A very Canadian, very prairie treat, puffed wheat squares are a staple on the dainties tray in Manitoba at any events or get-togethers. These were a favourite for me growing up and this version is made a bit healthier with peanut butter, dates, and honey.
If you’ve never had a puffed wheat square, it’s a chewy chocolate treat with (you guessed it) puffed wheat forming the base. Unlike rice crispies, they’re not crisp at all – if you’ve tried my puffed quinoa bars, it’s very close in texture to that.
It’s a special dessert. Very nostalgic, but also modernised here with some ingredient changes. These are puffed wheat squares without corn syrup, and they’re just as chewy and delicious as the original. These make a great snack for adults and kids alike, are no-bake, and very simple.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Peanut butter: pure peanuts, with no oil or sugar added. If the peanut butter contains salt, omit the added salt in the recipe. Another nut or seed butter can be used in place of the peanut butter. Try hazelnut butter for a nutella twist, or sunflower seed butter for a nut-free version.
- Honey: creamed or liquid, it doesn’t matter. To make fully vegan squares, you can use maple syrup or something like coconut nectar. I find the stick factor of honey to be important here, but if you don’t mind slightly crumbly bars, maple syrup can be used. It might work with date syrup, but you would have a fairly strong molasses flavour. Brown rice syrup works well.
- Coconut oil: use refined to avoid any slight coconut flavour if preferred. Another oil can’t be subbed in place of coconut. It must be something that’s solid at room temperature to ensure the correct texture (one that holds together). Butter is normally used in puffed wheat squares.
- Cocoa: raw cacao and regular baking cocoa (not drinking cocoa) can be used interchangeably. There is a slight flavour variation so use whatever you like most.
- Puffed wheat: this is very easy to find in Canada, and increasingly available in Europe. Make sure it’s unsweetened, not breakfast cereal.
Step by Step
Step 1: add the oil, honey, peanut butter, and date paste to a pot.
Step 2: heat on low until melted.
Step 3: stir the cocoa into the mix.
Step 4: add the puffed wheat and press into a baking dish. Chill and slice.
Recipe Notes
To soften the dates, soak in freshly boiled water for 10-15 minutes, or hot water from the tap for about an hour. Either mash very well with a fork, or puree with a small blender.
Don’t leave out the dates. If anything, add more honey if you can’t find dates to use for the recipe – they’re important in making everything stick together. I haven’t tested with only honey and no dates so you’d have to experiment a bit.
The size of the container isn’t so terribly important. It just means the bars will be a bit thicker or thinner, though they should be pretty thick.
How to Store
Storage: keep the bars in a sealed container at room temperature for 2-3 days. I prefer to keep these in the refrigerator for best texture.
Freezing: place the bars in an airtight container and freeze for up to three months.
More No-Bake Treats
Coconut Panna Cotta
Gluten Free Ice Cream Sandwiches
Chocolate Avocado Fudgesicles
Dark Chocolate Coconut Bars
If you make these Puffed Wheat Bars or any other vegetarian chocolate recipes on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.
Peanut Butter Puffed Wheat Squares
Ingredients
- 200 grams natural peanut butter
- 100 grams dates mashed or pureed
- 80 grams honey
- 60 grams coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 25 grams cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 200 grams puffed wheat
Instructions
- Line a 20cm (8 in.) baking dish* with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add the peanut butter, date puree, honey, coconut oil, and vanilla to a large pot.200 grams natural peanut butter, 100 grams dates, 80 grams honey, 60 grams coconut oil, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Heat until just melted, stirring constantly. Once the mixture comes together and the oil has melted, immediately remove from the heat.
- Stir in the cocoa and salt, mixing to combine.25 grams cocoa powder, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- Add the puffed wheat and stir, using a spatula, until fully coated in the peanut butter mixture.200 grams puffed wheat
- Turn the puffed wheat mixture out into the prepared baking dish and press into as even a layer as possible.
