These No-Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars are the perfect sweet and salty dessert.  You only need five ingredients to make these incredibly easy bars too!

These No-Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel bars are the perfect sweet and salty dessert. You only need five ingredients to make these incredibly easy bars too!

It may be cold outside right now, but I feel like you can never go wrong with an easy no-bake dessert.  In fact, I actually made these bars for Christmas last year and couldn’t get over how good they were so I had to share them with you.  These are similar to other no-bake peanut butter bars, except they have crushed pretzels in them instead of graham crackers.

These bars really are the perfect combination of sweet, salty, and really hard to resist.  Trust me on that one.

These No-Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel bars are the perfect sweet and salty dessert. You only need five ingredients to make these incredibly easy bars too!

You’ll start by mixing together some melted butter, powdered sugar, peanut butter, and crushed pretzels.  Just a little note on the pretzels, make sure to measure them after you’ve crushed them up.  I prefer to use my food processor to crush the pretzels, but you can crush them in a plastic bag too.  You should have mostly smaller pieces, but a few bigger pieces are fine in these bars.  Once you mix up the filling it will seem soft at first, this is okay!  Once the bars are refrigerated they will firm up and hold their shape well, even at room temperature.

The topping is just a simple mixture of chocolate chips and peanut butter.  I just put them in a microwave safe bowl and pop it into the microwave for 20-30 seconds at a time.  The peanut butter helps make the chocolate topping nice and smooth.  And when you cut or bite into the bars the topping isn’t rock hard, just perfectly soft.

These No-Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel bars are the perfect sweet and salty dessert. You only need five ingredients to make these incredibly easy bars too!

You will need to let the bars chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour, so you can easily slice into them.  I think the hardest part of making these bars is not having any self control around them, I’m just speaking from experience over here.

These also freeze really well and I’ve included instructions for how to freeze them.  You can easily prep these ahead of time and dessert is ready to go the next day.  And the best part?  You don’t even have to turn your oven on to make these!

No-Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars

5 from 2 ratings
Prep Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
These No-Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel bars are the perfect sweet and salty dessert. You only need five ingredients to make these incredibly easy bars too!

Ingredients

Servings: 24 bars

For the peanut butter pretzel layer:

  • 3/4 cup (170 grams) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 and 1/2 cups (180 grams) powdered sugar
  • 1 cup (250 grams) creamy peanut butter
  • 2 cups (200 grams) crushed pretzels (measured after crushing)

For the topping:

  • 1 12-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup (65 grams) creamy peanut butter

Instructions
 

To make the peanut butter pretzel layer:

  • Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment, making sure to leave some overhang for easy removal, and set aside.
  • Add the melted butter, powdered sugar, peanut butter, and crushed pretzels to a large mixing bowl and mix until fully combined. Scoop the mixture into the prepared baking pan and press it down into one even layer.

To make the topping:

  • Add the chocolate chips and peanut butter to a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 20-30 second increments, stirring well after each increment, until melted and smooth. Pour the mixture on top of the bars and spread it around into one even layer.
  • Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, then remove from the pan, and slice into bars.

Notes

Prep time includes 1 hour of chilling time.
Bars may be frozen for up to 3 months, wrap tightly and store in a freezer bag or container. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.
Cuisine: American
Course: Dessert
Author: Danielle Rye
Did you make this recipe?Mention @livewellbakeoften on Instagram or tag #livewellbakeoften.

Recipe slightly adapted from Trisha Yearwood

Love no-bake desserts?

You can find all of my no-bake recipes here.

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