5 Ingredient Peanut Butter Bars are an easy snack or dessert you can put together in no time. You don’t even need a food processor for them, and they’re healthy with all-natural ingredients!
This recipe is Trim Healthy Mama friendly (THM S), low carb and so so so delicious.
Peanut butter cups are my WEAKNESS.
A good organic peanut butter cup, the filling oozing out… Aaaah.
BUT. Even a good organic peanut butter cup has sugar and sends my blood sugar crashing down, down, down…
So I decided to make peanut butter bars that are NOT evil to our blood sugar levels.
And so these 5 Ingredient Peanut Butter Bars were born.
These are absolutely amazing!
- easy to make: you just need to melt the butter and then stir everything together – no food processor needed!
- they do have a small carb count, but compared to commonly available peanut butter cups? Neglectable. 1 bar will not have more net carbs than preferred in an S setting if you’re a Trim Healthy Mama
- just a word of warning: these are dangerous… So if you currently have no self control, get that first… Speaking of experience here, ahem.
Now I will say that my Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup loving husband does not like these bars because the peanut butter is too strong for him.
He doesn’t love peanut butter all that much. Actually, he only likes the peanut butter cups – and I quote – “because they’re so artificial and way too sweet and sometimes I want that too much for my own good”.
So, if you’re not a peanut butter lover… Maybe these are not for you. But the kids and I? We DEVOUR these.
My tips for the best peanut butter bars, ever:
These are easy to make, but let’s go over a few crucial things you have to remember.
Be patient
So you don’t need to do any baking for these, but you do need to chill them.
You REALLY need to wait for the peanut butter layer to firm up, set and freeze all the way before adding the melted chocolate.
Because melted chocolate = hot, and if the peanut layer isn’t frozen… Everything will just melt together in one admittedly delicious swirl.
Keep them in the freezer
These don’t hold up as well at room temperature or in the fridge as regular, standard peanut butter bars would.
That’s because we’re using all-natural peanut butter without the emulgators, fillers, thickeners and sugar found in processed peanut butter.
When you purchase our peanut butter for this recipe, buy one that only has one ingredient listed: Peanuts. The only other ingredient I allow in my peanut butter is salt, but reluctantly if that’s the only option, because I like to be in control of how much sodium I consume.
Anyways, keep these bars in the freezer! The chocolate will have a nice crunch to it and the peanut layer softens quickly, so it gets oozy like a peanut butter cup.
But what if I don’t have any baking blend?
Ok, ok. I know, not everyone has this ominous baking blend in their pantry.
OR you can use just almond flour, which makes these denser (and a little more expensive), but if that’s your only option and you need a peanut butter cup fix – it works.
Watch me make these here:
And that’s just about all I have to say about these low carb peanut butter bars.
Go, make them, be amazed!
Grab the printable recipe here:
5 Ingredient Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter plus extra
- 1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon super sweet blend or equivalent sweetener (use more or less depending on how sweet you like peanut butter bars)
- 3/4 cup low carb baking blend
- 1/2 cup sugar free chocolate chips
Instructions
- Line a 8×8 inch square baking pan with baking parchment, leaving an overhang (so you can lift out the bars later). Lightly grease. (Yes, lining and greasing!)
- Melt butter. Add peanut butter, sweetener and baking blend and stir well.
- Spread in a lined 8×8 inch square baking pan. Freeze until solid.
- Melt chocolate chips in a double-boiler water bath. (Optional: Stir in 1/2 tablespoon butter for shinier chocolate.) Spread over peanut butter layer. Freeze until solid, then cut into bars.
- Store the bars in the freezer. They get gooey fast 🙂
Melissa Griffiths says
Self control’s a necessary ingredient, huh? I’m going to have to search pretty hard to find that when it comes to these babies. 🙂
Nora says
Haha, you do not want to know how fast a batch of these vanishes around here ?
Kari Bohning says
Is the low carb baking blend the THM baking blend?
Nora says
Yep, it sure is, Kari! I usually make my own, there’s a recipe for it here: https://www.wholesomerecipebox.com/thm-friendly-baking-blend-recipe/
Laura says
These are such a treat! I used 1/4c. each almond flour, oat bran, and golden flax meal which I always have on hand. So good! Thank you!
Nora says
So glad you enjoyed the bars, Laura! Definitely one of my favorites 🙂
Ashley says
Delicious and easy to make! My only problem was that we ate them too fast so I made a double batch the next time. I used 85% dark chocolate and melted it over the peanut butter mixture 🙂 thanks for the great recipe!
Nora says
Haha, we always have that problem, too ? I’m glad you enjoyed the bars, Ashley! Thanks for coming back to leave a review – I appreciate it.