If you love the idea of a simple, layered and almost no-bake treat, you can bring that dream into reality with these vegan chocolate peanut butter bars which are so delicious!
There are three layers which are a chocolate almond base, a peanut butter filling in the center and a chocolate topping. All three are super easy to make and I genuinely can't choose a favorite from them. They're all so complimentary to each other.
The crunchiness of the crust combined with the creaminess of the peanut butter filling and chocolate topping makes these bars truly heavenly and irresistible.
Other simple bar recipes that I think you'll love, are my vegan blueberry cheesecake bars, vegan caramel slices and vegan banoffee bars recipes, all of which I have made at home recently.
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Why You Will Love These Bars
- Little Baking - My favorite thing about this recipe, is that it is very hands-off. Once you have made all of the easy layers, you let the fridge do the work while the bars chill. There's only one little bit of baking that you need to do. The base goes into the oven for roughly 10 minutes.
- Great Textures - When you take a bite into one of these chocolate peanut butter almond bars, it triggers so many sensations at once. The richness of the chocolate has a great balance with the dry-roasted peanut butter flavors. Then suddenly, the almond base comes into play. It's subtle hint of cocoa and maple syrup completes the mash-up.
- Comforting - These bars are often my go-to comfort snack at the moment. The three layers really are so perfect for each other, and the bars also make a great fall recipe too. Some other tasty fall recipes which are cozy and homely include my vegan twix cookies and vegan pumpkin brownies.
- Allergy Friendly & Plant Based - This vegan chocolate peanut butter almond bars recipe is entirely vegan, gluten free and dairy free.
Ingredients Notes
- Almond meal - This is the same thing as almond meal. I also used it in my vegan flourless almond chocolate cake and vegan almond lemon cake recipes. They're always a success. Although I haven't tested it, using almond flour in its place should also work fine. Almond flour is much finer than the coarse texture that ground almonds tend to have.
- Cocoa powder - I used a higher-quality cocoa powder for this recipe than I do for many of my other treats. As there is only a little cocoa powder in comparison to ground almonds in the almond base, I wanted it to stand out. High quality cocoa powder is usually much richer than standard variations. Many people prefer this, including myself.
- Vegan butter block - I recommend that you use a vegan butter block instead of a dairy-free margarine as this is what I tested the recipe with. As vegan margarines are made up differently to the blocks, the amounts needed may differ.
- Smooth peanut butter - I'd say that this is the main ingredient in this recipe, as the peanut butter layer is the thickest of the three. If you're a big fan of the nut butter, you're going to fall in love.
- Vegan baking chocolate - I chose to use vegan baking-specific chocolate to make my own life easier when making these bars. In reality, you can use any chocolate that you like, but baking chocolate melts so smoothly and easily, compared to things like dairy-free chocolate chips.
See recipe card for full information on individual ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- If you'd like to add a touch of 'crunch' to the bars, use crunchy peanut butter in the place of the smooth peanut butter. I made this an option for my vegan peanut butter stuffed dates too. To some people, this will be an enhancement, whereas some people will certainly prefer to keep smooth peanut butter as their filling ingredient. There's no right or wrong answer with this one. They're two great options.
- I used a dark chocolate for the topping but if you can find one, why not use a vegan white baking chocolate bar? Melting and using a dairy-free white chocolate bar is a game changer for this recipe and gives the bars a whole new vibe.
How To Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Almond Bars
For the full method, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1: Line a large, square baking tin.
2: Make the almond chocolate base.
3: Press the base into the lined tin.
4: Bake the base.
5: Make the peanut butter filling.
6: Pour the peanut butter filling over the base. Refrigerate.
7: Melt the chocolate then pour it over the peanut butter filling which will have set. Refrigerate again.
Expert Tips
Use a large piece of parchment paper - I like to let my parchment paper overhang the baking tray. This makes it much easier to remove the bars before slicing them. There's nothing more frustrating than struggling to get bars out from a baking tray. This strategy, reduces the risk of them breaking.
Don't use a microwave to melt the ingredients - This will cause the ingredients to become clumpy. Microwaves don't melt things evenly and even make chocolate difficult to stir. Instead, melt the chocolate and peanut butter mixtures separately over the stove using the double-boiling (bain-marie) method.
Recipe FAQs
These bars will keep in the fridge for up to 7 days or freeze for up to 3 months inside an airtight container.
They freeze very nicely. Store inside an airtight container or freezer-friendly storage bags.
Yes! This recipe calls for an 8-inch, square baking tin but feel free to use a 7-inch one instead. Yours bars will be a little thicker but they will taste the same.
You can swap out the ground almonds for almond flour, 1:1. This should affect the texture too much. You can also try using oat flour, 1:1. Although I haven't tested that, I think it'd work quite well.
Adding extra melted dairy-free butter should do the trick.
More Vegan Peanut Butter Recipes
If you tried this Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Almond Bars Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Almond Bars (Gluten Free)
Ingredients
Almond base:
- 240 g almond meal
- 50 g cocoa powder
- 90 g vegan butter block melted
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Peanut Butter Filling:
- 300 g smooth peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vegan butter
- 40 g solid coconut oil
- 130 ml maple syrup
- 0.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 0.25 teaspoon salt
Chocolate Topping:
- 160 g vegan baking chocolate
Instructions
Preparation:
- Preheat your oven to 177 Celsius (350F).
- Line an 8x8 inch square baking tin with parchment paper.
Make the almond base:
- In a mixing bowl, combine your almond meal, cocoa powder, vegan butter, maple syrup, vanilla and salt.
- Continue to fold the mixture until combined, then press the base into the bottom of the lined baking tin with the bottom of a glass or with your hands.
- Place the base into the preheated oven to bake for 10 minutes while you prepare the filling.
Make the peanut butter filling:
- Add all the peanut butter filling ingredients to a large, heatproof bowl. Using the double-boiling (bain-marie) method, cook until all the ingredients have melted into one smooth mixture.
- Pour the filling over the base then refrigerate for 1 hour so it can set.
Make the chocolate topping:
- Make the chocolate using the double-boiling method again. Stir regularly until melted.
- Pour the melted chocolate over the peanut butter filling. Place back in the fridge for a further 15-20 minutes to set one more time.
- Slice into squares and serve.
Video
Notes
- I like to let my parchment paper overhang the baking tray. This makes it much easier to remove the bars before slicing them. There's nothing more frustrating than struggling to get bars out from a baking tray. This strategy, reduces the risk of them breaking.
- This will cause the ingredients to become clumpy. Microwaves don't melt things evenly and even make chocolate difficult to stir. Instead, melt the chocolate and peanut butter mixtures separately over the stove using the double-boiling (bain-marie) method.
R1 says
Yes please 😍