No one will believe these no-bake chocolate fudge oat bars didn’t come out of a candy bar wrapper! Enjoy a delightful combination of chewy-crispy-crunchy textures and salty-sweet chocolate-peanut butter flavors in every bite. They’re an easy, healthier treat recipe (well, compared to chocolate cake!) that you’ll want to make again and again.
I originally published this recipe in 2012 and have since added new photos and easier-to-understand instructions.
After making these no-bake bars for the 100th time, I decided it was time to revamp this post. While so much has changed in the last decade, the recipe for these incredibly irresistible bars has stood the test of time.
Made from pantry staples like oats, coconut oil, peanut butter, maple syrup, and chocolate chips, and textured with crisp rice cereal, crunchy nuts, and chewy plump raisins… I swear there must be some Willy Wonka magic in these bars to turn such simple ingredients into something that tastes like a candy bar.
One reader, Sandy, commented: “These are SO delicious!! I get so many requests for the recipe every time I make them. I also add a little chia seed and any extra dried fruit I can find. ★★★★★”
Another reader, Lisa, commented: “I made these today and the whole family loved them. My add-ins were coconut, pecans, and dried cranberries. My 7-year-old liked them so much, she requested them for her birthday! ★★★★★”
Why You’ll Love These No-Bake Chocolate Fudge Oat Bars
- Tastes like a candy bar—no one will believe it’s a healthier dessert recipe
- Easy no-bake recipe comes together in 10 minutes
- Gluten free if using certified GF oats and rice crisp cereal
- Dairy free and vegan if using non-dairy chocolate chips
- Choose your favorite granola bar add-ins, like nuts and dried fruit
- Chewy, crispy, crunchy, soft—it’s texture paradise
- Perfect balance of salty and sweet, and oh-so-chocolatey!
Think Chewy Granola Bar Meets Crispy Chocolate Bar…
A combination of coconut oil, chocolate, peanut butter, and maple syrup coats the dry ingredients in what tastes like chocolate fudge. Seriously.
The oats give the fudge-like bars the most delicious chew, the rice cereal adds the crispy texture of a Nestle Crunch bar, and if you include peanuts, these bars have definite Snickers vibes as well.
The recipe is like a chocolate version of these peanut butter trail mix bars.
Start With These 6 Ingredients
- Coconut Oil: Melted together with chocolate, coconut oil gives these bars their soft, fudge-like texture. If you want a substitute for coconut oil, use butter; you need a fat that is solid at room temperature, so liquid oils wouldn’t work for this recipe.
- Chocolate Chips: We’re using chips for ease here, but you could also use chopped baking chocolate. Normally, if melting chocolate (like when making chocolate ganache or coating Oreo balls), I recommend using chopped baking chocolate instead of chocolate chips, but because we’re melting the chocolate with coconut oil, chocolate chips work just fine.
- Peanut Butter: Either creamy or crunchy peanut butter work, just like both work for flourless peanut butter oatmeal cookies. I usually use natural-style, but processed peanut butter such as Jif or Skippy works too. You could also make these with almond butter, or use sunflower seed butter for a nut-free option.
- Maple Syrup: Pure maple syrup sweetens the bars, but they don’t taste like maple. You could use honey instead, if you prefer.
- Oats: Old-fashioned whole rolled oats give the bars structure with a slightly chewy texture.
- Crispy Rice Cereal: Rice Krispies (or similar style crisp rice cereal) provide the most delicious crisp in every bite. A little bit goes a long way, so you can use the rest of the box for future batches or even a pan of rice krispie treats!
Now, Choose Your Add-ins
You can choose whatever add-ins you like, just use about 3/4 cup total (roughly 100–120g). I typically include peanuts and raisins, for that crunchy-chewy texture combo, but feel free to use whatever combination of nuts, dried fruit, and/or seeds your inner self desires (or happen to already be in your pantry). Here are some suggestions:
- Peanuts (salted, unsalted, or honey roasted)
- Chopped pecans, walnuts, or almonds
- Pistachios
- Raisins, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, or dried cherries
- Currants
- Chopped dried apricots or pitted dates
- Coconut flakes or shredded coconut (or try these no-bake coconut granola bars)
- Large seed such as pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
- Chopped pretzel pieces
Or skip the add-ins and add a Tablespoon of a small seed such as chia seeds or flax seeds. I also top the bars with a little unsweetened coconut, but that’s optional.
