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 butter melted
- 3/4 cup peanut butter melted
- 1/2 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener (more if you like it sweeter)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups peanut flour the roasted, defatted variety
- 1/4 tsp salt
Chocolate Glaze:
- 3 ounces 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.
Sharron says
Absolutely delicious. I had to locķ the fridge so my son won’t eat them all 🤣
Leila says
Carolyn,
Thank you for the delicious and easy recipe. I am peanut butter lover and it was really great to find this recipe. I made it today following your instructions and it turned out great!
Thank you
Leila
Hayley says
I just made these and they’re chilling in the fridge. I’m so so excited to try them tomorrow. They were so easy to make. I’m thinking that if I were to change out the peanut flour for almond or coconut and add peppermint extract to the chocolate I’d get more of a peppermint patty bar. I saw someone else changing out the flour for a mix of those two. Definitely excited to try and make more recipes from the site!
Linda B Short says
I was buying the expensive sugar free PB cups. Now I can make my own. Very good! Thank you!
Louise Hinckley says
These are fabulous!!!
Just delicious. I was surprised how filling they are. I was afraid I’d want to just keep eating them but I was satisfied with just one. Not to say I’m not looking forward to another tomorrow!
Thanks!
Louise Hinckley says
These are fabulous!!!
Just delicious. I was surprised how filling they are. I was afraid I’d want to just keep them but I was satisfied with just one. But I’m looking forward to another tomorrow!
Thanks!
Austin says
how do you melt peanut butter, in the microwave?
Jen says
There really isn’t a combination better than chocolate and peanut butter! So glad I can enjoy these again and stay on track.
Matt Taylor says
I love peanut butter and chocolate! This is such a great keto treat. 🙂
rac says
These are addictingly delicious! Love them! I love that they are low carb too!
Candis says
Outstanding! Best keto treat I’ve had. I cut each bar in 4 ths. So I can stop myself. I just eat 2 small squares after dinner. It satisfies me. Thank you for this awesome recipe!!!
Deborah M Kloss says
Another instant favorite….thank you so much for your simple and delicious recipes! I am so glad to have peanut butter back in my keto diet. I missed it! Thank you again.
Lynn says
Another great one!
Thank you, Carolyn…the Peanut Butter Bars came out delicious and look just as pictured. Perfect as-is, no mods.
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Jamie says
These were so quick and easy to make. I used the almond flour and coconut flour combo and added a bit more almond flour to get what I thought was the right consistency. It worked well, and these are soooo delicious.
Carolyn says
Glad it worked out!
Beth Hall says
Just made these. OMG delicious. I used the Walmart 85% dark chocolate (1 carb and 2 Tbs of half and half for the topping. It tastes like a ganache.
Mary Cottingham says
These are sooooo good! I make them often.
Jenna says
Love these! I always have some in the freezer. I just made a batch with all natural chunky peanut butter.
Anna says
These are more delicious than I remember PB Cups being. Caroyln, you have out-done yourself AGAIN! This is a family favorite and becoming a staple 🙂 I cut my bars in much smaller pieces, so they last longer. THANK YOU!!!!!
Alicia says
Hi there I wish we could
search all the comments for a keyword. I read through them, but may have missed what I’m looking for. Has anyone made this recipe into PB Balls? Did the shape hold well? Thank you!
Carolyn says
That’s because I have another recipe specifically for peanut butter balls: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/peanut-butter-cookie-dough-truffles-low-carb-and-gluten-free/
MelB says
I saws another similar recipe that used chick peas and had planned to make that until I saw this… so I created a combo.
I added 1 can of chopped chick peas, drained and rinsed. I couldn’t find peanut flour so I used PB2 and used a combo of that plus almond flour, reduced the butter and added a cup of real maple syrup instead of the Stevia blend. I used dark chocolate chips for the top. Not exactly Keto anymore but still high in protein and gluten free which is what I was going for. Texture and flavor appear similar to the original recipe. Thanks!