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 1/4 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:
- 3/4 cup (170.25 g) butter, melted
- 3/4 cup (193.5 g) peanut butter, melted
- 1/2 cup (91 g) powdered Swerve Sweetener, (more if you like it sweeter)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups (200 g) peanut flour, the roasted, defatted variety
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
Chocolate Glaze:
- 3 ounces (85.05 g) sugar-free dark chocolate, chopped
- 2 tbsp 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.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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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!
So glad you like them!
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.)
Hi Carolyn,
Can I substitute Peanut butter for Almond Butter?
If you like!
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.
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.
Hi. I tried the almond meal and coconut flour mixture but the measurements were way off. Have you had any success?
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.
Ooooops, sorry, I thought the first post didn’t go through. I looked for a way to delete it, but couldn’t find one.
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.
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. 🙁
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.
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!
yes!
Absolutely delicious and so easy!
These are so good! We’ve been eating Keto for about 3 years now; we like to have a little dessert each evening; we have this often, broken or cut up into pieces with whipped cream on top. As with most keto sweet recipes, I whittled down the sweetener to our liking; now just use about 4 TBSP Swerve Confectioners in the single batch. (but use Lily’s chips in the topping so that adds some sweetener too”. Thanks for the fabulous recipe, Carolyn! Your recipes are always reliably delicious!
So glad you like them!
These are just the best! They’ve been my go to snack since I discovered Carolyn’s blog years ago. Back in the ’70’s we were using peanut meal to feed cattle. I would bring it home from the mill still hot and I always thought it smelled good enough to eat.Now it’s a regular part of my diet.
hey young lady..
these came out great….first time with peanut flour…I use sweetners w.out erithrotol..and in this formula..works great…!
When I make this recipe it is hard to share with others .
I love this recipe, the flavor is great!
Thank you!
Great Recipe
Just ok, I couldn’t find pea flour. I used peanut butter and usually love that but this wasn’t very pb tasting.
This doesn’t take pea flour. It takes peanut flour… it won’t have a lot of peanut flavor if you don’t use the peanut flour.
Just made them and they are in the fridge. They tasted awesome, so far. I had PB2 but with cocoa so needless to say they are very chocolately looking but still taste like PB. I was thinking of adding crushed pecans on top?