No bake chocolate oatmeal cookies are the perfect blend of rich chocolate and chewy, buttery textures. Made with cashew cream, these treats are incredibly easy, protein-rich, and a hassle-free, nutritious breakfast treat.
These no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies offer a tasty blend of rich chocolate flavor and essential nutrients like protein, fiber, and more to enhance energy levels and metabolism.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Like a candy bar. These cookies have a chewy texture like rice krispies with a chocolate top, only the texture is from nutritious oatmeal. Instead of marshmallows, the binder is cashew cream, far more nutritious than marshmallows but no less delicious.
Surprising nutrition. No bake cookies often use butter as a binder, but this recipe uses cashews instead and while butter is made up of saturated fat, cashews are more nutritious and heart healthy with unsaturated fat. Oats provide exception fiber, also lower cholesterol and provide heart-healthy support.
No bake & easy to make. Once you've soaked the cashews (20 minutes), you can whip these cookies up fast. Press the batter into a loaf pan, top with chocolate and slice. Cookies are ready in 20 minutes.
Ingredients
Start with making a quick cashew cream, and fold in chocolate and oats.
Cashews. Choose raw or roasted, and unsalted so you can control the salt. Soak them for 20 minutes in just-boiled water. Rinse, and blend along with maple syrup, vanilla and salt.
Cocoa. Use the best quality you can to influence the chocolate flavor.
Oats. Use rolled oats, and these will also be folded into the cashew cream.
How To Make
Make cashew cream. Soak cashews in just-boiled water for about 20 minutes. Drain, rinse and add cashews to a blender. Add maple syrup, vanilla, salt and water and whip up a creamy cashew cream.
Mix up cookies. In a bowl, mix the cashew cream, cocoa and rolled oats.
Add to a loaf pan. Press the mixture into a parchment-lined loaf pan.
Add chocolate top. Melt chocolate chips and pour on top.
Allow to set & slice. Let the chocolate top set at room temperature, or faster in the refrigerator or even freezer. Slice in eight slices.
How to Store
Store these cookies refrigerated in an airtight container for a week. Freeze for three months.
Substitutions
Instead of cashew cream. If you want to make these cookies using the traditional ingredients of a no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies, replace the cashews and maple syrup with ⅔ cup nut butter and ⅓ cup melted butter.
Instead of maple syrup. I used maple syrup for ease, but it does contribute a maple flavor so to avoid that drop 2 pitted Medjool dates into the soaking cashews and remove maple syrup from the ingredients.
Divide rolled oats. Swap a portion of the rolled oats for uncooked popped quinoa or even gluten-free steel cut oats for a crunchier texture.
Himalayan salt. If you can find Himalayan salt, it's worth using because it helps replenish all 84 elements found in your body, slowing aging, increasing hydration, improves circulation, expels toxins, absorb nutrients.
Q&A
1. Why doesn't this version contain butter, sugar and milk as in the traditional no bake chocolate oatmeal bar recipes online?
Because this is a healthy recipe and doesn't have dairy or sugar. The traditional recipe you are referring to involves boiling butter, sugar, milk and chocolate, and also involves quick oats. My recipes doesn't have dairy ingredients, doesn't use refined sugar, and uses the less processed rolled oats. It's a different cookie in the end, and healthier.
2. Can these cookies be made smaller in size?
Sure, just cut the 8 slabs in half, so you have 16 squares.
3. Can this mixture be baked?
I don't know, maybe. I haven't tried. There are no rising ingredients though, so you'd just be browning it.
4. What do these cookies taste like?
Chocolatey, mildly sweet, a touch of salt, rich, and filling.
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📖 Recipe
No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie
Ingredients
Cashew cream - chocolate
- 1 cup cashews, unsalted, raw or roasted
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch salt
- 2 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats
Chocolate top
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
Prep:
- To make cashew cream, soak the cashews in just boiled water for about 20 minutes. Drain, rinse and add to a blender with cashew cream ingredients and cocoa, and blend smooth. You may have to add more water to get it blending. Keep the mixture refrigerated for one day, until ready to make the cookies.1 cup cashews, unsalted, raw or roasted, ½ cup water, 2 tablespoon maple syrup, 1 teaspoon vanilla, pinch salt
- When you are ready to make the cookies, line an 8x4 inch loaf pan with parchment paper and let ends hang over the sides.
Make the cookies
- Add the cashew cream into a large mixing bowl.1 cup cashews, unsalted, raw or roasted, 2 tablespoon maple syrup, 1 teaspoon vanilla, pinch salt, ½ cup water
- Fold in the rolled oats.1 ½ cups rolled oats
- Press the mixture into a parchment-lined pan.
Make chocolate topping
- Melt 1 cup dark chocolate chips in a pyrex measuring cup in the microwave at 60 seconds. Remove from the microwave, and stir the hot chocolate until all lumps are melted. Then pour it onto frozen oat mixture. a1 cup dark chocolate chips
- Let the chocolate top set, maybe 15 minutes at room temperature, faster in the refrigerator or even freezer.
- Store refrigerated in an airtight container for a week. Freeze for three months.
Maria
When blending cashew do u drain any water first? And could you use honey in place of maple syrup?
Thank you
Dee
Hi Maria, definitely drain the cashews before you blend to remove that extra water.. To remain vegan, honey cannot be used, but if that's not an issue, I'm sure honey can be a direct substitute to maple syrup. Thanks for stopping by! Dee xx