Make these soft, chocolatey, and ultra fudgy NO BAKE chocolate oatmeal fudge bars!
Just one chocolate bite, and people fall instantly in love with the recipe!
When I first posted the bars on Instagram, it quickly received over 10,000 likes and hundreds of comments. I couldn’t reply fast enough.
And the chocolate oatmeal fudge bars have only gotten more popular since!
Also try these Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Above – watch the step by step chocolate oatmeal bar recipe video
Classic chocolate oatmeal fudge bars
Oatmeal fudge bars have been a favorite potluck recipe for generations.
However, just because they contain oatmeal does not make the standard version of these treats a healthy choice.
Many classic oatmeal fudge bar recipes, including copycat recipes you can find online for the famous Starbucks oatmeal fudge bars, contain a shocking amount of butter and sugar even by traditional dessert standards.
Think one and a half cups of butter, two cups of flour, and an entire two cups of sugar, not to mention all the sugar from two cups chocolate chips and a can of sweetened condensed milk.
If any recipe were screaming for a healthy dessert makeover, the traditional chocolate oatmeal fudge bar would be it.
With so many facets of the original oatmeal fudge bar recipe needing an update, I opted to start completely from scratch.
These lightened up oatmeal snack bars can be dairy free, flourless, gluten free, and vegan. And they are just as deliciously chocolatey as the originals.
For a breakfast version, make Baked Oatmeal Bars
Chocolate oat fudge bar ingredients
If you’ve never had an oatmeal fudge bar before, imagine eating a homemade oatmeal cookie sandwich with a layer of smooth chocolate fudge in the middle.
That’s pretty much what this recipe tastes like.
Oh, and I forgot to mention the BEST part.
Instead of using any oil in the recipe, I made the bars even more delicious and healthy by adding peanut butter.
Basically, they contain all my favorite foods in one hand-held dessert.
If you are not a peanut butter addict like I am, you have many alternative options for these bars, including almond butter, cashew butter, Coconut Butter, or even sunbutter.
The recipe works with rolled oats, quick oats, or an oat free alternative like quinoa flakes or spelt flakes. I have not tried substituting steel cut oats.
I like to use dark or semi sweet chocolate chips. Or go for a fun twist by using white chocolate chips or even Peanut Butter Chips.
No chocolate chips on hand? It’s fine to substitute an equal amount of broken up chocolate bars, which is what I used in the photo above.
Chocolate oatmeal fudge bar serving ideas
Serve them for an after school snack or a weekday dessert.
The oatmeal bars are also an incredibly popular game day snack. Set out a tray at your next football playoff or Super Bowl party and watch the entire tray disappear.
Store leftovers in a covered container. They are fine to leave out on the counter for a day or two in a cool, dry place. For optimal freshness, I recommend refrigerating leftover healthy snack bars for up to a week.
Or freeze leftover oatmeal chocolate bars in an airtight covered container, with parchment or wax paper in between each layer of bars, for up to two months.
How to make chocolate oatmeal bars
Line an eight inch square pan with parchment paper or wax paper. Set this pan aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, stir the liquid sweetener (pure maple syrup, honey, or agave) with the water, vanilla extract, and a third cup of the peanut butter until smooth.
Stir in the rolled oats and the salt. Transfer about two thirds of this mixture to the prepared pan. Place a second sheet of parchment over top to press the oat mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan as hard as you can.
Remove the second sheet of parchment paper.
In a new bowl, very carefully melt the chocolate chips. (If you are unsure how to melt chocolate, see my Chocolate Covered Strawberries post.)
Stir in the remaining half cup of nut butter until smooth. Pour this thick chocolate fudge mixture over the oatmeal crust in the baking pan.
Finally, sprinkle the remaining oat crumbles on top of the chocolate layer, and press down firmly with a fork or spoon.
Refrigerate or freeze the bars until firm enough to cut into squares.
