These easy keto peanut butter bars are the ultimate low carb treat! They are completely sugar free and grain free, and my kids swear they taste like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
Trigger warning! If peanut butter is your kryptonite, you may just want to look away for a while. Because these keto peanut butter bars are bound to make you weak in the knees. They are no bake bars, and so easy to make, even your kids could do it on their own.
If you’ve followed me for a while, you know that peanut butter is my jam. I have so many delicious keto peanut butter recipes, and about a zillion ideas in my brain for more. I’m never ever going to stop making delicious sugar free treats with peanut butter. Never ever. Don’t even TRY to convince me otherwise.
Some of my most popular keto peanut butter desserts include: Keto Peanut Butter Brownies, Keto Peanut Butter Dirt Cake, and the brand new but insanely popular Keto Peanut Butter Pie.
My recipe for these no bake peanut butter bars has been around forever, almost from the moment I started blogging. It used to be part of a very old collaborative low carb cookbook, but I decided to share it on the blog back in January of 2016. And today, I decided to update it with a new new video.
So now I can show you just how insanely easy these are to make.
Is peanut butter keto?
This is a question I get from readers frequently. And it stems from a misunderstanding about what the keto diet really is.
The most basic definition is as follows: a keto diet is any diet that keeps you in ketosis. The food itself is not “keto” because anything in tiny quantities will not kick most people out of ketosis. This means that even a small bite of banana or potato could be part of a keto diet, if you really wanted to work it into your macros.
This is not something I really recommend, since tiny amounts of old high carb favorites are not very satisfying. They may also trigger cravings and you could easily find yourself overeating.
So why do some people say peanut butter is not keto? Because there are many specific keto “programs” and keto “coaches” that have approved and not approved food lists. And because peanuts are technically legumes similar to beans, some programs have put them on the naughty list.
There is nothing about the lowly peanut that makes it keto or not keto. It’s actually quite a low carb food choice. So if you are like me, and simply do keto your own way (which is whatever way that keeps you in ketosis), then peanuts and peanut butter can be part of your healthy diet.
I don’t recommend eating it by the spoonful or even eating it every day. But the occasional keto peanut butter treat is usually not a problem for most keto dieters.
How to make easy keto peanut butter bars
Did I mention how easy these no bake bars are to make? Yes? Well let me say it again: they are ridiculously easy. They take only 6 basic ingredients, and come to together in about 15 minutes.
My recipe for keto peanut butter bars takes peanut flour, and I get a number of questions about what that is and whether you can use other keto flours instead. Here’s what I can tell you:
- Peanut flour is a good choice for a number of reasons. Peanut flour is basically peanuts that have been roasted and ground to a fine powder, so it helps intensify the peanut butter flavor of the bars.
- The powdery consistency is what gives these bars their unique texture. The dough becomes like cookie dough and is soft enough to be pressed into a pan but firm enough that the bars are solid at room temperature.
- Peanut butter powder and PBFit are essentially the same thing and work just as well. Just make sure that whatever you choose, it does not contain any added sugars. The original PBFit has sugar, but there is also a sugar-free version made with monk fruit. This will make your bars sweeter so you may want to cut back on the powdered sweetener.
- You can use almond flour but it has a higher fat content than peanut flour, so you will need more of it to achieve the same dough-like texture. I actually recommend a combination of almond and coconut flour to get the right consistency: about 2 cups almond flour and ¼ cup coconut flour.
- You will know you have the right consistency, no matter what flour you use, when the dough holds together and really feels like cookie dough. Actually, the consistency is more like play dough. A big edible ball of low carb play dough!
How to store Keto Peanut Butter Bars
The great news is that because these bars have nothing in them that spoils easily, they can be made well in advance.
I recommend storing them in the fridge in a covered container, so that they don’t get overly soft. They do stay firm at room temperature for a few hours, if you don’t live in a hot climate. The chocolate topping could get mighty soft and melty in the summer!
They can last up to 3 weeks, if properly stored and refrigerated. To freeze, I would wrap up the bars tightly in plastic wrap, to avoid freezer burn. They can be frozen for several months.
Ready to make these delicious and easy No Bake Peanut Butter Bars?
