PB&J Bars Recipe — Registered Dietitian Columbia SC - Rachael Hartley Nutrition (2024)

It's Recipe Redux time so you get a bonus recipe this week! Lucky you ;) And lucky me because it gave me an excuse to try these PB&J bars.

For this month's theme we're choosing a fellow recipe reduxer to celebrate by making a recipe from their blog. That was an easy choice when I saw these PB&J bars on my friend Alex’s blog, Delish Knowledge.

One of the happiest surprises about starting a blog was just how many real friendships I've made through it.Alex is one of those people who became a “real life” friend after becoming online friends. After following each others blogs for awhile, I emailed her for advice when I first started my private practice, and we stayed in touch. We finally got to meet in real life on the California Almonds trip to Lodi, California and instantly connected. We actually came up with the idea for the online program we eventually launched together along with Anne from Fannetastic Food on our first night over dinner and wine! It’s kinda neat how someone I looked up to professionally became such a dear friend, and eventually a college!

Alex is my go-to when it comes to plant-based nutrition. I really appreciate how she creates vegan and vegetarian recipes where taste is the biggest priority! She shows how eating meatless meals doesn’t have to be restrictive.

PB&J Bar Ingredient Notes

It takes only 9 ingredients to make these PB&J bars, most of which you probably already have in your pantry.

• Peanut Butter - No matter your thoughts on crunchy vs. creamy, to make these PB&J bars you’ll need to use creamy peanut butter. I suppose you could use crunchy peanut butter in here, but it would throw off the wet vs dry ingredients ratio, so it might be easier to just mix in some chopped peanuts if you want that peanutty crunch.

• Whole wheat pastry flour vs all purpose flour - To make these PB&J bars with more whole grains (the oats are also whole grain), use whole wheat pastry flour. I love the extra nutty, wheaty flavor it gives the bars, and by using whole wheat pastry flour, it keeps the texture soft. All-purpose flour also works great here too.

• Oats - To add texture to these bars, mix in rolled oats.

• Strawberry jam - Since the strawberry jam is a star ingredient in this recipe, go for the good stuff. I used Bonne Maman Intense strawberry, which has an extra rich berry flavor.

PB&J Bar Recipe Adaptions

For a gluten free version of this PB&J bars recipe, swap an all-purpose gluten free baking mix, or try a blend of almond and oat flour.

If you like, this recipe also works with almond butter. If you’re baking for someone with nut allergies, try making this with sunflower butter - I haven’t tried it, but I think it would be tasty!

For a chocolatey version, swap the strawberry jam for melted chocolate!

Makes 9

Adapted from Delish Knowledge

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour

• 1 cup rolled oats

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 cup oat milk, almond milk, or whatever other milk you like

• 2/3 cup strawberry jam

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray or rub an 8x8 baking dish with coconut oil or butter.

2. In a large bowl, mix together peanut butter, sugar and vanilla extract with an electric mixer. Stir in flour, oats, salt and baking soda, then blend in the oat milk with the electric mixer until just combined combined.

3. Place jam in a microwave safe bowl and heat 30 seconds until warm.

4. Spread 3/4 of the peanut butter oat mixture over the bottom of the prepared baking sheet and press down with the back of a spatula. Pour the jam over the top and spread evenly. Crumble the remaining peanut butter dough over the top.

5. Bake the bars 18-20 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from heat, let cool, then slice into 9 bars. Store in a covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerate and store up to a week.