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
Thanks for compiling these in such a handy way! I just moved to Iceland and don’t understand by Celsius oven, so I appreciate the no-bake theme. 🙂
I just made these, and they are ridiculous! My husband has eaten 2 already! I used old fashioned oats and agave as my sweetener. I love the agave in them, but I can definitely see where quick cooking oats would be more appropriate in this recipe. Regardless, I cannot believe how good they are! My new go to homemade treat! Thank you!
These rocked!!! Made my own sunbutter but other than that, no changes. So delish! Thank you for the great recipe!
O.M.Goodness!!! This recipe came through my FB feed last night, so I made them this morning as our weekend treat. Oh man, these are good! I love that it is sweet enough to be a real treat, but the maple syrup and the fiber in the oats make it a really good treat. BTW–I did increase the chocolate layer…there are no judgments when it comes to chocolate 🙂
Thank You!
I made these and they were delicious! I only think that the portion size of 29g is very small.
These look AMAZING! Iove using maple syrup as sweetener in recipes. I will be giving these a try this weekend!
Love this recipe
These are AMAZING!!! Made them for our three kids and my husband and I for a Valentine’s Day dessert and everyone gobbled them up! Could eat the whole pan!
So good! Shared my first batch with hubby and my parents, not “healthy dessert” people, and they loved them! Made a second batch tonight to share with my sisters… if they last long enough! Used honey for sweetener and more chocolate with less on for the fudge layer because I’m a chocoholic!
This is now one of my favorite desserts. So easy to make, with ingredients I almost always have on hand, and delicious!
Hi Katie, these look so delicious and I have been planning on making them all week. You mention a can of condensed milk in your post but it is. It included in the ingredient list- do I need it or can I omit it? If I use it – when does it go in? Thanks!
I just wanted to say these are really, really GREAT! In fact I have them individually wrapped and frozen, so that I can pull one out when I want a treat. I subbed old fashioned oats and they turned out very good. I made some other minor, personal tweaks… I have detoxed from sugar in the past year and I use a lot of recipes from “I Quit Sugar”, so I used brown rice syrup instead of maple syrup and I used Lilly’s brand vegan dark chocolate chips. They remind me of Revel Bars, if you have ever had those. Quick cooking oats are probably great, too. However, I would NOT use steel cut oats (trust me, I tried that w/ a revel bar recipe — much TOO chewy!) Anyway, I will definitely make these again, in fact I already have the recipe in my recipe box! Thanks, Katie. I was really struggling trying to find low sugar, chocolate treats that taste really good — until I found your site!
I just made these and they are delicious! Thanks again for another great recipe!
What type of chocolate chip cookies do you use??
Hi Katie! I love your work…it’s delicious! I wish that you had a print friendly option for your recipes.
Hi! Just be sure to view the recipe on a desktop, and there is a print button right there above the ingredients 🙂
I have never had oatmeal fudge bars before. That status is not going to remain for very long after seeing this though!!!