This No-Bake Rocky Road Bars recipe is a quick and easy old-fashioned favorite filled with marshmallows and nuts suspended in melted peanut butter and chocolate candy. It takes only 10 minutes to prepare a pan of this sweet and crunchy treat; it’s a simple square of homemade candy that you can slice and share with family and friends.
No-Bake Rocky Road Bars
Peanut Butter Rocky Road Bars is a tasty twist on the traditional ice cream flavor, but quickly and easily made as a delicious homemade candy.
These no-bake bars combine the classic combination of chocolate, peanut butter, and marshmallows mixed with an added nutty crunch, all sitting on top of sweetened coconut flakes and then a sprinkle of some more on top.
For more easy recipes with the classic peanut butter and chocolate combination, try my Giant Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Pie, Peanut Butter Penguins, and Chocolate Peanut Butter Lasagna!
Why We Love This Easy Rocky Road Bars Recipe
- Quick and easy to prepare in 10 minutes–no baking or candy thermometers needed.
- Uses simple ingredients to create the classic Rocky Road flavor combination.
- A delicious chocolate marshmallow dessert that’s fun to eat with your hands instead of a spoon.
- An adaptable recipe that you can customize with your favorite flavors and mix-ins.
- An easy no bake make-ahead recipe that you slice, serve, and share.
- The perfect sweet treat for after-school snacks, potlucks, parties, or gift-giving.
Ingredients
- Salted sweet cream butter
- Crunchy peanut butter: Feel free to use creamy peanut butter instead of crunchy peanut butter.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Walnuts
- Dry roasted peanuts
- Miniature marshmallows: You can use plain white mini marshmallows or multicolored miniature marshmallows.
- Sweetened coconut flakes
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Substitutions and Additions
- Change The Crunch: Feel free to use your favorite variety of nuts in this recipe. Some ideas include pecans, almonds, macadamia nuts, or cashews.
- Prepare Without Peanuts/Walnuts: You can replace the nuts with Rice Krispies, graham crackers, or even candy pieces.
- Choose Your Chocolate: I prefer semi-sweet chocolate chips in my bars, but milk chocolate chips, dark or bittersweet will work as well.
- Peanut Butter Swap: You can replace the peanut butter with your favorite nut butter, like almond butter, cashew butter, or even sunflower butter.
Recommended Tools
- 9×9 baking dish
- Parchment paper
- 3 – 4 quart saucepan
- Cutting board
How to Rocky Road Bars
These Rocky Road Bars are easy to prepare on the stovetop and then chill in the pan until you’re ready to serve. This chewy, crunchy, sweet, and salty treat tastes like your favorite ice cream flavor, but cut into squares and not scooped!
- Prepare The Pan: Sprinkle coconut flakes in the bottom of the lined baking dish.
- Make The Melted Mixture: Melt the butter over medium-low heat and then stir in the peanut butter. Reduce the heat to low. Add the chocolate chips, stir until melted, then mix in the walnuts and peanuts.
- Stir and Spread: Remove the pan from the heat, allow the chocolate mixture to cool for 5 – 7 minutes, then stir in the mini marshmallows. Spread the mixture on top of the coconut flakes and cover with the remaining coconut.
- Chill: Chill in the refrigerator for 3 hours.
- Slice and Serve: Lift the bars out of the baking dish and place on a cutting board. Slice 16 – 2 ¼ inch x 2 inch pieces and serve. Enjoy!
Tips
- I highly recommend that you line the pan with parchment paper or aluminum and make sure to leave an overhang around the edges of the pan. This way, after the bars have set you can easily lift them out of the pan and cut into bars.
- Make sure the chocolate isn’t too hot when you mix in the marshmallows. You don’t want them to melt.
- You can heat the butter, peanut butter and chocolate chips in the microwave, instead of on the stovetop.
Storage Tips
- To Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
- To Freeze: You can freeze the bars for up to 2 months in a freezer-safe container. Allow the bars to thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, feel free to omit the peanuts and walnuts. Feel free to substitute the nuts with the same amount of chopped graham crackers or Rice Krispies.
There are many variations from the original flavor, depending on where you live. In the US, it is traditionally comprised of chocolate ice cream, nuts, and marshmallows.
In Britain, traditional rocky road is a type of bar made with chocolate, nuts, coconut, and marshmallows. Other countries often add cherries or raisins.
You can heat the butter, peanut butter and chocolate chips in the microwave, instead of on the stovetop.
If you prefer the microwave, simply add the ingredients to a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30-second increments, stirring between each, until it has just melted.
When the chocolate is mostly melted, remove and stir until it has completely melted. This prevents the chocolate from burning.
Yes, you will need to refrigerate your bars for at least 3 hours after making them to solidify the chocolate and set them before cutting.
After that, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks to prevent them from melting or freeze them for up to 2 months.
Other Easy No-Bake Recipes
- No Bake Oreo Dessert
- Buckeye Fudge
- No-Bake Avalanche Cookies
- Chocolate Lasagna Recipe
- Easy Peanut Butter Fudge
- Banana Icebox Cake
- Oreo Dirt Cake
- Monster Cookie Dessert Dip
Rocky Road Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted sweet cream butter softened
- 1 cup crunchy peanut butter
- 12 ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- ½ cup chopped dry roasted peanuts
- 3 cups miniature marshmallows
- ¾ cup sweetened coconut flakes divided (¼ cup and ½ cup)
Instructions
- Line a 9×9 baking dish with parchment paper.
- Sprinkle ¼ cup of the coconut flakes in the bottom of the lined baking dish. Set it aside.
- Add the butter to a 3 – 4 quart saucepan over medium-low heat to melt.
- Once the butter is melted, add the crunchy peanut butter and stir to combine.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add the chocolate chips and stir continuously until the chocolate is melted.
- Stir in the chopped walnuts and peanuts.
- Remove the pan from the heat and allow the chocolate mixture to cool for 5 – 7 minutes.
- Once the chocolate mixture has cooled, stir in the miniature marshmallows.
- Spoon and spread the chocolate mixture on top of the ¼ cup coconut flakes.
- Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of coconut flakes on top of the chocolate. Chill in the refrigerator for 3 hours.
- Remove the baking dish from the refrigerator. Lift the rocky road bars out of the baking dish and place on a cutting board.
- Slice 16 – 2 ¼ inch x 2 inch slices before serving.
Jenn’s Notes
- To Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
- To Freeze: You can freeze the bars for up to 2 months in a freezer safe container. Allow the bars to thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving.
- I highly recommend that you line the pan with parchment paper or aluminum and make sure to leave an overhang around the edges of the pan. This way, after the bars have set you can easily lift them out of the pan and cut into bars.
- Make sure the chocolate isn’t too hot when you mix in the marshmallows. You don’t want them to melt.
- You can heat the butter, peanut butter and chocolate chips in the microwave, instead of on the stovetop.
- You can substitute creamy peanut butter for the crunchy peanut butter.
- You can substitute multicolored miniature marshmallows for the plain white miniature marshmallows.
- You can substitute Rice Krispies for chopped walnuts and the chopped peanuts.
