No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Bar
Layered No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Bars are chewy, thick, decadent and also happen to be vegan and gluten-free! The perfect warm weather treat.
Hello! Remember me? If you say no, I can forgive you as it’s been a freakin’ minute since I have posted anything on my beloved blog. But look at me, I am back!
The world (and subsequently online world) is in a truly weird place right now, and I have been limiting my time online to prevent myself from having a total mental breakdown.
We have technically been on lock-down for almost 4 months now and it’s been challenging to adapt. The kids really, really miss their old lives and I have been super focused on them and the fam jam, and not so much on the blog.
But with the nice weather upon us, figured a no bake dessert recipe was a total must. Considering how well my Copycat Dairy Queen Cake is doing in the realm of tricky Google algorithms, it seems this post is a great way to kick off my return to Mostly Domestic!
No bake desserts during these warm months, just kinda feels right. Not only is having your oven blasting for 30 minutes totally unpleasant, but you can’t deny it feels kinda weird and out of place eating a hot chocolate chip cookie on a blazing summer day.
I originally had planned on creating some kind of fresh berry no bake oat bar, but realized the day after purchasing a crap load of berries, my 17 year old daughter had essentially inhaled the bulk of them. Not wanting to give up on the idea I had come up with for the base of the bar, decided to go for a chocolate peanut butter thing instead.
Let me tell yeah, this chocolate peanut butter oat bar is ridiculous. Like, ridiculous! It’s kind of got a salty-sweet vibe going for it and the ingredients are so totally not exotic and you likely even already have them on hand. Let’s break this baby down, shall we?!
No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Bar – Ingredients
- Oats – Quick cooking oats work perfectly and act as the main ingredient in both the base and topping.
- Coconut – Unsweetened shredded coconut is added to the oat mix and adds the perfect texture.
- Sugar – You know my true love in the kitchen is coconut sugar. At this point I don’t even buy anything else. It works SO perfectly in this recipe, and creates such a nice caramel-like flavour.
- Butter – Either Earth Balance or Melt would be the only two brands I would recommend for this recipe. They both have a high fat content, whereas cheaper brands contain too much water and might not work as well for this no bake recipe.
- Coconut Cream – The thick slightly solidified portion of canned coconut milk. Not all canned coconut milk is created equally. When selecting in store, give the can a light shake. You should be able to feel a heavy and dense portion that doesn’t move, and a small bit of liquid that does. If this sounds too scary or intimidating, opt for Thai Kitchen or Aroy-D brand. These are highly reliable.
- Peanut Butter – I have successfully made this with both natural and Jiffy-style peanut butter. I prefer natural, as I don’t have an aggressive sweet tooth. My children however (surprise, surprise!) say they prefer it with Jiffy. Either peanut butter will work here.
- Chocolate – Semi-sweet is the only type of chocolate I have used (because I bought a gigantic bag from Amazon and have been working my way through it), but dark chocolate would likely be insanely yummy in this recipe too.
No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Bar - Vegan & Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups quick oats
- 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup coconut cream
- 1/2 cup butter - I used Earth Balance
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup peanut butter - Conventional or natural
Instructions
- Lightly grease a 9x9 inch square pan and set aside.
- In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter. Slowly stir in coconut cream, coconut sugar, vanilla and sea salt. Continue until all the sugar has dissolved.
- Lower heat and mix in the quick oats and shredded coconut. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
- Press half of oat mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Set aside the other half of the portion for the topping.
- Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter in a double boiler over low heat, stirring frequently until well combined. Pour the chocolate/peanut butter over the oat mixture in the pan, and spread evenly.
- Using your hands, crumble the remaining oat mixture evenly over the chocolate/peanut butter layer. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Bring to room temperature before cutting into bars.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to a month.
Notes
- Brown sugar would work ok for coconut sugar substitute.
- Coconut cream is strongly recommended, however other non-dairy creamers should function in this recipe too.
- Either Earth Balance or Melt would be the only two brands I would recommend for this recipe. They both have a high fat content, whereas cheaper brands contain too much water and might not work as well for this no bake recipe. Coconut oil would in theory work, but the buttery flavour would very much be missing.
- I have successfully made this with both natural and Jiffy-style peanut butter. I prefer natural, as I don't have an aggressive sweet tooth. My children however (surprise, surprise!) say they prefer it with Jiffy. Either peanut butter will work here.
- Semi-sweet is the only type of chocolate I have used, but dark chocolate would likely be insanely yummy in this recipe too.
Vegan gluten free recipes, meal plans, wellness, home | Mostly Domestic
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Vegan and Gluten free meal plans, prep and food shopping lists | Mostly Domestic
