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Hi Bold Bakers!
WHAT YOU GET: My Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Homemade Clif Bars are sweet, crispy, nutty, salty, and taste just like the energy bars you find in the store! And it’s No-Bake!
I love a good, healthy snack when I’m out — and for a lot of people, that means protein-packed energy bars. If you’re like me, you’re a big fan of the easy meal… and less of a fan of the pricey protein bars you find at the grocery store.
So I set out to develop a DIY Clif Bar recipe made with all the healthy foods I love, like Medjool dates, salted peanut butter, and of course, chocolate. These natural sugar energy bars are also made with agave or honey being the only sweetener!
These Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip No-Bake Clif Bars not only have the perfect combination of sweet, nutty, and salty flavors — their texture seriously rivals the bars you find in the store. I pack my chocolate chip homemade Clif Bars with rice cereal, oats, flax seeds, and chopped peanuts. Every bite is crispy, crunchy, and chewy, all at the same time.
If you love Clif Bars, try this recipe to make other flavors with your favorite dried fruit, nuts, nut butter, and other traditional granola-bar mix-ins!
Are Clif Bars Gluten Free?
Not all Clif Bars are certified gluten-free. You can make this a gluten-free Clif Bar recipe by using certified gluten-free ingredients!
To ensure your copycat Clif Bars are gluten-free, pay attention to what rice cereal you use, as all cereals include different ingredients. Also, pay mind to which quick-cooking oat brand you are using. Often, you will see “Certified Gluten Free” marked on the proper products. You want to be sure your flaxseed is certified gluten-free as well.
Some of these products may naturally be gluten-free but have been made in facilities where there has been cross-contamination.
Be sure to read all ingredients on the packages.
Homemade Vegan Clif Bars Recipe
You can make homemade Clif Bars vegan friendly by using agave instead of honey and vegan chocolate chips! Some vegan chocolate chips you can find in your grocery store include brands like Enjoy Life, Simple Truth, and Lily’s. Stores like Trader Joe’s and Sprouts have their own brand of vegan chocolate, too! Be sure to read all ingredients on the packages.
Tools You Need To Make Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Homemade Clif Bars
- Measuring cups and spoons
- 8-inch (20-cm) square baking dish
- Food processor
- Saucepan
- Mixing bowl
Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips For Homemade Chocolate Chip Clif Bars With Peanut Butter
- Medjool dates work best in the recipe. Other dates can be too dry.
- If you don’t have salted peanut butter, add ½ teaspoon salt to the food processor when you blend the dates.
- Heating the dates, peanut butter, and honey makes it easier to coat the dry ingredients thoroughly.
- You can make this with almond butter and chopped almonds if you wish.
- Replace the chocolate with raisins or chopped dried cherries for peanut butter and jelly-inspired energy bars.
- You can wrap these bars individually in plastic wrap to make them easy to throw in a lunch box.
Try My Favorite Healthy Treats
- Keto Sugar Cookies
- 3 Ingredient Gluten-Free Flatbread
- Light-As-Air Vegan Meringues (Made With Aquafaba)
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Clif Bar
Ingredients
- 1 cup (5 oz/142 g) pitted Medjool dates
- ⅔ cup (5 oz/142 g) salted peanut butter
- ½ cup (5oz/142g) agave or honey
- 1 cup (1½ oz/42 g) crisp rice cereal
- 1 cup (3 oz/85 g) quick-cooking oats
- ¼ cup (1¼ oz/35 g) peanuts, chopped
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup (1½ oz/43 g) finely chopped semisweet chocolate
Instructions
- Line an 8-inch (20-cm) square baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a food processor, add the dates, peanut butter, and agave or honey and process into a paste.
- Heat this mixture in a saucepan over low heat, or in the microwave for about 1 minute, until warm and loosened.
- Transfer to a medium bowl and add the crisp rice, oats, peanuts, flax seeds, cinnamon, and chocolate chips. Stir or knead together until evenly combined.
- Press evenly and firmly into the prepared pan, then cover and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
- Cut into 9 bars and store in an airtight container in the fridge between sheets of parchment paper for up to 10 days.
Gemma, if dates have dried out some (which doesn’t take long even with Medjool dates) should they be soaked before processing? thanks
Can I substitute crasins for the dates.