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Is there really such a thing as “too much peanut butter?”
Because I’m pretty sure we test those limits over here on Sally’s Baking Addiction.
My goal for today’s bars was to create a wholesome, quick, and easy oatmeal bar with little ingredients and a whole lot of taste. I also wanted a bar that you could easily adapt using your favorite mix-ins or whatever you have on hand.
I also wanted something overloaded with peanut butter because well… duh.
In these 100% vegan bars (except for that chocolate drizzle!) you’ll find your standard kitchen staples. Nothing weird, nothing requiring a google search, and quite certainly nothing you’ll have to visit a special grocery store for.
Whole wheat flour, oats, a touch of brown sugar, baking soda, peanut butter, more peanut butter, even MORE peanut butter, and some chunks for texture. I added dairy-free chocolate chips and raisins to my bars, but feel free to add your favorites! Craisins, white chocolate, more nuts, seeds, dried banana chips, etc.
Disclaimer: I am mildly obsessed with raisins and I don’t care if this makes me an old woman.
Each bar is rather dense and holds its own. They’re soft, rather moist and not dry in the slightest. I kept my bars in the refrigerator and LOVED biting into them cold. The chilled chocolate chips and peanut butter combination is spot on and easily filled me up when I wanted a snack or something to bring to work.
Or a midnight munchie.
Midnight bites happened a lot with these babies!
In addition to adding in whichever chunks-of-stuff you’d like, you could easily make these bars your own by adding in more or less brown sugar. I found that 1/2 cup was plenty and didn’t make these bars overly sweet, especially since I added chocolate chips and a light chocolate drizzle.
Chocolate was a complete necessity to my peanut butter bars.
Peanut butter & chocolate: saving tastebuds everywhere on this blog.
Feel free to add more brown sugar if you’re not adding in any chocolate. Taste the dough as you make it and test for sweetness.
I’m a huge sucker for healthy recipes requiring a small number of ingredients and taking as little time as possible. With only 8 common ingredients, plus your little add-ins, I’m claiming these bars to be just as easy as my 5 ingredient healthy peanut butter chocolate energy bites. And they only take about 25 minutes to make start-to-finish! 
I hate long ingredient lists and recipes taking for-ev-errrr in the kitchen. None of that with these!
Oh! And these bars are completely vegan. I used dairy free chocolate chips and almond milk in the dough, but melted regular chocolate chips with peanut butter as the chocolate drizzle. The drizzle is completely optional and you could make it with dairy-free chocolate chips if a vegan bar is what you’re going for.
No eggs or butter in these! I love that.
A small and common ingredient list, a whole lot of peanut butter, chocolate for my tastebuds, no butter or oil to keep my skinny jeans looking fab, chewy plump raisins, and a recipe taking less than 25 minutes.
A win-win-win-win-win-win in my book!
So as I sit here getting over a tummy-ache as I write this post, eating peanut butter spread on saltine crackers – exactly what I had for lunch AND breakfast, we can just go ahead and answer that first question with a huge NO.
There is never such a thing as too much peanut butter.
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Makes 12 bars. Vegan if using dairy-free milk and chocolate chips.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter (or chunky)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup milk (I used almond milk, but use whichever you prefer)
- 1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (or regular chocolate chips)
- 1/2 cup raisins (or whichever mix-ins you'd like)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line a 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper or spray with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- With an electric or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the brown sugar and peanut butter on medium speed until light in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla, scraping down the sides as needed.
- On medium speed, add in the flour, oats, salt, and baking soda. The dough will be very thick and clumpy, but it will come together. Slowly add the milk in a steady stream, mixing until a dough forms. Fold in chocolate chips and raisins. Use your hands to make sure everything is combined, if needed.
- Once dough is completely combined, press it lightly into the prepared baking dish. Bake for about 17-20 minutes until the bars are lightly golden and set. Allow to cool completely and cut into squares.
Notes
*I melted 3 tablespoons of chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter for the chocolate drizzle. This is completely optional. Be sure to use whichever mix-ins you like instead of the called for chocolate chips and raisins.
*I kept mine in the refrigerator in a covered container. Bars will be good stored up to 2 weeks.
Recipe source: sallysbakingaddiction.com
© Sally’s Baking Addiction. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe.
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{ 86 comments… read them below or add one }
Must.Make.ASAP. These look so awesome Sally, and it’s really rare for me to look at a recipe and think “Hmm, I probably wouldn’t change a thing”, but I totally feel that way looking at this one!
Ari @ Ari’s Menu recently posted..Pumpkin Mac & Cheese
Ari! tht means a lot… yes I wouldn’t change a thing about this recipe if I made them again! Not even the add-ins, the chocolate chips and raisins worked wonderfully
“I’m a huge sucker for healthy recipes requiring a small number of ingredients and taking as little time as possible” — me too. I don’t know if ‘healthy’ is mandatory for me, but it’s nice when it works out that way
These TOTALLY worked out, clearly! The density and texture is key for me.
