Vegan Peanut Butter Squares with Chocolate & Oats - no-bake

Easy and delicious vegan peanut butter squares. A no-bake vegan cookie bar made with oats and topped with dark chocolate.

Vegan peanut butter cookie bars are perfect for lunch boxes or an afternoon snack when your energy starts to seep out of you at an alarming rate.

These vegan peanut butter squares are made with oats for that energy boost and topped with chocolate.

They are an easy no-bake fridge cake, that can be portioned up and stored in the fridge until you need them.

Jump to:

• 💭 This is not peanut butter tiffin
• 👩🏻‍🍳 Vegan Peanut Butter Squares
• 🍪 Peanut butter cookie bar ingredients
• 📖 Variations
• 👩🏽‍🍳 Making your own oat flour
• 💭 Can you use other types of flour in peanut chocolate bars?
• 💭 Frequently asked questions
• 💭 Top tips
• ⭐ Hit the heart (NEW)
• 👪 More easy vegan snacks
• 👩🏻‍🍳 How to make vegan peanut butter squares
• 📖 Recipe
• Comments

💭 This is not peanut butter tiffin

Many people confuse this type of oatmeal bar with tiffin, which is a Scottish afternoon tea treat.

Chocolate tiffin is made with crushed biscuits (crushed finer than you would for rocky road bars or many other fridge cakes).

Whereas this no-bake bar is made with oats (no it's not a flapjack either as it's not baked).

Tiffin often has raisins added too and while you could add peanut butter, it's not in any traditional Scottish recipes.

If you want to try some Scottish Chocolate Tiffin, try this Scottish Biscoff Tiffin or this Chocolate Pretzel Tiffin.

👩🏻‍🍳 Vegan Peanut Butter Squares

So what's the difference between peanut butter oatmeal bars and tiffin?

• Peanut butter oat bars are made with oats instead of crushed biscuits
• There's no dried fruit involved
• The peanut butter adds a boost of protein you won't find in chocolate tiffin
• Chocolate is on top of these vegan peanut butter bars, whereas it is mixed into the biscuit mix with tiffin

Love peanut butter? Have a go at making this easy and delicious vegan chocolate peanut butter.

🍪 Peanut butter cookie bar ingredients

Here are the 5 simple ingredients you need to make these tasty oatmeal bars.

1. Oats - you can use porridge oats, rolled oats, oatmeal or jumbo oats as they are blended
2. Peanut butter - smooth or crunchy, it's up to you
3. Vegan butter - or spread
4. Golden syrup - or maple syrup
5. Salt - just a pinch
6. Chocolate - dark chocolate or dark chocolate chips

Love that peanut butter and chocolate combo? Try these peanut butter chocolate truffles made with chickpeas (you'd never guess).

See the printable recipe card below for quantities, method, and calories.

📖 Variations

Here are a few tweaks you could make to these oat bars.

• Roasted peanuts - chop them and add them for extra crunch or scatter some over the chocolate topping before it's set
• Chocolate chips - you could add some to the base mix
• Milk chocolate - top with vegan milk chocolate
• White chocolate - top with vegan white chocolate or add a drizzle of melted white chocolate over the dark chocolate once it is set

👩🏽‍🍳 Making your own oat flour

Vegan peanut butter cookie bars are made with oat flour and it's super easy to make at home from porridge oats, rolled oats, jumbo oats or oatmeal.

Just measure your oats out and add them to a food processor or blender and whizz until you have fairly fine flour.

It can be also be used in place of plain flour (all purpose flour) in a lot of recipes. You can use it in banana bread, gingerbread and heartier bakes like fruit cake or no-bake almond & raspberry bars.

I've not tried it in lighter bakes in cupcakes, but would work well in savoury muffins.

💭 Can you use other types of flour in peanut chocolate bars?

Yes, you definitely try these peanut butter bars with other flour.

Coconut flour or almond flour would work well too.

💭 Frequently asked questions

💭 Top tips

Here are my top tips for making these vegan peanut butter chocolate bars.

• Grease and line your baking tin - I add a strip of baking paper that goes across the centre of the tin and has an overhang for easy removal
• Brownie pan - the best tin for making these no-bake oat bars is a square brownie tin (mine is 20cm x 20cm or approximately 8 inches x 8 inches, but a bit bigger or smaller is ok too)
• Mix well - mix the wet ingredients into the dry really well, it might seem like there is too much of the dry ingredients, but keep mixing until well combined.
• Take your time - to press the oat mixture really firmly into the lined brownie pan, you want to compress it well so they don't end up crumbly
• Cut through the chocolate - and oaty base (into squares) while the chocolate is still soft and not quite set, then pop it back in the fridge to finish setting

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👪 More easy vegan snacks

Here are a few more delicious and super simple homemade vegan snacks for you to try next.

1. Apricot & Coconut Flapjacks - no bake
2. Biscoff Oat Bars
3. Bounty Bars
4. Choc Chip Scones
5. Date Snickers
6. Golden Syrup Flapjacks - air fryer or oven
7. Hazelnut & Raisin Cookies

👩🏻‍🍳 How to make vegan peanut butter squares

Step-by-step photos. Keep scrolling for the full printable recipe (with full ingredient list, calories and nutritional info).

Step 1 - blend the flour

• Grease and line a brownie pan (as near to 20 x 20 cm or 8 x 8 inches as possible), with an overhang of baking paper for easy removal.
• Make your oat flour. Measure the oats into a food processor or blender and pulse until you have fairly fine flour.

Step 2 - melt the wet ingredients

• In a microwave-safe bowl add the peanut butter, vegan butter or spread, and golden syrup.
• Zap in the microwave to melt (keep an eye on it and give it a stir as it melts.
• Alternatively, melt in a pot.

Step 3 - and mix

• Add the oat flour to a large mixing bowl, then add the peanut butter mixture.
• Stir until completely combined, it might seem like there is too much flour but keep mixing and pressing so it absorbs the flour.

Step 4 - the chocolate

• Melt the chocolate in a bain marie (bowl over simmering water in a pan, but not touching the water as the chocolate will seize) or in the microwave. Set aside.
• Press the oat mixture into the brownie pan and press down firmly with the back of a spoon. You want it really well compressed so the bars won't be crumbly. Take your time to do this.
• Spread the chocolate over the top of the oat layer evenly.
• Pop in the fridge to set.
• Take the pan out before the chocolate is set and cut the chocolate and bars into squares (in the pan), then pop them back in the fridge until the chocolate is completely set.
• Remove from the fridge and lift carefully from the pan, using the baking paper, then cut into squares and serve.
• Enjoy!