More keto recipes that use peanut flour
- Keto Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Keto Peanut Butter Cookies for Two
- Keto Peanut Butter Eggs
- Peanut Flour Cake
- Keto Peanut Butter Scones
Keto Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Bars:
- ¾ cup butter melted
- ¾ cup peanut butter melted
- ½ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener (more if you like it sweeter)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups peanut flour the roasted, defatted variety
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Chocolate Glaze:
- 3 ounces sugar-free dark chocolate chopped
- 2 tablespoon butter
Instructions
Peanut Butter Bars:
- Line an 8x8 or 9x9 pan with wax paper or parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine melted butter, melted peanut butter, sweetener, vanilla, and salt. Stir in peanut flour until dough comes together (it will be like a dough, not like a batter).
- Press dough firmly and evenly into prepared baking pan. To really get it even, cover it with more wax paper or parchment paper and use a flat-bottomed glass or measuring cup to press).
Chocolate Glaze:
- Set a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, and add the chopped chocolate and butter. Stir until melted and smooth.
- Pour over bars and use a knife or offset spatula to spread to the edges. Refrigerate 1 hour until set.
Gunda says
Peanut flour is almost impossible to come by in my country. Would almond flour make a one to one substitute?
Carolyn says
If you can get coconut flour, do a combo of almond and coconut. 2 cups almond and add coconut flour by the tbsp until you have a stiff dough.
Julie says
First time using this recipe, though it seems similar to the Keto PB easter egg one. Once again we skipped the chocolate part and simply pressed the PB dough into silicone candy molds which I then freeze. Easy pop out of mold when frozen. I use Anthony’s organic peanut flour that we buy at Amazon, and it works perfectly every time with the Trader Joes natural creamy PB with salt, and Kerrygold salted butter. Crazy good little fat bombs that get us over periods of craving. Made 36 fat bombs with my Christmas molds, but great for every holiday! One tip for those having problems with measurement of ingredients is to get a kitchen scale that weighs in grams and click on the metric choice under the recipe. Makes these recipes just about foolproof. Really appreciate this feature. Have to confess I was doing the metric calculations myself, until I finally noticed the conversion option. Very fabulous and very much appreciated!
El says
I’ve made several times for myself and to freeze for my mom to have treats. always a hit. only comment is for me, 2 cups is never enough peanut flour. it’s no biggie, I just add more little by little till it’s dough like. usually another cup or so. all other ingredients I follow to the recipe. I’ve tried weighing it, but oddly enough each jar of PB fit has different gram amount for the same 2 tbsp. lol so I used a measuring cup and same issue so I eyeball it now.
I’ve made in a pan and cut but it’s hard to get small enough pieces (I don’t like too much sweet) so this time I tried a mini muffin tins. still a bit too big. next time I think I’ll roll into little balls and just toss into the chocolate then lay out and freeze that way.
love this recipe… best one I’ve found! thank you
Carolyn says
What brand of peanut flour are you using?
Ali says
Hi! I just found this recipe and have not tried it yet. Is it possible to substitute some combination of finely sifted almond flour, tapioca flour, or Krusteazz GF All purpose flour for the peanut flour? I would like to try this out in the next couple of days, but won’t have time to shop for peanut flour beforehand.
Carolyn says
Sounds like you need to experiment! The important part is to get it like a stiff dough so feel free to play around with it.
El says
please don’t use regular flour bc it needs to be cooked. you can get very ill. almond flour works for no bake recipes. just may need a different amount so add a bit at a time to you reach the right consistency.
Sandra Femino says
Could you tell me how to make these using ALL peanut flour and not suing any peanut butter?
Carolyn says
Sorry, no. That’s not how I made mine so I wouldn’t know how to do that.
Helene says
I just finished making these. The dough was perfect using the peanut flour. I am taking them to a family dinner today. I’m sure they will be a hit.
Wendy W says
Our favorite treat! Intense peanut butter flavor and so easy to throw together. I double the recipe and freeze them so they’re ready when we need a fix. Thanks for all you do, Carolyn!
Annie B says
Freezing the too-wet batter worked great! Froze it in pan for about 35 minutes, melted the choc. & butter and poured it over the top, then followed directions to refrigerate for about an hour. It came out just as pictured! I did sprinkle coarse kosher salt over the top to bring out the best chocolate flavor in the topping–it tasted fantastic after that. Now to avoid eating too many. (I am keeping them in the freezer as the chocolate is quite melty, esp. in this weather.)
Annie B says
I can’t really rate this, because it just did not work for me. The consistency remained soupy, even after I added additional 3/4-1C dry PB powder. Am I supposed to stir everything for a really long time? Should I have let the melted butter and peanut butter cool down before adding PB powder or flour? (But the butter would have solidified).
Can you advise?
Carolyn says
If you are using the correct ingredients, there is no way this becomes soupy. So I suspect you have some other form of peanut butter powder that’s not what I used here. can you please tell me the brand?
