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.
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.
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 9x9-inch pan (affiliate link) is perfect for these bars.
- Whisk & spatula: You'll need a whisk and spatula to properly combine the ingredients in this recipe.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
You may also like these desserts
Craving more oatmeal goodness after tasting the chocolate oat bars? Try out some of my favorite oatmeal desserts:
Watch how to make it
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Chocolate Oatmeal Bars
Thick chocolate fudge sandwiched between two layers of chewy oatmeal. These chocolate oat bars are a chocolate lover’s dream!
Ingredients
For The Crust
- 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
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted
For The Filling
- 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
Instructions
Make the crust
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a 9x9-inch pan with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, both sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir with a whisk to combine.
- Stir in the melted butter until combined.
- Set aside 1 cup of the mixture to use for the topping. Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Bake for 8 minutes until light golden brown. Set aside to cool while you make the filling.
Make the filling
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Stir with a whisk to combine.
- Place chocolate and butter in a large heat-proof bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water. Stir with a silicone spatula until chocolate has melted completely. Remove from heat.
- Whisk in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the flour mixture until combined. The mixture will resemble thick brownie batter.
- Pour over the cooled crust. Sprinkle the top with the remaining oatmeal mixture.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the edges are set and have browned lightly. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 1 hour.
- Remove from pan and cut into squares. For neat slices, refrigerate for 2 hours before cutting.
Notes
Oats: quick-cooking oats are required. Old fashioned rolled oats will leave the bars extra dense and chewy. If you don't have quick-cooking oats, you can pulse rolled oats in a food processor to break them down some.
Chocolate: Use bars of baking chocolate for best results. Chocolate chips don't melt as smoothly.
Make ahead tip
- The bars will stay fresh in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- The bars also freeze well. Cool them completely the slice and wrap them individually in plastic wrap. Place the wrapped bars in a sturdy container with an airtight lid and freeze them for up to 3 months.
- Thaw them in the refrigerator overnight when you are ready to serve them. You can eat them cold or set them out to come to room temperature.
Recommended Products
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1 barAmount Per Serving: Calories: 325Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 58mgSodium: 122mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 2gSugar: 29gProtein: 4g
* Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy by an online nutrition calculator and is not guaranteed to be accurate. Always seek advice from a nutritionist or medical professional.
Brenda Rothert
Sunday 16th of May 2021
Fabulous! You are always my go-to for baking recipes and every one is a winner. These bars were a huge hit with my entire family. We didn’t make it through the one hour cooling time, we only made it 30 minutes. They are so delicious still warm!
Janis
Wednesday 30th of September 2015
These look amazing & I can't wait to make them!!
Thao @ In Good Flavor
Saturday 29th of August 2015
Just looking at these bars are making my pants feel tight already! They look amazing and worth the slight wardrobe discomfort!
Anu-My Ginger Garlic Kitchen
Friday 28th of August 2015
These fudgy chocolate bars look awesome, Jen. Sounds amazingly delish! And that top of oats looks intriguing.
Claudia | The Brick Kitchen
Thursday 27th of August 2015
Love the idea of doing an oaty top and bottom to these brownies - they look so super fudge and I can imaging the crumble would give amazing extra texture. Need one in my life right now! :)