Vegan Chocolate Baked Oatmeal Bars
These vegan chocolate baked oatmeal bars are made with just 5 ingredients: banana, oats, cocoa, protein powder and chocolate chips!
Features
- dietary features: vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, oil-free
- healthier snacking: well-balanced for a healthier, low-sugar snack and dessert option
- quick and easy: you’ll need just 5 ingredients and 20 minutes
Ingredients Notes
- protein powder – works best with a pea protein-based vegan protein powder such as Vega, NuZest, Orgain or Bob’s Red Mill
- oats – rolled oats, quick oats and old fashioned oats all work, be sure to use gluten-free certified if needed
- cocoa powder – regular baking cocoa powder or raw cacao powder both work here
- chocolate chips – use dairy-free chocolate chips to keep them vegan, I like Camino and Enjoy Life
- banana – lightly spotty banana works great, over so ripe it’s mushy and definitely not under ripe
Step by Step Instructions
Before You Start: Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Step 1. Mash the banana into a smooth paste. I like to use an immersion blender for this but a fork will do trick too.
Step 2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix into a thick dough.
Step 3. Spread the dough evenly into a square baking pan and bake for 15.
Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then slice into bars and enjoy!
Notes and Tips
- Cooling: Don’t skip letting them cool in the pan for 10 minutes. It helps them hold together well.
- For Best Results: Use a kitchen scale to measure ingredients.
- Whey: These have not been tested with whey protein powder and I don’t recommend using it as it has a different texture and acts differently in baking.
- Sweetening: These are on the healthy side and not super sweet or decadent. For additional sweetness, add up to 2 tbsp maple syrup, coconut sugar or agave, or sweeten to taste with a sugar-free sweetener such as stevia or monk fruit.
Storing
- Fridge: Let cool then store in a sealed container for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Let cool then store in a sealed container or freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months.
- Reheating & Thawing: If frozen, thaw at room temperature or in the fridge. Reheat in the oven or microwave if desired. They’re yummy warmed up and topped with almond or peanut butter!
Related Recipes
- Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars
- Vegan Baked Oatmeal Cups
- Easy Banana Baked Oatmeal
- Vegan Banana Oatmeal Bars
- Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal
For an easy and delicious stovetop oatmeal, you’ll love this simple banana oatmeal recipe. To switch things up, try these quinoa breakfast bars.
Did you try this recipe?
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Chocolate Baked Oatmeal Bars
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 16
- Category: Snack
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These yummy vegan chocolate baked oat bars make the perfect sweet but healthier snack or dessert. Easy to make with just 5 simple ingredients, these will become snacking staple!
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups (410 g) ripe mashed banana (approx. 4 small))
- 2 cups (200 g) quick or rolled oats
- 2 servings (60 g) chocolate or vanilla vegan protein powder
- 2 tbsp (15 g) unsweetened cocoa powder or raw cacao powder
- 1/2 cup (85 g) dairy-free chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Place the banana in a mixing bowl and use an immersion blender or fork to mash into a paste.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix everything up into a thick, doughy batter.
- Prepare a 7-8 inch square baking pan with a light coating of non-stick cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
- Evenly spread the mixture into the pan.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before slicing into 16 bars.
Notes
Taste: These are not super sweet or decadent and are definitely more of a healthy snack bar. For a sweeter bar, you can add up to 3 tbsp maple syrup, coconut sugar or agave. For sugar-free sweetening, use a pinch of stevia or a few drops of liquid stevia or monk fruit.
Storage: Let cool then store in a container in the fridge for up to 5 days or freezer for up to 3 months. If frozen, thaw at room temperature or in the fridge or microwave. Enjoy cold or warm in the microwave or oven.
Serving: Try them warm with a spread of almond or peanut butter.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 114
- Sugar: 4.8 g
- Sodium: 46 mg
- Fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 18 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 6 g
Keywords: chocolate baked oatmeal, baked oatmeal protein bars
Originally published on February 11, 2017. Updated with new photos and text on September 12, 2020.
These look really good, but I have a friend who doesn’t like bananas in baked goods. Any suggestion on what I could swap it with while still keeping it vegan? Thanks so much!
I haven’t tested these with anything but banana. It provides the best binding, texture and sweetness. You could maybe try applesauce or pumpkin puree but I haven’t tested it! Thanks.
What to use if you don’t have protein powder?
Hi Nicola, this recipe is quite reliant on the protein powder unfortunately so I can’t say how they’d turn out without it. I have some other baked oatmeal bars that don’t use protein powder though if you take a browse through the breakfast and snack sections!
These are amazing! So delicious and moist. It was the perfect use of a chocolate protein powder that was hiding in the back of my pantry. I topped mine with a little unsweetened sunflower butter and it was the perfect post-workout treat!
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These are the perfect snack bar!
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Have made these more than once and they are by far one of my favorites! Definitely gonna be something I make weekly. My family loves them too and they are hard to please!
That’s awesome! I need to make these again 🙂 Glad you enjoyed them.
I made this recipe yesterday and have to say these are amazing! The banana flavor is not overbearing as it can be in some recipes. They are a delicious and healthy alternative to other sugary treats! Very satisfying. Thank you!
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Thank you so much for your comment and feedback, Pamela! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed them.
Recently I started working out and it bummed to know that what I ate wasn’t helping me getting where I wanted. I’m always trying to find healthy snaks because when we want one and don’t know which to have that’s usually when we make more mistakes so this recipe will be perfect. It seems amazing and on top of all is vegan. Definetly going to try it out 😀
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