No bake chocolate oat bars are soft and chewy oatmeal bars layered with a rich and creamy chocolate peanut butter filling. These no bake oatmeal bars are quick, easy to make with simple ingredients and are the perfect sweet treat.
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Why Should You Make This Recipe
Bar recipes are one of my favorite sweet recipes to make. My Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars, Chocolate Chip Banana Bars, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars and Snickerdoodle Bars are just a few of my favorites from the blog. I am so excited to add these oatmeal peanut butter bars to the other bar recipes on the blog.
- You need an easy no bake dessert. These no bake oatmeal bars take about 15 minutes to make and need a couple hours of chill time. Just mix, assemble, chill and enjoy.
- Simple pantry ingredients. You only need a handful of basic ingredients to make a batch of easy to make, thick, soft and chewy no bake pb oat bars.
- Easy alternative to cookies. If being super quick and easy to make wasn’t reason enough, these no bake chocolate peanut butter and oat bars make the perfect alternative to cookies.
Ingredients
Make sure you have these simple ingredients ready to go before making this thick and chewy no bake oat bars.
Ingredients: Gather butter, light brown sugar, maple syrup or honey, quick cooking oats, creamy peanut butter and chocolate chips.
Substitutions
Here are my recommended substitutions to make these no bake oatmeal chocolate bars if you need them.
- 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.
- Light Brown Sugar: This no bake chocolate oat bars recipe calls for light brown sugar, but maple sugar would also work well to make these oatmeal bars refined sugar free.
- Maple Syrup or Honey: Choose your preferred liquid sweetener. Both maple syrup or honey work well.
- Quick Cooking Oats: Smaller quick cooking oats work the best for this no bake oat bar recipe. If you don’t have quick cooking oats, pulse old fashioned or rolled oats in a food processor to make the flakes smaller.
- Vanilla Extract: This provides a lovely background flavor for these chewy oat bars.
- Creamy Peanut Butter: Feel free to use any creamy peanut butter (no stir) you like. Natural peanut butter (the kind you have to stir) can also work as long as the peanut butter is every thoroughly mixed.
- 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.
Variations
- No Bake Oatmeal Bars: Mix 1 cup creamy peanut butter with ½ cup honey until well combined. Stir in 3 cups old fashioned oats until well combined. Gently press the mixture into a lined 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 inch pan. Chill in the fridge for 1 - 2 hours or until set. Top the bars with a layer of melted chocolate.
- Nut Free No Bake Oatmeal Bars: For a peanut butter taste without peanut butter, sunflower butter is a great nut free substitute for peanut butter.
How To Make
Learn how to make no bake chocolate oat bars in a few easy steps.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Line the bottom and two sides of a 9x9 pan. Add butter, light brown sugar and maple syrup or honey to a microwave safe bowl. Heat the mixture for 2 minutes. Stir the mixture to fully combine the ingredients. Stir in the quick cooking oats and vanilla extract. Heat an additional 2 minutes. Stir well to combine. Alternatively, add the butter, light brown sugar, maple syrup or honey to a small sauce pan. Heat the mixture over medium heat until the butter has melted. Stir the mixture until well combined. Add the quick oats and vanilla extract, stir well to combined. Heat the mixture for an additional 3 minutes. Stir well and remove the pan from the heat.
- While the oatmeal layer cools a bit, make the chocolate peanut butter layer. Add the chocolate chips and peanut butter to another microwave safe bowl. Heat in 30 second increments, stirring in between until fully melted. Alternatively, add the chocolate chips and peanut butter to a pot. Heat the mixture over low heat, stirring frequently until the mixture is fully melted and well combined.
3. Press the ½ of the prepared oatmeal layer into the prepared pan. Use a flexible spatula to smooth the oatmeal evenly across the pan or use a sheet of parchment paper to press the oats evenly into the pan. Top the oat layer with the chocolate peanut butter. Crumble the remaining ½ of the oats on top of the chocolate peanut butter layer. Transfer the entire pan to chill and set in the fridge for 2 - 3 hours. Use the parchment overhang to remove the bars from the pan, slice and enjoy.
How To Store, Freeze and Thaw
- Store: Place the no bake chocolate pb oatmeal bars in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Freeze: Make sure the peanut butter and oatmeal bars are completely set. Cut the bars and store then in a ziplock bag in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Thaw: The easiest and tastiest way to thaw the no bake pb oat bars is to thaw them in the fridge overnight.
