These easy chocolate oatmeal bars don’t require any baking. They are soft, chewy and easy to make. The bars are just three ingredients and don’t need any flour, eggs or butter. The bars can be eaten for breakfast, snack or dessert.
The weather is warming up so I am starting to make a lot more no bake recipes. I always like to have some oatmeal bars or cookies in the house for a quick snack or dessert and these are great when you are craving something sweet.
Ingredients
- Rolled Oats
- Applesauce
- Chocolate Chips
Rolled Oats: This recipe uses regular uncooked rolled oats. The oats will soften when they are mixed with the applesauce and chocolate.
Applesauce: I used unsweetened applesauce. The applesauce softens the oats and also keeps the chocolate soft so that it does not harden once it cools.
Semisweet Chocolate Chips: Make sure to use semisweet chocolate chips. Milk chocolate chips will not set as well and white chocolate chips will not work at all. If you don’t want to use chocolate, I also have a no bake oatmeal bars recipe without chocolate.
How to Make No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Bars
The applesauce and chocolate chips are heated together until the chocolate is completely melted. The oats are then stirred in. The batter is then transferred to a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Place the bars into the fridge until the chocolate is set and then the bars are ready to be cut and eaten.
Tips
Make sure the applesauce is fully incorporated into the chocolate. This is what prevents the chocolate from turning hard once it is in the fridge. The applesauce keeps the chocolate in a semi-solid state.
Store uneaten bars in the fridge. They can keep for a few days in the fridge or longer in the freezer.
More Oatmeal Recipes
- 3 Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Bars
- 3 Ingredient No Bake Chewy Oatmeal Cookies
- 3 Ingredient Crispy Oatmeal Cookies
- Strawberry Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
3 Ingredient No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup (176 g) semisweet chocolate chips
- 8 oz (227 g) unsweetened applesauce see note
- 2 cups + 2 tbsp (181 g) rolled oats
Instructions
- Line an 8 inch by 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Add chocolate chips and applesauce to a large microwave-safe mixing bowl. Heat at full power in 30 second intervals, stirring in between with a spatula, until chocolate is completely melted. I needed to heat my mixture twice, for a total of 1 minute cooking time. Once chocolate is fully melted, switch to a whisk and stir until the applesauce is fully mixed in with the chocolate and the mixture is uniform in color.
- Stir in the oats until they are evenly mixed in and fully coated in the chocolate mixture. The mixture will still be very wet and resemble a thick batter.
- Transfer the mixture to your prepared baking pan. Use a spatula to evenly spread it across the pan and smooth the surface. Place the pan into your fridge until the chocolate is set and no longer melted. (This can take 30 minutes to an hour).
- Use a large sharp knife to slice the bars. Serve immediately. Store any uneaten bars in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
- 8 oz of applesauce refers to weight not volume. 8 oz of applesauce is slightly under 1 cup of applesauce. It is 3/4 cup + 2.5 tbsp for those who don't have a scale. Alternatively, in the US, the snack cups of applesauce are usually sold in 4 oz cups and you would need two of them to make this recipe.
- I have only tested this recipe with unsweetened applesauce.
- The applesauce must be fully incorporated into the chocolate, otherwise the chocolate will harden back to its original state.
- Do not use milk chocolate or white chocolate instead of semisweet chocolate. The bars will not set.
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.
I made the no bake 3 ingredient chocolate oat bars today. So easy and sooooo good. Thanks for that recipe.
You’re welcome!
good tasting and easy to make with wholesome ingredients.
I cooked the wet mixture on the stove and that worked out fine.
We’re glad you enjoyed it!
These are very good. Made with my five year old today and we both really enjoyed. I sprinkled a little seat salt, but otherwise followed all directions. Will definitely make again!
Thanks for sharing! I’m glad it worked out and that you were able to make it with your five year old.
Have you tried them adding in peanutbutter or any other kind of nut butter?
We haven’t tried with this recipe, but we have 3 Ingredient Oatmeal Bars that have peanut butter in them.
I’d like to add peanut butter. How much would you recommend?
Sorry, but we’re not sure.
Thank you for your wonderful recipes. I’m wondering what the shelf life is with the added applesauce and if that means it needs to be refrigerated. Thank you
As stated in the recipe, uneaten ones should be stored in fridge or freezer.
Sounds good will try when I get the ingredients to make.
We hope you love the recipe!
Can u use quick oats or old fashioned?
Old fashioned oats will work.
Can peanut butter be added to this? If so, how much and when!
You can probably add some pb to this and may need to adjust the amount of banana, but without testing it I don’t know the exact amounts.
Very nice.
Thanks!
I would like to make this for my 4-year-old granddaughter but I don’t think she would eat it if she saw all those oat flakes in it. Would the recipe work if I ground up the oats a bit?
We haven’t tried it – if you grind them up too much the bars may not hold together very well. We have Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies that are similar (they have banana instead of applesauce) that you might want to try instead. They’re made with quick oats which she might like better.
Hello; I made the squares and tasted them.
I found them quite bitter!
I would say they need to be sweeter with something!
What would you suggest?
You can use sweetened applesauce if you want them sweeter.
I plan on making these tomorrow. I’m trying to get more protein. I’d like to add some vegan protein powder but I’m sure it would dry it out. Do you have a recipe similar that has any added protein in it? Thank you!
Sorry, but we don’t.
Loved them, very chewy, moist so good with coffee
I’m so glad you like them!
Could you make this with dairy free chocolate so it would be vegan?
yes it can be made with dairy free chocolate
Can I use dark chocolate chip as it will be better for my diet and health?
Also can I use coconut oil instead of applesauce?
Thanks for sharing this recipe.
coconut oil will not work in place of applesauce