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These no bake peanut butter bars are the perfect treat for any occasion. Think lunch lady bars but with pretzels instead of crackers – the salty sweet combination is out of this world.
Peanut Butter Bars with Pretzels
You know when you make something and then the next day you realize you ate the entire pan? (Or is that just me?) Yeah, that was what happened when I made these peanut butter squares. But what can you expect? It’s chocolate and peanut butter… How could you resist THAT?
I’m all about these no bake peanut butter bars since they only take 10 minutes to put together and the refrigerator does the rest of the work. How easy is that?
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Only 5 simple ingredients you may already have
- Quickly assemble these peanut butter squares in no time at all
- It’s a crowd-pleaser! Perfect to make for large parties because everyone loves them!
Ingredients Needed
- Butter: I’m using unsalted butter at room temperature to easily mix ingredients together
- Pretzels: use any shape pretzel you like since we will finely crush them
- Peanut butter: I recommend no-stir, creamy peanut butter to avoid the mess of natural peanut butter
- Chocolate chips: any kind of chocolate chips you like work for this. Like milk or sweet chocolate chips.
How to make no-bake peanut butter bars
- Line a pan with foil or parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
- Mix melted unsalted butter, pretzels, powdered sugar, and 1 cup of peanut butter in a large bowl until combined.
- Press the mixture firmly into the prepared pan.
- Heat the chocolate chips and the remaining peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second increments, stirring between each, until melted and smooth.
- Pour the chocolate peanut butter over the bars and spread to evenly coat.
- Chill for at least 1 hour to set, and slice into bars.
Expert Tips
- Be sure to measure the pretzels THEN finely crush them in a food processor or in a large bag with a rolling pin. If you measure the crushed pretzels the mixture will end up being too dry.
- For a thicker bar, make these in a 9×9-inch pan.
- Top with candy or chopped pretzels if you want!
FAQs
You may have added too much pretzels to your
These no-bake peanut butter bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator, depending on how warm your house is.
Yes. To freeze this no-bake peanut butter recipe, be sure to place your bars in a sealed bag or airtight container. Peanut butter bars stay fresh for up to 1 month if frozen.
No Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons (170g) unsalted butter melted
- 2 cups (70g) pretzels rods or twists , finely crushed
- 1½ cups (170g) powdered sugar
- 1¼ cups (300g) creamy peanut butter , divided
- 1 ½ cups (255g) milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Line a 9×13” pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
- Place melted butter, pretzels, powdered sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter in a large bowl. Mix by hand until combined. Press firmly into prepared pan.
- Place chocolate chips and remaining 1/4 cup peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat on HIGH power in 30 second increments, stirring between each, until melted and smooth. Pour over bars and spread with a spatula to evenly coat. Chill for at least 1 hour to set, slice into bars.
- These can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator, depending on how warm your house is. The chocolate will get melty if it’s too hot, so use your judgement on where you should store them.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- Be sure to measure the pretzels THEN finely crush them in a food processor or in a large bag with a rolling pin. If you measure the crushed pretzels the mixture will end up being too dry.
- For a thicker bar, make these in a 9×9-inch pan.
Recipe Nutrition
Other No Bake Bars
Last Updated on July 1, 2023
These were fantastic!
The dough was very soft. I certainly couldn’t press it into the pan. I will cool it in the fridge and see if then I can flatten it better. It tastes good though. Wondering if I shouldn’t of melted the butter.
My butter was melted when I made these, so that’s not it. Are you using real butter? Your peanut butter – is it the regular kind (like Skippy) or was it natural? I always use regular peanut butters (not anything that needs stirring) in my recipes, so that could be a culprit too. If the batter is too loose to press traditionally you can spray your hands with cooking spray to help. They should firm up in the refrigerator!
I tried to pin this page, but Pinterest said that there are no images on this page to pin!
Sometimes that happens to me when I use the bookmarklet lately. I usually wait a few seconds, scroll down the page, and/or use the pin button on the share bar or the photo. Hopefully that will work! I think pinterest has been buggy lately!
I had just enough of all the ingredients to make an 8×8 pan and it was perfect. I used chunky peanut butter and loved that slight change. I had to hide it in the fridge so I wouldn’t take a bite every single time I opened the door! I’ve found the crisper is a good hiding place for lots of things! Will, obviously, made again … and again! Thank you.
Haha, Jordan watches the Food Network? She is so your child.
Putting pretzels in PB bars is GENIUS!! Must try.
HOLY MOLY!!!! Jordan is a smart girl! I would totally eat a million of these myself-crazy addictive!
I love peanut butter bars and even more I love that these are no bake AND they are made with pretzels! If I didn’t just eat ice cream I would totally have made these right now! YUM! Gotta try em.
Thanks Jaclyn!! At least you’re good -I’d have eaten both, lol. 🙂
Dorothy
I made these this morning before I left for work so I dive into them when I got home…. they are AMAZING !
And EASY, and no bake !? I do believe this are going to be
DANGEROUS for sure ! : )
Right? SO dangerous! Glad you like them!
Jordan did a great job! So pretty and scrumptious looking! I have got to make these — pretzels, PB and chocolate, now that’s a combination that can’t be beat!
I am obsessed with anything peanut butter related so this recipe is definitely one that I need to recreate! These bars look super delicious.. pinned!
Thanks so much Thalia!
I need help according to directions! The last ingredient say milk OR chocolate chips? So, is the chocolate chips for the topping? And does that get mixed with the 1/4c. Peanut butter to make like a chocolate “frosting” on top? Then where does the milk come into play at if you don’t use the chocolate chips?
I apologize it should say milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips – I will fix that now. Basically, you can use any kind of chocolate chip you like.
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