M’s Expert Tips
- Line the pan. These no bake chocolate oatmeal bars can be a bit sticky. I highly recommend lining the pan with parchment paper. As a bonus, lining the pan with parchment paper allows the bars to be easily removed from the pan and sliced.
- Use quick cooking oats. Smaller quick cooking oats work the best for this no bake oat bar recipe. If you don’t have quick cooking oats, pulse old fashioned or rolled oats in a food processor to make the flakes smaller.
- Use parchment paper. Pressing the oatmeal layer into the pan can be a bit tricky with fingers. To make this process easier, use a sheet of parchment paper to help press the oatmeal layer evenly in the pan.
- Use no stir peanut butter. No stir peanut butter works the best to make the peanut butter chocolate layer. If you can’t have peanut butter, make sure to use another nut or even sunbutter and stir really well. The oils from the nut butter need to be blended really well into the nut butter before using in the recipe.
- Don’t skip the chill time. These no bake bars need to chill in order to set up enough to cut into bars. Make sure to allow about 2 - 3 hours for the bars to chill in the fridge.
FAQs
Lining the aluminum pan with parchment paper ensures the bars will not stick to the pan. As a bonus, lining the pan with parchment paper allows the bars to be easily removed from the pan and sliced.
Due to the butter, chocolate and peanut butter in the no bake oat bars, these bars harden when stored in the fridge. They soften as they come to room temperature. To keep the bars hardened, make sure to store and enjoy them from the fridge.
This recipe for no bake peanut butter oat bars can be made in a 9 inch circular cake or springform pan or the recipe can be doubled and made in a 9x13 inch pan. For thicker bars, follow the recipe as written, but use an 8x8 pan.
Other No Bake Recipes to Try
- Date Snickers
- No Bake Brownies
- No Bake Peanut Butter Cheesecake
- Chocolate Covered Rice Krispie Treats
If you try this No Bake Chocolate Oat 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
No Bake Oatmeal Bars Recipe
Equipment
- 2 microwave safe bowls
- 1 9x9 (23cm) pan
- 1 - 2 sheets parchment paper
- 2 whisk and flexible spatula
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, cubed
- ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (60 ml) honey or maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
- 3 cups (240 g) quick cooking oats
- 1 cup (170 g) chocolate chips
- ½ cup (128 g) creamy peanut butter
Instructions
Microwave Method
- Line the bottom and two sides of a 9x9 pan. Add butter, light brown sugar and maple syrup or honey to a microwave safe bowl. Heat the mixture for 2 minutes. Stir the mixture to fully combine the ingredients. Stir in the quick cooking oats and vanilla extract. Heat an additional 2 minutes. Stir well to combine.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, cubed, ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar, ¼ cup (60 ml) honey or maple syrup, 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract , 3 cups (240 g) quick cooking oats
- While the oatmeal layer cools a bit, make the chocolate peanut butter layer. Add the chocolate chips and peanut butter to another microwave safe bowl. Heat in 30 second increments, stirring in between until fully melted.1 cup (170 g) chocolate chips , ½ cup (128 g) creamy peanut butter
- Press the ½ of the prepared oatmeal layer into the prepared pan. Use a flexible spatula to smooth the oatmeal evenly across the pan or use a sheet of parchment paper to press the oats evenly into the pan. Top the oat layer with the chocolate peanut butter. Crumble the remaining ½ of the oats on top of the chocolate peanut butter layer. Transfer the entire pan to chill and set in the fridge for 2 - 3 hours. Use the parchment overhang to remove the bars from the pan, slice and enjoy.
Stove Top Method
- Line the bottom and two sides of a 9x9 pan. Add the butter, light brown sugar, maple syrup or honey to a small sauce pan. Heat the mixture over medium heat until the butter has melted. Stir the mixture until well combined. Add the quick oats and vanilla extract, stir well to combined. Heat the mixture for an additional 3 minutes. Stir well and remove the pan from the heat.
- Add the chocolate chips and peanut butter to a pot. Heat the mixture over low heat, stirring frequently until the mixture is fully melted and well combined.
- Press the ½ of the prepared oatmeal layer into the prepared pan. Use a flexible spatula to smooth the oatmeal evenly across the pan or use a sheet of parchment paper to press the oats evenly into the pan. Top the oat layer with the chocolate peanut butter. Crumble the remaining ½ of the oats on top of the chocolate peanut butter layer. Transfer the entire pan to chill and set in the fridge for 2 - 3 hours. Use the parchment overhang to remove the bars from the pan, slice and enjoy.
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