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Home Baking

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

By:Nagi
Published:13 Oct '18Updated:7 Nov '20
222 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

These No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars taste like Reece’s peanut butter cups! A soft peanut butter biscuit base topped with a peanut butter flavoured chocolate, all you need are 5 ingredients: biscuits, butter, chocolate, peanut butter and sugar.

This is the ultimate emergency sweet-treat!

Close up of a slice of No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

NO BAKE Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

When it comes to sweet treats, these No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars are probably what I make the most often because it’s so quick to pull together, no bake, and WHO DOESN’T LOVE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS???

Plus, I almost always have everything I need to make these. Even though biscuits aren’t part of my weekly shop, usually if I dig deep into the giant baskets into which I toss everything that doesn’t have an obvious dedicated position in the pantry, then usually I’ll find some sort of biscuit suitable to use.

A month past the due by date, perhaps. Pffff! That’s fine. Everyone knows that the used by date for things like dried goods are conservative. Right? 😜

Close up of 3 No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

And actually, here’s proof of how frequently I make these: I just realised as I was pulling together the photos for this post how they don’t fit together like a set, and it’s because I shot them all on different days.

The photos you see in this post are from 3 different batches where I snapped a quick photo thinking hmm, I really should re-publish these Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars recipe with a video soon, and finally I got my butt into gear and actually did it.

Albeit I’ve ended up with a weird set of photos from three different days. Four actually – because the step photos were taken while making the recipe video! 🙈

Preparation of No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars - biscuits in food processor

Preparation of No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Preparation of No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars - the chocolate peanut butter topping

This Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars recipe truly is pure gold. It was given to me by a reader, the lovely Dorothy from Tennessee, way back when I started this blog. It’s only 5 ingredients – crackers, peanut butter, chocolate, icing sugar (confectionary sugar) and butter. That’s it.

And it’s NO BAKE. Waiting for it to set is the hardest part of this recipe.

I usually approach “5 ingredient” recipes with caution. I find that many “5 Ingredient” recipes I see usually include a store bought sauce or similar. Like 5 ingredient BBQ chicken which includes a “bottle of your favourite barbecue sauce”.

When I see recipes like that, I instantly think that’s cheating!! 😂

Please don’t ask me why in my twisted mind, this counts as a 5 ingredient recipe “made from scratch” even though it is made using crackers. It just is.

#FemaleLogic

– Nagi x


For the Peanut Butter Obsessed

  • Peanut Butter Caramel Pie – dangerously easy, outrageously decadent

  • Peanut Butter Cheesecake stuffed Chocolate Bread

  • 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies – just 3 ingredients!

More irresistible bars and slices

  • Brownies!! AND Salted Caramel Stuffed Brownies – ooh la la!

  • Caramel Slice (aka Millionaire’s Bar!) – the great Aussie favourite!

  • Strawberry Bars – made with tons of fresh strawberries!

  • Easiest Ever Raspberries Jam Bars and Lemon Bars

stack of 3 No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

And more emergency sweet treats – 3 Ingredient Desserts!!

  • 3 ingredient Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

  • 3 ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

  • 1 ingredient Dulce de Leche – Slow Cooker Caramel

  • Parmesan Shortbread Biscuit (3 ingredients)

  • Classic Scones – and faster Lemonade Scones – both 3 ingredients!


WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

Sometimes it helps to have a visual so watch me make these Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars!

 

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Super quick, 5 ingredient Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars - tastes like Peanut Butter Cups! recipetineats.com

5 Ingredient Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars (NO BAKE!)

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 15 mins
Total: 15 mins
Sweet
4.97 from 53 votes
Servings16
Tap or hover to scale
Print
  • 1194
Recipe VIDEO above. These no bake bars just happen to only require 5 ingredients. The hardest part is waiting for them to set! 

Ingredients

Base

  • 115g / 1/2 cup / 1 US stick melted salted butter (or unsalted butter + 1/4 tsp salt)
  • 1 cup crushed Arnott's Marie crackers (11 crackers) or graham cracker crumbs (8 crackers) (Note 1)
  • 1 cup icing sugar / powdered sugar
  • 3/4 cup peanut butter (smooth)

Topping

  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips - the melting kind (US: semi sweet) (Note 2)
  • 2 tbsp peanut butter (smooth)

Instructions

  • Butter and line a 8" / 20cm square dish or pan with baking paper.
  • Place the Base ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined. Press into the prepared pan.
  • Melt the Topping ingredients (I do it in the microwave in 2 x 30 second bursts). Pour and spread over the Base - smooth the top or do swirls (see photos for examples of each).
  • Refrigerate until set - about 1 1/2 hours. Remove from fridge, allow to come to room temp slightly (so top cuts neatly). Cut into 16 squares (or whatever shape you want!). Best served at room temperature.