And just as a factoid, most chocolate (not labeled milk choc or white choc) but more semi-sweet chocolate chips or baking chocolate, i.e. TJs 72% pound plus, or standard choc chips that are semi sweet, they are inherently vegan. There’s no milk present; just cocoa butter and cocoa solids. So your bars, even with the drizzle, still vegan.
Averie @ Averie Cooks recently posted..Thursday Things
Thank you for the correction Averie!! I assumed that chocolate chips not labeled as “dairy-free” were not vegan. This is good to know! These bars are SUPER dense, which I loved. They’re soft and not too heavy, and very moist. I was afraid they’d be dry, but not at all!
Sally – these look SO good! I’ve been hunting for a good recipe that uses oatmeal, as I have about 5 trillion pounds of it that needs using up. And I do believe you are my long-lost peanut butter-loving sister.
I can eat it 24/7. Plus, PB and chocolate are just made for each other, ya know? And I heart raisins in my baking as well, so count me in as an old lady too. 
can’t wait to make these! Hope you get to feeling better soon!
Cory, what a sweet message – thank you! I’m so glad we share a love of peanut butter! I actually DO eat it 24/7 – especially recently. And raisins in my oatmeal cookies and any type of oatmeal bar is a must! I love them.
Thank you for the well wishes, I’m feeling better today!
NO such thing as too much peanut butter!!
Blog is the New Black recently posted..Turkey and White Bean Pumpkin Chili
Well I am certainly glad you agree with me Liz!!!
Yuuuuuuum! These bars look so chunky and perfect. I love that you openly love raisins and don’t care who knows it. You’re awesome, and so are these bars!
Hayley @ The Domestic Rebel recently posted..Mummy Truffles
thank you miss hayley!
Never too much peanut butter! And since these are “healthy” I can have as many as I want!
Jessica@AKitchenAddiction recently posted..Snickers White Chip Cookies
I like your thinking
Healthy dessert recipes = eat as much as I want with no guilt. These look great. Hope your tummy feels better!
Ashley @ Wishes and Dishes recently posted..Crock Pot Cinnamon Applesauce
Thank you Ashley! It’s feeling better as the week goes on
I love that this is simple and doesn’t require me to go buy 10 ingredients. These are things I keep in house – minus the raisins and chocolate. No need to run out and buy crazy ingredients or something I don’t have on hand. I can’t always make trips to the store just to test a recipe find. And this has one of my all time favorite foods, peanut butter!
Going to make this tonight.
Sarah recently posted..3-D Pumpkin Cookies Filled with Candy Corn
That was my goal, Sarah! easy, simple, and not requiring any strange ingredients. Let m eknow how the bars turn out, I think you’ll love them.
They turned out pretty well. I didn’t add anything to them since I didn’t have any chocolate or raisins. I topped mine with some banana slices. A little dry – but that could be that I’m using all natural PB (tends to make PB baked goods a little dryer I find.) But they taste good, gives me an excuse, not that I need one, to add strawberry jam to them hehe
Thanks for the recipe. love it. Great for a grab and go breakfast.
Sarah recently posted..3-D Pumpkin Cookies Filled with Candy Corn
I love your idea to top with jam! I’m going to do that next time. Or even swirl some jam into the dough before it bakes! Genius, Sarah! Thank you for the idea. I’m glad you like them. I didn’t use natural peanut butter, but yes that does dry my baked goods out when compared to regular.
Absolutely delightful! I guess I’m gonna have to get more peanut butter…
Loretta E recently posted..A Fall Butternut Squash Soup
more peanut butter, never a bad thing right?
i agree- there can never be too much PB! my husband disagrees. more for me!
sarah k @ the pajama chef recently posted..No Bake Tropical Energy Bites
oh my goodness sarah! i’m glad you side with me on this one, never too much pb lol!
Sally, I just found your website, and I love it! I think your layout and organization is great, and I love all the features like the related recipes and the fun recipe slideshow at the top. Your pictures are wonderful and the recipes all look so delicious! Anyway, I just wanted to let you know how much I admire your work!
Caley (beautiful name!), thank you so much for the sweet comment. While I do work hard on the recipes, it is the design, photography, and overall layout and post formating that give me stress! It’s nice to know that you notice it! Thank you so much, it really makes my day to read this.
MMM these bars sound so good! I am a huge fan of peanut butter.
Nicole @ Lapetitebaker recently posted..Maple Pumpkin Pie
I love these! There can NEVER be too much peanut butter Sally, never. Pinned!
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust recently posted..Butterfinger Fudge
hey dorothy! thanks for the pin
I wish I could get my hands on these right now. Just finished dinner and this looks like a perfect dessert!
