Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Bars 🍫🥜 are an EASY, no-bake treat when you can’t decide between chocolate and peanut butter. They’re rich, fudgy, and packed with that classic chocolate + PB flavor combo! No oven required when all you want is a simple treat to satisfy your sweet tooth!
Easy Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Bars Recipe
- I love a good two-for-one deal, especially when peanut butter and chocolate are involved. Sometimes it’s impossible to pick which one I want, and with these no-bake fudge bars, I don’t have to.
- The bottom layer is a soft yet dense peanut butter and white chocolate base that’s rich, creamy, and satisfying. The top is a thick layer of chocolate peanut butter fudge, so you get the best of both worlds in every bite.
- Rice Krispies are added to both layers for a little crispy texture, with the crunch coming through even more in the chocolate layer.
- The chocolate layer is based on a recipe I originally created to top brownies in my first cookbook, Peanut Butter Comfort. They’re still some of my favorite brownies, which tells you everything you need to know about how good this fudge layer is.
- If you need a dessert for a book club, mahjong club, to set out for casual entertaining or to share with a cookie exchange, these are perfect because they keep well for a week or more – but I doubt they’ll last that long.
Ingredients in Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Bars
This unique no-bake dessert recipe is made with just 5 ingredients!
For the base layer, you’ll use the white chocolate chips, peanut butter, and crispy rice cereal for the peanut butter fudge base.
For the chocolate peanut butter top, use semi-sweet chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter.
A few highlights about the ingredients:
- White chocolate chips – They can be a little tricky to melt so make sure you take your time with them when microwaving them.
- Creamy peanut butter – Use a classic no-stir peanut butter like Jif, Skippy, or something similar. Natural or homemade peanut butter can separate, prevent the bars from setting up properly, or make them oily.
- Crispy rice cereal – AKA Rice Krispies or similar. Since it’s naturally gluten-free, this is a gluten-free dessert.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips – I strongly prefer semi-sweet to milk chocolate chips in general in baking (or no-baking) for a richer and less sweet chocolate flavor, although milk chocolate chips will technically work.
- Butter – If you love a salty-sweet dessert, use salted butter. I traditionally use unsalted butter though in my dessert recipes and then add salt to taste. You can also sprinkle the top with flaky sea salt!
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Bars
- Base: Melt the white chocolate chips and peanut butter together until smooth, then stir in the crispy rice cereal.
- Spread the peanut butter fudge layer into an 8×8-inch pan and freeze until firm.
- Topping: Make the chocolate peanut butter fudge layer the same way, using semi-sweet chocolate chips, peanut butter, and a little butter.
- Smooth the chocolate layer over the firm peanut butter layer.
- Freeze until set before slicing into bars. Don’t freeze too long or they’re be too hard to slice.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Bars
Equipment
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Base
- 2 cups white chocolate chips, one 10.5 to 11.5-ounce bag (Guittard or Trader Joe's own brand both melt easier than Nestle)
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter, (not natural; use Jif, Skippy or similar)
- 1 cup crispy rice cereal, (use certified gluten-free crispy rice cereal to keep GF if that's important to you)
Chocolate Fudge Top
- 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 ½ cups creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups crispy rice cereal
Instructions
Peanut Butter Base
- Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil if desired for easier cleanup, and spray with cooking spray or spray the pan with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a medium, microwave-safe bowl add the white chocolate chips and heat for 1 minute on high power to soften. They will not be melted at this point.
- Remove bowl from microwave, add 1 cup peanut butter (use Jif, Skippy, or similar because natural or homemade peanut butter could separate and may not set up well and/or the bars could turn very oily), and heat on high power to melt, about 30-60 seconds, or as necessary in your microwave. Stop to check and see if you can stir it smooth after every 30 second burst. Stir until mixture is smooth and combined.Melting Tip – White chocolate scorches easily so keep a careful eye on it and don't let it get too hot or it will seize and turn into a rock-like mass and you'll have to start over.
- Add 1 cup crispy rice cereal and stir to combine.
- Turn mixture out in prepared pan in an even, flat layer, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula. Place pan in freezer to chill.
Chocolate Fudge Top
- In a medium, microwave-safe bowl (you can use the same one, just wipe out with a paper towel), add the semi-sweet chocolate chips and heat for 1 minute on high power to soften.
- Remove bowl from microwave, add 1 1/2 cups peanut butter, butter, and heat on high power to melt, about 1 minute. Stir until mixture is smooth and combined.
- Add 1 1/2 cups crisp rice cereal, and stir to combine.
- Remove pan from freezer (make sure the first layer has set up somewhat before adding the chocolate, if not, return pan to freezer for 5 more minutes) and carefully turn chocolate mixture out into prepared pan in an even, flat layer, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.
- Freeze: Place pan in freezer to chill. Allow bars to chill for 60 to 90 minutes, or until set, before serving.
- If bars have gotten too firm to slice, let them sit at room temp for 10 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy No-Bake Desserts
ALL OF MY NO-BAKE DESSERT RECIPES!
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Originally published on October 8, 2o14 and republished on June 11, 2020 with updated text.
Oh my gosh you’re trying to kill me here with all these yummy no bake recipes! I wish I could make all of them! Is there anything I could use other than white chocolate? I really don’t like it bc it’s not chocolate. The only other thing I can think of would be peanut butter. But I’d have to make my own. Thanks for all the great recipes!
In this recipe, white chocolate is really the best because it mixes with the peanut butter and you really don’t taste the white chocolate. Rather it just gives something for the peanut butter to bind with and solidify with when the white chocolate sets up. Just trust me on this one – these are amazing!
These look amazing! Plus that sweetened condensed substitute sounds amazing!