These healthy peanut butter honey cheerio bars are a great snack or dessert made with better for you ingredients! Perfect as an after school treat or sweet pick-me-up. Made with unsweetened cheerios, honey, all natural peanut butter, and drizzled in a touch of chocolate!
Healthy snacks are the best. If you agree, you’ll also love: easy granola bars, no bake chocolate peanut butter energy bites, and healthy banana pancake muffins.
I don’t know about you, but I need more healthy dessert and snack recipes in my life. Whether you’re looking for a mid morning treat, an after school snack for your kids, or a little somethin’ somethin’ to nosh on after dinner . . . we all need some healthy treats in our back pockets.
Don’t get me wrong, I love an indulgent treat and I have them often, but sometimes, I like making a few healthy swaps just to mix things up a bit.
The best part about these healthy peanut butter honey cheerio bars is that you probably won’t even be able to tell that they’re healthier!
They’re sweet, they’re crunchy, they’re drizzled chocolate, and they’re made with better for you ingredients.
Is that a win or what?
Ingredients in healthy peanut butter cheerio bars:
- Cheerios – unsweetened!
- Flaxseed meal
- Honey
- All natural peanut butter – no sugar added
- Vanilla
- Bittersweet chocolate
- Maldon sea salt, optional
I love the boost of nutrients from the flaxseed (here’s a great article on benefits of flaxseed meal) and I love that these are naturally sweetened with honey.
Don’t forget the drizzle of chocolate. It’s bittersweet, so it’s not adding a ton of sugar, and helllooo everyone needs chocolate in their life. Right?
Right.
How to make peanut butter cheerio bars without corn syrup:
- Microwave honey and peanut butter together until smooth.
- Stir in vanilla extract.
- Stir in cheerios and flaxseed meal.
- Pour mixture into a greased 9×13 inch baking pan.
- Drizzle with melted chocolate and sprinkle with maldon sea salt, if using.
- Place in the fridge until the honey/peanut butter mixture has set and the chocolate has hardened.
- Serve and enjoy!
Substitutions and faq:
- Can I use anything other than honey? You could try using agave or other kind of “sticky” sweetener.
- Can I make these vegan? Probably! Use agave instead of honey.
- Can I use another kind of cereal? I’m sure you could. I bet any kind of round cereal or chex would be great.
- Do I need to use all natural peanut butter? You could use any nut butter, probably, but it needs to be the liquid-y, no sugar added, just nuts variety!
- Do I have to use bittersweet chocolate? Nope! Use any kind of chocolate you like. Or omit.
- Do I need maldon sea salt? Not necessary! If you like sweet and salty, then it’s delicious, but you don’t need it.
- How do I store these? Store these bars in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Serve these chilled or at room temperature.
If you have any other substitutions or questions, let me know in the comments below!
These healthy peanut butter honey cheerio bars are perfectly crunchy, loaded with peanut butter-y goodness, and sweetened with a touch of honey. PSST – Don’t forget the chocolate drizzle. 😉
A sweet treat you can feel good about?
Sign me up!
– Jennifer
Healthy Peanut Butter Honey Cheerio Bars
Equipment for this recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups honey
- 1 1/2 cups all natural peanut butter use the all natural, just nuts variety
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 (8.9 oz) box Cheerios unsweetened (9 cups of cereal)
- 3/4 cups flaxseed meal
- 1 (4 oz) bar Bittersweet Chocolate Baker’s Bar 66% cacao
- Maldon sea salt for sprinkling
Recipe Video
Instructions
- Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Place honey and peanut butter into a large microwave safe bowl.
- Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, then microwave for an additional 30 seconds or until the mixture is melted.
- Stir in vanilla extract.
- Then add in cheerios and flaxseed meal.
- Stir until well combined then pour mixture into prepared pan.
- Grease your hands with cooking spray and then firmly press the mixture evenly into the pan.
- Melt chocolate and drizzle over bars.
- Sprinkle with Maldon sea salt, optional
- Chill until chocolate has hardened, remove from pan, then cut into bars.
- Serve and enjoy!
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Nutrition Information
*Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.
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