Vegan peanut and chocolate bars are perfect for when you get a craving for something salty AND sweet. The sweetness of the chocolate and saltiness of the peanuts and are perfect in these delicious bars.

A crunchy oat base is topped with a thick layer of chocolate and peanut butter. This is then topped with salty peanuts and crunchy peanut candies. If, like me, you love peanut butter then vegan peanut and chocolate bars are the perfect combination

I just love how the bars turned out with all the colorful peanut candies, salty peanuts and the contrasting dark chocolate.

Some would argue that peanut butter and chocolate are the finest duo to ever, and it’s hard to disagree! That salty, nutty, rich and sweet combination works beautifully in everything from cheesecake to brownies.

Chocolate and peanut butter are just two of those ingredients that work so well together. The sweetness of the chocolate mixed with the savoury, slight saltiness of peanut butter, makes for a beautifully balanced flavour that’s irresistible and so moreish. These peanut and chocolate bars are the best of all worlds – rich and chocolatey, with a crispy, crunchy bite to them.

These vegan peanut and chocolate bars are loaded with chocolate, creamy peanut butter, salty peanuts and peanut candies.

Line an 8cm square tin with baking parchment leaving an overlap on all sides.
The base is made by melting the vegan butter and stirring in the sugar. Then add the oats and flour, mixing well.
Press into the tin and bake for 10 to 15 minutes until slightly browned.
Melt and temper the chocolate chips in double boiler or in the microwave. This link gives you tips for success with melting chocolate in the microwave: How To Melt Chocolate in the Microwave.
Add the peanut butter and stir until smooth. Pour the filling over the crust.

Spread the filling evenly over the crust, and tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove air bubbles. Top the filling with the salted peanuts and peanut candies.
Chill in the fridge for 45 to 60 minutes. Use the parchment paper sling to lift the bars out of the pan. Slice into squares or bars. You can serve them frozen; just chilled, or at room temperature — these bars are great no matter how you serve them!

Ingredients

Vegan Butter: you can use any vegan butter or margarine. This is melted so it mixes with the other base ingredients quickly and easily.
Brown Sugar: This adds a nice caramel flavour to the base but you can use white sugar or coconut sugar if you prefer.
Flour: you can use white plain flour, wholemeal or gluten free.
Oats: I used rolled oats but you can also use quick oats.
Chocolate: I used dark chocolate but you can use milk if you are not making it vegan. You can use chocolate chips or use bars and break into chunks before melting.
Peanut Butter: I used crunchy peanut butter but you can use smooth. Any type of peanut butter will work in this recipe but don’t use a very oily one.
Peanuts: I used salted peanuts but you can use any type of nuts you want. Dry roasted nuts or plain nuts are good too. I used salted peanuts as I like the contrast to the chocolate, salt really brings out the chocolate flavour. Salted pretzels would be good too.
Peanut Candies: I used vegan peanut candies which are like M&Ms. You can use any type of sweets you like as I know it can be hard to find them sometimes. You can also leave off the sweets if you want.

Tips for success

Line the tin with baking parchment leaving an overlap all around to make it easy to lift out of the tin.
Be careful not to over bake the base, it will only be slightly coloured. It might seem soft but will firm up as it cools.
Don’t use a very oily peanut butter as it might not mix well with the chocolate. I haven’t tried it with an oily peanut butter so I do not know how it will react.
Let the base cool before spreading over the chocolate peanut butter mixture over it.
Sprinkle the peanuts and sweets over immediately after spreading the topping so they will stick to it.
Chill in the freezer for 45 to 60 minutes. Make sure they are set hard before you try to cut them.
Cut the traybake into sixteen pieces. They might seem small but the bars are very rich. You can always have two!!

These bars are the easiest bars you will ever make. They are totally flexible so you can make them with whatever you have in the house. Anything can be sprinkled on them, it’s up to you what you like. Popcorn, marshmallows, cashews, dried fruit? All that limits you is your imagination!

Vegan Peanut and Chocolate bars can be stored in an airtight tin if you can keep them in a cool room but they need to be kept in the fridge if it is warm. You can keep them in the freezer too as they are good to eat still frozen. Great to have on standby when you want a little snack!

Did you make this recipe? Take a pic and share it on Instagram with the hashtag #aveggiecooks and tag @aveggiecooks__. I would love to see it!