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My oatmeal chocolate chip bars are soft, chewy, and LOADED with chocolate chips- They are a five-ingredient dessert that bakes in just 15 minutes.
My family LOVES a good chocolate chip cookie or blondie, but to make things a little bit wholesome and healthier, I like to make these healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookie bars.
I swap out the butter and refined sugar for more wholesome alternatives but without sacrificing taste. If you ask certain family members, they reckon these taste incredibly indulgent!
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- 5 ingredients. Simple pantry staple ingredients mean no eggs, butter, or milk! Instead, I use mashed banana to add moisture and also extra sweetness.
- Healthier. These are packed with whole grains, healthy fats, and naturally sweetened; these make a fabulous guilt-free dessert.
- Easy to customize. This is the kind of baked good you can easily adapt to use up any mix-ins you have on hand. I love to use up leftover nuts and seeds or even candy bites.
- Perfect texture and flavor. These cookie bars are soft, slightly chewy, and have an almost buttery texture without any actual butter in them. It has notes of chocolate with every bite.
Love quick and easy oat-based bars? Try my raspberry bars, banana bars, oatmeal raisin bars, and strawberry oatmeal bars next.
★★★★★ REVIEW
“Very yummy. Moist and very delicious. My only change was using no sugar added chocolate chips” – Dawn
Ingredients needed
- Rolled Oats (Old Fashioned Oats). They provide a chewy texture and a fabulous substitution for flour. They are also a much healthier alternative to it, providing fiber and protein, too! Use gluten-free oats if needed.
- Almond Butter. Gives these cookie bars that buttery texture and flavor we love without any butter!
- Maple Syrup. Provides sweetness and also masks any banana flavor. Do not omit, as it will change the texture of the cookie bars.
- Bananas. Overripe, mashed bananas! The riper they are, the sweeter they will be! Bananas replace any need for butter or eggs while also providing sweetness and a softer texture.
- Chocolate Chips. What is a good cookie without chocolate chips? I like using semi-sweet chocolate chips, but milk chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips work, as do chocolate chunks.
- Baking soda. Optional, but helps with the leavening of the bars.
How to make oatmeal chocolate chip bars
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Make the batter. Stir together all the ingredients except for the chocolate chips. Fold them through, then transfer to a baking dish.
Step 2- Bake the oatmeal cookie bars for 15-17 minutes or until golden on top. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Don’t overmix the batter. When making the batter, mix everything until just combined. You don’t want these to turn out rubbery!
- Avoid over-baking. These bars will continue to cook as they are cooling down. I like to remove them from the oven once the edges are golden brown.
- Add mix-ins. Enhance the bars by adding mix-ins like pecans, walnuts, butterscotch chips, or vanilla extract. As I said above, candy bits are also fabulous.
- Press the batter firmly. Press it firmly into the baking pan when transferring the batter into the pan. This will cook them more evenly.
- Cool completely before cutting. This is important to ensure the bars are fully set.
Variations
- Gluten-free oatmeal chocolate chip bars. Swap out the oats for gluten-free rolled oats or buckwheat flakes.
- Banana alternative. You can substitute the banana for unsweetened applesauce or pumpkin puree. Neither are as sweet as bananas, but they will still yield a similar texture. You may need to add extra maple syrup to make up for the lack of sweetness from the banana.
- Use other nut butter. Swap out the almond butter for either peanut butter or cashew butter or keep them nut-free by using tahini or sunflower seed butter.
- Lower the sugar. Instead of maple syrup, you can use a sugar-free or reduced-sugar version.
- Use regular sugar. If you don’t want to use syrup, brown sugar or coconut sugar work.
Storage instructions
To store: Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container. They will keep fresh for up to 5 days.
To freeze: Wrap individual bars in parchment paper and place them in ziplock bags or a freezer-safe container. They will freeze well for up to 6 months.
Reheating: These bars become firm once refrigerated, but to have a gooey cookie bar, microwave it for 20-30 seconds.
Frequently asked questions
There is no need to add eggs to this recipe, but if you’d like to increase the protein, adding 1-2 eggs will not affect the texture.
More oat-based desserts to try
- Healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
- Oatmeal brownies
- Oatmeal cookie dough
- Healthy oatmeal raisin cookies
If you tried this Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars or any other recipe on my website, please rate the recipe and let me know how it went in the comments below. It really helps others thinking of making the recipe.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars
Video
Ingredients
- 4 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup almond butter can substitute for any nut or seed butter of choice
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 1/2 cups bananas measured once mashed
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line an 8 x 8-inch square pan with parchment paper, reserving 1-2 inches of parchment paper over the sides, for easily removal.
- In a large mixing bowl, add all your ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, fold through the chocolate chips, reserving a few to top the cookie bars with.
- Transfer the batter to the lined pan, adding extra chocolate chips on top. Bake for 15 minutes or until just beginning to go golden around the pan.
- Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Which type of oats are the best for making cookies? Bigger or smaller?
These are great! I kept them in freezer and took them out just before eating. Nice to have something I can eat on limited diet.
How much baking soda in recipe please, thank you
Question: do you use quick-cook oats or old fashioned oats … or does it matter?
I like old fashioned 🙂
I made the bars today they are so good 😊 thank you so much for the recipe Arman🥰
Delish
I made these today and they were awesome! I just wish you would put how many servings your recipes are.
180°C with a fan or without?
Can GF oats be used with same/similar results?
Yes! Identical!
Fantastic. Great recipe.
Very yummy. Moist and very delicious. My only change was using no sugar added chocolate chips
I made these today for the first time for my husband who turns his nose up at any recipe I refer to as healthy and he loved them!! I did add cinnamon and nutmeg. Delicious!!! This is a keeper, will definitely make again.
My favorite oatmeal chocolate chip bars recipe!
Made these this week. My daughter and I loved them and it lasted 2 days! She said we have to make these again.
Looks deliciously