Jen @ Savory Simple recently posted..Cookie Butter Streusel Cake
These look fantastic Sally, and healthy too- amazing! I’m loving your affair with PB but not raisins, I prefer sultanas myself which are pretty much the same thing yet different.
Those PB energy bites look good too. In fact, could you email me a list of your yummy blog posts that are energising? I suffer with serious fatigue due to my illness and you make awesome stuff so seems right to try them all!
Lisa {Sweet 2 Eat Baking} recently posted..Bloody Brains Cupcakes
Hi Lisa!! I suggest any of my granola or granola bar recipes for energizing treats.
Much love xoxo
http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/category/breakfast-treats/granola/
http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/category/breakfast-treats/granola-bars/
i hope you feel better! a diet of peanut butter isn’t so bad
but of course i hope you get better soon so you can eat many many more sweets! xo
Julie @ Table for Two recently posted..Butterscotch Pudding Cookies
I love raisins too and treats that are yummy straight from the refrigerator! Hope you feel better soon
Laura Dembowski recently posted..White Chocolate Candy Corn Blondies and Giveaway!
Just made these and I am ever so glad I did. They are absolutely delicious! They were sweet enough with the amount of brown sugar you suggested and so decadent! I added dried cranberries instead of raisins (bc I didn’t have any) and I am definitely going make them again. Also, I’m with everyone else, no such thing as too much pb.
Love the dried cranberry idea Sara! I was going to try that next. Yes, the sky is the limit on PB consumption – never can have enough!
Hee, I love raisins, too. Fortunately for me, I have a 5-year old and so I can sort of act like I’m buying them for him all the time, haha.
These bars look fab! And I’m so sorry you’re sick–hope you start feeling better soon!
Ashley @ Kitchen Meets Girl recently posted..Melting Snowmen {Chocolate Mint} Cookies
Oh Sally these came out great!!!! I could not wait for them to cool down… I may have eaten 2 right away… I used milk chocolate and butterscotch chips, YUM! So my pan of 12 bars came out to 300 cal each… in the future I’d maybe only do a 1/2 cup total of add-ins instead of 1 cup total (since I don’t like healthy things like raisins). I gotta make these again! Maybe M&M’s instead of milk chocolate for more color. Great texture and moisture!!! I was confused at first with how thick the dough was looking, but it all came out awesome in the end!
Milk chocolate and butterscotch chips sound fantastic in a peanut butter oatmeal bar! I love those additions. M&Ms is also a great idea. May have to steal that idea from you. The dough is pretty thick, yes. But it bakes down to be exceptionally soft, which I loved.
Yes, use lots of M&M’s!
Mine are also pretty crumbly, but I’m OK with that since they’re nicely dense and moist. Thanks for the great bar recipe!
Question, if I want thinner bars and used a 13″x9″ pan instead, what should the bake time be? Thanks!
Hi Nichole! Baking in a 9×13 pan is doubling the recipe, so these bars will be EXTREMELY thin and may easily burn. You may try it out, but I would suggest baking them for only about 15 mins at 350. Keep your eye on them for doneness.
So I realized the 8×8″ I was using was somehow a crazy deep dish. I now have a true 8×8″ pan and see that they will now come out thinner!
There’s nothing like too much peanut butter! These bars look to die for, Sally and I just love the little chocolate drizzle on top!
baker street recently posted..Nutella Espresso Cheesecake
Quick, easy, and healthy?!! You are my hero, Sally
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious recently posted..Sloppy Joes with Avocado and Fried Egg
YOU’RE my super hero Chung-ah! Please teach me all your photography magic, girl!
I love raisins too! They are great in all types of baking.
AGREED! Thanks Jolene.
OMG just took these out of the oven! I couldnt even wait for them to cool….sooooo good!!! Thanks for the healthy recipe!!!
Erin! I’m so glad you made them and enjoyed them! They are my new go-to oatmeal bar recipe. So versatile! Glad you made them
You had me at large picture of open PB jar!!!
luv what you do recently posted..How to Sell Your House…
haha! We’re both PB freaks it seems
You might be the only person i know who loves peanut butter more than me! =) these look absolutely wonderful + i *know* that they’d make an amazing midnight snack. i’ll take a dozen to go, please! =)
amy @ fearless homemaker recently posted..skillet breakfast potatoes with bacon + caramelized onions
my blog is overloaded with peanut butter, sometimes I think it’s too much but I’m glad you love PB like I do Amy!
Amazing website! I can’t believe I’m just finding it now, I LOVE baking. I’ll be pinning your recipes like crazy
And no, there is no such thing as too much peanut butter!
Cassandra, you are so sweet. Thank you so much for the pins and the support!
There are two key things- peanut butter and healthy! I want them!
