These simple 3 Ingredient No Bake Peanut Butter Oat Squares can be thrown together in minutes. Use all natural/organic ingredients, if you prefer, for a healthier version! Either way, this oatmeal bar recipe is easy, delicious, and the best snack or dessert.
This recipe was originally posted in 2015. The images and recipe have been updated in 2021 to include tips and tricks based on reader feedback!
These 3 Ingredient No Bake Oat Squares Are Easy and Delicious!
Easy can not even describe these 3 Ingredient No Bake Oat Bars! I would say they’re simple to make, but “simple” is so over-used…by me especially…that I’m afraid you might not buy it. Regardless, they are the simplest, easiest, no brainiest bars ever to be.
There are literally 3 ingredients, no baking…only measuring. And you only have to measure 3 things, so…
PLUS, these Oat Bars are kinda-sorta not even that bad for you!
Oat Squares Quick and Healthy Snack Idea!
I know the word healthy is extremely overused, but the simplicity of the ingredients, plus the fiber and protein these contain make them a more healthful option in my house than a cookie. They’re a great option to have on hand for a snack or even a grab and go breakfast!
What Are the 3 Ingredients You Need?
- Old Fashioned Oats
- Peanut Butter
- Honey
Add-In Ideas:
The great thing abut this recipe is that while they are perfect in their 3 ingredient simplicity, you can also add in other ingredients for flavor or health benefits.
- Flax seeds. A tablespoon or two will add fiber, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids.
- Coconut. 1/4 cup or so will add texture, flavor, and sweetness!
- Chocolate Chips. Peanut butter and chocolate are the perfect combo!
- Crunchy Peanut Butter. This will add texture when swapped out for creamy!
- Raisins or dried fruit. 1/2 cup would be delicious!
- Chia seeds. a few tablespoons will add high quality protein and antioxidants.
Tips for Making No Bake Peanut Butter Oat Squares
- If your honey isn’t brand new it might be a little crystallized, which makes it hard to pour. BUT heating honey weakens the ingredients rendering the health benefits ineffective…so if you’re just in it for the taste you can heat it a bit. But if you’re looking for the good stuff that comes along with honey, heating it might not be the option.
- Use Old Fashioned (or rolled oats). I find that they work for the texture and stability of these bars a little better. If you only have Quick oats on-hand, it will be fine, it’s just a texture thing.
- Use whatever kind of peanut butter you prefer! If you love Skippy, use it! If you like natural peanut butter, use that! It’s completely up to you!
Do You Need To Chill These Oatmeal Bars?
Chilling these bars is part of the process to aid in them setting and becoming firm. But do you need to store them int he refrigerator? You can! If you want your bars to stay extra firm, keep them chilled! If you allow them to come up to room temperature they will be softer, but also delicious!
Looking For More Oatmeal Bar Recipes? Try These!
- Salty Caramel Oat Bars
- Homemade Granola Bars
- Peanut Butter Passion Bars
- Salty Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars
3 Ingredient No Bake Peanut Butter Oat Squares
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 20 squares 1x
- Category: Snack
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
These simple 3 Ingredient No Bake Peanut Butter Oat Squares can be thrown together in minutes. Use all natural/organic ingredients, if you prefer, for a healthier version! Either way, this oatmeal bar recipe is easy, delicious, and the best snack or dessert.
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 3/4 cups rolled oats
Instructions
- Line an 8×8 pan with foil. Spray lightly with non-stick spray.
- Melt the peanut butter and honey together until smooth, either in the microwave or stove top. Combine mixture with oats.
- Press into prepared pan. Place in refrigerator until set. Cut into squares.
