5-Ingredient Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars (Gluten Free)

I’m such a sucker for a peanut butter dessert. I love meal prepping a good-for-you dessert early in the week and have it to snack on throughout the week. You guys know I’m celiac so these gluten free peanut butter oatmeal bars are the perfect soft and chewy, but also made in less than 30 minutes with 5 base ingredients!

These peanut butter oatmeal bars are PACKED with peanut butter…but I mean honestly, is there really such a thing as “too much peanut butter?? Absolutely not. This easy gluten free dessert recipe has peanut butter in the base recipe as well as melted, gooey peanut butter cups on top.

If you love easy gluten free dessert recipes with peanut butter, you’ll love these peanut butter marshmallow dream bars and these peanut butter cookie bars.

why you’ll love this gluten free recipe

• These peanut butter oatmeal bars are wholesome, quick, and easy to make with minimal ingredients and a whole lot of taste!
• This recipce has a small ingredient and big flavor. These peanut butter bars have no butter, no oil and no eggs!
• These gluten free oatmeal bars are the perfect after-school snack or late night dessert. They’re very quick, super easy, and even kids will love them! You could even argue them as a breakfast option, no judgement here!
• This recipe makes for the perfect comfort food! When I’m sad or stressed I always want something warm with peanut butter. I love bringing these to a potluck because no one ever knows they are actually gluten free and I get to safely enjoy them!
• These peanut butter oatmeal bars are soft, moist and not dry in the slightest! Everytime I bring it to a party or get together no one even knows they are gluten free!
• The best part about this recipe is that it is a one bowl recipe…which means only one bowl to make it, especially if you line the baking pan with parchment paper. Then there is only one bowl to clean up! My ideal situation since I hate doing dishes.
• This recipe is allergy friendly. You can use gluten free flour like I did for gluten free oatmeal bars. You can use dairy free chocolate chips for an easy dairy free recipe!
• These banana oatmeal bars are an easy freezer friendly dessert recipe, which means it is a great option to just pull out whenever you need dessert.

ingredients & substitutions

Gluten-Free Flour: This helps bind the ingredients and make sure the bars aren’t too mushy. If you don’t have gluten free flour you can grind up gluten free oats.

Gluten-Free Oats: I always prefer old-fashioned oats because they are sturdy and hold up better whe baking. Plus they give a little more texture and don’t get mushy as fast. You can also use quick-cooking oats if thats what you have at home!

Peanut butter: You can also use almond butter, cashew butter, crunchy peanut butter, chunky peanut butter or creamy peanut butter. I like the organic peanut butter from Trader Joes.

Mashed banana: I used mashed banana here to avoid using oil. It helps to make the peanut butter oatmeal bars and fluffy instead of oily. You can also use applesauce instead if you have that on hand instead!

directions

Step 1

In a large bowl, combine the flour, gluten-free oats, nut butter, mashed bananas and chocolate chips. Mix until well combined.

Step 2

Line a 8×8 pan with parchment paper to ensure easy removal.

Step 3

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.

Step 4

Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Step 5

Remove the gluten free oatmeal bars from the oven and top with peanut butter cups. Return to the oven for an additional 5 minutes, or until the peanut butter cups are melted.

Step 6

Let the peanut butter oatmeal bars cool completely in the pan before slicing and serving.

expert tips & tricks

I love a dessert recipe where you could easily adapt to using your favorite mix-ins or whatever you have on hand! If you don’t have peanut butter cups to put on top you can use chocolate chips, M&M’s, sprinkes, etc in your gluten free oatmeal bars.

If you want your peanut butter oatmeal bars to be thicker, use an 8×8 square pan. I also like to double this recipe to bake in a 13×9-inch baking pan.

serving, storing and meal prepping

This peanut butter oatmeal bars recipe can be served warm right out of the oven, at room temperature or even refrigerated! The cold bars are almost as good as the warm bars!

To store, I let the peanut butter oatmeal bars cool completely before refrigerating in an airtight container for up to four days.

For longer storage, I love to portion the gluten free oatmeal bars into freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 2 months.

Looking for more allergy friendly easy recipe?

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