No Bake Peanut Butter Cereal Bars

These easy No Bake Peanut Butter Cereal Bars are perfect for a quick and delicious snack or dessert. Made with cereal, peanuts, and M&Ms tossed with a sweet peanut butter sauce. They are a tasty and satisfying treat for any time of day. 

Skip the store-bought cereal bars with questionable ingredients and make these amazing no bake peanut butter cereal bars instead! You can make triple the amount of bars for a fraction of the cost that those pre-made bars are at the store. They’re loaded with creamy peanut butter and are ooey gooey and perfectly chewy.

With just eight simple ingredients and a few minutes out of your day, you can have the best cereal bars! These cereal bars and my tasty recipe for energy balls are our go-to afterschool snacks.

They’re just so yummy and have the perfect amount of protein to tide the kids over until dinner time. You’re going to love these sweet, crunchy, and chewy no bake cereal bars!

Why You’ll Love No Bake Peanut Butter Cereal Bars

• You can make a whole batch of cereal bars in under a half hour. That’s probably less time than it’d take you to run to the grocery store to buy cereal bars that aren’t as yummy!
• Easily adapt and change this recipe with your favorite cereals, candy and add-ins. You can easily make this recipe gluten free and dairy free too, just make a few substitutions!
• No bake means you don’t have to turn on the oven at all. I love no bake recipes because they won’t heat up the kitchen and they often don’t take long to make.

Ingredients for Peanut Butter Cereal Bars

• Cheerios – I used plain cheerios, but you can use honey nut cheerios if you want to.
• Crisp rice cereal – Grab name brand of knock-off, both will work great!
• Dry roasted peanuts – You can change up the peanuts if you want to! Salty peanuts and honey roasted would be tasty.
• M&M’s – What’s better than candy coated chocolate gems in every bite of your yummy cereal bars?
• Light corn syrup – Light corn syrup will help give your cereal bars that chewy texture that you know and love.
• Sugar – Feel free to use a natural sweetener like honey or maple syrup, just keep in mind that it might change the texture of the bars just a bit.
• Creamy peanut butter – I like to use Jif® creamy peanut butter, but you can use any brand that you like. I do not recommend using a natural peanut butter since it is difficult to get the oil and butter to fully mix together.
• Vanilla – A little splash of vanilla extract definitely elevates the flavor of the cereal treats!

How to Make No Bake Peanut Butter Cereal Bars

1. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with non stick cooking spray and set it to the side.
2. Then add the rice krispies, cheerios, peanuts and M&Ms to a large mixing bowl and gently combine.
3. In a medium saucepan, bring the corn syrup and sugar to a boil. Stir frequently so that it does not scorch.
4. Remove the mixture from the heat and quickly stir in the peanut butter and vanilla. Then pour the syrupy peanut butter mixture over the bowl of cereal mixture.
5. Gently toss together and fold with a rubber spatula so that all of the cereal is coated.
6. Pour the mixture into an even layer on the previously prepared pan and let it sit for a while until set. Cut into squares with a sharp knife and enjoy!

How to Store No Bake Peanut Butter Cereal Bars

For best results, wrap each of the cereal bars in parchment paper or plastic wrap so that they don’t stick together. You can also just place a sheet of parchment paper between the layers you stack in an airtight container.

Store at room temperature for 3-4 days or store in the refrigerator for up to a week. If stored in the fridge, allow the bars to sit out for a few minutes before consuming so that they soften a bit.

Can I freeze peanut butter cereal bars?

Yes! I highly recommend wrapping them individually and then placing them into a freezer bag. Freeze this way for 2-3 months. Allow to thaw completely before consuming.

Are cereal bars healthy?

This recipe does have quite a bit of sugar in it, so it’s not necessarily the healthiest treat. However, you can omit and swap some ingredients to make them healthier. If you omit the sugar or swap it for a natural sweetener and then add something other than M&M candy, you can reduce the sugar content and this peanut butter cereal bars recipe a bit healthier!

Are cereal bars filling?

Considering there’s about 10g of protein in each cereal bar, they are a good little protein packed snack! They won’t be super filling but can be a great snack to keep you going and give you a bit of a protein boost.

What can I add to peanut butter cereal bars?

The best thing about no bake peanut butter cereal bars is how adaptable they are! You can customize this simple recipe with tons of different mix-ins and toppings. For a rice krispie treat kind of taste, mix in some marshmallows.

You can also mix in things like chopped nuts, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, raisins, and craisins. Or you can melt chocolate and then drizzle it over the top of the set bars for a nice topping.

For a little balance to the sweetness, sprinkle some flaky sea salt over the top of each bar.

These delicious peanut butter cereal bars are such a fun treat to make! I hope you enjoy every single bite!

More No Bake Recipes

• Can’t make a campfire? Not to worry! Whip up a batch of these No Bake S’mores Trifles instead.
• Reindeer Chow is another fun no-bake cereal treat that you can make around Christmas time.
• This No Bake Scotcheroo Pie is just to die for. Mouthwateringly delicious!
• No Bake Raspberry Chocolate Cake is better than the bakery, I mean it!