Peanut butter oatmeal bars are a no-bake recipe that uses just four ingredients and comes together in minutes. The combination of rolled oats, natural peanut butter, maple syrup and dried cranberries makes a wholesome and delicious sweet treat or breakfast on-the-go.
One thing I know for sure is that the Clean & Delicious family loves a good oatmeal recipe. Especially super easy oatmeal recipes like my 3-ingredient banana oatmeal cookies or these banana oatmeal muffins.
And I get it. Oats are not only nutritious (high in fiber, digest slowly and are naturally gluten-free) they are also insanely delicious. And if you don’t love them as much as I do; perhaps these 4-ingredient no-bake peanut butter oat bars will make you a forever fan.
How To Make Healthy No Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
Get excited, because it really is as easy as it sounds! Here’s how you make peanut butter oatmeal breakfast bars (or snack bars!).
- Combine rolled oatmeal, peanut butter, maple syrup and cranberries in a large bowl.
- Mix together until you gave a thick batter.
- Transfer batter into an 8×8 baking dish lined with parchment paper.
- Pop in the fridge for a couple of hours until the bars set up.
- Cut into 16 squares and enjoy!
And just like that, you my friend, have learned how to make peanut butter oatmeal squares. This would be a great recipe to add to your weekend meal prep, so you have them ready to go for the week.
Tips for Making Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
- Choose an all-natural peanut butter with no added sugar or salt. Be sure to stir your peanut butter before measuring. It should be loose and pourable.
- Be sure to look for gluten-free rolled oats if you want this recipe to be 100% gluten-free.
- I recommend cutting them into small squares. They are super energy-dense, so one or two squares will really hold you over.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. To have them last longer, store them in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Oatmeal Bars Variations
I really love these oatmeal bars with chewy dried cranberries BUT you can certainly switch things up if you prefer. Try stirring in chocolate chips, raisins and walnuts, or shredded coconut to change the flavor of the bars. Really, any type of stir-in you like or have on hand would be great. Just remember to keep the measurements at half a cup.
So now that you know how to make these simple, delicious oatmeal bars, I can’t wait for you to try them!! And if you like recipes like this, be sure to subscribe to my youtube channel as well (it’s free!) and jam-packed with hundreds of step-by-step videos like the one below.
More Delicious Oatmeal Recipes To Try
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
- No-Bake Almond Butter Oat Cookies
- Baked Blueberry Lemon Oatmeal Muffin Cups
Thanks so much for reading! You can watch the video down below and if you make this recipe I would love for you to give it a ★ rating below. And be sure to follow me on YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and FaceBook for more healthy food inspiration!
No Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- 1.25 cups rolled oats, gluten-free
- 1 cup all natural peanut butter, unsalted
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped
Instructions
- Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.*
- In a large bowl; combine oatmeal, peanut butter, maple syrup and dried cranberries.
- Mix everything together until you have a thick batter.
- Transfer batter into prepared baking dish.
- Flatten using a spatula or your hands until the oat mixture is evenly distributed and even on top.
- Chill for a couple of hours or until the oat bars have firmed up. Cut into 16 squares and enjoy!
audie chea says
Hi,
How to keep, room tempurture or refrigerated? and how long?
Thank you.
Audie
Dani says
Hi Audie, they last up to a week in the fridge! Enjoy!
Arlene Sterner says
Can I substitute the maple syrup wi the something else? We don’t like maple syrup or honey. Thank you
Dani says
You could try agave or any other liquid sweetener you prefer.
Michelle Lynn Bybee says
If we use honey instead, how much? Also what about using instant oaks instead of rolled oaks, same amount?
Thank you for you help. These sound so yummy.
Dani says
Honey should be an even swap.
Instant oats should also be even! Enjoy.
Lily Sanders says
Yum!
Dani says
Thanks for the review Lily! Glad you enjoyed it!
Fino Caraco says
Looks delicious. It would be great if you could offer the metric version of the recipe.
