Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

If you love chocolate and peanut butter as much as I do, you’re going to LOVE these no bake chocolate peanut butter bars! They’re made with a thick peanut butter and graham cracker layer and are topped with melted chocolate and butterscotch.

This is one of those easy no bake recipes and you just need 6 simple ingredients to make them! They keep well in the fridge, so you can enjoy them throughout the week.

There’s something nostalgic and comforting about these no bake peanut butter bars. They’re simple and everyone loves them.

This recipe was inspired by my grandmother’s butterscotch peanut butter balls! The balls are rich and buttery and coated with both chocolate and butterscotch chips. Butterscotch chips are optional but I love the extra flavor they add.

My husband loves dark chocolate, so this week I tested out a dark chocolate version. I also used brown butter and topped them with flaky sea salt! They were as yummy as the original version and had a bakery-style vibe to them that we loved.

For more delicious peanut butter treats, try my chocolate peanut butter no bake pie and nutella peanut butter cookies.

Why We Love This Recipe

• Peanut butter and butterscotch chips are so good together! If you love peanut butter, try my peanut butter cookies with marshmallows and peanut butter stuffed salted brownie cookies!
• Melted chocolate makes the easiest, most delicious topping.
• These butterscotch peanut butter bars are super gooey and decadent just like my butterscotch cupcakes recipe.
• There’s no oven needed and they’re the perfect make ahead treat. Just combine the ingredients, chill then enjoy! For another more no-bake recipes, try my no bake chocolate mousse bars and mini chocolate pies.

Ingredients

• Peanut butter- I use creamy peanut butter such as Jif or Skippy.
• Graham crackers-You’ll need 1 cup graham cracker crumbs. Use about 8 full sheets of graham crackers. Crush them in the food processor or place them in a large zip lock bag and pound them with a rolling pin.
• Powdered sugar- Powdered sugar adds extra sweetness to the peanut butter layer!
• Butter-Salted or unsalted butter works for the filling. The butter doesn’t need to be room temperature since we’re melting it.
• Butterscotch chips– Butterscotch chips add a delicious flavor to the peanut butter filling!  
• Chocolate chips- Use semi-sweet chocolate chips for the topping.

Please see recipe card below for full list of ingredients and their measurements.

Substitutions & Variations

• Big fan of dark chocolate? Instead of semi-sweet chocolate, try dark chocolate! I recommend 80% good quality dark chocolate such as Lindt bars.
• Add a pinch of salt to the graham crackers. This will help balance out the sweetness.
• Brown your butter for more depth of flavor! Keep in mind that some of the water will evaporate during the browning process. For this reason, I recommend adding an extra tablespoon of butter if browning.
• Top the chocolate layer with flaky sea salt! This will balance the sweetness and enhance the other flavors!

How to Make Chocolate and Peanut Butter Bars

Quick Video Recap

Instructions

Step 1: In a large bowl, combine the powdered sugar, graham cracker crumbs, some optional salt and melted salted or unsalted butter.

Step 2: Next, stir in 1 cup of peanut butter.

Step 3- Spread the mixture evenly on the bottom of your pan.

Step 4-In a medium sized bowl, combine the semi-sweet chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and 2 tablespoons of peanut butter.

Step 5-Spread the chocolate mixture on top of the peanut butter base. Optional-top with a pinch of flaky sea salt. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or until firm.

Step 5- Slice and enjoy! These bars are best enjoyed straight from the fridge while still chilled.

Natalie’s Tips

• Use an offset spatula to spread the peanut butter mixture.
• Pull up on the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan.
• Enjoy these bars straight from the fridge.

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Natalie

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars are the best no bake treat! They feature decadent layers of peanut butter and graham crackers, chocolate and butterscotch! They're sweet, rich and totally delicious! 

5 from 6 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Chill time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course Baking, Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 16 squares

Calories 262 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  Mixing bowls
• ▢
  8 inch square pan

Ingredients

 

0.5x1x2x

• ▢ ½ cup (113 g) butter salted or unsalted, melted or browned
• ▢ 1 cup (100 g) graham cracker crumbs from about 8 full sheets
• ▢ 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
• ▢ 1 cup (285 g) peanut butter plus 2 tablespoons divided, see instructions below
• ▢ ½ cup (85 g) butterscotch chips optional, or swap in extra chocolate
• ▢ ½ cup (90 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips or chopped semi-sweet or dark chocolate
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon flaky sea salt optional, for topping

Instructions

 

• Line an 8 inch square pan with parchment paper leaving an overhang on two sides and set aside.
• Melt the butter. Allow to cool 5-10 minutes before mixing.
• In a medium sized bowl, stir together the melted butter, graham cracker crumbs and powdered sugar. Add 1 cup of peanut butter. Stir mixture together and press evenly into the bottom of a pan using your fingers or an offset spatula. 
• In a microwave safe bowl, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of peanut butter with the chocolate and butterscotch chips in the microwave using 30 second bursts. Stir well after each interval. Continue until mixture is smooth and melted. 
• Pour the chocolate mixture over peanut butter layer and spread evenly with a small offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Top with optional flaky sea salt.
• Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 1 hour or in the fridge for 2 hours, until firm. Best if served cold straight from the fridge. Use the parchment paper overhang to lift the bars out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Cut into 16-24 small squares using a sharp chef's knife. (The bars are very rich, so cutting them into smaller squares is usually a good idea.)

Video

Notes

Flaky sea salt (optional): Top with about 1/4 teaspoon of flaky sea salt right after spreading the chocolate topping. Flaky sea salt helps balance the sweetness and enhances the chocolate flavor.

Peanut butter: Use a commercial peanut butter such as Jif or Skippy. I usually use creamy, but chunky peanut butter works too. I don’t recommend using natural peanut butter for this recipe since it has not been tested with natural peanut butter. 

Butter: Use salted or unsalted butter. If using unsalted butter, you can add 1/4 teaspoon to the peanut butter mixture but this is optional. You can melt the butter or brown it for extra flavor. To brown the butter, first melt it in a medium, light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, stir constantly while it foams and bubbles and deepens in color. Once the butter smells nutty and the bits on the bottom are medium brown, remove from the heat. Immediately pour into a large heatproof mixing bowl. Scrape in all the browned bits

Chocolate chips: Use semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips. You can also use chopped semi-sweet or dark chocolate bars. Use good quality chocolate such as Ghirardelli, Lindt or similar quality.

Butterscotch chips: In place of butterscotch chips, use peanut butter chips or extra chocolate. 

Storage: Store leftover bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1squareCalories: 262kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 5gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 178mgPotassium: 143mgFiber: 1gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 185IUCalcium: 18mgIron: 1mg

Please note that nutritional values are created by an online calculator and should only be used as an estimate.

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