• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Three Little Chickpeas

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Contact Us
  • Resources
  • Vegan Oil-Free Recipes
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Vegan Oil-Free Recipes
  • Resources
  • About Me
  • Contact Us
  • Follow Us

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Vegan Oil-Free Recipes
    • Resources
    • About Me
    • Contact Us
  • Follow Us

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Desserts

    Vegan Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

    Published: Nov 2, 2021 . Modified: Feb 17, 2025 by Allie

    This website is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

    Yum!  Easy and delicious vegan peanut butter cookie bars!  I don’t mean to yell at the beginning of every post, I just get super excited when I really love a new recipe.  

    The peanut butter bars are oil-free, but not low-fat.  They’re soft, sweet, chewy, and they’ll taste better the next day (if you can wait that long to eat them).  They’re sweet, but not super sweet like store-bought cookie cakes (cookie bars kind of remind me of cookie cakes).

    vegan peanut butter cookie bars cut into squares

    So the plan for these peanut butter cookie bars was a soft gooey cookie, I didn’t want them hard and crunchy.  They are slightly under-baked to keep that gooeyness.  Then when they cool the peanut butter will firm back up so the bars aren’t crumbly.  

    They may fall apart if you cut them while they’re still hot.  Let them cool completely for the peanut butter to firm back up.  Even better, let them chill overnight in the fridge.  The peanut butter firms up and it gives the bars a chewy texture and overall better flavor.

    For more dairy-free desserts try vegan banana bars with chocolate chips, peanut butter date balls, or vegan lemon loaf.

    Jump to:
    • Tips for using natural peanut butter
    • Tips
    • Whole wheat flour
    • How to make vegan peanut butter cookie bars
    • More vegan oil-free desserts
    • Recipe
    • Comments

    Tips for using natural peanut butter

    I use natural peanut butter for this recipe, the kind you need to stir.  It will either have just peanuts as the only ingredient or peanuts and salt as the ingredients.  If you have a jar that’s just peanuts ground up, with no other ingredients, then you’ll want to add ¼ teaspoon of salt.  If your jar contains peanuts and salt (being the only two ingredients) add just a pinch of salt.  

    Smucker’s brand can be found at a lot of stores and makes a creamy natural peanut butter that’s just peanuts and salt. As a note, if you substitute with regular peanut butter (not natural), you may get different results since they usually contain oils and sweeteners.  

    Also, even after stirring natural peanut butter, the contents at the bottom of the jar can be drier because the oil separates and moves to the top. After combining all of the wet ingredients for this recipe, the dough should be thick like cookie dough, very moldable, and not crumbly.  If the dough is too dry, add a tablespoon more of plant-based milk.

    Tips

    After manipulating the parchment paper into the glass baking dish, I use wooden clips to hold it to the corners of the dish.  It helps keep the parchment paper in place while spooning the cookie dough into the dish.  Just remember to remove the clips before baking.

    Whole wheat flour

    I’m a big fan of whole wheat flour.  If you’re new to using whole grain flour instead of all-purpose, it can produce denser baked goods.  I’ve come to love the denser texture and slightly nutty flavor it adds to baked goods. 

    Now, all-purpose flour tastes more bland and doughy, letting some baked goods taste more like just butter and sugar, which can be a good thing sometimes.  With all that in mind, I have tested the peanut butter chocolate chip bars with all-purpose flour and I wasn’t a fan.

