Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Granola Bars are quick, a no-bake recipe, and a sweet and salty combination that the whole family will love. Try this homemade granola bar recipe and you'll be hooked on the crunchy goodness!
Your family will thank you for making these yummy granola bars too: Crunchy Oat and Honey Granola Bars, White Chocolate and Craisin Granola Bars and My Favorite Blueberry Pecan Granola Bar Recipe.
Homemade Granola Bar Recipe with Salty Pretzels
Just few weeks ago we got home from a super fast but really fun vacation to Yellowstone. We live about 10 hours away which in all reality is pretty close. My husband and I had both never been, we were planning to visit my sister in Idaho to enjoy her new baby anyhow, and it all just seemed to work out for us to go visit that amazing park. I spent WEEKS getting ready, planning and preparing meals to stick in the freezer and crock-pot while we were there (our little cabin had electricity but no water), making snacks, and preparing to take 4 adults (2 of my younger siblings went) and 3 kids on an epic journey. I made all kinds of things and I just have to share our very favorite with you: chocolate peanut butter pretzel granola bars. This my friends is the king of all homemade granola bar recipes.
No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola Bars
These homemade granola bars are quick, easy, no-bake, and delicious. You seriously can't go wrong with the combo of peanut butter and chocolate with those crunchy salty pretzels thrown in. Everyone on the trip went nuts over them and I'll admit that I ate a quiet a few while I was packing them and taking pictures. They were totally addicting and the perfect sweet and salty snack. I'll be making these again!
And here are those nummy little morsels in all of their food photography glory (just kidding... they were so hard to photograph!):
And while I was munching on them in the car one of these walked by. Crazy!
And then after hauling all these kiddos around. I ate another. With all the hiking and merriment the calories went right out the window if you ask me and I felt no guilt munching on one just about every time we stopped the car and I could dig into the cooler.
And then the baby enjoyed one in the sand at Yellowstone Lake. Seriously guys, they were amazing. And so are you... thanks a bunch for reading. I sure like you.
Can I Cut this Granola Bar Recipe in Half?
Of course! You can easily half this recipe and put it in an 8x8 pan if you like.
What are Your Favorite Pretzels for this Granola Bar Recipe?
I'm addicted to Snyder's of Hanover Butter Snap Pretzels and those are the ones shown. They are SO good in this.
Can You Freeze Homemade Granola Bars?
You can freeze granola bars just as you would cookies. Make sure they are stored in an airtight container or Ziploc bag to maintain optimal freshness.
Video of how to make chocolate peanut butter pretzel granola bars:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Granola Bars
- Total Time: 12 minutes
- Yield: 16-20 granola bars 1x
Description
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Granola Bars are quick, a no-bake recipe, and a sweet and salty combination that the whole family will love. Try this homemade granola bar recipe and you'll be hooked on the crunchy goodness!
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups old-fashioned or quick oats
- 1 cup crispy rice cereal
- 2 cup chopped pretzels
- ⅔ cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Cut out a piece of parchment paper the width of a 9x13 inch baking dish. The paper can hang over the ends and then it'll be easy to pull the goodies out of the pan to cut. Place the paper in the bottom of the dish.
- In a small sauce pan combine the butter, sugar, honey, peanut butter, and vanilla. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring often, until it starts to bubble. Once it starts to bubble let the mixture cook for 2 minutes.
- In a large bowl combine the oats, rice cereal, and broken pretzels. After the butter mixtures' two minute cook time, pour the hot liquid over the oat mixture and stir well to combine.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and press the mixture evenly into the pan. The bottom of a measuring cups works well for this. Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the top of the granola bars and gently press them into place. Put the pan in the fridge to cool before cutting.
- To cut into bars remove from the pan by pulling on the over hanging parchment paper. Place on a cutting board and cut with a sharp knife.
- Store in the fridge or they get too sticky. They were SO tasty cold.
Notes
- You can easily half this recipe and put it in an 8x8 pan if you like.
- I'm addicted to Snyder's of Hanover Butter Snap Pretzels and those are the ones shown. They are SO good in this.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 minutes
- Category: Snack
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Bar
- Calories: 438
- Sugar: 19.5g
- Sodium: 110.4mg
- Fat: 15.7g
- Carbohydrates: 68.2g
- Protein: 11.6g
- Cholesterol: 15.3mg
Keywords: granola bar recipe, homemade granola bar recipe, how to make granola bars, chocolate chip granola bar recipe, peanut butter granola bar recipe
The recipes is slightly adapted from Maria over at Two Peas and Their Pod. Do you know her? She blogs up in Salt Lake and is one of the few big-time bloggers that I've met a few times in real life. She's a lot of fun and her recipes are always top-notch.
I have a thing for homemade granola bars, here are a few more recipes you might like!
- The Best Chocolate Chip Granola Bar Recipe
- 8 Easy Homemade Granola Bar Recipes You Should Try TODAY (so this is a base recipe with 8 really delicious variations)
- White Chocolate and Craisin Granola Bars
- Homemade Cinnamon Granola Recipe
- My Favorite Blueberry Pecan Granola Bar Recipe
- Healthy Homemade Snack Bars Recipe
- Crunchy Oat and Honey Granola Bars
- Healthy Honey Coconut Granola Recipe
These homemade granola bars are quick, easy, no-bake, and delicious. You seriously can't go wrong with the combo of peanut butter and chocolate with those crunchy salty pretzels thrown in.
Ally
I tried a small batch using just peanut butter and Nutella to see if it would hold- it's a little soft, but I think I put too much peanut butter as I couldn't taste the Nutella and too much rice cereal as it was a bit too crunchy- I may add more oats and some butter to further solidify the mixture. I need to tweak it to hold as bars as right now it's very soft and crumbly.
Melissa
That sounds so good! Thank you for taking the time to let us know what you tried, that's always helpful for others and myself!
Ally
Hello,
I would like to make this recipe , but was wondering if I could reduce the brown sugar, honey, and butter to 1/3 cup each and increase the peanut butter to 1 cup. I don't want the bars to be super sweet, but I still want them to hold. Do you think they would hold and they will not be too crumbly/salty/too peanut buttery due to the peanut butter? Do you have any suggestions on how I can reduce the sugar in this recipe and still keep the soft and chewy texture?
Thank you.
Ally
Also, I was wondering if I wanted to make these Nutella and peanut butter granola bars, can I use 3/4 cup peanut butter, 1/2 cup Nutella, and 1/8 cup brown sugar and 1./8 cup honey or will the bars not be chewy and hold? What ratio of peanut butter and Nutella would you suggest without losing chewiness and flavor and not be overwhelmingly sweet?
Melissa
I haven't played around much with subbing things out but you could try it. If they don't stay together you could always just roll them into little balls and eat them like energy bites. Sounds delicious, but I have no clue if it'll work or not. If you try it I'd love to know how it turns out for you!
Melissa
Not sure how it would turn out as I haven't tried it myself. Will you let me know if you do try it and if it works for you?
kaila
I just discovered these 2 weeks ago and made a batch. I think someone measured wrong while my kids were helping because there wasn't enough wet ingredients to go into the dry. They were still super yummy though. Making another batch tonight.