I have a big appetite, I always have. I quickly learned that unless I was going to be in the cupboard snacking all day (or a hangry mama), I needed to start having nutrient dense, satisfying snacks on hand to hold me over between meals. You’ll find a lot of those recipes on here, like my No Bake Energy Bites, Super Seed Bars, My Favourite Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins to name a few. And now, I’m happy to add to the collection, these delicious Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars!
You can tell from the name that these beauties are packed with all the good stuff. Natural peanut butter, full of protein and healthy fats to fill you up. Oats, a whole grain, complex carbohydrate packed full of fibre, vitamins and minerals, and antioxidants. There’s nothing like a good dose of oats to keep you full! These bars are sweetened with my go to sweetener, coconut sugar. Coconut sugar has about 1/3 of the impact on the glycemic index as white sugar and has beneficial vitamins and minerals, making it my favourite unrefined sweetener of choice. It substitutes cup for cup with regular white sugar, and tastes just like brown sugar in baking recipes. And of course, for fun and enjoyment we can’t forget the chocolate chips. I chopped some 70% dark chocolate into chunks for my bars today, but I also love the Kirkland Chocolate Chips from Costco that are also dairy free. This recipe is adapted from Together as a Family, and in her original recipe she uses mini m&m’s as a mix-in. This is a really fun option for a special treat for the kiddos so if you are feeling extra treat-y, go ahead and use those instead of the peanuts for your mix-in! You can also play around with substituting chia, flax, or hemp seeds in place of some of the quick oats if you’re wanting to pack a few more nutrient dense ingredients in the mix. This recipe is very adaptable!
These bars freeze excellently! Before my last baby was born, I made a huge batch of these and froze them and they were the perfect snack to have on hand with a new baby at home. Nursing a baby and recovering as a new mama take a heavy toll on the body and nutrient dense, satisfying snacks are a lifesaver! You can bet I’ll be stocking my freezer with these again before my new little peanut arrives. New mama or not, your whole family will love these bars. They make the perfect lunch box snack for hungry kiddos (and husbands!).
I hope you have a chance to try these out. Let me know in the comments how they go for you! I am happily enjoying them as we speak 🙂
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups natural peanut butter
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature sub coconut oil, ghee, or vegan butter for dairy free
- 1 1/2 cups coconut sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups quick oats certified gluten free if necessary
- 3 cups old fasioned oats certified gluten free if necessary
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips dairy free if necessary
- 1 cup roasted peanuts optional (add an extra 1/2 cup of chocolate chips if not using)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a rimmed sheet pan (mine is 12"x 18") with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter, peanut butter, and coconut sugar until fluffy and pale in colour, at least 2-3 minutes.
- Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
- Add the oats, baking soda, and salt and mix in on low or by hand until just combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips and peanuts until just combined.
- Dump entire contents onto lined sheet pan and press to fill the entire pan with a spatula or your hands. It will take a minute or two but you will end up with a nice even layer.
- Bake for 17-20 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges and just slightly underdone in the middle. It will finish setting as it cools. Do not overbake or the bars will be dry.
- Cool completely before slicing. These keep best in the refridgerator and freeze wonderfully.
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Dairy-Free Chocolate Chips– I love the Kirkland chocolate chips because they are dairy free and they taste just as good (if not better) than the most popular brand. If I’m making a small batch of something or really want to watch my sugar I’ll spring for a more expensive dark chocolate chip or 70-85% dark chocolate chopped up, but for my everyday baking I prefer something affordable like these.
Natural Peanut Butter – This is a staple in our house, I love that the only ingredient is peanuts! We use it on toast and pancakes, as a dip for apples, in smoothies, in baking… it’s absolutely delicious! Packed with healthy fats and protein with no added sugar, natural peanut butter is excellent choice for nutrient dense snacks.
Gluten Free Old Fashioned Oats – When baking for someone who is Celiac or gluten intolerant, it is important to make sure your oats are certified gluten free to make sure there is no cross contamination in the product. Bob’s Red Mill is a reliable brand for gluten free oats, they are top notch quality and taste great!
These turned out so good! I was expecting them to be more like a granola bar (which would have still been delicious!) but these definitely have that cookie-like texture and taste . Mmm!
So glad you liked them! They’re like the goodness of a cookie with the ease of bars, so handy for making big batches!
These are so fantastic. My friend delivered me a batch of these as a postpartum and they are amazing.
I made myself another batch with some mods to make a lactation bar with some extras to battle postpartum depletion.
For others interested in the same, I added 4 TBSP of Brewers Yeast (will probably add more next time, didn’t want to go too high, lest the flavour be adversely affected. It wasn’t in the least.), 3/4 cups of pumpkin seeds, 1/4 of chia seeds, subbed the peanuts for almonds. Baked for 15 minutes. They were excellent. Such a great snack to have around while breastfeeding!
That is so great to hear, Giselle! Sounds like some great ideas for modifications as well! I lived on these post partum lol 🙂
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