    How to make vegan peanut butter cookie bars

    • First, preheat the oven to 350 F(180 C). Then, line an 8x8-inch glass baking dish with parchment paper.
    mix peanut butter and sugar in a bowl
    • Then, mix together the peanut butter and sugar with the back of a fork until the sugar is mixed into the peanut butter.
    wet ingredients for cookie bars mixed in a bowl
    • Then add the dairy-free milk and vanilla extract to the peanut butter mixture and whisk until smooth (a balloon whisk works well here). Make sure there are no large clumps, a few tiny lumps are fine.
    mix dry ingredients for cookie bars in a bowl
    • In a large bowl whisk together the whole-wheat flour, chocolate chips, ground flaxseed, baking powder, and salt.
    mix the wet and dry ingredients for cookie bars
    • Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and mix together with a rubber or silicone spatula. The dough will be thick.  
    cookie bar dough in a square baking dish
    • Press the cookie dough into the glass baking dish and spread it out to the corners. Use a silicone spatula to help spread the dough out.
    peanut butter cookie bars in square glass dish ready to be baked
    • I like to use damp hands to pat down and smooth out the top before baking.
    cooked cookie bars in a square baking dish
    • Bake for 16-18 minutes. To test lightly press the top of the cookie dough (be careful it’s hot), if your fingerprint stays, cook for another 1-2 minutes. The top should look set, puffed up, and spring back slightly when touched.
    • The cookie bars need to cool completely to set, if you cut the bars while they’re too warm they’ll crumble. I let them cool for around 15 minutes in the dish, then lift them out with the sides of the parchment paper to a cooling rack to cool completely.
    • Store in the refrigerator and they’ll firm up more (personal preference I think they test better the next day after chilling in the fridge).
    vegan peanut butter cookie bars cut into squares

    More vegan oil-free desserts

    • Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
    • Chocolate Covered Cookie Dough Bites
    • Chocolate Peanut Butter Bites
    • Banana Nut Oatmeal Cookies
    • Whole-Wheat Carrot Cake Muffins
    • Vegan Dark Chocolate Raspberry Truffles
    • Vegan lemon loaf cake with an icing and candied lemon slices on top.
      Vegan Lemon Loaf Cake (Oil-Free)
    • Oat milk chocolate puddings in glass jars with a whip topping on top.
      Oat Milk Chocolate Pudding
    • Vegan chocolate microwave mug cake in a white mug cake.
      Vegan Chocolate Microwave Mug Cake (No Oil)
    • vegan banana bars with chocolate chips cut into squares.
      Vegan Banana Bars with Chocolate Chips

    I hope you enjoy these dairy-free cookie bars!

    Originally published on December 10, 2019, updated on November 2, 2021.

    Print

    Recipe

    clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
    Vegan peanut butter cookie bars cut into squares.

    Vegan Peanut Butter Cookie Bars


    5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

    5 from 1 review

    • Author: Allie
    • Total Time: 27 minutes
    • Yield: 9 bars 1x
    • Diet: Vegan
    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe

    Description

    Easy and delicious vegan peanut butter cookie bars.  They’re soft, sweet, chewy, and taste even better the next day.


    Ingredients

    Scale
    • ½ cup (120 g) unsweetened natural peanut butter (with salt) (measure after stirring)
    • ¾ cup (130 g) granulated sugar
    • ½ cup (125 ml) dairy-free milk
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1  ½ cups (180 g) whole-wheat flour, spooned and leveled
    • ½ cup (90 g) vegan chocolate chips
    • 2 tablespoons (13 g) ground flax seed
    • 1  ½ teaspoons baking powder
    • Pinch of salt (if your peanut butter doesn’t contain salt use ¼ teaspoon)

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 350 F(180 C).
    2. Line an 8x8 inch glass baking dish with parchment paper.
    3. Mix together the peanut butter and sugar with the back of a fork until the sugar is mixed into the peanut butter.
    4. Then to peanut butter mixture, whisk in the dairy-free milk and vanilla extract until smooth (a balloon whisk works well here).  Make sure there are no large clumps, a few tiny lumps are fine.
    5. In a large bowl whisk together the whole-wheat flour, chocolate chips, ground flaxseed, baking powder, and salt.
    6. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and mix together with a rubber or silicone spatula. The dough will be thick.  
    7. Press the cookie dough into the glass baking dish and spread it out to the corners. Use a silicone spatula to help spread the dough out (I like to use damp hands to pat down and smooth out the top).
    8. Bake for 16-18 minutes.  To test lightly press the top of the cookie dough (careful it’s hot), if your fingerprint stays, cook for another 1-2 minutes. The top should look set, puffed up, and spring back slightly when touched.
    9. The cookie bars need to cool completely to set, if you cut the bars while they’re too warm they’ll crumble. I let them cool for around 15 minutes in the dish, then lift them out with the sides of the parchment paper to a cooling rack to cool completely.
    10. Store in the refrigerator and they’ll firm up more (personal preference I think they test better the next day after chilling in the fridge).

