Chocolate Oatmeal Bars (Healthy Recipe)

These homemade chocolate oatmeal bars are dense, chewy, messy, and yet 100% refined sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, oil-free, and made with just 8 healthy, wholesome ingredients. Perfect for satisfying chocolate cravings as a snack, breakfast, post-workout snack, or healthy dessert!

Healthy Chocolate Oatmeal Bars with Bananas

It’s been years since I bought store-bought granola bars and similar snacks, since they’re often loaded with empty calories and sugar. Instead, I’m whipping up batches of my much healthier and still delicious homemade granola, granola bars, No-Bake Granola BarsAnd—most recently—even Homemade Cocoa Puffs. However, when I’m in the mood for something a little more decadent, these chocolate oatmeal bars hit the spot!

Looking at them, you’d be mistaken for thinking it’s just like any other chocolate oat bar recipe online; Made with ingredients like sugar, butter, flour, condensed milk and lots of chocolate- but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Instead, these bars are naturally sweetened (no sugar disaster!), contain no chocolate, and stay full for hours with plenty of fiber, healthy fats, and plant-based protein for a surprisingly balanced healthy treat.

Even better, these oatmeal chocolate bars require just a handful of simple and inexpensive ingredients, minutes of hands-on prep, are kid-approved, and meal-prep and freezer friendly. Finally, they make great, low-fuss sweet, satisfying vegan oatmeal bars with my Fruitier. Strawberry Oatmeal Bars And Chocolate Chip Oat Bars.

This isn’t the first time I’ve lightened up a chocolate treat. You might enjoy my homemade Vegan Chocolate Moussehealthy Chocolate ice cream, Zucchini Browniesor even Homemade chocolates!

material

You only need 8 simple, inexpensive, healthy ingredients to prepare these healthy oatmeal bars.

Oatmeal Flour:

• Oats: All you need are rolled oats and oat flour (certified gluten-free) for these vegan oat bars, which will help keep you fuller for longer. To make your own oat flour, grind the oats in a coffee grinder/high-speed blender.
• Nuts/Seeds: I often use almond flour, but any fine nut or seed (sunflower seeds, cashews, hazelnuts, etc.) will work and help add heart-healthy fats and plant-based protein. Dried, shredded coconut should also work.
• Banana: Mashed bananas are a great binder for vegan oatmeal breakfast bars.
• Maple Syrup: Or another unrefined liquid sweetener, such as date syrup, agave or even sugar-free syrup.
• Sea Salt: To balance the sweetness and enhance the variety of flavors in banana oat bars.

Chocolate layer:

I confess that there is no melted chocolate or refined sugar in the fudgy chocolate layer in these chocolate oatmeal bars! Instead, it’s a healthy (and perhaps surprising) combination:

• banana: The secret ingredient behind the fudgy chocolate filling is over-ripe bananas that leave lots of dark spots on naturally sweetened banana oatmeal bars.
• the dates: Soft medjool dates are best, although any date will work. Soak them in hot water for 15 minutes first (to help blend). Other dried fruit such as figs or raisins will also work (and need to be soaked).
• Nut/seed butter: I used peanut butter, but any nut/seed butter will work. ie, tahini, cashew butter, hazelnut butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter, etc.
• Cocoa powder: Use unsweetened cocoa powder or cacao powder (the latter has more antioxidants and nutrients but tastes more bitter).
• Vanilla extract: Use natural vanilla for best flavor.
• Sea salt: Improves balance and taste.

All of the above help make wonderfully decadent Chocolate Oatmeal Peanut Butter Banana Bars the whole family will love!

Read the recipe card below for this Full ingredient list, Measurements, full recipe method, and nutrition information.

How to make healthy chocolate oatmeal bars?

Follow a few steps with minimal hands-on prep (thanks to a food processor) to whip up these chocolate oat bars in no time!

• First, preheat the oven to 355 °F/180 °C and line a 7×7-inch square baking dish (18 cm) or 9×6-inch baking pan with parchment paper.

You can use an 8×8 pan, but the bars will be thinner. For very large pans, it’s best to double the recipe.

• Then, process all the dough ingredients in a food processor like flour.
• Press ¾ of the batter into the prepared pan using a flat glass bottom to help create a single, even layer.
• Then, rinse out the food processor and process the chocolate layer ingredients until smooth and creamy.
• Pour the chocolate layer over the oat base, and then crumble and sprinkle the remaining oat mixture on top.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown on top, then allow banana breakfast bars to cool completely (they will harden/set as they cool). Finally, cut them into bars, and enjoy!

You can optionally drizzle the chocolate oat bars with a simple Homemade Icing (regular or sugar-free), homemade Vegan Nutellaor other nut/seed butters.

Storage instructions

shop: Store leftover chocolate oatmeal bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.

freeze: Spread the bars across a baking tray, not touching, and freeze until firm. Then transfer to a Ziploc bag (or individually wrap each bar in plastic wrap or parchment paper) and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight or in the refrigerator for an hour or two at room temperature.

FAQs

Can I substitute bananas?

I haven’t tried using any other ingredients, although another sweet pureed ingredient like sweet potato would probably work best. Unsweetened applesauce can also work, but the texture can also be sticky.

Can I use all-purpose flour?

No, since almond flour adds fat (more mouthfeel/moisture) and flavor. Regular AP flour can be dry and tasteless without subsequent recipe changes.

Can I use quick oats?

Yes, I used quick oats in place of rolled oats and it worked well.

Recipe notes

• Using a large pan: The bars will be thinner when using a slightly larger pan (ie, 8×8).
• Cool before cutting: Bars need to fully firm up/cool down.
• Experiment with add-ins: Add extra texture and flavor by topping or topping the dough with chopped almonds, shredded coconut, cacao nibs, semi-sweet chocolate chips (regular or sugar-free), or dried fruit (such as dates/raisins).

More healthy vegan breakfast recipes

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