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    Home / Recipes / Brownies & Bars

    Chocolate Oatmeal Bars

    Feb 3, 2022 · Updated: Jul 4, 2023 by Dee Dine · Affliate links disclosure.

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    a spoonful taken out of a bar with white ribbon

    These chocolate oatmeal bars are a blend of chewy oatmeal and fudgy brownie. Made with an easy oatmeal crumble and a brownie filling. Make as a baked or no bake treat. High in fiber and protein, gluten-free, and dairy-free.

    a spoonful taken out of a bar with white ribbon

    These chocolate oatmeal bars are so easy to make. There is just one recipe for both the crust and crumble top, and another for the chocolate fudge brownie filling. They are similar yet different from my peanut butter oatmeal bars and my three layered chocolate coconut bars.

    Yes, they are baked, but they could also be no bake since no eggs are used (apple sauce instead). To make these as no bake chocolate oat bars just pop the pan in the freezer. I more often like to bake this recipe however because the middle filling turns out like a fudgy brownie.

    Jump to:
    • Why You'll Love This Recipe
    • Ingredients
    • Equipment Needed
    • Steps To Make Crust & Crumble
    • Steps to Make the Filling
    • Recipe Tips
    • Substitutions
    • FAQS
    • More Healthy Chocolate Bars
    • 📖 Recipe

    Why You'll Love This Recipe

    Deep chocolate brownie flavor. The center layer is truly one of the fudgiest brownies I've ever had.

    Easy to Make. Since the crust and top crumble are the same recipe, it's a three layer dessert that's as easy as a two layer dessert.

    Nourishing. It's a dessert with sugar, yes, but the oat flour help up the fiber and protein to 2-3 grams each, and the sugar levels are relatively low.

    Pantry Ingredients. Hopefully you won't need to go shopping to make this unless oat flour isn't a staple in yours. You can make it by blending or food processing rolled oats. Or you can use all purpose flour. (Heat treat all purpose flour first though if you make this recipe no bake; not necessary with oat flour.)

    chocolate crumble bar

    Ingredients

    For the crust and crumble top

    • Oat Flour & Rolled Oats - Both are needed for structure, although all purpose flour can be used instead of oat flour. See substitutions for amounts.
    • Sugar - Brown sugar or coconut sugar.
    • Butter - To keep it vegan, I used Earth Balance vegan sticks, but regular butter works too.
    • Salt

    For the brownie filling

    • Chocolate chips - Use at least 60% cacao or semi-sweet. Enjoy life mini chips brand melts well for this recipe.
    • Apple sauce - Apple sauce provides stability instead of eggs. Regular eggs can also be used or aquafaba.
    • Butter - To keep it vegan, I used Earth Balance vegan sticks, but regular butter works too.
    • Nut butter - I used cashew butter for the mild flavor but any nut butter works.

    Equipment Needed

    • A bowl, measuring cups and spoons
    • Hand mixer, or use a spoon or whisk to stir
    • Square baking pan, 8-inches square
    • Parchment paper to fit, 12-inches x 8-inches

    overhead of ingredients

    Steps To Make Crust & Crumble

    Step 1: Make the crust and crumb recipe. Melt the butter in the microwave at 10 seconds until the butter is warm and liquid. Add all ingredients to a bowl.

    Step 2: Stir together with a spoon.

    Step 3: Line an 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper and press ¾ of the mixture, flattening the surface with a spatula or spoon.

    Step 4. Bake the crust for 30 minutes and let it cool. Set aside the remaining ¼ for the crumble on top and go make the brownie filling. Or for a no-bake version, just set aside and make the filling.

    Prep of Chocolate Oatmeal Bars

    Steps to Make the Filling

    Step 1: Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave. 

    Step 2: Add all the ingredients to a bowl and stir with a spoon or hand-mixer.

    Step 3: Pour the filling mixture onto the cooled crust. The center layer is thick so the filling will seem considerable.

    Step 4: Sprinkle on top the remaining crumble that you held back.

    Step 5: Bake the bars until the top is golden. The center will seem moist and leave a testing stick fudgy. Or for no bake, freeze the pan covered for 30 minutes.

    chocolate oatmeal bars ingredients

    Recipe Tips

    Making No Bake Chocolate Oat Bars. To make no bake chocolate oat bars, assemble all three layers with no baking, and slip the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes or until it can be sliced. The texture will be less crunchy and more icy. 

