These healthy chewy no bake oatmeal bars are an easy snack, breakfast or dessert. They don’t require any baking or cooking. They are just 3 ingredients and don’t contain any flour, eggs, refined sugar or butter. You can make them ahead of time and they store well.
I love making no bake recipes because they can be enjoyed right away and I don’t have to wait for them to be baked. It’s also good if you have someone in your family who always has to taste the dough right after and can’t wait until it is cooked. These no bake oatmeal bars have been on repeat in my house recently. I love to make a large batch and then grab one when I need a snack, quick breakfast or healthy dessert.
Ingredients
- Quick Oats
- Honey
- Peanut Butter or Almond Butter
Quick Oats: This recipe uses quick oats. I prefer quick oats over rolled oats though you can use rolled oats as well. Quick oats are rolled oats than have been further processed so they are smaller, thinner and cook faster. I like using them in no bake recipes because they soften easier than rolled oats.
Honey: You can make this with honey or other syrups with a similar thick consistency as honey.
Peanut Butter or Almond Butter: Make sure to use natural peanut butter or natural almond butter. This is peanut butter or almond butter that doesn’t contain any oils in the ingredients. It’s just peanuts and salt or almonds. The mixture will not thicken the same if you use regular peanut butter or almond butter.
How to Make No Bake Oatmeal Bars
The ingredients are all added together and then stirred until evenly combined and a thick dough forms. If your dough doesn’t seem thick enough, you can add more oats. You can also taste the dough and if it’s not sweet enough, you can add more honey.
Once your dough is ready, add it to your prepared pan. Flatten the dough until it is evenly spread across. You can eat it right away but if you want firmer bars that you can cut and hold, place it into the fridge for about 30 minutes (or leave them in the fridge until ready to serve). My family will usually eat a few bites after we’re done making the dough and then place the rest in the fridge to cut into bars for later.
Tips for Making No Bake Oatmeal Bars
This recipe can be adjusted easily to suit personal preferences. If your dough doesn’t seem thick enough, add more oats. If it’s not sweet enough, add more honey. If you want mix-ins like chocolate chips, nuts or dried fruit, you can also add them in.
The bars can be enjoyed right away but they will be a little soft and won’t keep their bar form well. If you place them into the fridge, they will firm up a little, making them easier to cut into bars.
These bars store well in the fridge and freezer. I like to make a large batch and keep them in the fridge or freezer for whenever I need a quick snack.
If you don’t have quick oats and have rolled oats, you can try making them with rolled oats. Or you can make your own quick oats by pulsing the rolled oats in a food processor until they are the size of quick oats.
If you prefer cookies over bars, you can make my no bake oatmeal cookies.
More No Bake Recipes
- 2 Ingredient No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies
- 3 Ingredient No Bake Coconut Cookies
- 3 Ingredient No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cake
3 Ingredient Chewy No Bake Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (128 g) unsweetened natural peanut butter or natural almond butter
- 3.5 tbsp (52 ml) honey
- 1 1/4 cups (110 g) quick oats
Instructions
- Line the bottom of an 8 x 4 inch baking loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Add all ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Stir and mix with a spatula until the ingredients are all evenly mixed and the mixture turns into a thick dough. If your dough doesn't seem thick enough (thick enough to form and cut into bars), add in more oats, 1 tbsp at a time, mixing in between. Taste dough and if you feel it is not sweet enough you can add one more tbsp of honey.
- Spread dough evenly into the prepared pan. Apply some light pressure with the spatula across the surface to help compact the bars and smooth the surface. While the dough can be enjoyed right away, if you want to be able to cut them into bars, it is best to place them into the fridge for 30-60 minutes to help them firm up a little. You can also leave them in the fridge overnight or until ready to serve. Once they are firmed up, slice into bars with a sharp knife. Store uneaten bars in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
- These bars are chewy and lightly sweetened. If you desire sweeter you can also add mix-ins like dried fruit or chocolate chips.
- If adding mix-ins, add them in after you have mixed together the dough (but before you add any more additional oats if you need to thicken bars further).
- Bars will keep for a few days in the fridge and longer in the freezer.
- Make sure to use natural almond or peanut butter. This is almond butter or peanut butter that has no added oils in the ingredient list. Regular peanut butter or almond butter than has added oils will not work as well and your dough will not thicken properly.
- Natural sunflower seed butter can work as a substitute for peanut or almond butter.
- You can easily double this recipe to make more bars.
- Nutrition estimate is calculated using natural peanut butter.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Would soy butter work with this recipe? (Tree nut allergies)
We haven’t tried it but it should be okay as long as you use a natural soy butter with no added oil.
Would cashew butter work?
Natural cashew butter should work fine.
I absolutely love the simplicity of making these bars, and they’re so delicious! I doubled the recipe and found that the dough was dryer than I wanted. I added more natural peanut butter and honey, and that helped. Last week I made the bars and flattened the dough into a loaf pan. After I chilled them, the dough was unable to be made into bars. This time, when I doubled the recipe, the bars came out thick and delicious. I would definitely double the recipe for the future, but the bars are wonderful for a snack and to carry with me.
thanks for sharing! I’m so glad you are enjoying them
They look yummy I would like to try some of the recipes
We hope you try them soon!
Would maple syrup work instead of honey?
Maple syrup will dry out the dough a lot more. I think it can work but you would need to make some adjustments to the amount of syrup used and amount of oats.
Can anything be substituted for the honey (allergies)?
You can try other syrups – they just need to be the same thickness/consistency as honey.
Fabulous and tasty.
Thanks so much!
These were better than expected. I made 3 batches and had to hide what was left for myself. Thanks!!!!
I’m glad they worked out!
Going to make these soon. Thanks.
Let us know what you think!