Easy no-bake peanut butter and date chocolate brownie bars. Energy boosting snack bars full of good stuff and so tasty!
I love a homemade snack bar like these easy date and peanut butter chocolate brownie bars.
There's no baking, they are quick to make, and they are full of lots of healthy ingredients like dates, oats, dark chocolate and peanut butter, making them full of good nutrients.
Jump to:
- 💭 When you want a snack, make it healthier
- 📋 What you need to make peanut butter brownie bars
- 👩🏻🍳 Why are medjool dates the best?
- 👩🏻🍳 Do you need a food processor or blender to make no-bake brownie bars?
- 🥜 Can you use other nut butters instead of peanut butter?
- 💭Storing no-bake peanut butter brownies
- 👩🏻🍳 Related Recipes - No Bake
- ⭐ Sign up for a free recipe sent to your inbox every morning
- 👩🏻🍳 How to make peanut butter brownie bars
- 📖 Recipe
- Comments
💭 When you want a snack, make it healthier
Making homemade snacks means you have a snack with no added preservatives, colourings, or other additives.
You also know exactly what is in them.
And it's easy to make no-bake snacks that take no time at all, like these nutrient-packed brownie bars.
Snacking just got very tasty!
📋 What you need to make peanut butter brownie bars
Here are the simple ingredients you need to make these no-bake peanut butter brownies.
- Medjool dates
- Peanut butter - I like crunchy peanut butter for the texture, but you can use smooth peanut butter if you have that
- Vanilla extract
- Cocoa powder - or cacao powder
- Oats - porridge oats or rolled oats
- Salt
- Dark chocolate - or dark chocolate chips
- Salted peanuts - just a few to top the bars
They are a great snack with natural sweetness to keep in the fridge.
See the full printable recipe card (at the bottom of the page) for quantities, method, notes, and nutritional info.
Keep reading, scroll down, or use the page index above to hit the recipe button; it will whizz you down the page.
👩🏻🍳 Why are medjool dates the best?
Medjool (medjoul, mejhoul or majhool) dates are rather special.
They were originally grown in Morocco, but are now also grown in many other countries with hot climates.
The reason they are so special is that they have a soft, chewy flesh that has a wonderful, sweet, caramel flavour.
They are full of fibre, minerals and vitamins, including potassium, magnesium and antioxidants.
They are a good way of sweetening bakes naturally.
👩🏻🍳 Do you need a food processor or blender to make no-bake brownie bars?
A food processor or blender certainly makes it much easier to make these no-bake chewy bars, which have a brownie layer topped with dark chocolate, but it's not a deal-breaker.
In the recipe below, I suggest blending the mixture, but you could chop the dates very finely and give them a bit of a mash, then mix with the other ingredients in a bowl to make the no-bake brownie batter.
🥜 Can you use other nut butters instead of peanut butter?
I love crunchy and creamy peanut butter in these bars (sometimes I make homemade peanut butter or chocolate peanut butter), but you can use another nut butter or seed butter instead.
- Almond butter - A classic nut butter, top with flaked almonds instead of peanuts.
- Cashew butter - If using cashew butter, top the with chopped cashews
- Tahini paste - I often make these with tahini paste instead of peanut butter and still top with peanuts. The tahini paste is made from sesame seeds.
- Sunbutter - a good nut-free butter made with sunflower seeds, Tesco does a version called Sunfly sunflower seed butter
- Pumpkin seed butter
The seed butters are good for those with nut allergies or just for a different flavour and varying the nutrients in your brownie bars.
💭Storing no-bake peanut butter brownies
These healthier snacks are best kept in the fridge.
Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, although they are unlikely to last that long!
👩🏻🍳 Related Recipes - No Bake
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👩🏻🍳 How to make peanut butter brownie bars
These step-by-step photos will show you how to make these no-bake brownie bars for chocolate cravings. (followed by the printable recipe card, which you can also hit print and save as a PDF on your device).
Step 1
- Line a loaf tin (loaf pan), I like to use loaf tin liners for quickness (you could use a brownie pan instead).
- Add the dates to a food processor or blender with the vanilla extract and pulse dates into a paste. No blender or food processor? See notes in the recipe card below.
- Next, add the oats, cocoa powder (or cacao powder) and salt.
Step 2
- Finally, add the peanut butter and pulse the mixture until you have a slightly grainy mixture.
- Spoon it into your lined loaf tin (or brownie pan) and press down with the back of a spoon or rubber spatula.
- You want it to be well compressed and as even as possible.
Step 3
- Melt the chocolate and spread it in an even layer across the brownie batter layer.
- Sprinkle some salted peanuts across the top and pop in the fridge to chill and for the chocolate to set.
- Slice and enjoy!
📖 Recipe
Easy Peanut Butter & Date Chocolate Brownie Bars
Ingredients
- 11 medjool dates (stones removed, tear them open to remove stones)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)
- 3 tablespoons oats (porridge oats or rolled oats)
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (or cacao powder)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 100 g dark chocolate (or chocolate chips)
- 2 tablespoons salted peanuts
Instructions
- Line a 2lb/900g loaf tin (loaf pan), I like to use loaf tin liners for quickness (you could use a brownie pan instead of a loaf tin).
- Add the dates (without stones) to a food processor or blender with the vanilla extract and pulse dates into a paste. No blender or food processor? See notes below.
- Next, add the oats, cocoa powder (or cacao powder) and salt.
- Finally, add the peanut butter and pulse the mixture until you have a slightly grainy mixture.
- Spoon it into your lined loaf tin (or brownie pan) and press down with the back of a spoon or rubber spatula. You want it to be well compressed and as even as possible.
- Melt the chocolate in a microwave or bain marie (see notes) and spread it in an even layer across the brownie batter layer.
- Sprinkle some salted peanuts across the top and pop in the fridge to chill and for the chocolate to set.
- Slice and enjoy!
Notes
- If you don't have a food processor or blender, you can mince the dates finely with a sharp knife, then mash with the vanilla extract, add to a mixing bowl and mix the other ingredients in well.
- You can use another nut butter, like almond butter or sun butter (sunflower seed butter) if you have a nut allergy.
- Melt the chocolate in a bowl in the microwave (mine is 800 watts and it takes about a minute, but if yours is less powerful, it could take a little longer or more powerful, it will melt quicker, just keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn).
- Alternatively, melt in a bain marie (bowl suspended over a pot of simmering water).
- The peanuts on top are optional, but give a nice salty bite against the sweetness.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Belinda says
Oh these do look nice and very easy.
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Oh yes these no-bake brownie bars are super quick and easy to make Belinda. I hope you try them.
Jill says
Love these Jacqs. Thanks for letting me test out the recipe. Now it is live I can share it. Jill x
Jacqueline Meldrum says
You are so welcome Jill and I am so pleased you love them.
Lindsay says
oh my tasty goodness!
These are incredible, Jac. I made them last week for the first time and again this evening, at my other half's request. I'm guessing these will be a regular treat in our house x
Jacqueline Meldrum says
That's so lovely to hear Lindsay, I am going to share your fabulous comment in the post.