Notes
I like to store mine in the refrigerator because they can get a bit soft.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 square
- Calories: 148
- Sugar: 8.3 g
- Sodium: 55.3 mg
- Fat: 6.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 18 g
- Protein: 4.4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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Perfect! We are experiencing extreme heat these days in iowa, and I’ve been trying to find a no bake peanut butter bar recipe to fill a craving, but they all call for more butter than PB, and tons of powdered sugar, neither of which I keep on hand! I used natural PB, as this is what I usually use, so some of the healthy police might be ok with it (though who wants to be worried about that when it comes to dessert?), but I DID proceed to cover the whole thing in melted dark chocolate…
Ran out of honey, so used maple syrup to complete it (prefer it’s flavor anyway)…seems to work. Also had oat flour on hand, so used half oat flour, half whole oats, which had creatd kind of a Reece’s peanut butter cup feel…if you like that sort of thing. Thanks so much for providing!!!
Would maple syrup work in place of honey?
Not sure! It seems like it would, but syrup is a little thinner than honey. Let me know if you try it! Maybe just use a little less!
This recipe is very tasty.
I don’t know if it’s because I used a different brand of peanut butter (used Peanut Butter & Co) than you or what it is, but my honey/peanut butter mix did not cover 3 cups of oats, it only held about 2 and 1/8 cups of oats. Neither did it get that nice gooey look like yours has got.
In the future I may try adding coconut oil like “Lara” said in the comments here.
I also used old fashioned oats. Yum.
I just made this because I love the ingredients, but when combined…. not so much. I think it’s the texture I’m not liking and it’s very dense.
Yum! Just made these and I can’t stop eating! I added a few extra things I had on hand to health them up even more… On the softened PB honey stage I added a scoop of protein powder and scoops of both chia and flax seed, as well as some Cacao powder for a little chocolate sensation. Also I did half honey and half melted coconut oil for the honey part, and it came out perfect with a nice hint of coconut! They are so delish and guilt-free! Will definitely be adding these to the regular rotation.
Lara, do you have the nutritional information on your modifications? They sound yummy!
Has anyone tried adding dark chocolate chips to this? If so, would you melt them first along with the peanut butter and honey or mix them in whole with the oats? Or would melting and drizzling along the top at the end work best?
I made mine with almond butter instead of peanut butter and I pressed chocolate chips and chopped pecans into the mixture before putting them in the refrigerator to set. Can’t wait to eat them!
Throw a half cup of mini chocolate chips into the mix, or, melt 3/4 cup of choc chips and spread it over the top of the finished bars. That amount will make the topping about a quarter inch thick.
Haha. The health police. I feel like I can never post anything with regular peanut butter. It has to be natural because I know even when I post a warning saying, “This recipe won’t work with natural!” people will make it with natural anyway and then be unhappy with the results. That’s because natural sucks for baking. That’s the end of my peanut butter rant. 😀
And love that these are no-bake! This is something I’d make at 11:49pm and then not even bother forming into bars. A spoon works well enough for me.
That is exactly what I just did at 10:49. I hope the natural peanut butter will set up since there’s no baking involved. 🙂
I’m so sorry!! Didn’t mean to hit the “thumbs down” button!! Purely accidental! I just wanted to if using natural PB was the reason mi e did t come out well? It’s all I had. I did add melted coconut oil,but still did t help….?
It definitely could have made a difference. I have never made it with natural peanut butter!
I used natural PB, quick oats and raw honey and it turned out perfect! Be sure your PB is mixed well if using natural.
I have used Skippy natural peanut butter spread since it became available a few years ago. It doesn’t separate, it tastes great, and the ingredients are only roasted peanuts, sugar, palm oil, and salt. It works fine in every bar and cookie I’ve made, bake or no-bake.
are these crunchy or chewy?
they are soft and chewy
Umm these sound divine! I think I might need to make a tray at nap time!
These sounds delish!!! My son is allergic to peanuts… Do you think this will work with sunbutter?!
I would imagine, but I am not super familiar with the texture of sunbutter, so if you try it let me know!
Did you ever try it with sunbutter after this comment- I realize this was 2 years ago, but I am curious!!