The classic combination of peanut butter and jelly makes these bars the perfect salty-sweet treat! You’ll love how quickly they come together using ingredients you already have on hand.

Speaking of which…have you tried making your own homemade peanut butter? Give it a try!
And don’t miss my 3-ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies or Old-fashioned Lemon bars, if you love a good old-fashioned and easy recipe.

Nothing transports me back to childhood quite as quickly as the taste of peanut butter and jelly. Back in the good ol’ days, lunch ladies baked delicious treats from scratch to serve in the school cafeteria. Not everything from school cafeterias was loved, but those desserts…those ladies knew what they were doing when it came to desserts. And now you can take a page from their book with this throwback Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Jelly Bars recipe. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself about to hop off to recess after finishing yours!

Key Ingredients

• Butter. Unsalted butter is best because peanut butter adds plenty of salt on its own.
• Peanut butter. Use creamy peanut butter rather than crunchy. If you want some added crunch, add the optional peanuts to the top layer. Natural peanut butter works just fine.
• Brown sugar. Brown sugar gives these PB&J cafeteria bars a warmer flavor and a softer texture.
• Oats. I use old-fashioned oats to get the texture I like, but if you only have quick oats on hand, they will work!
• Fruit preserves. I think most people will prefer strawberry or raspberry jam (I use Lingonberry jam as a good MN would do :)) and recommend starting with one of those two. If your family is diehard grape jelly (or blackberry jam, etc.) fans though, feel free to use that!

How to Make Peanut Butter Jelly Bars

1. Beat the butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar together until creamy and light.
2. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition.
3. Add the vanilla extract and baking soda, and beat again.
4. Gently add flour. Just add a bit at a time to avoid making a mess.
5. Use a wooden or plastic spoon to stir in the oats.
6. Spread half the dough on the bottom of a greased pan. Top with the jam.
7. If you like a little crunch, mix the peanuts into the remaining dough, then spread it over the top of the jam layer.
8. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until set and golden brown on top. Allow cooling on wire rack before cutting into bars and devouring. Pairs great with a glass of milk (or a tiny carton for old-time’s sake)! 

NOTE: These bars are delicious served warm and will resemble a fruit crumble in texture. Let them cool and they will stiffen up and hold together…perfect for picking up and carrying.

How do I store PB&J bars?

If you have leftovers, what’s wrong with you? Kidding! Wrap up your Peanut Butter Jelly Bars or store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 or 4 days or in the fridge for 5 or 6 days. This opens up the possibility of making them ahead of time for an event!

Can these be frozen?

You can freeze these Peanut Butter Jelly Bars individually or in one giant piece. Either way, be sure they have cooled completely, wrap them well in plastic wrap, and stick them in the freezer. Allow frozen bars to thaw in the fridge overnight before doing any cutting. These would be really fun to freeze individually and pop in lunchboxes for a fun treat!

Jam or jelly?

I’m not one to tell you what to do, so I won’t come after you if all you have on hand is jelly and you decide to use it. BUT I will say that I recommend you use jam instead of jelly for this recipe. Jam, which still has pieces of fruit in it and sometimes a tad less sugar, gives these Peanut Butter Jelly Bars a little better texture and keeps this treat from being too sweet.

Lunch Lady PB&J Bars Recipe

| 18

Prep Time | 15 minutes mins

Cook Time | 30 minutes mins

Total Time | 45 minutes mins

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All the goodness and memories of elementary school rolled into a tasty PB&J dessert bar

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

• ¾ cup butter, softened
• ¼ cup peanut butter
• 1 ¾ cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 2 ½ cups flour
• 3 cups oats
• 1.5 cups of your favorite preserves I recommend raspberry or strawberry
• 1 cup chopped peanuts Optional

Check out our Kitchen Reference Guide for help with unfamiliar terms.

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar together until creamy and light.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition.
• Add the vanilla extract and baking soda, then beat again.
• Gently beat in the cinnamon and salt.
• Gently add flour, a bit at a time to avoid making a mess.
• Use a wooden or plastic spoon to stir in the oats.
• Lightly grease a 9×13 baking pan.
• Spread ½ of the dough on the bottom of the pan.
• Top with the jam.
• If desired, mix the peanuts into the remaining dough. Spread the dough over the top of the jam.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes or until set and golden brown on top. Allow to cool on a wire rack before cutting into bars.

Video

Notes

NOTE: These bars are delicious served warm and will resemble a fruit crumble in texture. Let them cool and they will stiffen up and hold together…perfect for picking up and carrying.

Nutrition

Calories: 418kcalCarbohydrates: 65gProtein: 7gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 39mgSodium: 162mgPotassium: 208mgFiber: 3gSugar: 35gVitamin A: 263IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 50mgIron: 2mg

Recipe Tester Kirsten says…

While baking, these smelled amazingly good! I thought at first that ¼ c peanut butter wouldn’t be enough but it was the perfect amount for the pb dough layers and balanced well with the jam in between. These reminded me of pb and jelly bars I used have in school growing up.

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