Dani says
Hi Fino, I don’t have it for you right now, but this is something that I am working on. Stay tuned…
Steve Johnston says
swapped out the cranberries for goji berries, however, added some chopped up crystallised ginger, adds an amazing new flavour through the bars and compliments the peanut flavour so well, cheers Dani
Dani says
That sounds amazing Steve!
Nancy says
These were very tasty but they were still very soft after two hours in the fridge. I put them in the freezer for 30 minutes and then tried to cut them, but they completely fell apart. They never firmed up like they did in the video. Any thoughts on what I did wrong?
Dani says
Hi Nancy, sorry to hear that. Let’s troubleshoot… did you change or adjust any of the ingredients or measurements?
Laura says
Is you are adding two mix-ins like cranberries and chocolate chips, is it 1/2 cup total or 1/2 cup of each?
Dani says
Hi Laura, I would make it 1/2 cup total, but if you go a little over they will still be delicious!
Amy says
So delish!!! I used 1/2 creamy & 1/2 crunchy peanut butter. And also 1/4 c. of the cranberries & 1/4 c. mini chocolate chips. Yum!!!
Dani says
Yum! Thanks for sharing, Amy!
Christina says
These are terrific! We used 1/4 cup each of walnuts and pumpkin seeds and my son just loves them. We’ll be making them very often, thank you for the great recipe.
Dani says
That’s great to hear, Christina! Such a great way to spend time with your son, enjoy!
Fino Caraco says
These are delicious! If anyone is interested in the metric conversion it is as follows;
250g peanut butter
112.5g rolled oats
100g maple syrup
60g dried cranberries
I also added 30g of dark chocolate chips.
Dani says
So glad you enjoyed them, Fino! Thanks so much for sharing the metric conversions, super helpful!
Malia says
Delicious and easy-to-make. I didn’t have enough cranberries, so I also chopped up dried apricots. Reduced maple syrup to 1/4th cup. Yum! Can easily build on or tweak this recipe. Thank you!
Heidi says
These turned out even better than I expected. We’re trying to eat out of our stocked pantry this month so I already had everything in hand to give it a try, The only additions I made were to add a little flaky salt, hemp seeds, then when they were done I warmed a tiny bowl of chocolate chips and a dab of coconut oil and drizzled it over the top of the bars with a spoon. Beautiful, filling and delicious. I’ll have to make this one again. Thank you Dani.
Dani says
Heidi, that sounds so delicious! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Mary says
So easy and very good. I used chocolate chips instead of cranberries because that’s what I had.
Emily Mallari says
Yummmmy!! My husband and I usually eat a clif bar in the mornings so this was a much better alternative. Very easy and I had most the ingredients on hand. I added cashews to mine.
Christina says
So delicious! I made these and added slivered almonds. My co-workers really enjoyed them -I think they are better than the Peanut Butter Kind Bars!!!
Dani says
So glad to hear that Christina. Thanks for taking the time to let me know + to leave a review.
Elisa says
Hi Dani!
I’m so excited about this recipe. My husband really doesn’t like anything sweet but I hesitate to include less of any sweetener since it seems that the syrup also helps as a binder. Do you think that I could use flaxseed + water as a replacement? With a bit of maple syrup, of course. 🙂
Thanks
Dani says
I think that may work! If you decide to give it a try, I would love to hear how it goes.
Laura says
Can you substitute almond or cashew butter instead of the peanut butter
carolyn says
Hello Dani!
Can you sub in almond butter?
Dani says
Yes, that would definitely work.
Laura says
Can you substitute almond or cashew butter instead of the peanut butter
sue says
very yummy. i sustituted almond butter for the peanut butter (I prefer almond butter to peanut butter). I also topped them with cacao nibs and pressed them into the bars before chilling them.
Dani says
That sounds delicious. So glad you enjoyed them.
Sara says
Soo delicious!! Thank you!
Dani says
It’s my pleasure, glad you enjoyed them.
Stefani says
These were easy and delicious. I tried them 1/4 cup maple syrup, as someone suggested, and felt they had plenty of sugar. I look forward to trying them with different fillings. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Dani says
You are so welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed them.
