Peanut Butter Breakfast Bars

As a kid, I ate a lot of peanut butter. I think that's true of most North American children. Peanut butter has become associated with kids for this reason, but that doesn't mean peanut butter is only good for kids.

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Peanut butter is actually a great source of protein, helps promote immune function, gives you a concentrated source of energy and fiber and a dose of Vitamins E and B-3. The only downside to peanut butter is that so many brands load it up with sugar, so opt for the all natural, no sugar added brands and then of course, moderating the serving size is always beneficial (says me who has been known to eat peanut butter off a spoon!).

Peanut butter breakfast bars on a wooden cutting board with knife.

Most of my peanut butter as a child came in the form of a peanut butter sandwich (made by my mother who really honestly hates peanut butter. A testament to her love?). As an adult, peanut butter now mostly appears at breakfast on a piece of toast and I think most adults probably find that breakfast is their peanut butter time. So these peanut butter breakfast bars will fit in perfectly with adults or children. Great for kids who love peanut butter any time of the day, and great for adults who can make these ahead and just grab a bar as they walk out the door.

Peanut butter breakfast bars cut on a wooden cutting board.

These peanut butter breakfast bars have apple grated in for added moisture and sugar. They also include coconut sugar, which might be new to you. Coconut sugar is a natural amber-colored sugar made from coconut palm sap. It is honestly only marginally better for you than refined sugar, but it is nice to use a natural sweetener instead of refined sugar which really has no benefits at all. You can use brown sugar if like, but if you can find coconut sugar, why not give it a try? Coconut sugar tastes quite delicious and the bars do too!

Peanut butter breakfast bars before they are cut on a wooden cutting board. Ingredients for peanut butter breakfast bars in a glass bowl on a wooden cutting board.

Peanut Butter Breakfast Bars

  • Prep Time: 15 m
  • Cook Time: 25 m
  • Total Time: 40 m
  • Servings:
    10

Ingredients

  • ½ tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup natural peanut butter no sugar added
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 egg lightly beaten
  • 1 large Pink Lady or Honey Crisp apple peeled
  • ½ cup coarsely chopped peanuts divided

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F. Line a 8x8-inch baking pan with a strip of parchment paper that is 8 inches wide and about 12 to 14 inches long, letting the parchment paper hang over two sides of the pan. Grease the pan and paper with butter.
  2. Combine the rolled oats, whole wheat flour, coconut sugar (or brown sugar), baking soda and salt in a bowl. Grate the apple into the mixture and add the peanut butter, honey and egg. Stir until all the ingredients are combined. Fold in three quarters of the coarsely chopped peanuts.
  3. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining peanuts on top and press them into the batter. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes, until lightly browned.
  4. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and allow the bars to cool in the pan. Once cool, cut into bars. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
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Comments (12)Post a Reply

    1. Hi Carol. We are adding nutritional info as quickly as we can to all the recipes on the website – hope to have them all complete in the next week or so. All new recipes will have nutritional info. You’ll know which recipes have the nutritional info calculated because there will be a little box next to “Print Recipe” that says “Nutrition Info”. Click on that and it will pop up. It will also be on the printed version of the recipe should you choose to print it.

    1. You can use AP flour, Shirley, but it will have less protein and you might need to play with the amounts so that the consistency is right.

    1. You might be able to use apple sauce, Donna, but the mixture will be quite a bit wetter. If you wanted to use apple sauce, I would increase the amount of oats and whole wheat flour until the mixture is manageable.

  1. 5 stars
    If I tried these with almond butter do you think I should alter the amount of the almond butter given that it is generally thicker than peanut butter? Thank you for all your great recipes.

    1. I think you could probably use the same amount of almond butter. It will be a little thicker, but that might work well. Good luck and let me know how it goes.

  2. This looks very good. Can this be made Gluten Free by substituting a Gluten Free Flour for the wheat flour?

    1. This recipe has not been tested with gluten free flour. If you have had success with baking with gluten free flour in other recipes, you should be able to use it here.

  3. Yummy breakfast bar treats!!! No need to buy bars anymore now that I have this recipe!!! Thanks so much for sharing!!!

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