- Place the dish into the freezer and chill for at least ten minutes (or refrigerate for 30 minutes), then lift it out of the dish with the parchment paper and slice into bars.
- Store the bars in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple of days, or freeze up to three months. I prefer to keep these in the refrigerator for best texture.
Notes
* For American cup measurements, please click the pink link text above the ingredient list that says ‘American’.
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
This post was first published in December 2014. It has been updated with some slight improvements to the recipe as of November 2021.
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Christina Kovacs says
Not sure where your puffed wheat comes from but where I live (Canadian prairies) 200g does NOT equal 6 cups (more like 10 – 12). I bake metric when given the option so perhaps you should not give a gram option for this one ingredient.
I will try to salvage what I made by adding more of the other ingredients. Other than this, it seems like a lovely recipe.
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Christina, I’m from near Brandon MB and this recipe was originally developed using Manitoba puffed wheat, and then tested again several times in Germany and Holland using locally available puffed wheat, and 200g does indeed equal six cups. All of my recipes are tested metric-first (I’m not American). If you are making the recipe with part metric and part cups, that’s where you’ll start running into problems. Not sure how you got 10 cups of puffed wheat from 200g but glad you otherwise like the recipe!
Christina says
Thanks Alexandra…and I don’t mean to be difficult just really confused about why my attempt at this recipe did not work. I followed the recipe exactly, all in metric (not mixing unit types). I used “President’s Choice All Natural Puffed Wheat Cereal”. Any thoughts on what could have happened? I am certain I weighed the other ingredients correctly.
Alexandra Daum says
Could it be that the peanut butter was rather dry or hard? Were there chunks of dates in the puree or was it fully mixed? Those are a couple of fairly common problems!
Jayne says
No one my age (61 ) knows what 200 grams of puffed wheat is! You can’t even look it up to figure out how many cups that is. Your recipes are great but for the love of cooking, please put your measurements in everyday terms that swing through known and searchable terms. Very frustrating 🙁
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Jayne, if you click the pink text that says ‘American’ above the ingredients, it will switch the amounts to cups for you. I don’t live in the US so I don’t use cups or imperial measurements as my main method, but do provide them for readers. Hope this helps!
diane says
this is a top-notch recipe that I doubled. I substituted kamut puffs for wheat square puffs. I purchased chopped organic dates, and it worked just fine when it was blended with the coconut oil, peanut butter, honey.
Last, I used 8 x 8 disposable pans, lined with parchment. Cooled For about 30 minutes, and then scored into squares. I kept mine in the freezer and it was easy to break off and enjoy.
Christina says
This is the best use of puffed wheat I’ve ever seen. 🙂 Definitely saving this recipe.
LARISSA MACKLEM says
Me, my 2 and 5 years olds have not been able to get enough of these since we made them! My 5 yr is a totally picky eater, and she helped me make them, so I was sure she would reject them because of the dates… but no! She devoured them, and now has the beginnings of a new food in her repertoire!
I had asked a question about using maple syrup but instead stuck with the honey, so apologies I can’t give feedback on that. I found that they were maybe just a touch too salty, and our peanut butter had no salt added, so folks may need to keep that in mind. I’m probably pretty sensitive to salt though.
Larissa Macklem says
Do you think you could use maple syrup in these? I tend to prefer the taste, though I no longer need to avoid honey as my Little is over the age of 1. Thanks!
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
I think it should be fine! The peanut butter should hold everything together well enough even without the stickiness of honey. I haven’t tried but I think it’ll work.
Larissa J. Macklem says
Thanks! Will give it a whirl today!
M says
I made these without the dates and they didn’t stick together at all. Maybe the dates are the magic glue that holds them together! They were tasty but we had to eat them with a spoon..
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
Yes, the dates are needed here to make the bars stick together. Usually leaving an ingredient out altogether will result in an end product that isn’t the same as the photos : ) I hope you try them again with the dates!