Chocolate Pretzel Peanut Butter Bars are a perfect no-bake dessert — featuring all the salty and sweet ingredients that we love!

The crust is a buttery layer with salty pretzels and sweet graham crackers. It’s topped with a fluffy peanut butter & cream cheese filling and drizzled with melty hot fudge.

Sprinkle the bars with more crushed pretzels and chocolate-covered peanuts for a salty-sweet explosion.

These chocolate pretzel peanut butter bars keep well in the refrigerator or freezer. This makes them a convenient dessert to make ahead for a crowd. (No last-minute rush to get dessert out of the oven!)

When you’re ready for a treat, simply pull the bars out of the fridge and slice!

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars cut into squares.

A close-up photo of a bite taken out of a peanut butter bar.

Why KJ Loves

No-Bake Chocolate Pretzel Peanut Butter Bars

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No-Bake Chocolate Pretzel Peanut Butter Bars

Can you ever go wrong with chocolate, pretzels AND peanut butter all together? I think not! This classic salty and sweet dessert is sure to disappear quickly. As the younger generation told me: “These bars SLAP.”

Graham cracker and pretzel crust pressed into a 9x13 pan.

Chocolate Pretzel Peanut Butter Bar Ingredients

For the crust:

Graham crackers

Pretzels

Make sure you measure the pretzels after they are crushed for the most accurate measurement.

Butter

Salted or unsalted. I prefer salted in my recipes!

For the filling:

Cream cheese

Full fat. (It’s a dessert, after all!)

Peanut butter

Use creamy peanut butter for this recipe! I recommend a classic peanut butter like Jif, Skippy, or Peter Pan. You want something that holds up better for these dessert bars. (Natural peanut butter will not do the trick!)

Cool Whip

We’re keeping things simple and sweet by using store-bought Cool Whip. (But if you prefer homemade whipped cream, you can certainly use it!).

For the topping:

Hot fudge sauce

Crushed pretzels

Chocolate-covered peanuts (chopped)

Cream cheese and peanut butter creamed together in a bowl.

How to make these salty-sweet bars of goodness

1

Make the crust.

Combine the crust ingredients in a food processor and pulse until they are combined and start to stick together.

Gently press the crust into the bottom of a parchment-lined 9×13 pan. Set aside.

2

Sauce it up.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and the peanut butter until smooth and creamy.

Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in the Cool Whip until just combined. (Don’t overmix!)

Evenly spread the filling mixture over the top of the prepared pretzel graham cracker crust.

3

Top ‘em off!

Evenly drizzle the bars with the hot fudge sauce.

Tip: You may need to microwave the hot fudge slightly to get it pourable. But make sure it’s not too hot when pouring over the top!

Top with additional crushed pretzels and chocolate-covered peanuts.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. You can store the bars for up to two days before serving them!

4

Wash the dishes. How sad.

Serving Chocolate Pretzel Peanut Butter Bars

Slice the bars inside the pan.

Or carefully remove the bars from the pan by lifting the parchment paper up and out of the pan. Then slice and serve!

Cool whip being folded into the peanut butter filling.

Chocolate Pretzel Peanut Butter Bars FAQ

Do these bars need to be refrigerated?

This recipe features a special ingredient: cream cheese! So yes, you’ll need to refrigerate them.

What kind of peanut butter should I use?

For this dessert bar recipe, choose a creamy, classic peanut butter such as Jif, Skippy, or Peter Pan. These brands are more suited to maintaining a good texture and consistency. (Natural peanut butter just won’t give you the same results.)

What kind of pretzels should I use?

I used the regular twisty pretzels. But you could also use mini pretzel sticks. The key is to crunch up the pretzels before measuring to ensure you have the right volume.

Can you freeze these chocolate pretzel peanut butter bars?

Yes! Freeze these bars in an airtight container. When you’re ready to serve them, transfer the bars to the fridge the night before so they can defrost at a safe temperature.

Peanut butter filling spread into the pan.

Pretzels and chocolate covered peanuts topping off the peanut butter bars.

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