These peanut butter brownies are so easy to make. They don’t require any baking or cooking. They are just 3 ingredients and don’t contain any flour, butter, oil, eggs or added sugar. The brownies are chewy and fudgy and taste like peanut butter and chocolate.
These brownies make the perfect snack. It only takes about 15 minutes to make them and they store well too.
Ingredients
- Medjool Dates
- Peanut Butter
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
Dates: These brownies are naturally sweetened with dates. But the dates are more than just a sweetener. When dates are ground up, they become a thick paste which creates a chewy texture for the brownies. If you are not a fan of dates, you don’t really taste the dates in this recipe. The cocoa powder and peanut butter flavors overpower the date flavor and the dates are just there to provide natural sweetness and texture. I highly recommend using Medjool dates. They have a lot more soft flesh, which is what you need to make the paste. I don’t have a substitute for the dates in this recipe.
Peanut Butter: I used unsweetened creamy natural peanut butter. If you don’t like peanut butter, it will also work with almond butter. For a nut-free version you can also use sunflower seed butter.
Can these brownies be baked?
Yes you can bake them, but it isn’t necessary or recommended. Baking the brownies will dry them out and firm them up more.
How to Make No Bake Peanut Butter Brownies
The ingredients are all blended together in a food processor or high powered blender. Then the brownie batter is pressed into a loaf pan. You can add frosting, but it’s completely optional. Then they are ready to cut and eat. I don’t recommend trying to blend the ingredients by hand because you need to be able to blend the dates until they form a thick paste.
More No Bake Desserts
- 2 Ingredient No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies
- 3 Ingredient Healthy No Bake Cookies
- 2 Ingredient Healthy No Bake Banana Cake
- 2 Ingredient No Bake Peanut Butter Brownies
- 2 Ingredient No Bake Banana Brownies
3 Ingredient No Bake Peanut Butter Brownies
Ingredients
- 1/2 packed cup (96 g) pitted Medjool dates
- 1/2 cup (128 g) unsweetened natural creamy peanut butter
- 2 tbsp (14 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions
- Line the interior of an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Soak pitted dates in warm water for about 10 minutes or until soft. If you are using a fresh package of dates that are still very soft, you can skip the soaking. Drain softened dates from water and lightly pat dry (they do not need to be fully dry).
- Add dates to food processor and blend until they become a thick paste. Add in peanut butter and cocoa powder and blend until they are completely incorporated. Batter may appear crumbly but if you pinch it together, it should stay together. If it appears too dry you can add 1-2 tbsp of water and mix again. (I didn't need to add water for the soaked dates but if you skipped the soaking you may need to do this depending on how soft and moist your dates are).
- Press brownie batter into prepared loaf pan, making sure to apply enough pressure for the batter to all stick together. If desired, you can also add peanut butter spread or frosting on top. Cut and serve.
Notes
- These brownies are sweet but not super sweet. If you wish for sweeter (or chewier) brownies you can add a few more dates.
- If you can't find pitted dates, you can remove the pits yourself. Just make sure to remove the pits before weighing or measuring them in the measuring cup.
- My favorite Medjool dates to use are Double Date Organic Medjool Dates.*
- *This product link is an affiliate link. This means I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.
- If you have questions regarding substitutions, please see the Ingredients section of the post above.
- These brownies are very rich so I made it into 8 squares.
- For the peanut butter frosting you can use just peanut butter or peanut butter sweetened with a little powdered sweetener.
- Uneaten brownies should be stored in an airtight container.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
I made these brownies yesterday. I was surprised how the texture was so similar to traditional brownies and savory too! What brand of peanut butter do you use? The oil from the peanut butter separated in my brownies quite a bit. I also plan to try sunflower seed butter to see how it tastes.
We use Kirkland organic peanut butter. It may be that the brand you used is more runny/oily or maybe it wasn’t stirred enough. Hope that helps!
These brownies are the ?. Super easy to make and enjoy. I was eating them before I formed them in the pan
We’re glad you loved them!
Took more time than expected. The my blender didn’t mix as well as I had expected. Maybe will try the hand mixer next time, as someone else suggested.
I suggest that soaking the dates regardless will improve the texture. My dates were fresh but feel soaking them would have mixed all ingredients better.
Consistency was not like a brownie.
BUT, flavour was great!
I will try again.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
Can I substitute Cooked Prunes for the dates?
How are you cooking them? We have only tested it with dates and the texture is really important for making the brownies. The dates form a paste that holds the brownies together – depending on how you cook the prunes they will probably have too much moisture to work properly in the recipe.
I am a Certified Working Chef by trade and whipped up every one of the no bake recipes at work my staff and myself enjoyed them immensely with their exceptionally intense flavor, already added to my repertoire. My two full time pastry Chefs were first inline to get copies of all the recipes, thank you they will be used often. Bill.
Thanks for your nice comment!