These Oat bars were like a more chocolate-y and delicious granola bar, which means they were loved by all. Layers of oat and chocolate all topped off with a drizzle of even more chocolate made up this yummy dessert. NO BAKING involved!! Not only are these perfect for summer time, but they’re great all year long and can give you the feel of a delicious baked chocolate and oat treat without actually having to bake them! The thick layer of chocolate in the middle is definitely my favorite part!!
Simple and delicious no bake Chocolate Oat Bars are a great dessert to enjoy any time of year without heating up the house!
Prep Time: 12 mins
Refrigerate: 2 hrs
Total Time: 2hrs 12 mins
Course: Dessert
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups quick cooking oats
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- chocolate chips for drizzle
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Grease a 9×9 inch pan and set aside.
- In a medium pot, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar and vanilla. Add oats and cook on low for a few minutes.
- Pour half of this mixture into the greased pan and press down with spatula. Set aside reserve.
- In another pot, melt chocolate chips and peanut butter on low. Stir until smooth and pour over bottom oat layer.
- Crumble the remaining oat mixture over the chocolate layer, pressing in gently.
- Melt chocolate chips and drizzle over top.
- Cover, and refrigerate for a few hours. Bring bars to room temp before cutting and ENJOY!
TIPS + VARIATIONS
We used quick cooking oats, but you can use rolled/old fashioned oats. Quick oats are the most processed of all the oat types and also take the shortest amount of time to cook. If you wanted to use old fashioned/rolled oats add a couple extra minutes of cook time in step 2 to soften them up.
Unlike some layer bars these don’t need extra time to set before piling on the next layer. This is because you want the oats to really be a part of the chocolate layer, which is only possible when they have the opportunity to meld together.
Line the pan with parchment paper. Once the bars have set, all you have to do is lift them out using the paper and cut them. Easy Peasy.
Dress ’em up: We topped these delicious bars with a chocolate drizzle. You can get creative with what you would use such as:
Caramel Drizzle
Butterscotch Chips
Mini M&M’s
no bake Chocolate Oat Bars stacked on a white plate
STORING INFO
STORE the bars at room temperature in an airtight container for 3-5 days. They will last even longer if stored in the fridge. Finally, they can easily be wrapped and stored in the freezer for 2-3 months.
Wrap the entire bar with plastic wrap or cut it into individual bars and wrap those. Fold top sandwich baggies also work for the individual sizes. FREEZE either wrapped again with foil or place them together in a freezer Ziploc. Thaw before eating.
These would be a great thing to pack into your kiddos’ lunches. Just make sure to send them with an ice-pack so it doesn’t melt all over everything else in the lunchbox
Nutritional Info:
Serving: 9g | Calories: 528kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 252mg | Potassium: 325mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 640IU | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 3mg