Excellent post. I must try it as soon as possible. Sally I am waiting for more recepies. Thanks for sharing such a great information.
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Didn’t have raisons, so just added extra chocolate chips!
these are delicious… and i don’t feel guilty eating them for breakfast!
perfect! Any add-ins would do wonderfully in these like nuts or other dried fruits. or more chocolate, of course. Thanks Monica and i’m so glad you like them!
I made these today and they came out great. All three kids (7,5,2) loved them. I’m always looking for snacks I can bake for them and this one is perfect – seems like a cookie, but much less sugar. Thanks!
Hi Hilary, thank you so much for letting me know that you love these. I agree – they are sort of like cookies and I feel better eating them. Thanks Hilary!
Just made these! yumm. Love your website.
Thanks for letting me know Megan! Glad you liked them.
I’m baking these right now and I used cranberrys as a mix in and I just want to take them out of the oven now they smell so good!
Hi Laily! I need to try these with cranberries next time.
And I’ve burnt my hands before trying to dig in too early too haha! Thank you. 
I couldn’t wait for them to cool I almost burnt my hand trying to try some they are so good and soft and yummy!
Sorry, I originally made this comment for another (wrong recipe). This is the recipe I meant!
Sally, just stumbled on this recipe and your site today! I replaced the PB with sunbutter for a friend with allergies but it was so.incredibly.good! I am hooked. By the way can I freeze these bars? I am thinking of making another batch right now!
No worries Lara! And yes, you may freeze these bars. They freeze well – up to three months. I love these bars and make them almost weekly to keep at my desk in the office.
I need to try them with sun butter next time!
Hi sally! I just baked it. I followed the instructions but my oatmeal bars looks different from yours. And they are kind of gooey. Are they supposed to taste like this??
Hi Joey – without being there, I’m not sure how they taste to you. But texture wise – no, they are not supposed to be gooey. Did you underbake them or bake them in a different size pan than what the recipe states?
oh my heavens! These look absolutely incredible!
Kelly Senyei | Just a Taste recently posted..Coconut Macaroons with Pineapple Jam
Hello, I’m curious if I could use the regular flour instead?
Yes, all-purpose can be substituted
Sally- just want to say how much I LOVE your recipes….everything I have tried has been delicious. I have 2 boys, ages 11 and 8, they wholeheartedly agree!!!! Just a quick question on you oatmeal lemon cream bars- do I still add an egg if making your homemade oatmeal topping??? Thanks!
Hey Jessica! That is so great to hear.
Thanks for letting me know! No, do not add egg if you are making the topping/crust from scratch.
Hi Sally! I just thought I’d let you know I made this today and **loved** it! I might have used a little more sugar than the recipe called for, but I didn’t even have time to put the chocolate topping on before my family devoured it.
I’m pinning this recipe and plan to use it again many times! I especially love the fact that it uses whole wheat flour and oatmeal and other normal ingredients…and no eggs–I didn’t even feel guilty nibbling on it before I cooked it! Anyways, thanks for a great recipe!
Carla recently posted..{FREE} Ladybug Math Activity!!
Hey Carla! What a wonderful review of these bars. They are actually one of my favorite snacks ever. I make them all the time! Thanks for reporting back, it makes me happy to hear that my favorite healthy snack is loved by others so much!
I can not say enough, how much I enjoy your site! Your text and photos are perfect! I want to try all of the recipes. I thought I was a better than good baker, but you have taken it to another level. Good for you! My husband is a happy recipient of my addicition to your “baking addiction.”
Have a great week!
Thank you for the very sweet and genuine comment, Rosemary – I really appreciate reading it this morning! Let me know what recipes you make. I love hearing about it.
I made your Chocolate Chip cookie dough “cupcakes” Big hit. And very dangerous to have in the house. Glad I took them to a friend’s home for a party. I love the idea of baking the cookie in the cupcake liner and will be doing that from now on. Also, am today making the Healthy Peanut Butter Chunk Oatmeal Bars.
Glad you loved those cookie cupcakes Rosemary!
I just made these and they turned out great! I left out the chocolate chips and added some walnuts to make them a bit healthier. They are scrumptious! Thanks for the recipe to feed my husband’s and my peanut butter addiction
I love your addition of walnuts – I’ll have to try that next time!
I just made these, they are amazing! Used chocolate almond milk for the milk, added a mashed banana, half the flour and 1/4 cup ground flax and 1/4 wheat germ, oh and dried blueberries instead of raisins because I just don’t like raisins. SO GOOD! Thanks for sharing yet another amazing recipe!
Ok Kim – your version sounds amazing! Must try it with my next batch
oh no!! ok well i am glad you figured that out – pan sizes usually get me and are the reason recipes can sometimes be ruined. this recipe was baked in an 8x8x2 pan!