You will love these easy homemade peanut butter granola bars! They’re made with simple ingredients like oats, peanut butter, and maple syrup. Plus, they’re nutritious, vegan, gluten-free, and pack 8 grams of protein per bar.
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These peanut butter granola bars are seriously delicious! If you make a batch, they won’t last long. My family loves them —they’re perfect for quick snacks, and I always feel good about packing them in my son’s lunchbox. (Allergy note: almond butter and sunflower butter are great substitutes for peanut butter!)
They’re not only tasty but nutritious, too! We didn’t set out to create an energy bar, but these peanut butter bars fit the bill. With peanut butter, oats, and flaxseed, they pack a punch. Each bar has 8 grams of protein and over 4 grams of fiber!
Key Ingredients
If you’ve made our soft and chewy granola bars, you’ll notice a few similarities with this peanut butter version. Here’s what you will need to make homemade granola bars:
- Rolled oats are best for this granola bar recipe. You can also use instant oats, but the texture will be different.
- Peanuts + peanut butter make these taste amazing. I use homemade peanut butter or a drippy natural peanut butter.
- Flaxseed meal + water binds our bars together. It also adds healthy fats and sticking power to the bars. Read more about flax eggs here.
- Maple syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt season the bars. They are not too sweet, and I love the cinnamon and vanilla.
- Chocolate chips are optional, but my family loves chocolate chip and peanut butter granola bars too much to leave them out. I use mini chocolate chips since they hold up better in the bars and don’t fall out.
How to Make Peanut Butter Granola Bars
You’ll start by toasting the rolled oats and peanuts in the oven. I leave them in the oven until lightly toasted — we do a similar thing when making our almond granola recipe.
While the oats and peanuts are toasting, you can prepare your flax eggs. It’s easy and will help your bars stick together.
Once the oats and peanuts have cooled, mix them with the flax eggs, peanut butter, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Then, toss in the chocolate chips and give everything a good stir. The mixture should be nice and sticky—a good sign because your bars will hold together perfectly!
Press the granola bar mixture into a lined baking dish and refrigerate for a few hours before cutting them into bars.
My Tips for Success
Take care when pressing the granola mixture into the pan. For best results, press firmly to ensure the bars hold together. Place a piece of parchment paper over the granola and then use the bottom of a measuring cup or glass to ensure even pressing.
Mini chocolate chips are the way to go! They distribute evenly throughout the bars and help them hold together. If you don’t have them, finely chop regular-sized chocolate chips for a similar effect.
Chill your bars for two hours before cutting them. This hardens the mixture, making it easier to slice into neat bars. Plus, chilling gives the oats time to absorb all those delicious maple-peanut butter flavors!
Use the correct type of peanut butter. Not all kinds of peanut butter work well in this recipe! No-stir natural peanut butter (like Natural Jif) produces the stickiest mixture, helping the bars hold their shape. Homemade peanut butter and natural peanut butter that need stirring (like Adam’s brand) offer the best flavor but can result in slightly drier bars. If your mixture seems too dry, try adding an extra 1/4 cup of peanut butter.
More Easy Recipes
If you love nut butter, try making it from scratch. Here are recipes for a few of our favorite nut butters: Peanut Butter, Almond Butter, and Cashew Butter.
For more granola recipes, try our Easy Energy Power Balls, Vanilla Almond Granola, or these Soft and Chewy Granola Bars.
Easy Peanut Butter Granola Bars
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These peanut butter granola bars with rolled oats, peanut butter, and maple syrup are easy to make and taste amazing! They are naturally vegan, gluten-free, nutritious, and have around 8 grams of protein per bar.
Makes 12 bars
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
3 cups (38g) old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup (70g) unsalted peanuts, chopped
3/4 cup (190g) natural unsweetened peanut butter
3 tablespoons flaxseed meal
1/3 cup (110g) pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon (60g) mini chocolate chips or finely chopped chocolate
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, optional, see notes
Directions
- Make Bars
1Heat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch or 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil, or use parchment paper.
2Spread the oats and chopped peanuts onto a baking sheet, bake for 5 minutes, stir, and bake another 3 to 5 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Allow to cool.
3While the oats and peanuts bake, make flax eggs by stirring three tablespoons of flaxseed meal with six tablespoons of water in a small bowl. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. During this time, the flaxseed meal will absorb most, if not all, of the water.
4In a large bowl, stir together the peanut butter, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, and flax eggs. If using salt, add it now.
5When the oats and peanuts have cooled, stir them into the peanut butter mixture. The mixture will be sticky. Thoroughly mix everything so that all the oats are well coated. Add up to 1/4 cup more peanut butter if the mixture seems dry.
6Stir in 1/4 cup of the chocolate chips. Save the remaining tablespoon for topping the bars.
7Transfer the granola bar mixture to the prepared pan, and then use a rubber spatula or damp fingertips to press it into the pan firmly so the bars stay together once cooled and cut. One trick is to add a sheet of parchment paper on top and then use the bottom of a glass or measuring cup to press the oat mixture down into the pan.
8Scatter the remaining tablespoon of chocolate chips over the pressed granola mixture, using a rubber spatula to push them into the top. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. If you are in a rush, you can freeze them for about 30 minutes. The bars will be too soft if cut before they are thoroughly chilled.
9Remove the chilled block of granola mixture from the pan, then peel away the foil or parchment. Cut into 12 bars.
- Storing
1Store granola bars in an airtight container for up to one week. For the softest bars, keep them at room temperature (note that room-temperature bars may fall apart more easily than cold bars). For slightly harder bars, store them in the fridge (this is what I do). When wrapped well, bars will keep in the freezer for up to three months.
Adam and Joanne’s Tips
- While we have had the best results with peanut butter, you can try substituting the peanut butter for another nut butter like almond butter or cashew butter. You should also be able to make them nut-free and use sunflower seed butter (for nut-free bars, you will also need to remove the peanuts).
- Honey works well in these bars. Use the same amount of honey as maple syrup called for in the recipe above.
- If the nut butter is unsalted, consider adding 1/4 teaspoon salt to the granola bar mixture.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
Nutrition Per Serving
Serving Size
1 bar (12 total)
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Calories
262
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Total Fat
12.7g
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Saturated Fat
3.2g
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Cholesterol
0mg
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Sodium
4.5mg
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Carbohydrate
27.4g
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Dietary Fiber
4.3g
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Total Sugars
10.1g
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Protein
8.4g
