Oatmeal chocolate chip bars are thick, soft and chewy oatmeal bars filled with sweet, melty chocolate chips. These chocolate chip oatmeal cookie bars are easy to make and are the perfect treat to feed a crowd.
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Why Should You Make This Recipe
Bar recipes are one of my favorite sweet recipes to make. I love how easy it is to press the dough into the pan then simply bake, slice and enjoy. My Chocolate Chip Banana Bars, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars, Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars, Toll House Cookie Bars and Snickerdoodle Bars are just a few of my favorites from the blog. I am so excited to add these oatmeal cookie bars to the other cookie bar recipes on the blog.
- Simple pantry ingredients. You only need a handful of basic ingredients to make a batch of easy to make, thick, soft and chewy chocolate chip oat bars.
- Easy alternative to cookies. If being super quick and easy to make wasn’t reason enough, these chocolate chip and oatmeal bars make the perfect alternative to cozy cookies.
- Feeds a crowd. Just press into a pan, bake and slice into as many little oatmeal chocolate chip cookie bars as you need.
Ingredients
Make sure you have these simple ingredients ready to go before making this thick and chewy oat and peanut butter bars.
- Dry Ingredients: Gather your all purpose flour, old fashioned oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- Wet ingredients: Gatheryour unsalted butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and chocolate chips. I love using a mix of mini and regular chocolate chips.
Substitutions
Here are my recommended substitutions to make these oatmeal chocolate chocolate chip bars recipe if you need them.
- All purpose flour: To make these peanut butter bars gluten free, use a good 1-1 gluten free flour or oat flour. Replace the amount of flour based on weight (210 g) rather than cups.
- Old Fashioned Oats: Quick cooking oats or a mix of rolled oats and quick cooking oats works well.
- Baking Soda: This provides leavening and chewiness. This recipe hasn’t been tested with baking powder.
- Butter: I like to use unsalted “sweet cream” butter in almost all my baking recipes. This is the most common and widely available butter in the US. If needed, use salted butter (omit the added salt) or a diary free butter you like.
- Granulated Sugar and Light Brown Sugar: This peanut butter oat bars recipe calls for both granulated sugar and light brown sugar, but maple sugar would also work well to make these cookie bars refined sugar free.
- Eggs: This recipe hasn’t been tested without eggs.
- Vanilla Extract: This provides a lovely background flavor for these chewy cookie bars.
- Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips: Feel free to use any chocolate chips or chunks of chocolate you like. Milk chocolate and dark chocolate would work really well. I love using a mix of mini and regular chocolate chips.
How To Make
Learn how to make oatmeal chocolate chip bars in a few easy steps.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Lightly grease and line the bottom and two long sides of a 9 x 13 pan. In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together until well combined.
- In a mixing bowl fitted with paddle attachment, cream the butter with the light brown and granulated sugars until smooth and well combined. On low, cream in the eggs and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. I like to do this about ½ of the dry ingredients at a time. Fold in the chocolate chips. Reserve about ½ cup of the chocolate chips to top the bars right before baking.
3. Press the chocolate chip oat dough into the prepared pan. Use a flexible spatula to smooth the dough evenly across the pan. Top with the reserved chocolate chips. Bake for about 25 - 30 minutes or until the edges of bars are a light golden brown, slightly puffed up and the edges are slightly pulled away from the sides of the pan. Cool the oatmeal chocolate chip cookie bars in the hot pan until room temperature. This takes about 45 - 60 minutes. When the oatmeal bars have cooled long enough to transfer out of the pan without breaking, use the excess parchment paper on the long sides of the pan and gently lift the bars out of the pan and to cool on a cooling rack, then slice and enjoy.
How To Make Ahead, Store, Freeze and Thaw
- Make Ahead: Prepare the chocolate chip oatmeal dough, but rather than baking, wrap the dough in plastic wrap. Store in the fridge for up to 1 - 2 days. Bring to room temperature before baking. For longer storage, transfer the plastic wrapped cookie dough to an airtight and freezer proof container to store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Bring to room temperature before baking.