    How to Get Clean Slices. The center brownie filling will come out of the oven soft so if you want the clean slices you see here, let the bars cool out of the oven around 30 minutes, cover with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours.

    chocolate crumble bar

    Substitutions

    Flour. You can use all purpose flour instead of oat flour, but use less, 1 ¼ cup instead of 1 ½ cup.

    Butter. In the crust, you can reduce butter by half if you want to, and add in ¼ cup of apple sauce instead. In the filling, you can use ¼ cup of nut butter instead of 3 tablespoons of butter + 1 tablespoon of nut butter.

    Sugar. I use coconut palm sugar for the micronutrients, but brown sugar works as well.

    Apple sauce. To keep it vegan I use apple sauce instead of eggs. However, aquafaba, the liquid from a can of unsalted chickpeas, can be used. Both replace 2 eggs.

    FAQS

    Are These Bars Good For You?

    Oatmeal bars are healthy to eat as a breakfast or snack because they are full of healthy fiber that fills you up and protects your heart as well as boosts your digestion. These bars have about 3 grams protein and 2 grams fiber per bar and are low in sugar compared to commercial oat bars.

    How Long Do These Oat Bars Last?

    These oat bars last a long time refrigerated, at least two weeks, and months if frozen. That makes them a very convenient snack to have on hand.

    More Healthy Chocolate Bars

    • Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
    • Chocolate Oat Caramel Cups
    • Chocolate Caramel Candy Bars
    • No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
    • Homemade Fudge Bars
    • How to Make Homemade Protein Bars

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    📖 Recipe

    a spoonful taken out of a bar with white ribbon

    Chocolate Oatmeal Bars

    Created by Dee Dine
    These chocolate oatmeal bars are a blend of chewy oatmeal and fudgy brownie. Made with an easy oatmeal crumble and a brownie filling. Make as a baked or no bake treat. High in fiber and protein, gluten-free, and dairy-free.
    5 from 8 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe SaveSaved! Rate Recipe
    Prep Time 5 minutes mins
    Cook Time 43 minutes mins
    Total Time 48 minutes mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 16
    Calories 280 kcal

    Equipment

    • 1 Measuring cups & spoons
    • 1 Bowl
    • 1 Hand-mixer Or use a fork or spoon to stir
    • 1 8-inch square baking pan
    • 1 12-inch x 8-inch parchment paper

    Ingredients
      

    Bottom Crust & Top Crumb

    • 1 ⅓ cup oat flour or 1 cup all purpose flour
    • 1 cup rolled oats
    • 1 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
    • pinch of salt
    • ½ cup butter softened in microwave for 10 seconds; I use Earth Balance vegan butter

    Chocolate Filling

    • 1 cup oat flour or ⅔ cup all purpose flour
    • 1 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar or cane sugar
    • 1 ½ cups chocolate chips Enjoylife melts well.
    • 6 tablespoon apple sauce unsweetened or use room temperature aquafaba, same amount
    • pinch of salt
    • 3 tablespoon butter softened, 10 seconds in a microwave
    • 1 tablespoon nut butter
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions
     

    Prep

    • Preheat the oven to 325 F. Gather ingredients.
    • Line a 8-inch by 8-inch pan with parchment paper.
    • Melt the butter for the crust in microwave for 10 seconds. You want it melted as it is the glue that holds the crumble together.

    Make Crust & Crumble Top

    • Combine crust ingredients and melted butter. I used a hand mixer. You want the mixture to be crumbly.
      1 ⅓ cup oat flour, 1 cup rolled oats, 1 cup brown sugar, pinch of salt, ½ cup butter
    • Remove ¾ cup of the mixture and set aside to use for the top crumb.
    • Press the rest into the parchment-lined pan and level off with a spatula.
    • Bake the crust for 8 minutes at 325 F. Or for a no-bake version, just set aside and make the filling.
    • If baked, remove from oven, keep the crust in the pan and allow it to cool while you make the filling.

    Make Chocolate Filling

    • Preheat the oven to 350 F. (note the temperature change) Measure out filling ingredients.
    • Put the butter and chocolate chips, into a 2-cup pyrex glass measuring cup and microwave for 1 minute. Stir in sugar and stir until creamy. Spoon in the apple sauce, and nut butter and stir again.
      1 ½ cups chocolate chips, 6 tablespoon apple sauce, 3 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon nut butter, 1 cup brown sugar
    • Into a medium mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
      1 cup oat flour, pinch of salt
    • Add the chocolate mixture to the dry mixture and stir into a batter. It will be like a brownie batter.
    • Spoon batter onto the baked crust and smooth the surface with a spoon.

