No-Bake Chocolate Oat Bars
These no-bake chocolate oats bars with peanut butter and chocolate chips are easy to make and so addictive!
Love chocolate and peanut butter? You’ll love these easy no-bake bars! They’re super easy to make with just a few ingredients and are packed with chocolate goodness.
Enjoy these bars for a quick snack or dessert any time of day.
Recipe Features
- Dietary: Vegan and gluten-free (use gf-certified oats if needed).
- No baking required!
- Easy to make with 6 simple ingredients.
- Perfect for a healthier homemade dessert.
- Travel well for snacking on-the-go.
Ingredient Notes
A complete list of ingredients with amounts and full instructions is located in the printable recipe card below. This section covers ingredient and substitution considerations.
- Dates: Medjool, sayer or deglect noor dates all works as long as they’re soft and moist. If your dates are overly dry or you’re not sure, you can soak them in hot water for 15 minutes and drain well before using.
- Cocoa powder: Regular or dark cocoa powder work great. For extra nutrition, you can use raw cacao powder instead.
- Maple syrup: Can be substituted with agave syrup.
- Chocolate chips: Use your favourite dairy-free chocolate chips to keep this recipe vegan, otherwise, any chocolate chips work. You can also use cacao nibs or chopped dark chocolate.
- Oats: Rolled oats, old fashioned oats or quick oats all work.
- Peanut Butter: Use natural peanut butter. Can’t do peanut butter? Almond butter or any other nut or seed butter is totally fine!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Add everything but the chocolate chips to a food processor and mix into a thick, sticky dough.
Add the chocolate chips and pulse a few times to combine.
Note: With the added maple syrup, the dough should come together but if it seems to dry (this can happen if your dates were too dry), you can add 1-2 tbsp warm water and process again.
Once you’ve create the dough in your food processor, press it into a parchment paper-lined loaf pan and pop the whole pan into the freezer for 1 hour to firm.
Once firm, lift the bars out of the pan and cut into squares.
Notes & Tips
- Nut-Free Option: Use sunflower seed butter or tahini instead of peanut butter.
- Gluten-Free Option: Be sure to use gluten-free oats.
- Sugar-Free Option: Use monk fruit sweetener instead of maple syrup and sugar-free chocolate chips such as Lily’s.
Storing
- Freezer: Store in a sealed container for up to 3 months.
- Fridge: Store in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.
- They’re ok at room temperature if kept cool but they’ll get soft and the chocolate will melt if warm.
More No-Bake Recipes
Here are a few more no-bake treats to try:
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Bites
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls
- Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
- Peanut Butter Blondies
- No-Bake Chocolate Almond Bars
- No-Bake Oatmeal Chocolate Bars
Did you try this recipe?
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I’d love to hear about it! Click here to leave a review and be sure to tag me @runningonrealfood if you post it on social media.
No-Bake Chocolate Oats Bars
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 60 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Food Processor
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These no-bake chocolate oat bars are almost too easy to make! Whip everything into a thick and delicious batter, press into bars and enjoy.
Ingredients
- 1 cup tightly packed, soft pitted dates (250 g)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (80 g)
- 1.25 cup oats (150 g)
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder (65 g)
- 1/4 cup natural peanut butter (75 g)
- 1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (80 g)
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Place the dates in a food processor and process a bit start breaking them down, about 30 seconds.
- Add everything else, except the chocolate chips and process into a thick, sticky dough. You should easily be able to press the dough between if your fingers. If it seems to dry or crumbly, add 1 tsp warm water and process again. Check and repeat if needed.
- Add the chocolate chips and pulse a few times to mix.
- Line a standard-sized loaf pan with parchment paper with two long strips that stick out either side of the pan and then press the dough tightly into the pan using your fingers.
- Place the pan in the freezer for 1 hour to firm.
- Lift out of the pan, cut into 8 squares or 16 small bars.
- Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or freezer for up to 2 months.
Notes
It’s important to use soft, moist dates in this recipe. If your dates are on the dry side, soak them in hot water for 15 minutes then drain well before using in the recipe.
You can skip the firming in the freezer if you’re dying to get into them. Just press into the pan firmly, lift the bars out of the pan, slice and enjoy.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 171
- Fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 29 g
- Protein: 4 g
Keywords: no-bake peanut butter bars, easy chocolate peanut butter bars
I made these bars today and not only were they healthy and easy, but they certainly satisfied my sweet tooth.
Awesome, so glad to hear that!!
Last night was my one year Veganversary so I made these to celebrate with. Unfortunately I was too full after dinner to enjoy them but I had some with lunch today and they are delicious! Just when I decided to limit my refined sugars, enter this little gem of a treat. Thank you!
I made these for my teenage daughter as a healthy alternative to store bought granola bars and not only does she like them but my husband and I are addicted too!! They are amazing!!
“No-Bake”, “Double-chocolate” “peanut butter” – these keywords are enough to make me go through this post.
And this recipe is even more awesome and healthy with dates and oats. I think we can add a few dry fruits like cashew nut, walnut and all to make it even more healthy.
★★★★★