold the bars.
- In a medium bowl, stir peanut butter and maple syrup until combined and smooth.
- Add coconut flour and stir until fully incorporated. The dough will be thick and dry.
- Use your hands to knead the dough into a ball and press it evenly into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with the back of a spoon. Freeze the base while you prepare the ganache.
- In a small bowl, combine chopped dark chocolate with melted coconut oil and peanut butter. Melt using a bain-marie or microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring between each cycle to prevent burning. Continue until the chocolate is fully melted and the mixture is shiny and smooth.
- Remove the frozen base from the freezer and pour the ganache over it. Spread the ganache evenly with a spatula. Return the pan to the freezer for 10 minutes or until the ganache is set.
- Slice the frozen bars into 16 squares. Let the bars thaw slightly at room temperature before serving for easier cutting.
Watch How I Make It
Tips for the Best Peanut Butter Desserts
- Use 70% or higher dark chocolate for a richer flavor and firmer ganache.
- Substitute refined coconut oil with melted cacao butter for a different flavor profile.
- Add a sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top of the set ganache for an extra flavor dimension.
Frequently Asked Questions
This is probably one of your main questions since the recipe uses a good amount of coconut flour.
Coconut flour is not as flavorsome as desiccated coconut because it is made from the leftovers of soaked coconut meat while making coconut milk.
As the coconut meat is soaked, then dried, the coconut flavor is washed off. So, except if you absolutely dislike coconut flavor, you won’t taste much coconut in these bars.
No-bake recipes, in general, must be stored in a cool place, fridge, or freezer, in an airtight box.
You can keep these bars for up to 1 week in the fridge or freeze them for a few months.
Defrost the bars 2 hours before eating, at room temperature.
More No-Bake Vegan Dessert Recipes
No-bake vegan desserts are the easiest to indulge in a treat that is nourishing and delicious. I recommend trying:
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No-bake Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup Peanut Butter (Unsalted) - fresh, runny, no added oil or sugar
- 1 cup Coconut Flour - see note for oat flour
- ½ cup Maple Syrup - or any liquid sweetener like brown rice syrup or agave or coconut nectar
Chocolate peanut butter ganache
- 3.5 oz Vegan Dark Chocolate Chips - 70%-85%
- ¼ cup Peanut Butter (Unsalted) - fresh, runny, no added oil or sugar
- 2 tablespoons Coconut Oil - melted – use refined coconut oil for no coconut flavor
Instructions
- Cover a 9-inch x 9-inch rectangle baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir peanut butter and maple syrup until evenly combined and smooth.
- Stir in coconut flour. The dough will get thick, dry, and difficult to stir with a spatula, so use your hands to knead the dough and form a ball.
- Evenly press the peanut butter dough ball all over the prepared pan. You want to fully cover the pan in an even layer of peanut butter dough. Smoothen the top of the layer using the back of a spoon.
- Freeze while you prepare the chocolate ganache.
- In a small mixing bowl, add the pieces of 70% vegan dark chocolate with melted coconut oil and peanut butter.
- Melt under bain-marie or in the microwave by 30-second bursts, stirring between to prevent the chocolate from burning. It is ready when all the chocolate is melted, and the mixture is shiny and smooth.
- Remove the baking dish from the freezer and pour the chocolate ganache over the peanut butter layer.
- Spread evenly with a spatula.
- Return the pan to the freezer for 10 minutes or until the chocolate ganache is set.
- Slice the whole batch into 16 peanut butter bars.
Storage
- Store bars in the fridge in an airtight container for 1 week or freeze. Defrost 2 hours before eating at room temperature or enjoy half frozen. Note that the peanut layer dries out slightly after freezing. The texture will be closer to a shortbread be still delicious.
Can I use almond flour instead coconut flour ?
Yes, you can use oatmeal flour or almond flour as substitute. Have to add much, much more.
It tasted great and delicious. Both ways disappeared quick.
Thanks guys,
Unfortunately you can’t swap coconut flour for almond flour with the same ratio. They both have different fiber content and therefore, coconut flour is 4 times more liquid absorbent. You would need way more almond flour to reach the same texture, not sure how much as I didn’t try this option I am sorry. Enjoy the recipe, XOXO Carine.
Have tried few times with oat/almond flour. It’s really took me around 4 times more. But in other hand, it turned delicious as well.
You are right, it’s took me around 4 more times almond flour/oats.
But, it turned out delicious. Made twice with almond flour and once with oats.
Tips: 1. It would be nice to make holes with folk in the dough and fill it with chocolate mix.
2. It also would be nice to add some of your favorite toasted nuts on the dough or the chocolate itself.
We liked it as is or with changings.
Love how easy and tasty these peanut bars are! Back in good favor with my nephew, had to take them away after he ate 5!
Hello Carine,
What does the 3.5 g of vegan dark chocolate mean? It does say 150g in brackets which I took to be the correct weight needed of 150 grams.
Thanks for a fabulous recipe.
Regards, Mary
Hi Mary, Thanks for spotting my mistake. I meant 3.5oz so 150 g of dark chcooclate. Thanks to you the recipe is now upated 🙂 Enjoy the peanut butter bars, XOXO Carine.