    Add Crumb Top

    • Sprinkle the reserved crumb top onto the brownie batter.
    • Bake at 350 F for 30 to 35 minutes or until the crumb is golden brown. The center layer will seem moist and leave a testing stick fudgy. Or for no bake bars, freeze the pan covered for 30 minutes.
    • If baked, remove pan from oven and let the bars cool in the pan for 30 minutes.
    • For clean slices, refrigerate the pan until you can slice cleanly.

    Storage

    • Store the oatmeal bars in the refrigerator for 1 week in sealed container. Or freeze for 3 months.

    Video

    Notes

    Making No Bake Chocolate Oat Bars. To make no bake chocolate oat bars, assemble all three layers with no baking, and slip the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes or until it can be sliced. The texture will be less crunchy and more icy. 
    How to Get Clean Slices. The center brownie filling will come out of the oven soft so if you want the clean slices you see here, let the bars cool out of the oven around 30 minutes, cover with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours.
    Flour. You can use all purpose flour instead of oat flour, but use less for both the crust/crumble and the brownie layers. Amounts are listed in ingredients.
    Cocoa. Adding 1 tablespoon of a quality unsweetened cocoa to the dry ingredients deepens the chocolate flavor.
    Butter. In the crust, you can reduce butter by half if you want to, and add in ¼ cup of apple sauce instead. In the filling, you can use ¼ cup of nut butter instead of 3 tablespoons of butter + 1 tablespoon of nut butter.
    Sugar. I use coconut sugar for the micronutrients, but brown sugar works as well.
    Apple sauce. I have also made the brownie layer with aquafaba instead of apple sauce, as an egg-replacer. To use aquafaba instead of apple sauce, use 6 tablespoons of aquafaba, the liquid from a can of unsalted chickpeas.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 280kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 3gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 135mgPotassium: 153mgFiber: 2gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 251IUCalcium: 28mgIron: 2mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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    About Dee

    Hey! I'm Dee Dine, and on my blog, I share healthy recipes with wholesome ingredients. I'm also a chocolate and ginger enthusiast, animal lover, an avid blender juicer, and am probably making no bake brownies in my Washington DC kitchen right now. Read about me → »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Andrea Dort

      August 13, 2023 at 3:10 pm

      Can you use something other than chocolate?

      Reply
      • Dee Dine

        August 13, 2023 at 5:53 pm

        You mean replace the middle brownie layer with something else? I suppose some kind of apple crisp would work, making these apple bars. I'll think about that, thank you!

        Reply
    2. Ethan

      May 05, 2023 at 1:47 pm

      5 stars
      I made these no bake, and baked. That middle layer has incredible flavor. Thank you for this!

      Reply
    3. Marisa

      January 21, 2023 at 6:39 pm

      When I made this I found that there was too much chocolate compared to oatmeal when I put it in the pan. I scooped some out because it seemed excessive. Also when I took it out of oven and lifted the parchment paper to let it cool it was extremely gooey so it spread out a bit. It it was definitely tasty.

      Reply
      • Dee Dine

        January 21, 2023 at 8:01 pm

        Glad you liked it Marisa! It will definitely need cooling to stop it from oozing out the sides straight out of the oven. I chilled it for several hours to get clean slicing. And the brownie layer is thick!

        Reply
    4. Emily

      October 16, 2021 at 9:29 pm

      Do you whipped up the aquafaba or use it just as is out of the can? Thanks!

      Reply
      • Dee Dine

        October 17, 2021 at 12:01 pm

        Straight out of the can Emily!

        Reply
    5. Joelle

      July 09, 2021 at 12:00 pm

      If I want to use real eggs, would it be two eggs?

      Reply
      • Dee Dine

        July 09, 2021 at 3:11 pm

        I think 1 large egg or 2 small eggs would work well to replace the 6 tbsp of aquafaba.

        Reply
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    dee dine

    I'm Dee! Welcome to GSG! Eating healthier and lighter, with plenty of fruits and veggies, can be delicious, especially when chocolate and desserts are involved. Here you'll find wholesome recipes that everyone will love. About Dee →

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