Recipe Notes:

* Originally published June 2015, updated with new photos, words and recipe video. No change to recipe.
1. Biscuits - If you are in the UK, Digestives are great for this recipe. Otherwise, any other plain sweet crisp biscuit (i.e. not a soft biscuit with filling) should work fine - the base has peanut butter as the glue so it's a more flexible recipe than, for example, cheesecake bases.
You could even try biscuits like oatmeal or chocolate chip biscuits! 
To make the crumbs, you can use a food processor or pop them in a ziplock bag and use a rolling pin or can to bash them. Very therapeutic!
2. Chocolate - Make sure you use chocolate for cooking/baking, not the eating kind! And if your store sells many types of chocolate chips, get the MELTING chocolate chips (as opposed to the ones that hold their shape in cookies / muffins etc) as they melt easier and smoother. This can be made with milk or dark chocolate. I use dark - not the expensive kind with a high cocoa %, just normal dark chocolate chips.
3. Storage - keeps very well, around 5 days in an airtight container. If it's super hot where you are, fridge is best but serve at room temperature.
4. Gluten Free option: A reader reported that she used 1 1/2 cups of gluten free pretzels for the base and it worked out great! And a friend of mine has made this with gluten free plain sweet biscuits purchased from the supermarket and said she couldn't tell the difference in the taste or texture.
5. Nutrition per serving (assuming 16 slices).
5 Ignredient Peanut Butter Slice Nutrition

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 46gCalories: 248cal (12%)Carbohydrates: 21.9g (7%)Protein: 4.9g (10%)Fat: 16.7g (26%)Saturated Fat: 7.4g (46%)Cholesterol: 18mg (6%)Sodium: 156mg (7%)Potassium: 142mg (4%)Fiber: 1.4g (6%)Sugar: 16.2g (18%)Vitamin A: 200IU (4%)Calcium: 20mg (2%)Iron: 1.8mg (10%)
Keywords: Peanut Butter Bars
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

This Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars recipe was originally published January 2018. Updated for some housekeeping matters in October 2018, no change to recipe!

Chocolate, peanut butter, Graham Crackers, butter and sugar is all you need. They taste like Reece's Peanut Butter cups!

LIFE OF DOZER

That time he snuck on mum’s couch and we wondered how many cushions we could pile on him. We ran out of cushions.

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222 Comments

  1. Michelle Konstant says

    July 11, 2021 at 6:07 pm

    5 stars
    Lovely recipe. Absolutely delicious! I used a slightly smaller tin as my base was going to be to thin otherwise.

    Reply
  2. Lorraine says

    June 22, 2021 at 2:51 am

    5 stars
    Ohhh my! Some of your recipes are very good Nagi, some are even great, and then there are those that are addictive such as these peanut butter bars! It was bad enough when I discovered your carrot cake cupcakes – quite possibly the best cupcakes ever created. Now I’ve found these and I don’t really know how I’ll manage two addictions! (But thank you, anyway😊)

    Reply
  3. Fiona says

    May 25, 2021 at 8:04 pm

    5 stars
    NEVER EVER have all these ingredients in the house at the same time. On lockdown, raining, bored, made these – how do you not eat them all!

    Reply
  4. May Blower says

    April 11, 2021 at 9:20 am

    Thanks for your reply. However it is the peanut butter and icing sugar I needed converting to grams as the recipes states cups which we don’t use in the UK.

    Reply
  5. May Blower says

    April 11, 2021 at 9:14 am

    Thanks for your response Tracey and I had in fact noted the comment about 8 digestives. However it was the cup quantities that I needed to be converted to grams as we do not use cups in the UK.

    Reply
  6. Tracy Smith says

    April 11, 2021 at 7:09 am

    Someone below said they were from UK and used 8 digestives, if that helps

    Reply
  7. May Blower says

    April 1, 2021 at 12:17 am

    I am in the UK and we don’t use cups. Can you please give me the grams/ounces I would need to use for these. They look delicious.

    Reply
    • Tracy Smith says

      April 11, 2021 at 7:09 am

      Someone below said they were from UK and used 8 digestives, if that helps

      Reply
  8. Janell says

    March 16, 2021 at 1:29 am

    Should the peanut butter be regular sandwich peanut butter or natural peanut butter? (some of your recipes specify, so I wanted to be sure before I make it! I read through about half the comments and didn’t find the answer) Totally looking forward to this one!! Thanks!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      March 16, 2021 at 6:42 pm

      Hi Janelle, either will work fine here! N x

      Reply
  9. Sybw says

    January 24, 2021 at 5:09 pm

    5 stars
    Hi. Really enjoyed these but was curious how they would be with half the sugar. Tried it today but was unsure how to change the other ingredients to compensate, little too buttery bit still tastes good. I’m not a great cook but was hoping you had some recommendations?