Also make the popular Black Bean Brownies
Chocolate Oatmeal Fudge Bars
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cup quick oats, or here’s a keto version
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup, honey, or agave
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup peanut butter or allergy friendly sub
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 4 – 8 oz chocolate chips or sugar free chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup additional peanut butter or allergy friendly sub
Instructions
- **The bars in the photos were made with the lower amount of chocolate chips, and the bars in the video were made with the higher amount. It's your choice!Line an 8×8 pan with parchment or wax paper, and set aside. Stir together the maple syrup, 1/3 cup peanut butter, water, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the oats and salt. Transfer about 2/3 of the mixture to the pan, and press down very well, using a second sheet of parchment to press it evenly into the bottom of the pan. In a separate bowl, carefully melt the chocolate and 1/2 cup peanut butter. Stir until smooth. Pour this evenly on top of the crust in the pan. Sprinkle the remaining oat crumbles on top of the chocolate layer, then press down. Refrigerate or freeze until firm enough to cut squares.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
Popular Game Day Recipes
Hi! I just entered your recipe for Oatmeal Chocolate Fudge Bars into my Weight Watchers App. The Fudge bars calculated out to be 5 FREESTYLE POINTS if you make 24 bars out of an 8×8 pan. :\ Like that’s gonna happen. Not really realistic. RIGHT??? I also input the Secret Vegan Peanut Butter Cookie. If you make 10 cookies. . .using the TRUVIA baking blend instead of the sugar you have. . .it calculates to 4 FREESTYLE POINTS. Hoping you’ll update your calculations??? As a Weight Watcher LIFETIME member 20 lbs under goal for 11+ years. . .I was really hoping to find some tasty treats.
Katie, did you use milk chocolate or semi sweet chips? Also, ha you ever tried to toast the oatmeal in the oven first? Just wondering. Can’t wait to try these!
Toasting the oatmeal sounds like a fantastic idea! I know Katie normally uses these chips (cheapest on iherb) https://www.iherb.com/pr/Enjoy-Life-Foods-Mini-Chips-Semi-Sweet-Chocolate-10-oz-283-g/32772?rcode=KAT9868
Jason (media relations)
Hi there,
I don’t have chocolate chips 🙁 only cocoa powder! Would I be able to utilize that in place of the chips?
You never know unless you experiment but it sounds like a fun experiment. Be sure to report back if you try!
HI. I PLACED ALL INGREDIENTS IN MYFITNESS PAL USING 2/3 CUP CHOCOLATE CHIPS, AGAVE AND PEANUT BUTTER. AT 25 BARS I HAVE A CALORIE COUNT OF 132 PER BAR. PLEASE EXPLAIN HOW YOU GET 96 CALORIES. tHANK YOU.
Hi, it will depend on the brands of things you use. Online calculators are also notoriously off on certain ingredients, so it’s best to always take their numbers as more of a guide. Hope that helps!
I couldn’t wait to make these, even though I didn’t have the exact ingredients. I used old fashioned oats, not quick oats and part honey and agave. They were amazingly amazing. I’m making them again now that I have the correct ingredients. But I can’t imagine how they could get better .
Love this recipe! I made 4 batches so far. Try it with tahini for sesame goodness. I have tried almond butter, peanut butter and tahini. I sprinkled sesame seeds on the sesame ones and peanuts on the peanut ones before I put on the remaining oat mixture.
With Tahiti and sesame!
How many servings does this make? I’m trying to figure out my portions. My 3-year-old daughter has helped make these twice and it went well!
Hi, the post says the yield is 20 bars. Of course it depends on how big you cut them! 🙂
I just made these and haven’t tried any yet, but I wanted to give alternative nutrition info based on the brands I used for anyone else who counts calories because I was a little surprised.
Brands I used:
Great Value Creamy Peanut Butter
Great Value Clover Honey
Quaker Quick Oats
Great Value Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
I attached the nutrition info as a picture, hopefully it shows up.
Unfortunately it looks like the picture is too small. Here it is:
Servings per recipe: 25
– Calories: 124
– Total Fat: 6g
—- Saturated Fat: 1g
—- Monounsaturated Fat: 3g
—- Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g
—- Trans Fat: 0g
– Cholesterol: 0mg
– Sodium: 32mg
– Potassium: 67mg
– Total Carbohydrates: 17g
—- Dietary Fiber: 1g
—- Sugars: 9g
– Protein: 3g
– Vitamin A: 0%
– Vitamin C: 0%
– Calcum: 0%
– Iron: 5%
If you up the servings per recipe to 30, the bars come down to 103 calories but I’d imagine they’d be tiny.
What brand of chocolate chips do you use to make this vegan? All the major brands in my store contain milkfat or milk powder, even the dark chocolate and semi-sweet. Is there a brand you prefer? These look so good, thanks for the recipe.
Hi Martha, Try Enjoy Life brand, or Target Simply Balanced (their organic line), or Kroger’s organic line. I think Costco’s semi sweet chocolate chips are accidentally vegan. Look in your regular grocery store in the natural food section if it has one, and that’s usually where you can find vegan brands! Or if nothing else, Vitacost.com has great prices.