Deb says
Can you possibly use regular peanut butter? I know it would change the nutritional value but would the consistency work? I don’t have any other peanut butter and am not going shopping for extra things right now.
Dani says
It just depends on the texture of the peanut butter. You want it to be loose so the bars arent too dry.
Keith Woodcock says
The recipe is so easy to follow and the results delicious! One can substitute the fillings to almost anything. Instead of cranberries, I chopped up mixed dried fruit (apples, apricots, prunes, pineapple, pears) and it came out great.
Dani says
Hi Keith! So glad you enjoyed these. I appreciate you taking the time to share.
Josephine says
Didn’t have most of the ingredients, but enjoyed them still will have to redo them ounce I have all the ingredients.
Thanks Dani
Dani says
So glad to hear it. Enjoy them.
Lorraine says
Hi
Do you need to use 100% Maple Syrup…? Can you use honey instead…or will it not stay together as well…??
Dani says
Yes, I’m pretty sure that would work just fine.
Adam says
Are these bars supposed to be a little crumbly when cut? I tried mine after about 2 hours, and a lot of it fell apart. I may or may not have used 1/3 a cup of Maple Syrup though (the only PB I had was a natural JIF with honey and a bit extra sugar in it and thought that might be enough to not need Maple, but added some at end eyeballing it), and may be why as per my friend the syrup would solidify the bars more from her own experience making Cereal Bars with Peanut Butter. Figure may as well ask though to be sure.
PS: Love your website and YouTube channel, just discovered it recently and it’s inspiring to cook, and in particular bake a bit more than I have before. Been wanting to a while as it is especially now in the current climate we are in as a society, but your content is a very valuable resource in doing this. This recipe is the 2nd I have tried in a week (3 ingredient Banana Breakfast Cookies being the first), and I’ll be using it frequently I suspect from here on. Thank you for providing it all. 🙂
Dani says
Hi Adam, welcome! The nut butter consistency plays a big part in the texture of the bars. It needs to be loose and almost pourable, not too oily and not too dry. Hope that helps a bit.
Carolyn says
Just made these and I’m sure they’ll still taste delicious, but they definitely aren’t as “wet” looking as yours are. I used natural peanut butter ground in a store, which is very thick (not at all oily). Is pre-packaged natural peanut butter more oily, and could that perhaps be the issue? (I’m new to buying these types of ingredients and am still figuring it out.) Any tips would be appreciated!
Dani says
That could 100% be the issue! The consistency of the nut butter can make all the difference. It needs to be kind of loose but not too oily.
Faith V. says
Hello! This is my second time making these bars. I made them the first time because I was looking for a bar recipe to make in order to hold me over until I could go to the store and buy some. After this recipe, I won’t be going to the store to buy anymore pre-made bars!
The first time I had all the ingredients on hand and made them with natural peanut butter. My husband liked them so much he asked me to make them again, but this time with Earth Balance peanut butter and coconut blend. They turned out great again, and I really like the additional coconut flavor! These will continue to be a staple in my house!
lana says
Looks like another fantastic recipe. Could I use almond butter though? Also, which brand you use (just want to compare to make sure I’m aiming the right consistency butter). Thank you!
Tanya Crosse says
This is my 4th time making these and they are just delicious. Just minutes to put together, not too sweet and very simple. These are great with coffee or a glass of cold milk.
I’ve used the ground in store peanut butter, Earth Balance natural peanut butter and Smucker’s Organic peanut butter. All turned out great in this recipe. I’ve also tried a variety of mix-ins, but I personally like the tartness of the dried cranberries best. I recently found a vanilla bean maple syrup at my local Costco and that added a nice touch of added flavor. Highly recommend.
Dani says
Thanks for sharing, Tanya! If you ask me, peanut butter and almost everything, right?
ThatchPatch says
This is a fabulous recipe. I substituted chocolate syrup for maple syrup and chopped nuts for fruit, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. It was extremely easy to follow and is a great option when time is limited, as in my case it always is. These bars freeze well and taste incredible.