- Store: Place the chocolate chip oatmeal bars in an airtight container. Store at room temperature for up to 5 days. If you would like to store the chewy peanut butter oat chocolate chip bars for longer, I recommend freezing them.
- Freeze: Make sure the oatmeal chocolate chip bars are completely cooled to room temperature. Place the bars in a ziplock bag and store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Thaw: The easiest and tastiest way to thaw the oatmeal cookie bars is to let them sit out at room temperature until thawed. Heat in the microwave for 20 - 30 seconds to get that “fresh from the oven” taste.
M’s Expert Tips
- Bring cold ingredients to room temperature: This allows the ingredients to mix together more evenly which requires less mixing, resulting in deliciously chewy oatmeal chocolate chip bars.
- Use a metal pan. This recipe was made in an 9 x 13 aluminum pan. To make this in a glass pan, decrease the oven temperature to 325 F (160 C) and bake for 5 - 10 minutes longer.
- Look for the signs the oatmeal bars are done. Use the baking time as a guide rather than a strict rule. Signs a these thick and chewy oatmeal bars are finished baking is a light golden brown color across the top and baked edges that have slightly pulled away from the edge of the pan.
- Use a mix of mini and regular chocolate chips. For the most picture worthy cookie bars, I love using a mix of mini and regular chocolate chips.
FAQs
Lining the aluminum pan with parchment paper ensures the bars will not stick to the pan. If you prefer not to line the pan, lightly grease the pan with butter.
The edges of the cookie bars should be puffed up, the center should be set, the top of the bars should be golden brown and the bars will be very fragrant.
Cut the recipe in half and bake for the same amount of time in an 8 x 8 pan.
Other Oatmeal Recipes to Try
If you try this Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! - M
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars Recipe
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand mixer with beaters
- 1 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) baking pan
- 1 sheet parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1¾ cup (210 g) all purpose flour
- 2 cups (172 g) quick cooking, old fashioned or rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (226 g) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
- 2 cups (340 g) chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Lightly grease and line the bottom and two long sides of a 9 x 13 pan.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together until well combined.1¾ cup (210 g) all purpose flour, 2 cups (172 g) quick cooking, old fashioned or rolled oats, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon , ½ teaspoon salt
- Heat the cubes of butter in the microwave for 25 seconds. The butter should be slightly melted around the edges but still whole slices. Add the butter to a mixing bowl fitted with paddle attachment. Cream the butter with the light brown and granulated sugars until smooth and well combined. On low, cream in the eggs and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined.1 cup (226 g) cold unsalted butter, cubed, 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, 2 large eggs, room temperature, 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. I like to do this about ½ of the dry ingredients at a time. Fold in the chocolate chips. Reserve about ½ cup of the chocolate chips to top the bars right before baking.2 cups (340 g) chocolate chips
- Press the chocolate chip oat dough into the prepared pan. Use a flexible spatula to smooth the dough evenly across the pan. Top with the reserved chocolate chips. Bake for about 25 - 30 minutes or until the edges of bars are a light golden brown, slightly puffed up and the edges are slightly pulled away from the sides of the pan.
- Cool the oatmeal chocolate chip cookie bars in the hot pan until room temperature. This takes about 45 - 60 minutes. When the oatmeal bars have cooled long enough to transfer out of the pan without breaking, use the excess parchment paper on the long sides of the pan and gently lift the bars out of the pan and to cool on a cooling rack, then slice and enjoy.
Notes
- Use a metal pan. This recipe was made in an 9 x 13 aluminum pan. To make this in a glass pan, decrease the oven temperature to 325 F (160 C) and bake for 5 - 10 minutes longer.
- Look for the signs the oatmeal bars are done. Use the baking time as a guide rather than a strict rule. Signs a these thick and chewy oatmeal bars are finished baking is a light golden brown color across the top and baked edges that have slightly pulled away from the edge of the pan.
- Use a mix of mini and regular chocolate chips. For the most picture worthy cookie bars, I love using a mix of mini and regular chocolate chips.
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