The classic melt-in-your-mouth chocolate oatmeal no bake bars are popular for a very good reason – they’re impossible to stop eating!
At first glance, traditional chocolate no bake recipes—made with wholesome oatmeal instead of flour—might seem like a healthy choice.
But with half a cup of butter and two full cups of refined sugar packed into traditional no bake bar recipes, they’re really not even close.
These homemade chocolate oatmeal no bake bars offer the perfect healthy alternative:
You get all of the wholesome ingredients, without all the extra butter and sugar.
I swapped out the sugar here for pure maple syrup and have also cut way back on the sweetener in general, and I substituted peanut butter for the butter, for an added protein boost you won’t even realize is in there.
Also Try These Buffalo Cauliflower Wings – Just 6 Ingredients
The recipe first came about during the Snowpocalypse 2016, when my then-boyfriend and I were trapped in my apartment while the snow relentlessly slammed down outside.
After watching about seven Daredevil episodes in a row, he looked at me and said, “So where are all the famous Chocolate Covered Katie baked goods?”
With no grocery stores open, I took stock of my pantry and pulled out every one of my favorite ingredients that I always have on hand:
Chocolate.
Peanut Butter.
Oatmeal.
Combining so many delicious ingredients into one easy-to-make and heart-healthy dessert was pretty much a guaranteed success right from the start.
I formed them into no bake cookie balls and put them on a plate.
The boy proceeded to eat eight of them… So I took that as a good sign!
Then we watched even more Daredevil, and ate pasta with jarred Ragu from 7/11 for dinner.
And swore we’d never tell.
Also try the recipe in cookie form –> Chocolate No Bake Cookies
Oatmeal Chocolate No Bake Bar Instructions
Step One: Prepare an 8-inch pan by lining it with parchment or wax paper.
Stir together the liquid ingredients, then combine with the oats and stir until evenly mixed.
Step Two: Smooth into the prepared pan, and press down with a spoon as hard as you can.
Really press down as hard as you can.
Transfer the pan to the freezer until the bars are firm enough to cut.
Step Three: Slice into bars, and enjoy!
Leftovers can be left out at room temperature for a few hours, but for optimum freshness I like to keep them in the fridge or freezer, where they last a few weeks…
If you don’t eat them all first!
Above, watch the video of how to make chocolate oatmeal no bake bars.
Chocolate Oatmeal No Bake Bars
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup peanut butter or allergy-friendly sub
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup or honey or agave
- 1/4 cup butter or coconut oil
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 cups quick oats (Here's a keto version)
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
Instructions
- Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment or wax. Set aside. Stir together the first three ingredients. Gently heat until the oil is melted and peanut butter is easily stir-able. Whisk in the vanilla extract and salt, stirring until completely smooth. Stir in the quick oats and cocoa powder until evenly coated. Smooth into the prepared pan, and press down with a spoon as hard as you can. Really pack it in. Freeze until firm enough to cut. Leftovers can stay out a few hours, but I like to keep them in the freezer for optimum freshness, where they last a few weeks.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
More Healthy No Bake Recipes
Or this Avocado Chocolate Mousse
Will probably try these within the next couple days. If I was home, I’d be making them now! They look delish! I enjoyed the story behind them, too. I love reading personal stories- it totally makes me feel like I know you, which is a good thing, instead of reading something robotic.
Thanks; I wish I could share more stories – I have so many good ones of things that happen to me. But most of them are probably not appropriate for the blog or could potentially hurt feelings or infringe on others’ privacy. In my dream world, I would be Taylor Swift and just not care 🙂
I always loved no-bake cookies. Those were one of the addictive treats that I could just eat and eat – until they became too disgustingly sweet to handle and I had to leave them alone for a week. I’m betting these would be a delicious substitute, especially given my fondness of peanut butter. Cute story too; limited resources can turn out some delicious treats 😀
Hello😊
I just made this scrumptious sweet treat! Can’t wait to sample. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
I could be wrong but,is there coconut flakes in this recipe? I am thinking I see coconut in the picture but perhaps I’m wrong. I see that there’s no coconut listed in the ingredients so please let me know.
Thank you!
Hi, those are oats, but you can definitely add coconut if you wish 🙂
Would I be able to add more nut butter to brownie batter chocolate overnight oats?
Absolutely!
Can I use the same amount of light corn syrup instead of maple, agave or honey? And can I use regular oats instead of quick cooking oats?
I’m eating these right now! They’re so delicious. And still warm, because I’m pregnant and too impatient to wait 🙂
Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Scrolling through Instagram today I came across your post about these.. Given that I’m super tired and crampy and just ?% over it today I decided to go ahead and make them.
I didn’t have any coconut oil so I subbed butter. I also don’t own an 8″ square baking dish so I used an 8″ cake pan instead, which worked out perfectly because I was then able to use the second cake pan to really press the mixture down into a nice compact layer. Finally, I sprinkled some chocolate chips on top and pressed them in because yum.
10/10, will make again.
I did the same thing, I used butter instead of the coconut oil. Also, i didnt have enough peanut butter, so i used 1/4 cup pb and 3 tbsp ghee. And i used only honey as the sweetener. Perhaps i didn’tmeasure correctly, but i found i had too much liquid for the oatmeal. Im not complaining, though, the end result tastes like an amazing chocolate bar with oats in it! This recipe is amazing, Katie! Ive been a long time reader but this is the first time I’ve left a comment. Glad to see how you have been doing over the years and the success you’ve found!
Why did I use my quick oats up on baked oatmeal??!! As soon as I re-stock I will definitely be making these (easy for a bake sale too!). Would either natural or “regular” peanut butter work for this recipe?
Both work!
Can you use rolled oats rather than quick oats?
You can definitely experiment!
Katie
Please forgive me if this is the dumbest question you receive this year….. I’m still very unclear on coconut oil in general and it use(s). Is “virgin coconut oil” the solid form or liquid? Does it matter? The only liquid I can identify in the picture appears to be maple syrup…and I don’t see anything identified as “virgin coconut oil”.
I am VERY eager to try this one out for my son and myself!
Many thanks !!!
Virgin coconut oil is solid when chilled and liquid when it’s warm out or when it’s gently heated.
To die for!!!! I made these with tahini instead of peanut butter. Yum yum and more yum!!
Awesome – school friendly treats.
I wish they were for our school. We are nut free so we are limited as to what we can send to school.
What about using SunButter?
These are delicious! Only problem with them is they will test my self control.
Wondering about a recipe you mentioned coming up a while ago for cinnamon bars?