No Bake Apple Bars an incredibly delicious, healthy homemade snack made with dried apples, whole grain cereal, raisins, oats, peanut butter and honey! Perfect no-bake snack for after school eats!
Make these apple bars for your busy week ahead, they are packed with chewy and crunch ingredients that taste amazing and give you energy too. This recipe for no bake oatmeal peanut butter bars is so versatile too, you can easily switch up ingredients to accommodate your families taste.
Easy No Bake Apple Bars
My family and I love apples and I am always looking for healthy recipes for breakfast and snacks, so this was a good fit. I didn’t have any dried apples on hand, so instead of substituting another dried fruit, I peeled, sliced, cored and chopped 3 apples I had and dried them out a bit (using the barbecue). They were not fully dried out, so my bars were a bit moist, but they were still flavorful and boy did they fill us up.
I modified them slightly so they were a little less sweet and I think I would even hold back on some of the honey next time. Since our apples weren’t fully dried out, I’d also leave out some of the peanut butter or apple butter to compensate for the added moisture in the apples. Even so, these were great and I loved that I was able to get rid of some cereal that my kids don’t particularly care for!
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THESE NO BAKE BARS
- Easy recipe. I know I’m not the only one who loves a simple recipe that involves the least amount of effort as possible. With this no-bake bar you can have a fantastic and healthy treat with very little work.
- No bake, no heat. This recipe is a great one to make during the warm months, you can create some tasty treats, but not add any more heat to your house. That is a win if you ask me!
- Simple ingredients. There is nothing better than a recipe with very few and very simple ingredients. With just about 10 ingredients and some of them being staple kitchen and pantry items, the chances are strong you can whip up this recipe fast.
No Bake Apple Bar Ingredients
Dried apples: You will need 1 ½ cups of dried apples, finely chopped, for amazing taste in these bars.
Nuts: Adding in ¼ cup of chopped pecans, or walnuts, gives these bars amazing texture.
Cereal: You will want to include 3 cups of whole grain cereal, or any healthy cereal you have on hand.
Honey: Using ¼ cup of honey gives these bars a nice sweet flavor. You can use a bit less if you don’t want the bars as sweet.
Raisins: For more great texture, add in ¼ cup of golden raisins. Alternatives to use, dried cherries or craisins would taste great too.
Peanut butter: To help bind all the ingredients together, use ⅓ cup of peanut butter.
Apple butter: Using ¼ cup of apple butter gives these bars amazing consistency and taste. Another great option is pumpkin apple butter, if you want to change up the flavor a bit.
Cinnamon: For a lovely warm spice, add in ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
Oats: You need ½ cup of old-fashioned, or quick-cooking, oats for a perfect chewy texture.
Sunflower seeds: Use ¼ cup of dry-roasted sunflower seeds for more protein and healthy fats.
Step by step how to make No Bake Apple Bars
Prep
Start by lining the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square pan with foil, then spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray.
Proceed to sprinkle a ½ cup of the dried, chopped, apples over bottom of pan, set it aside.
After that, place the cereal in a zip locked plastic bag and coarsely crush it with a rolling pin or meat mallet. Set the bag of cereal aside for later use.
Filling
Next, in a large saucepan, over medium-high heat, combine and bring to a boil, ½ cup of the dried apples, the honey and raisins, stirring occasionally. Then, reduce the heat to medium, cook uncovered for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, until hot and bubbly. Remove from the heat.
Stir the peanut butter into the cooked mixture until it has completely melted. Then add in the apple butter and cinnamon, stir to combine. Also, stir in the oats and sunflower seeds until well mixed. Lastly, add in the bag of crushed cereal and stir well to combine.
Assemble
Once all the ingredients are well combined, pour the mixture over the top of the apples in the prepared pan. Then, grab a small plastic baggie and put it over your hand, proceed to spray this bag with non-stick cooking spray. Continue to press the mixture very firmly (or bars will crumble) and evenly onto the apples in pan. Sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup of dried apples and the pecans; press lightly into the bars.
Put the dish in the fridge and refrigerate for about 2 hours or until set.
When you are ready to serve, cut the bars into 4 rows by 3 rows, serve and enjoy!
No Bake Apple Bars
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups dried apples finely chopped
- ¼ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
- 3 cups Whole Grain Total cereal or any healthy cereal you have on hand
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup golden raisins Alternatives to use dried cherries or craisins would taste great too.
- ⅓ cup peanut butter
- ¼ cup apple butter or any fruit butter OR just increase the peanut butter by ¼ cup
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats
- ¼ cup dry-roasted sunflower seeds
Instructions
- Start by lining the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square pan with foil, then spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle ½ cup of the dried, chopped, apples over bottom of pan, set it aside.
- Next, place the cereal in a zip locked plastic bag and coarsely crush it with a rolling pin or meat mallet. Set the bag of cereal aside for later use.
- After that, in a large saucepan, combine and heat ½ cup of the dried apples, the honey and raisins to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Then, reduce the heat to medium, cook uncovered for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, until hot and bubbly; remove from the heat.
- Stir the peanut butter into the cooked mixture until it has completely melted. Then add in the apple butter and cinnamon, stir to combine. Also, stir in the oats and sunflower seeds until well mixed. Lastly, add in the bag of crushed cereal and stir well to combine.
- Once all the ingredients are well combined, pour the mixture over the top of the apples in the prepared pan. Then, grab a small plastic baggie and put it over your hand & spray this bag with non-stick cooking spray. Continue to press the mixture very firmly (or bars will crumble) and evenly onto the apples in pan. Sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup of dried apples and the pecans; press lightly into the bars.
- Put the dish in the fridge and refrigerate for about 2 hours or until set. When you are ready to serve, cut the bars into 12 squares, serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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WHICH OATS ARE BEST FOR NO BAKE RECIPE?
Different recipes will call for different kinds of oats, but to make the best no bake bars, you should use quick oats. Using different kinds of oats will change the texture of the treat, and you risk them not setting up right.
CAN NO BAKE BARS BE FROZEN?
Yes, these treat bars can absolutely be frozen. It will help them firm up, and in my opinion, taste better! Especially in the summer.
DO NO BAKE BARS NEED TO BE REFRIGERATED?
I highly recommend putting no bake bars in the fridge, it will help them to hold a firmer shape. They also will last longer if you keep them in the fridge. However, they technically don’t have to be refrigerated. You can store them in an airtight container in room temperature and they will be fine too. It just depends on your preference, if you like them room temperature or chilled.
Check out these other no-bake recipes that you might like!
- NO BAKE MARSHMALLOW PUMPKIN PIE
- NO BAKE ECLAIR CAKE
- BEST, EASY NO BAKE DESSERTS
- NO BAKE KOOL AID PIE
- NO BAKE PEACHES AND CREAM PIE
- NO BAKE MINI OREO CHEESECAKES
- NO BAKE OREO CAKE
- NO BAKE MINI LEMON CHEESECAKES
- REESE’S KRISPIE NO BAKE COOKIES
- NO BAKE PUMPKIN PIE
- NO BAKE S’MORES BARS
- NO BAKE PEANUT BUTTER BARS
No Bake Apple Bars are a delicious homemade and healthy treat! These peanut butter bars no bake are so easy to make, zero baking is required, you can create an absolutely wonderful snack.
Marsha says
These were absolutely delicious! Will be making these regularly this autumn.
Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
A big thank you for sharing this recipe that’s sure to become a staple in my kitchen!