Healthy Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars
If you like Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Treats or Scotcheroos, you will love this healthy version made with only cheerios, honey, and peanut butter!
After having a week of sugary snacks and treats, I realized how much sugar affects my toddler. The snacks were convenient but the tantrums were not. Needless to say, it was a long hard week, and the only thing different about it was the food he was eating. So, I went on a hunt to find healthy toddler snacks I could use with staple ingredients I already had at home!
Healthy Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars Recipe
Ingredients:
3 Cups Cheerios (plain, multigrain, or honey nut)
½ Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
½ Cup Honey
1 Tbsp Coconut Oil (Optional)
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract (Optional
What You Need:
Large Saucepan
Spatula
8×8 Baking Dish
Directions:
- Put peanut butter, honey, coconut oil, and vanilla extract in a large saucepan.
- Heat the saucepan over the stove at medium low heat, while mixing the ingredients until they’re fully melted and combined.
- Once ingredients are combined, turn off heat and add Cheerios.
- Stir mixture until the Cheerios are evenly coated.
- Pour mixture into the 8×8 baking pan and press it down with a spatula (or your hands) so it’s tightly packed.
- Place in the fridge for 1-2 hours before slicing into squares!
It's That Simple!
Substitutes and Optionals
Cheerios: As noted above, plain, multigrain, and honey nut Cheerios work the best for this recipe. However, you can use other flavors of cheerios or other cereals altogether such as Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes, and Special K.
Peanut Butter: You can use any kind of nut butter: Almond butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter, crunchy peanut butter, etc. In this recipe I used natural peanut butter that requires stirring before use, but regular creamy peanut butter works great too!
Honey: Maple syrup can be used in place of honey, or you can do half honey half maple syrup.
Coconut Oil: You do not need to add oil to this recipe, however it does help keep it from sticking to the pan. If you would like to keep it out, you could grease the baking pan before pouring the mixture in. You can also use canola, avocado, peanut, or vegetable oil instead of coconut oil.
Vanilla Extract: This is completely optional and can be added to taste. I personally love vanilla, and like adding it to everything I can!
Storage
Place the bars in an airtight storage container. These can be stored on the counter for 5-7 days or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
I highly recommend keeping these store in the fridge. The last longer, but more importantly, they keep their shape better and crumble less when chilled. Peanut butter tends to melt fast in hot sweaty toddler hands, so I always keep mine in the fridge until I am ready to serve them!
These treats also freeze very well, and will last in the freezer up to 3 months. Just be sure to let them thaw a bit in the fridge or on the counter before trying to eat them!
Why I LOVE this Recipe (And Why You Will Too!)
No Bake? No Brainer!
Anything that is no-bake is a no brainer to me! Us mamas are busy and always on the go, so anything we can quickly whip up is something I can stand behind! Since you don’t need to use the oven, this treat is a great one to make all year round- even if it’s hot outside!
It's Healthy
If I can satisfy my sweet tooth and my toddler while keeping it healthy, why would I not?! This recipe is sweet with natural sugar from the honey, provides protein from the peanut butter, and multiple vitamins and minerals from the cheerios! It is a win-win-WIN!
This little snack is filling, satisfies your sweet and salty cravings, as well as offer a heathy alternative to your average marshmallow cereal treats!
Gluten Free
If you or your little one have a gluten allergy, you do not have to miss out; these tasty little treats are GLUTEN FREE!
Made With Few Ingredients (That You Probably Already Have)
The more ingredients a recipe has, the more intimidating it becomes, and the likelihood of me having all the necessary ingredients drops significantly the more they add up. However, these treats can be made with only 3 ingredients: Honey, Peanut Butter, and Cheerios. Plain and simple.
Customizable for all tastes and occasions!
This is the most fun part about these bars! You can make these in so many different ways to change the look, taste, and texture to how you like!
I have used these for many different get togethers by decorating it for the occasion! For example: I have used Christmas tree cookie cutters on these, and dipped the tops in green candy melts. I added M&Ms for ornaments! For a birthday party theme, you can top with rainbow sprinkles! No matter the occasion or taste preference, there are ways to spruce these up!
Ways to Customize and Add-Ons
As you know, something I love about this recipe is that there are so many different things I can add to this recipe to jazz it up! This means you can use the same basic recipe over and over without it getting boring! Here are some things you can do to add some extra WOW to this already amazing snack:
Nuts and Seeds
Nuts will give it an added crunch as well as boost the protein in this delicious treat! You can use almonds, peanuts, walnuts, pistachios, chia seeds, or sunflower seeds!
I would suggest chopping them first to avoid choking with little ones! This one is great for older toddlers who have more teeth and the ability to chew harder nuts and seeds.
Dried Fruit
Great options include raisins, dried cranberries, or freeze-dried strawberries!
Sprinkles
Sprinkles make everything look more fun and celebratory! Chocolate sprinkles, rainbow sprinkles, sugar sprinkles are all fun ones to incorporate. You can choose to mix these in when you add the Cheerios or sprinkle them right on top.
Shredded Coconut
I know a lot of people who love adding shredded coconut to their desserts whether it is cookies, truffles, pastries, or crisps! These peanut butter Cheerio bars are no exemption! If you love that hint of coconut, you will love adding it to these!
Chocolate Chips or Chocolate Chunks
If you want to keep this healthy, I suggest using dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips! However, I am a sucker for milk chocolate so tossing in a few milk-chocolate chips is right up my alley! The beauty of this recipe is you can make it however you want, and you’ll catch me adding in a little bit of chocolate every time! 😉
Butterscotch Chips
You can mix these in as chips or melt them with the peanut butter to get that Midwest famous “Scotcheroo” taste!
Dipped In Chocolate
If you do this, make sure you fully freeze the bars first before dipping them in the melted chocolate. Otherwise the heat from the melted chocolate will melt the peanut butter, and your bars will fall apart. It will be a hot chocolate-peanut butter mess.
If it does happen to you- don’t waste it! Put clumps of the Cheerio chocolate goo mess onto some parchment paper. Let them chill in the freezer for an hour and out will come some delectable chocolate peanut butter Cheerio clusters! As Bob Ross once said, “There are no mistakes, just happy accidents.”
Rice Krispies or Other Cereals
Adding a new cereal to the mix will adjust the texture of your bar and change up the taste! Be sure to adjust your recipe to compensate for the addition of the cereal! For example if you add Rice Krispies, you will want to add more peanut butter or put in less Cheerios. If your bars are too dry, they will crumble and not hold together well.
Cocoa Powder
When it comes to my sweets, I LOVE a peanut butter chocolate combo! If you want that chocolate flavor without using chocolate chips or melted chocolate, mix in a teaspoon of cocoa powder with your peanut butter and honey mixture before adding the cheerios.
Chocolate Drizzle
I know I’ve mentioned chocolate SO many times already, but you can really steal the show by drizzling these with melted white, milk, or dark chocolate! Sure, I “market” this recipe as a snack for toddlers, but with some doctoring you can turn this simple Cheerio recipe into a fancy healthy hit at your next family gathering!
Crushed Graham Crackers
I love the taste of graham crackers in my desserts! Not only does it give the bars a nice texture, it adds a lovely flavor! You can even add chocolate chips and marshmallows for a summer S’mores theme! Just like with adding the cereal, you will want to adjust the recipe for the amount you put in!
Note: This is a short list of the many possibilities for additions to these bars! Remember that you can add any of these options right into the mix or stick with using them as a topping! Add what you love and decorate them how you like! There are no wrong answers when it comes to these easy, delicious, no-bake healthy snack bars!
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