Flourless Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Oat Bars
I have a long-standing love affair with all recipes that combine peanut butter, chocolate chips and oats. I can’t resist making them and I can’t ever stop eating them, either!
I’ve seen so many flourless cookie recipes floating around the web for years now, and they’ve always piqued my interest, but I had never tried any of them. I assumed they would be wonderfully dense, soft and a little bit gooey, which really sounds like the best kind of cookie! When I saw a flourless bar recipe fashioned after monster cookies, including my beloved peanut butter, chocolate chips and oats, I was all over it.
Nearly all bar recipes are made in a square 8-inch or 9-inch pan or a standard 9×13 pan, but not these! They go all out and are made in a half sheet pan, no messing around here. It’s absolutely perfect if you need them for a party or work function (if you don’t have a pan large enough, I’ve included a note below the recipe for scaling!).
While the original recipe called for topping these with regular M&M’s (which is pretty standard for monster cookies), I have to be honest. Regular ol’ M&M’s don’t really do much for me… give me peanut, peanut butter or pretzel M&M’s and I’m totally on board, but since we were already rocking the chocolate and peanut butter combo in these bars, I thought it was fitting to top them with (drum roll) Reese’s Pieces.
A good decision, indeed.
One year ago: Strawberry Shortcake
Two years ago: Blueberry Buckle
Four years ago: Malted Milk Ice Cream
Five years ago: Cranberry Orange Scones
Flourless Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Oat Bars
Ingredients
- â…” cup (151.33 g) salted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups (440 g) light brown sugar
- 1â…“ cups (266.67 g) granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) baking soda
- 2 cups (516 g) crunchy peanut butter, creamy peanut butter is fine, too
- 6 cups (486 g) old-fashioned oats, NOT quick-cooking oats
- 1 cup (180 g) semisweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup (94 g) Reese's Pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13x18-inch half sheet pan.
- With an electric mixer, beat the butter and both sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and baking soda and beat to combine.
- Using a rubber spatula, stir in the peanut butter until completely combined, then stir in the oats, then the chocolate chips until all of the ingredients are fully mixed together.
- Turn the dough out onto the prepared baking sheet and, using your hands, press into an even layer (the dough may be slightly sticky, in which case you can dampen your hands to keep it from sticking). Sprinkle the Reese's Pieces on top and gently press into the dough.
- Bake until the bars are just lightly browned and no longer look wet on top, 15 to 17 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before cutting into bars. These can be stored in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 1 week.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
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These bars are delicious, I’ve made them 3 times! I just made them a 4th time today, but I decided to make a chocolate version. I halved the recipe and added 1/2 cup of cocoa powder and 1oz of milk. Instead of 3 cups of oats I put 1 cup of walnuts, 1 cup of chocolate chips, and 1 cup of oats. It tastes like a no-bake cookie and a brownie at the same time!
These peanut butter chocolate chip oat bars are so delicious & addicting!!! I made them for my family & they loved them. My mom can’t have gluten & most of the flours I try aren’t very good; this recipe however, doesn’t require GF flour so even more points for GF! I’m a teenager btw & this recipe was the easiest recipe ever too! I highly recommend this recipe! ?
These are so addicting & delicious!!! I made them for my family & they love them! This recipe is like the easiest recipe ever too! I highly recommend this recipe!
I want to make these, but I’m wondering how they turn out with gluten free oats? Do you know? I’ve had other oat recipes that haven’t turned out very well using the GF variety, but I have to bake gluten free. It’s not an option because I have a family member with celiac.
Hi Laura, I have not made these with gluten-free oats, but I would venture to guess that they would turn out just fine. Enjoy!
Have you (or anyone else) tried to make these using splenda? thanks!
omg, this looks ridiculously good. love peanut butter bars, and they are flourless. There has to be a silver lining.
Oh my gosh….I just made these and holy cow they are AMAZING!!! I didn’t have the size pan the recipe recommended so I just made the batter/dough according to the recipe and then spread it in one 8×10 dish and one 9×9 dish. Baked for about 28 minutes and they puffed up to be very thick and golden brown! Thank you for this delicious recipe!!!! :)
I’m not a huge fan of regular M&Ms either, I much prefer the exciting ones. It would be good to try these with the huge peanut butter ones!
My girls (10 and 5) just made these with their sitter this morning and they are deee-lish! Thank you. They will be great to share with friends.
Question for you – how old is Duke? And has he calmed down at all? My Goldie is almost 10 months and although is is *mostly* a good boy he can still be SO bad. Stealing things, playing catch me with your keys, etc. Love him so much but have never had a puppy like this one. Our last Goldie was a dream… :)
Hi Christine, I’m so glad the bars were a hit! As for Duke – he just turned 2 and, sigh, I’m sorry I don’t have better news for you! He’s SLIGHTLY less mischievous, but he’s just a totally different dog than Einstein, which sounds like your situation. Einstein was very mischievous as a puppy, but he is just a generally chill, very laid back, do-dee-do, type of dog. Duke is much more hyper, anxious, etc. Totally different personalities.
These look amazing! I just bought all the ingredients to make them this weekend for my hubby. Can I make these in a smaller pan to make them thicker and then cook them a little longer?
Hi Kelsey, Yes, you could definitely do that!
Thank you!
Your bars are stuffed with all the best of the (mostly) good-for-you sweet world =) Love it! Thank you for the recipe.
thank you Michelle for posting this flourless recipe! Can’t wait to try them. I’m just wondering, in the recipe it says baking powder, but in the instructions it says baking soda?
Hi Esther, So sorry for that error, it should be baking soda, I’ve corrected the recipe above.
These bars look awesome. I’m glad this recipe yields a lot of bars. My kids will be all over them, and it would be great to share with their friends. Thanks for this.
I love the idea of using Reese’s Pieces! These do seem like they would easily feed a crowd!
I’m totally in love with these; however, I would have to use m&ms!
I think you absolutely rocked these bars – Reeses and oats, put me in coach, I’m ready to play. I’ve seen TONS of flourless recipes as well and like yourself (this shocks me!!) never tried. These bars look beyond fantastic and I can’t wait to try. Bathing suits? Bah, Good thing it rains here everyday and I don’t need to be seen in one.