Melt the coconut oil and chocolate chips together on the stove, and then stir in the peanut butter and maple syrup. Pour this mixture over the oats, crispy rice cereal, and add-ins. Stir to combine.
Press into a lined 9-inch pan, and then refrigerate for 2 hours or until set.
The bars should be stored in the refrigerator. Kept at room temperature, they get a little soft and melty. Still delicious, but fall apart easily!
Are These Chocolate Oat Bars Healthy?
I say this a lot with the lightened-up recipes I publish, but “healthy” is a relative term. In my eyes, these are a pretty healthy chocolate treat. They’re made with whole foods like natural peanut butter and fiber-filled oats. However, they may be too sugary for someone who needs to watch their sugar intake.
I’m unsure of the nutritional information for these, but feel free to calculate it yourself using an online calculator and the exact ingredients/brands you use. For more healthier options to satisfy your sweet tooth, here is my collection of healthier dessert recipe ideas.
They are also gluten free if using certified gluten free oats. For more gluten free sweet treats, here are 40 of my favorite gluten free dessert recipes.
No-Bake Chocolate Fudge Oat Bars
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
- Yield: 12 squares
- Category: Bars
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Enjoy a delightful combination of chewy-crispy-crunchy textures and salty-sweet chocolate-peanut butter flavors in every bite of these easy no-bake oat bars. Choose your favorite add-in from the suggestions in the Note below.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup (70g) coconut oil
- 1/2 cup (90g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup (125g) crunchy or creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup (60ml) pure maple syrup (or honey)
- 1 and 1/4 cups (106g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
- 3/4 cup (19g) crispy rice cereal
- 3/4 cup (about 100-120g) add-ins (such as salted or unsalted peanuts and raisins, see Note)
- optional: 1 Tablespoon unsweetened shredded coconut for topping
Instructions
- Line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the bars out (makes cutting easier!). Set aside.
- In a medium pan over medium heat, melt the coconut oil and chocolate chips together, stirring often. Once chocolate chips have melted, stir in the peanut butter and maple syrup until combined. Remove from heat.
- Whisk the oats, crispy rice cereal, and add-ins together in a medium bowl. Pour the chocolate mixture on top, and stir to combine. Mixture is wet.
- Transfer mixture to prepared pan. Using the back of a flat spatula, press the mixture tightly and firmly down into the pan. Make sure it’s compact, which helps guarantee the bars will hold their shape. Sprinkle with coconut, if using.
- Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days. If refrigerating for longer than 2 hours, cover lightly.
- Lift the parchment paper out of the pan and cut into squares. Cover and store bars in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Layer the cut bars between sheets of parchment in a freezer-friendly bag or container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Square Baking Pan | Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Silicone Spatula
- Gluten Free: Bars are gluten free if using certified gluten free oats and crispy rice cereal.
- Peanut Butter: Either creamy or crunchy peanut butter works. I usually use natural-style, but processed such as Jif or Skippy works too. You could also make these with almond butter, or use sunflower seed butter for a nut-free option.
- Can I leave out the crispy rice cereal? Yes, but you will lose some crisp texture. Replace with 2/3 cup (about 56g) of whole rolled oats.
- Add-ins: You can choose whatever add-ins you like, just use about 3/4 cup total (roughly 100–120g). I typically include salted roasted peanuts and raisins, for that crunchy-chewy texture combo, but feel free to use whatever combination of nuts, dried fruit, and/or seeds such as salted or unsalted peanuts, chopped pecans, almonds, or walnuts, pistachios, raisins, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, or dried cherries, currants, chopped dried apricots or pitted dates, unsweetened shredded coconut or coconut flakes, large seeds such as pumpkin seeds (pepitas), or chopped pretzel pieces. Or skip the add-ins and add a Tablespoon of a small seed such as chia seeds or flax seeds.
