No-Bake Oatmeal Chocolate Bars

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Expert Tips

1. Weigh your ingredients. I always recommend using a digital scale to measure your ingredients. This will ensure accuracy and recipe success!
2. 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.
3. 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!

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.

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.