    Reply
  10. Emily says

    December 9, 2020 at 1:57 pm

    Struggling to cut thru the topping without it cracking. Tried a hot knife and room temp slice, but not a lot of success either way. Any tips?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      December 9, 2020 at 4:51 pm

      And you definitely put the peanut butter in the topping too? This makes the chocolate softer and sliceable. If you still have issues, add 1 tbls of neutral flavoured oil (vegetable or coconut oil) into the topping, this will make it even softer 🙂 N x

      Reply
  11. Kezza McD says

    September 13, 2020 at 10:19 am

    5 stars
    Very hard to stop at one piece. 😋

    Reply
  12. julie says

    September 7, 2020 at 4:10 pm

    4 stars
    OMG! these are scrumptious and so easy to put together. However, we found them to be far too sweet for our taste. Do you think it will work if I omitted the icing sugar altogether or half it maybe?

    Reply
  13. Heather says

    September 6, 2020 at 3:36 am

    Just came to make these again as the 1st batch disappeared too quickly… And I just realised that I left out the butter in the base! 😄 These are delicious, Nagi, almost like a peanut butter fudge 😋
    Thank you

    Reply
    • Heather says

      September 7, 2020 at 7:55 pm

      5 stars
      Um sorry, there is no way I could have missed the butter out last time 😂 must have made it such a hurry (so i could eat them) that I added it with out thinking! 2nd batch just as good 😁

      Reply
  14. Cynthia Unwin says

    September 6, 2020 at 2:11 am

    These are great made with graham cracker crumbs.

    Reply
  15. Margarita says

    June 16, 2020 at 10:22 pm

    Hi Nagi! I just put them in the fridge to cool! Can’t wait to dig into them! First time to make this no bake goodness!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      June 17, 2020 at 9:12 am

      There’s no turning back now – I apologise in advance for the addictive deliciousness that awaits!!!! N x

      Reply
      • Margarita says

        June 17, 2020 at 10:53 am

        5 stars
        OH. MY. GOODNESS! This is heavenly! I used a confectioners sugar replacement (erythritol) and it still tasted great! So easy to make! Thank you for another tasty 😋 treat!

        Reply
  16. Katrina says

    June 14, 2020 at 11:07 pm

    5 stars
    Simple, easy and delicious! I made these to take to an afternoon tea. Left with an empty plate. I have put two GF onto your site and they love your recipes too.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      June 15, 2020 at 1:30 pm

      Thanks so much for the great feedback Katrina, that’s lovely to hear! N x

      Reply
      • Memphis Reid says

        March 11, 2022 at 2:28 am

        Hello Nagi, 20yr old guy from London here ! Brilliant recipe – my mother loves them ! Thanks !!!

        Reply
  17. Amanda says

    May 18, 2020 at 5:28 am

    Hi Nagi, I realize this might be a silly question as these are chocolate peanut butter bars but I was wondering if I wanted to make them without peanut butter – do you have any ideas what I could use instead?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 18, 2020 at 9:28 am

      Hi Amanda, it would be a totally different recipe sorry! N x

      Reply
    • Carol says

      June 27, 2020 at 11:48 am

      Im thinking maybe you could use biscoff spread you can get it at Woolies and Coles.I might give it a go,

      Reply
      • Amanda says

        June 29, 2020 at 10:42 pm

        Thanks for the suggestion Carol! I think I have seen that spread here in Canada. Will give it a try!

        Reply
    • Emily says

      December 9, 2020 at 1:54 pm

      Nutella?

      Reply
  18. Jo Di Iulio says

    May 12, 2020 at 5:00 pm

    5 stars
    OMG they do taste like Reeses Peanut Butter Cups! I’m in the UK and used 8 digestive biscuits. Such an easy one you can get the children to make them!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 12, 2020 at 8:00 pm

      Yes perfect for the kids to help make, I’m so glad you loved them Jo! N x

      Reply
  19. Mary says

    April 29, 2020 at 12:54 pm

    5 stars
    These were great!! Anybody that likes Reese cups will love this, and very easy to make

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 30, 2020 at 4:33 pm

      It’s so addictive Mary – I can’t have this in my house!

      Reply
  20. Neb says

    March 24, 2020 at 10:30 am

    5 stars
    These bars taste like what I always thought reese’s PB cups should taste like. I ended up adding 19 marie biscuits to get closer to the texture of base in the video.

    Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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