Healthy Peanut Butter Chex Bars
Published 4/19/2024
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This easy-bake chocolate Peanut Butter Chex Bars use ingredients like Chex cereal, pretzel bits, creamy peanut butter, and melted chocolate to create delicious crunchy bars that make the perfect sweet treat for your weekly meal prep or as a great make-ahead snack for parties, road trips, hikes, and everything in between.
Remember those Kellogg cereal bars we used to eat when we were kids? Well, these cereal treats are a grown-up, chocolate-y version that will bring back all the nostalgia. And the crunched up pretzels on the top really take these to the next level 😏😏😏 Ever since we tested these, we’ve made sure to keep a batch on hand in the studio freezer. They’re a perfect treat with afternoon coffee.
To make this Chex bar recipe, just prepare your cinnamon-honey peanut butter mixture over the stove. Then mix in the Chex cereal and press it into a baking pan. Top with melted chocolate and pretzel pieces before chilling in the fridge for a couple of hours. YUM.
Peanut Butter Honey Chex Bars – What You’ll Need
- All-natural drippy peanut butter: Peanut butter gives these bars their deliciously nutty flavor. Use all-natural, unsweetened peanut butter for the best results.
- Honey: Honey is what binds the cereal mixture together and adds a touch of sweetness.
- Coconut oil: We used coconut oil in both the peanut butter mixture and to melt the chocolate chips. It helps give the bars a smoother texture and adds healthy fats.
- Cinnamon: A little bit of ground cinnamon adds a warm and cozy flavor to these bars.
- Rice Chex: These crispy rice cereal squares are the base of this recipe, making these bars crunchy. satisfying, and the best thing to snack on!
- Semisweet chocolate chips: We put a rich chocolate layer over these Chex bars to make them extra decadent.
- Pretzel pieces: The pretzels add a salty crunch and some variety of texture. Don’t skip ’em!
Tasty Swaps + Additions
Create something new and delicious every time you make these Chex bars by swapping or adding any of the following ingredients:
Rice Chex: We used rice Chex, but any type of Chex can be used, such as corn Chex, Chocolate Chex, or wheat Chex.
Chocolate chips: Swap the semi-sweet chocolate chips with white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, or peanut butter chips.
Toppings: Feel free to top the mixture with other ingredients along with the pretzels. Other cereal pieces would taste great, or make it extra decadent with mini marshmallows or chopped nuts. How fun!
try it!
Peanut Butter Cereal Bars
Love these chex bars? You HAVE to try our peanut butter cereal bars.
Batter too thick?
In step #2, if the peanut butter, honey, and coconut oil mixture isn’t thinning out, add another tablespoon of coconut oil.
Do I have to refrigerate these bars?
Allow these Chex bars to sit in the refrigerator long enough to set. If you’re in a time crunch, you can also set them in the freezer 😄
PS: Be sure you press mixture firmly enough into the bottom of the pan, or else the Chex may not stick together.
How to Store Peanut Butter Chex Bars
To store these peanut butter Chex bars, place them in an airtight container and keep them in the fridge for up to 5 days.
How do we store them? — in the freezer!
You can also freeze these bars for longer storage. Just allow them to set before slicing and storing in a freezer-safe bag. They will stay fresh for up to 3 months.
When ready to enjoy, let them thaw in the fridge before serving.
Peanut Butter Chex Bars Recipe
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Layer
- 2 cups all-natural drippy peanut butter
- ¾ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 6 cups rice Chex
Chocolate Layer
- 1.5 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- ½ cup pretzel bits
Instructions
- Line a 9×13-inch pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Heat the peanut butter, honey, coconut oil, and cinnamon in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir to combine and heat until melted and becomes glossy.
- Remove from heat and add the peanut butter mixture and Chex to a large bowl. Fold the ingredients together until the checks are coated in peanut butter.
- Pour the mixture into the lined pan and firmly press the chex down into the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
- Add the chocolate chips and coconut oil to a bowl and microwave on high for 20-second intervals, stirring after every interval, until the chocolate is melted and glossy.
- Pour the chocolate over the Chex and evenly spread the chocolate over the top of the Chex with a spatula. Top the chocolate with pretzel pieces.
- Transfer the pan into the fridge to set for 2 hours.
- Cut the Chex into squares and serve.
Tips & Notes
- We used rice Chex, but any type of Chex can be used.
- In step #2, if the peanut butter, honey, and coconut oil mixture isn’t thinning out, add another tablespoon of coconut oil.
- Be sure to press the Chex firmly enough into the bottom of the pan, or else the Chex may not stick together.
- Allow the Chex to sit in the refrigerator long enough to set.
- Feel free to top the mixture with other ingredients along with the pretzels.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Photography: photos taken in this post are by Erin from The Wooden Skillet.
Hey there! Wondering if there’s an effective way to make these less sweet? (Without sacrificing the chocolate 😉 have you tried with, say, 1/2 the amount of honey?? Would they stick together, then? Was looking for a less sweet, more salty + healthy version! (Craving peanut butter (sometimes with a little sweetness involved) during my 3rd trimester of pregnancy…and really anytime in life 😉 I added a couple scoops of collagen to mine + a scoop of PB powder to also boost the protein content, but then added another 1T of honey + a bit more coconut oil to compensate for the extra dry ingredients. (I hakved the recipe and pressed it into an 8×8 pan). Also used some dark choc. Chips for the topping)
I’m excited to try this (in the fridge cooking now). But I had to double the amount of chocolate chips and coconut oil. I couldn’t get 1.5 C of choc chips to cover the entire 9×13 pan.
Sorry – in the fridge cooling – not cooking!
I’m really excited about this recipe for chocolate Peanut Butter Chex Bars! It sounds so easy to make, and I love the combination of Chex cereal, pretzel bits, and creamy peanut butter.
Absolutely loved this recipe!! Thanks FFF!
Aw yay! So glad you loved these bars 😀
Saw these on instagram and immediately got the ingredients. Turned out so yummy.
Yay! So glad you loved these, Katie 🙂