     

     

    Notes

    I use natural peanut butter, the kind you need to stir. If you substitute with a different type of peanut butter (not the ones that contain just peanuts and/or salt) you may get different results if they contain added oils and sweeteners.

    If your peanut butter is too dry then your cookie dough may be too dry, add a tablespoon more of plant-based milk.  Sometimes the peanut butter from the bottom of the jar can be drier compared to peanut butter just opened and stirred.

    Not all brands of granulated sugar are vegan, look for brands that are bone-char free or have the vegan label.

    • Prep Time: 10 minutes
    • Cook Time: 17 minutes
    • Category: Dessert
    • Method: Oven
    • Cuisine: American

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @threelittlechickpeasblog on Instagram and hashtag it #threelittlechickpeasblog

    More Vegan Desserts

    • Flax seed pudding with banana and strawberries in a jar with diced strawberries on top.
      Easy Flaxseed Pudding
    • Chocolate baked oatmeal slice on a plate with peanut butter and banana slices on top.
      Chocolate Baked Oatmeal with Peanut Butter
    • Microwave hot cocoa with marshmallows in a white mug.
      Microwave Hot Cocoa (3 Ingredients and Dairy-Free)
    • Vegan chocolate sauce in a glass jar with a spoon dip in.
      Easy Vegan Chocolate Sauce (3 Ingredients)

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

    1. Kristen

      July 21, 2022 at 6:11 pm

      I made these with my son and they turned out great! I love that they're not too sweet.

      Reply
      • Allie

        July 22, 2022 at 6:52 pm

        Thanks for leaving a comment, I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe.

        Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    picture of Allie

    Hi, I'm Allie! I love cooking and I want to share my simple plant-based meals with you. Eating this way doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. Just simply delicious!

    More about me →

    Popular

    • Overnight oats with flaxseed in a jar with raisins.
      Basic Overnight Oats with Flaxseed
    • Oat milk hot chocolate with coconut whip in a white mug.
      Hot Chocolate with Oat Milk
    • Buffalo chickpea dip in glass dish with chopped parsley.
      Buffalo Chickpea Dip (Vegan)
    • Flax seed pudding with banana and strawberries in a jar with diced strawberries on top.
      Easy Flaxseed Pudding

    Recent

    • A bowl with stewed tomato chickpeas, couscous, and diced cucumbers.
      Spiced Chickpea Couscous Bowl
    • Balsamic pickled onions in a glass jar.
      Balsamic Pickled Onions
    • Orzo vegetable soup in a white bowl with chopped parsley and a spoon.
      Vegetable Orzo Soup
    • Vegan baked pumpkin oatmeal in a white baking dish with chopped walnuts on top.
      Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal (Dairy-Free and Oil-Free)
    picture of Allie

    Hi, I'm Allie! I love cooking and I want to share my simple plant-based meals with you. Eating this way doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. Just simply delicious!

    More about me →

    Popular

    • Overnight oats with flaxseed in a jar with raisins.
      Basic Overnight Oats with Flaxseed
    • Oat milk hot chocolate with coconut whip in a white mug.
      Hot Chocolate with Oat Milk
    • Buffalo chickpea dip in glass dish with chopped parsley.
      Buffalo Chickpea Dip (Vegan)
    • Flax seed pudding with banana and strawberries in a jar with diced strawberries on top.
      Easy Flaxseed Pudding

    Recent

    • A bowl with stewed tomato chickpeas, couscous, and diced cucumbers.
      Spiced Chickpea Couscous Bowl
    • Balsamic pickled onions in a glass jar.
      Balsamic Pickled Onions
    • Orzo vegetable soup in a white bowl with chopped parsley and a spoon.
      Vegetable Orzo Soup
    • Vegan baked pumpkin oatmeal in a white baking dish with chopped walnuts on top.
      Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal (Dairy-Free and Oil-Free)

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Terms & Conditions

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Resources
    • About Me

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2024 Three Little Chickpeas

    Copyright © 2025 Three Little Chickpeas on the Foodie Pro Theme

    vegan peanut butter cookie bars cut into squares