Name: Chocolate Oatmeal Bars
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 43 min
Total time: 1 h 8 min
Yield: 16
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 cup (130 g) all-purpose flour; 1 cup (89 g) quick-cooking oats; ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar; ¾ cup (157 g) light brown sugar, packed; ½ teaspoon baking powder; ¼ teaspoon baking soda; 1/4 teaspoon salt; ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted; ⅔ cup (86 g) all-purpose flour; ½ cup (105 g) light brown sugar, packed; ¼ teaspoon salt; 12-ounces (339 g) semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped; ¼ cup (56 g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces; 3 large eggs, room temperature

Jump to Recipe

These easy chocolate oatmeal bars are a great treat for serving a crowd or taking to potlucks and parties. They have a dense fudgy filling nestled between crunch oatmeal.

three chocolate oatmeal bars stacked next to flowers in vase and more oat bars

These chocolate oat bars are so easy and require few tools. This is a great recipe for beginning bakers or kids.

It is easy to cut them into small serving sizes, which makes them perfect for celebrations and bake sales.

They would be perfect for your next giving plate. Everyone will love the thick, crunchy oatmeal base.

You’ll find the base pairs so well with the dense, chewy chocolate layer and crumbled oatmeal topping.

These bars are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth!

Why this recipe works

Melted bars of baking chocolate create a smooth, lush chocolatey filling.
The quick-cooking oats provide the perfect crunchy and chewy base and topping for this recipe.
The finished bars can be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen for future use.

These chocolate oatmeal bars are a chocolate lover’s dream. They are easy to make and require limited ingredients, time and tools.

chocolate oat bar with bite taken out so the dense inside is visible

What you need

This chocolate oatmeal bar recipe features some of the basics already in your pantry. Let’s discuss just a few of the key ingredients:

Ingredients

This is a short overview of the ingredients I used and why I chose them. The full recipe can be found at the bottom of the post!

Flour & oats: All-purpose flour works best for these bars. You must use quick-cooking oats because they prevent the bars from becoming too dense and chewy.
Leavening: Baking powder and baking soda act as leavening agents in this recipe.
Sugar & salt: The salt in the recipe helps balance out the sweetness from the two types of sugar – granulated and brown sugar.
Chocolate: Bars of baking chocolate work best in this recipe and give it a smooth texture.
Butter: This fat gives the recipe richness and flavor.
Eggs: These add stability to the filling in the bars.

Equipment

This is a list of tools I used to make the chocolate oatmeal bars recipe.

Baking pan: A 9×9-inch pan is perfect for these bars.
Whisk & spatula: You’ll need a whisk and spatula to properly combine the ingredients in this recipe.

overhead of chocolate oatmeal bars with one turned on its side so the inside is visible

How to make chocolate oatmeal bars

1. Make the oatmeal base & topping

Combine dry ingredients with butter to create the base and topping. Bake the base and let cool for later.

dry ingredients in glass bowl, dry ingredients whisked together, butter poured into dry ingredients, and tossing it all together with a fork

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line pan with parchment paper and cooking spray.
Combine flour, oats, both sugars, baking powder, baking soda and salt with a whisk.
Stir in melted butter to this mix.
Save one cup of the mix to use as the topping.
Press the rest into the pan.
Bake for 8 minutes until light golden brown. Set aside to cool.

2. Make the filling

Mix dry ingredients, and then, combine with melted chocolate and eggs to create the filling.

chocolate filling in glass bowl with whisk

In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt with a whisk.
Put the chocolate and butter in a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water. Use a silicone spatula to stir the mix until completely melted. Remove from heat.
Whisk eggs into this chocolate mix one at a time.
Stir in flour mixture until combined. The filling will look thick.

3. Layer and bake

You’ll place the filling on top of the cooled crust to build the chocolate oatmeal bars. Then, bake to finish.

oatmeal base pressed into square pan lined with parchment paper, chocolate filling being spread over base with spatula, and more oatmeal crumbled over the top

Pour chocolate mixture onto cooled crust from earlier. Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture onto the filling.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Edges should be set and lightly browned.
Cool in the pan or on wire rack for 1 hour.
Remove from pan and cut into squares.

Jen’s Best tips

Only have old-fashioned rolled oats on hand? Pulse the rolled oats in your food processor to help break them down for use in the recipe.
Avoid using chocolate chips in this recipe. They don’t melt as smoothly as bars of baking chocolate.
For extra neat slices, refrigerate the bars for 2 hours before cutting.

two chocolate oat bars stacked and one leaning on the two

Storing & Freezing

To store: Put the chocolate oatmeal bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

To Freeze: These are perfect for making ahead because they freeze really well.

Completely cool the chocolate oat bars, and then, slice and individually wrap them in plastic wrap.

Place the wrapped bars in a sturdy container with an airtight lid and freeze them for no more than 3 months.

To use them, thaw overnight in the fridge. You can eat them cold or set them out to reach room temperature.

Watch how to make it

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