No-Bake Oatmeal Chocolate Bars

posted: 12/18/22 — updated: 04/25/23 by Deryn Macey Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.

These no-bake oatmeal chocolate bars are easy to make with just 7 simple ingredients.

A stack of 3 Starbucks-copycat oat fudge bars with layers of chocolate fudge between layers of oat crust and crumble.

Table of Contents

About this Recipe

These oatmeal chocolate bars are the perfect easy and delicious no-bake dessert. They’re made with just a few simple ingredients, and they’re so good that you’ll want to make them again and again.

These bars are somewhat of a copycat version of the oat fudge bar from Starbucks. The texture is a little different since they’re no-bake but they still have a creamy chocolate fudge layer between a chewy brown sugar oatmeal crust and oatmeal topping.

If you’re looking for something sweet and satisfying that requires minimal effort to prepare, you’ll love these yummy homemade bars.

For more holiday recipes, don’t miss 7 layer bars, pecan snowball cookies, chocolate snowballs cookies, thumbprints, Nanaimo bars and lemon shortbread cookies.

Highlights

Vegan and gluten-free.
No baking required.
Easy to prepare.
Just 7 ingredients.

Ingredients Needed

Butter: Use a plant-based butter such as Country Crock, Miyoko’s, Earth Balance or Melt Organic. I like the butter sticks for dessert recipes.
Brown Sugar: The recipe calls for dark brown sugar but light brown sugar or coconut sugar can be used as well.
Vanilla: Any pure vanilla extract or artificial extract works.
Oats: Quick oats have a finer consistency than rolled oats so help everything hold together better but you can use rolled oats if that’s what you have available.
Walnuts: The nuts are optional but add a nice crunch and texture to the oat layer. You can substitute chopped pecans or slivered almonds.
Chocolate: Use dark chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips. I preferred semi-sweet chocolate chips here for a bit more sweetness.
Peanut Butter: Use natural peanut butter or substitute any other nut or seed butter.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Mix butter and sugar.

In a medium pot over medium heat, melt the vegan butter. Once it’s melted, whisk in the brown sugar and salt until well-combined.

Melted butter mixed with brown sugar in a small pot with a wooden spoon resting in the pot.

Step 2: Add vanilla, oats and walnuts.

Turn the heat down to low and stir in the vanilla, oats and walnuts. Mix it all up until evenly combined. Remove the pot from the heat.

A crumbly, dough oat mixture in a small pot with a wooden spoon resting in it.

Step 3: Form the bottom layer.

Press half (about 1.5-1.75 cups) of the oat mixture into the bottom other prepared pan using a spatula until you have a firm even layer.

Reserve the remaining oat mixture for adding on top after the fudge layer.

A layer of oat crust pressed into a square baking pan lined with parchment paper.

Step 4: Melt the chocolate and peanut butter.

Add the chocolate chips and peanut butter to a microwave safe bowl.

Microwave for 30-seconds then stir. That may be enough to melt in the remaining pieces of chocolate. If it needs more time, continue in 15-second increments, stirring between each, until fully melted.

Melted chocolate in a small glass mixing bowl with a small wooden spoon resting in it.

Step 5: Layer the bars.

Add the chocolate and smooth into an even layer then and sprinkle with the remaining oat mixture, gently pressing it down just slightly. Chill the bars for at least an hour until the chocolate fudge is set.

A layer of melted chocolate in a square baking pan lined with parchment paper. — Spread chocolate in even layer.

Overhead view into a pan of oat fudge bars with a crumble oatmeal layer on top. — Spread chocolate in even layer.

Step 6: Slice and enjoy!

Once the chocolate fudge layer is firm, lift the bars out of the pan using the edges of the parchment paper. Slice the bars into 16 squares and enjoy!

Overhead view of a pan of oatmeal chocolate bars cut into 16 small squares. The bars are sitting on a piece of parchment paper on top of a round cutting board. — After chilling, lift out of pan and slice.

Expert Tips

Weigh your ingredients. I always recommend using a digital scale to measure your ingredients. This will ensure accuracy and recipe success!
Line the pan. Line the pan with parchment paper so it sticks out over at least 2 of the edges. This will make it easy to lift the bars out of the pan to slice them.
Chill before slicing. It’s important to chill the bars in the fridge until completely firmed. I’d suggest at least 1 hour of chill time, if not more. You can pop them in the freezer to speed it up if you like!

FAQs

Are oatmeal fudge bars gluten-free?

Yes! This recipe is gluten-free as written just be sure to use gluten-free certified oats if needed.

Can I use rolled oats?

The recipe calls for quick oats but you can use rolled oats if that’s what you have available.

Quick oats have a finer texture so work well in this recipe.

Can I make nut-free oat fudge bars?

Yes. To make these nut-free, omit the walnuts and substitute sunflower seed butter for the peanut butter.

For a peanut-free recipe, you can use almond butter or cashew butter instead of peanut butter.

A stack of 4 oatmeal chocolate bars that look like the oat fudge bar from Starbucks.

Variations and Additions

Add up to 1 cup shredded coconut to the oat mixture.
Add 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips to the oat layer.
Use almond or cashew butter for peanut-free bars.
Use sunflower seed butter or tahini for nut-free bars.

Close up of an oatmeal chocolate fudge bar with a bite taken out of it so you can see the texture inside the bar. There are more bars in the background.

Storing Instructions

These bars need to be kept chilled. They’re ok at room temperature for some time but will get soft if it’s warm.
Fridge: Store in a sealed container for up to 1 week.
Freezer: Recommended to store in freezer. Store in a sealed container for up to 3 months.

Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Scroll down to the comment section to leave a star rating and review.
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