Annie B. says
I used PBFit. However, it is very hot and humid here. Two days ago I tried to make a cream cheese frosting for a birthday cake and it, too, just remained too soupy. With your peanut butter bars, after pouring the batter in the pan I froze it and they came out great.
Carolyn says
Humidity shouldn’t change it that much. Peanut flour is VERY absorbent and the dough actually becomes super stiff most of the time. Not sure what’s causing this for you!
Annie B says
Thank you for your thoughtful replies! I’m very happy with the result, although they are addictive, so I eat too many! I will make these again.
Carolyn says
Glad you still enjoyed them.
Martha says
I have made these 2x now and I love them. The only thing I changed is I used almond flour and they came out great. Thank you so much for your recipe.
Sandra Femino says
I LOVE these…have made them many times. Was wondering if I could us all peanut flour and eliminate the peanut butter?
Carolyn says
It would be too dry.
Vickie Buettner says
Absolutely LOVE these bars!!!
Thank you for sharing your recipe!!
Monique says
These are wonderful!! I make a full batch and when they are waning I make more. I have used chocolate peanut butter powder for part of the recipe and it is good as well as plain peanut powder. I love these bars, they make me feel like I’m getting my treats!
Carolyn says
So glad you like them!
GB says
We make the almond flour version of this quite often. We use the Dark Lily’s chips, and usually add a bit more chocolate as the chips don’t add much in the way of carbs.
But I’ve also recently discovered Good Good Peanut Butter which is 1 net carb per tablespoon, and really delicious. And it lowers the carbs on the bars, making them an even better treat. (We get it on sale locally for much less than on their site.)
Joan Ferrato says
Hi Carolyn,
Can I substitute Peanut butter for Almond Butter?
Carolyn says
If you like!
Lauren says
hi there. I’m going to try ro make these for Christmas and have a couple questions. I typically ground peanuts to make my own peanut butter. Can I use that instead?
And since I don’t want to go buy another flour…I believe you mentioned I could mix almond and coconut. Is that correct? PB and chocolate is my weakness. I almost don’t even want to try this in fear I may eat whole pan.
Carolyn says
peanut flour is very powdery and dry so it’s not the same as ground peanuts. For almond flour, try 2 cups plus about 1/4 cup coconut flour.
Tammy says
Hi. I tried the almond meal and coconut flour mixture but the measurements were way off. Have you had any success?
Carolyn says
Not sure what you mean by measurements were off. I don’t give exact measurements for that substitution… rather I say to add coconut flour until the dough seems right.
Lynn Ellis says
Ooooops, sorry, I thought the first post didn’t go through. I looked for a way to delete it, but couldn’t find one.
Lynn Ellis says
Hi Carolyn: Do you know how many pans of these Peanut Butter Bars I’ve made and eaten since I found the recipe a year or so ago? No? Well, I don’t remember either. I’m thinking my dog and cat must be getting into them because I’m the only human in the house.
Have you ever tried a ‘faux’ date square recipe? I LOVE the ‘real’ ones, however, I have T1 Diabetes and have to be careful with these things. That’s why I LOVE your recipes.
I believe you grew up in Western Canada(?). I’m from PEI, way on the other coast. Love your Canadian treats, too. Nanaimo Bars…..etc.
Thank you for all the great creations you come up with. My fav site.
Keep up with the creating and baking. Take care.
Carolyn says
I grew up in Toronto, actually! My mum used to make fabulous date squares. The problem is that there is no way to make dates low carb. 🙁
Lynn Ellis says
Hi Carolyn: Do you know how many pans of these Peanut Butter Bars I’ve made and eaten since I found the recipe a year or two ago? No, well, even I can’t remember how many. I have my latest batch in the freezer. By the way, the dog and cat must be getting into them because I’m the only human in the house.
I’ve been wanting to ask…have you ever come up with a faux date square recipe? I LOVE the ‘real’ date squares and often wondered if a faux square would be any good. I have T1 Diabetes so have to be very careful. That’s why I love your recipes.
I believe you’re from Western Canada(?) and I’m from PEI, way on the other coast.
I do believe I’m going to try the Snickers Mini Cheese Cakes. That came in my gmail this past week, I think.
Thank you for all the work you do to create these incredible recipes. Take care.
Suzanne says
Can coconut oil be used in place of the butter for both the Peanut Butter Bar portion and the Chocolate Glaze portion? Apologies if this question was already addressed. Huge fan of your site, Carolyn!
Carolyn says
yes!