Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Granola Bars
on Aug 30, 2013, Updated Aug 21, 2024
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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 and White Chocolate and Craisin Granola Bars.
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 8×8 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
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups old-fashioned or quick oats
- 1 cup crispy rice cereal
- 2 cup chopped pretzels
- 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Cut out a piece of parchment paper the width of a 9×13 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.
Video
Notes
- You can easily half this recipe and put it in an 8×8 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.
Nutrition
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
- 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.
These were delicious! I didn’t have old fashioned oats, so I used quick oats. We also added 1 cup of chocolate chips! These were heaven! They were soft and chewy, just like I like!
These are great and I have mad countless times. I always add craisins tonthem
Wow, thanks so much for posting this recipe. I have just about everything in the house I need to make these. It looks like you had a really fun trip to test them out on. 🙂
I usually soak my oatmeal to get rid the phylic acid – if i do that, the oats with then be wet when i mix everything together. should i- 1. let them dry a bit or 2-go less on the other “wet” ingredients?
Marie… I have no idea! In my mind you should try it! But it might still be really sticky. You could always dehydrate them again? Let me know how it works!
I tried it and I wouldn’t recommend! Soupy mess. But trial & error doesn’t bother me. I think I shall just try it the regular way:)
I have a kiddo allergic to peanut butter. If I omit the peanut butter, do you know any other adjustments I would need to make so that she can eat them too? They look really yummy & I want to try them but I need to keep her safe.
Leslie- Could you sub in something like almond or sunflower butter? I think omitting it all together would make them weird, but subbing it for something else would be awesome. Let me how it goes!
My son is a USMC and is on a ship at sea. I just made these to send to him. I am going to use a vacuum sealer and seal the bars individually. If they taste anything like they look or smell, he is one lucky guy. Thanks for sharing.
You are a good Mom!!! He’ll love them, but you are going to have to make a pan for yourself too 🙂 So tasty!
I was wondering if you had the nutritional value for these delicious looking things??
absolutely nothing healthy in this list of ingredients, unless you count the peanut butter, and then only if it’s peanuts only….
These are fabulous! I used Nutella and they came out great. To those of you whose bars fell apart, push those babies into that pan hard! I pushed with all my weight and really pressed them down and they are stuck together really nicely. A question I have is could I freeze these? Thanks so much.
Hhmmmm. I would think so?! What do you say? I would definitely try it.
Do you think using almond butter instead of peanut butter would work?
I don’t know much about it, but I assume if the texture is similar to PB then it would work fine. Totally worth a try in my mind!
These look very tasty! Do you think they would come out ok if you omitted the peanut butter? Thanks!
Hhhmm. I’d add a few extra tablespoons of both honey and butter to make up for some of the loss of moisture and fat. I think you should try it! Let me know how it goes 🙂