No-Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Updated March 26, 2019
No-Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Chip Granola Bars are easy to make at home and taste MUCH better than store bought granola bars. They are a great back to school or anytime snack!
How is it already back to school time? The summer went way too fast. I know I don’t’ have to go back to school and Caleb is still too young, but still. I am not ready for fall just yet. I still want to enjoy the summer sun and pretend I am on summer break.
To help make the back to school transition a little easier I have a fun and easy recipe for you today, No-Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Chip Granola Bars. This easy granola bar recipe is a great back to school recipe. You can pack the granola bars in lunch boxes or save them for an easy after school snack.
I’ve always been a granola bar fan, but they are expensive to buy at the store and some ingredient lists can be long and scary. I prefer to make my own to save money and so I know exactly what is going in them.
I love these No-Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Chip Granola bars because they are beyond easy to make and they are SO good. They are chewy with a little crunch from the pretzels and crispy cereal. I love the peanut butter, pretzel, and chocolate combo too. You can’t go wrong with sweet and salty if you ask me!
I chill the bars for about 30 minutes before cutting them. They will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week. They might last longer, but they have never lasted longer than a week in our house.
You are going to want to have these No-Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Chip Granola Bars on hand all school year long. They are the best snack ever! Your kids are going to thank you when they find a granola bar waiting for them in their lunchbox or on the counter when they come home from school.
Adults and parents-I won’t tell if you make a batch just for yourself. I know you are going to want to hide some granola bars from the kids so you can have a tasty snack too! They are great to take on road trips, picnics, or for an easy on the go breakfast or snack!
Start the school year off right by making these easy homemade granola bars. They are better and healthier than store bought granola bars!
You might also enjoy my other easy granola bar recipes:
- No-Bake Sunflower Butter Granola Bars
- No-Bake Almond Granola Bars
- No-Bake Biscoff Granola Bars
- Blueberry Coconut Granola Bars
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
No-Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups quick oats
- 1/2 cup crispy rice cereal
- 3/4 cup chopped pretzels
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Cut out an 8 x 8 inch square of parchment paper. Place the parchment paper in the bottom of an 8 x 8 inch baking pan.
- In a large sauce pan, add butter, brown sugar, honey and peanut butter. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture starts to bubble. Once bubbling, cook for 2 minutes while stirring. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Stir in the oats, crispy cereal, and pretzels. Stir until well coated. Pour into the prepared pan. Press the mixture evenly into the pan. Sprinkle the mini chocolate chips over the top and gently press into the granola bars with your hands.
- Place the bars in the refrigerator and let cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting. Cut into bars and serve.
- Note-I store the bars in the refrigerator. I've kept them in the fridge for up to a week and they are still tasty! For gluten-free, use gf oats and pretzels.
Have you tried this recipe?
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Love. Peanut butter granola bars are my absolute favorite, and these look so close to what you can purchase I can’t wait to try.
I have to say these are amazing! I make my kids lunches for school and am always looking for something new to add to their lunches. These are great and I have to hide them from myself they are just a great combination. You taste a little bit of each item when you take a bite and you know what is in them and that is important to us. Thanks again. Will make again and again.
These are so amazing. My kids cannot get enough of them. They prefer these 10 folds to a store brand. Keep up the amazing work. My family loves all the recipes I have made off this site!!
These sound so good. I don’t like pretzels…do you have a suggestion on what I can substitute? Thank you.
You can leave them out and add more oats.
I am on my fourth batch of these. I have been making double batches because they disappear so quickly. Have been using half old fashioned oats and half quick oats and also half creamy peanut butter and half dark chocolate peanut butter spread. I use peanut butter chips and chocolate chips on top and they are amazing! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe! I had ran out a couple days ago and asked my fiancé what he wanted in his lunch instead (I hsd some store bought granola bars) he insisted on nothing unless it was these. I am going to try some with banana chips next. Who doesn’t love peanut butter with bananas?
So glad you like the granola bars! Banana sounds like a great addition!
We have peanut allergies. Can I skip the PB? Will it change the flavor completely?
Made these on the weekend, they are so delicious! Great recipe and they stay nice and chewy!
Thanks for sharing this recipe. They were so easy to make, and my kids loved them. I made a few changes.
http://whatthedogate.blogspot.com/2015/05/homemade-granola-bars.html
I just made these and not quite thirty minutes out, they taste great. I’m just waiting for the setting part to occur. I used what was on hand. Substituted agave for honey, used dried peanut butter with a splash of water, added a 1/2 c. more of oats instead of rice cereal, instead of pretzels, I used a combined amount of raw cashews, sliced almonds, and flax seed. Seriously, yummy!
“Note-I store the bars in the refrigerator. I’ve kept them in the fridge for up to a week and they are still tasty!”
How cute! This tiny recipe lasted a week in her home.
I remember those days.
Can I use salted butter?
Yes!
I made these granola bars yesterday for home ec with two grandsons. They are delicious, however, they mostly crumbled. Any suggestions?
Can’t send peanut butter to schools in Canada due to food allergies, I’m surprised its allowed in the US?
Those granola bars look really good and sound easy to make. Since you keep them in the refrigerator, are they hard to eat, or are they still chewy?
You can let them sit out for a few minutes if you want. They aren’t hard but will be cold and chewy:)
I love your enthusiasm, your simple ingredients and instructions,…and tug exdelicious product!
Absolutely love your recipes and site. Quick question, can I used rolled oats instead of quick oats?
Hi there,
How would I make these in a 9×13 dish, an 8×8 dish would be gone in no time around here Sounds like a great recipe, thanks
I’ve made these countless times, everyone at my house loves them!
Can old-fashioned oats be used instead of quick ones?
I like to use quick oats instead of old fashioned because the smaller oats hold the bars together better. If you have old fashioned oats you can pulse them a few times in a food processor or blender.
I have made these bars about six thousand times and they are such a hit among my kids! To the above commenter, I always use old-fashioned oats without any issue.
Because I knew these would be fantastic, I started right off with making a double batch in two separate pans, then froze half and left the other half for my husband to devour. And they ARE fantastic! I love how the bars stick together nicely, and the balance of sweet and salty is good (I used salted butter, because it’s what I have and what I enjoy). I’m looking forward to using these as hiking fuel. Thanks for the recipe.