Healthier No-Bake Cookie Bars

Close up of square cut chocolate peanut butter no bake cookie bars on a white plate.

4.62 from 157 votes

Healthy no bake cookie bars are thick, chocolatey and just 6 simple, wholesome ingredients! They make a great afternoon snack, lunch box treat or dessert!

Prep Time3

Cook Time7

Total Time1 10

Yield: 16 servings

Ingredients

1 cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup honey
½ cup milk of choice
3 cups quick-cook oats, see notes
1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Instructions

Grease an 8x8 glass pan with cooking spray and set aside.
Combine peanut butter, honey and milk in a medium pot over medium heat. Stir until well combined.
Add remaining ingredients, turn off heat and stir until the chocolate is melted.
Pour mixture into prepared pan and let cool slightly. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for an hour.
Cut into bars and serve!

Save This Recipe

We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!

Notes

Milk: You can use cow’s milk (skim, 2%, 1%, whole) or soy milk or another alternative milk.

Oats: I almost always use old-fashioned rolled oats in my recipes, but I found they have too much of a raw oat taste here so I prefer quick-cook oats. If all you have is old fashioned oats, just pulse them briefly in a food processor or blender to break them up a bit before using them in the recipe.

Peanut butter: I’ve made these with a natural peanut butter and just regular creamy peanut butter (Jif), and both ways worked great. You can swap in almond butter or another nut butter if you need them to be peanut free.

Servings: You can get 9 very large bars or 16 smaller bars out of this recipe, depending on the size of the squares you want to cut them into.

Scale recipe: You can make a half-batch in an 8x4 bread pan. Just line it with plastic wrap and spray with cooking spray so you can easily lift the bars out once they are chilled. Or double the recipe and use a 9×12 glass pan.

Storage: These are best stored in the refrigerator, in a covered container. They'll keep for up to 5-7 days.

Gluten-free: This recipe is gluten-free as is, but be sure to use certified gluten-free oats if you have an allergy or intolerance to ensure there's no cross contamination.

Dairy-free: Make these bars dairy-free by using a milk alternative (such as soy milk or almond milk) and using dairy-free chocolate chips.

Vegan: Use a milk alternative, dairy-free chocolate chips and use maple syrup or agave syrup in place of the honey.

Video

Nutrition

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below or follow me on Instagram @familyfoodonthetable and tag me in your photo!