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PB&J Bars. Vegan, gluten-free, and refined sugar free, this fun take on the classic sandwich will become a back to school tradition!Growing up, August meant back-to-school shopping, both dreading and anxiously anticipating the start of another school year, and promise that the oppressive summers in Tennessee would break–even just a little–soon enough. Oh, and PB&J bars. Lots of PB&J bars.

My mom has a few recipes she’s returned to almost every single year, and these are one of them. A perfect take off of the classic last-minute sandwich, the bars are nutty and sweet, fruity and chewy, gooey and rich! No wonder we requested them each year.. and I even have memories of being sent a box or two during my undergrad years!

PB&J Bars. Vegan, gluten-free, and refined sugar free, this fun take on the classic sandwich will become a back to school tradition!When I asked her to send me the recipe so I could make them myself, I discovered a dependable reader-submitted recipe from an 80s Southern Living cookbook.. so what does that mean? Definitely not vegan. Definitely not gluten-free. Definitely not remotely healthy. Loads of butter, loads of sugar, and an egg in there for good measure. So I decided to try my hand at healthifying these puppies up, so that when O and I have our own little family, we can continue on the tradition that my mom started.

PB&J Bars. Vegan, gluten-free, and refined sugar free, this fun take on the classic sandwich will become a back to school tradition!In the meantime, we’re focused on eating entire pans of these without quite the guilt that accompanies the original recipe. Self-restraint was never either of our strong points.

These are perfect back-to-school treats for your little ones or heck, for yourself! You’ll love how gooey and fruity and peanut-buttery they are. And because they’re vegan, gluten free, and free of refined sugar, you’ll feel great about offering these as a little after-school treat!

PB&J Bars. Vegan, gluten-free, and refined sugar free, this fun take on the classic sandwich will become a back to school tradition!If you’re not concerned as much about gluten and all of that, you can sub 3 cups regular bleached flour for the blended oatmeal, brown rice flour, almond meal, and chickpea flour. If you don’t care about dairy products, go ahead and use butter instead of Earth Balance. If you ARE vegan, use 1/2 cup agave nectar instead of 1/4 cup honey and 1/4 cup agave. I felt moved to use honey to play with the peanut butter, but we just happened to have some lying around.

PB&J Bars. Vegan, gluten-free, and refined sugar free, this fun take on the classic sandwich will become a back to school tradition!I personally used a cherry jam I got from the Mediterranean market in our neighborhood, but a classic grape jelly would be so, so fun and delicious. Ultimately, you can use whatever you want or have on hand, including my famous blueberry chia jam! Either way, I hope you love them as much as I have for, dear God, over 20 years now. On second thought, it’s time to switch to a fully raw diet.. I am getting old, people!

Make these!

Recipe By: Cheryl Malik
5 from 6 votes

PB&J Bars (GF, Vegan)

Prep 15 minutes
Cook 30 minutes
Total 45 minutes
Sweet fruity jam mingles with chewy peanut buttery layers for a perfect play on the classic PB&J sandwich. Great for a snack, great for dessert. A soon-to-be back-to-school tradition!
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24 people

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups rolled oats divided
  • 1 cup flour brown rice
  • ½ cup almond meal almond meal
  • ½ cup flour chickpea
  • ½ cup vegan butter spread like Earth Balance
  • 2 whole flax eggs mix 2 tablespoons freshly ground flaxseed meal with 6 tablespoons warm water and set aside til the consistency of a beaten egg
  • ½ cup peanut butter natural
  • 1 cup jelly your choice of flavor
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon pinch of salt to taste
  • ½ cup sucanat or other unrefined dry sugar
  • ¼ cup honey (sub 1/4 cup agave if vegan)
  • ¼ cup agave nectar agave nectar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375ºF.
  • Blitz 1 cup of rolled oats in food processor or blender until a fine powder. Combine flours, almond meal, rolled oats, oat powder, sucanat, baking powder, and pinch of salt in a bowl. Whisk to combine. Cut in butter and peanut butter until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Then add in liquid sweeteners (agave nectar and honey, or all agave), vanilla extract, and flax eggs and mix well.
  • Press 1/2 of mixture into a 13x9" pan that's been greased with coconut oil or butter. Spread jelly over peanut butter mixture then crumble the remaining peanut butter mixture over the jelly layer.
  • Bake for 30-35 minutes or until top begins to brown. Cool then cut into bars. Store in an airtight container.
Feel free to sub 3 cups flour for the cup of blitzed oatmeal (keep the other 1/2 cup of whole rolled oats), all brown rice flour, all almond meal, and all chickpea flour.
*Feel free to sub butter for the vegan butter spread.

Approximate Information for One Serving

Serving Size: 24gCalories: 195calProtein: 3gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 158mgPotassium: 100mgTotal Carbs: 30gFiber: 1gSugar: 16gNet Carbs: 29gVitamin A: 180IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 25mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

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Cheryl Malik

In addition to being a certified health coach, certified yoga instructor, and mom of 3, Cheryl is also the recipe developer, editor-in-chief, food photographer, and passionate foodie behind 40 Aprons. Having spent the last 10+ years as a food blogger, she's become known for her flavorful recipes, detailed instructions, gorgeous photography, and down-to-earth approach to food and cooking in general.

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32 Comments

    1. Thanks Lindsay! They’re such a delish little snack. I refuse to admit how many I ate around 3 p.m. that week…………… (it was a lot, shhhh) 🙂

      Reply

  3. OMG! Cheryl! It’s handy to have good, healthy snacks on hand for sure! I love how you’ve improved on the recipe from your mom’s. And that it has PB&J included – my favorite! I’m thinking a marmalade sounds delicious… or blueberry jam (ahem)! Mouthwatering indeed… Thanks, Cheryl!5 stars

    Reply

    1. Ooooh marmalade, that sounds so elegant! The original had a ton of grape jelly, but I loved how a little texture from the fruit worked with the bars! Thanks Traci!! 🙂

      Reply

    1. Thanks! And meh, I wish. I’d really like to just eat raw about 50% of the time, but same here – I’d be making separate dishes for O after a while! Even if I made fancy raw cheeses and lasagnas and stuff, the man would require like.. fried tofu with chipotle “mayo” you know? It just wouldn’t fly. But it’s sooo good for you. Le struggle!

      Reply

  8. These looks perfect! I basically lived off of PB+J sandwiches for the first 16 years of my life. I was a picky eater – much to the dismay of my parents. And I still love PB+J! Can’t wait to try these bars!

    Reply

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