Reader Comments and Reviews
This recipe is easy to do, good but a sweet for my taste. Do you have something similar with less sugar? Thank you for the ease of your recipes. I enjoy each one that I make. Have a Great Week!
Hi Anna, feel free to reduce the maple syrup or use chopped unsweetened chocolate. (Or dark chocolate chips. We like Ghirardelli 60% cacao baking chips.) Thanks for giving them a try!
These were kinda gross, having trouble finishing them. Just not my cup of tea I guess.
I want to make this for some people who are allergic to nuts. Do you think there is any way to make it nut-free?
Hi Phoebe, you could replace the peanut butter with sunflower seed butter and non-nut add-ins like raisins or dried cranberries.
I make this recipe all the time. It’s so easy and so good. I add in the raisins and nuts.
Have you ever tried it using cocoa krispies? I wonder how that would be?
Hi Elissa, we haven’t but feel free to do so for an extra chocolatey bar!
Hi, can I leave out the peanut butter? I want to make this recipe with my students but because of peanut allergies I can’t use peanut butter
Hi Hely, the peanut butter helps keep the bars together, but you could use a nut-free spread like sunflower seed butter or Biscoff instead.
These are so good! I used sugar free chocolate chips (a mix of Lily’s semi sweet and the Guittard dark chocolate baking chips made with coconut sugar) with no problem! The maple syrup with this combo was the perfect sweetness level to me. I added the salted peanuts and loved the extra crunch. So delicious and addictive, we’ve already nearly finished one batch in less than 24 hours Thanks for the recipe!
We liked these a lot, and my husband gave me his highest praise. (“These taste unhealthy!”) Now that I have read the other comments, I am interested in making these with dark chocolate and a bit less maple syrup. These take me back to the no-bake cookies of my childhood, but the maple syrup (instead of the sugar my mom used) means no graininess. Another win!
These bars are delicious! I was looking for a way to use up some random nuts, fruits, and seeds before our move, and tried these. These are going into our regular rotation. My kids have already asked me to make them again.
These are wonderful although beware: They’re addictive! I used salted peanuts as my add-in. That gave the bars an extra little crunch which I love. I will be making this simple yet scrumptious recipe regularly.
Hi Sally,
Can Biscoff spread or any chocolate spread be used instead of peanut butter? Would like to make it as a classroom project. Thanks
Hi Dee, Biscoff will work here and a thicker chocolate spread should work, too. Hope they’re a hit!
These are quite good, more of a dessert than a snack bar.
Suggestions for making them less sweet?
Hi Marianne, feel free to reduce the maple syrup or use chopped unsweetened chocolate. (Or dark chocolate chips. I like Ghirardelli 60% cacao baking chips.)
Hi there. It is summer here in South Africa. And I wanted to make this for my daughter to take to school as a snack. Will these melt in the lunchbox?
Hi Faheema, if possible, we recommend storing the bars in the refrigerator. Kept at room temperature, they get a little soft and melty. Still delicious, but fall apart easily!
I’ve made these bars twice in 3 days. They are a massive hit. I used Spanish peanuts that I roasted in the toaster oven as my add-in. Unbelievably tasty. We are addicted!
Can I use a substitute for the coconut oil? Thank you.
Hi Martina, you want a fat that is solid at room temperature or when cold, so butter is the best replacement.
I can’t wait to make these.. can we substitute anything for the semi sweet chips? Any sort of dark chocolates, will they work?
Dark chocolate would be great!
These look delicious! I would love to make them soon. I have a question. Do you use refined or unrefined coconut oil?
Hi Joy! Either work.
I’ve been trying to make all my families granola bars instead of buying expensive granola bars with wasteful packaging and preservatives. I’ve been regularly making the ones on this site that have banana and/or pumpkin as the main ingredient but this was my first time with this no bake approach. oh my goodness they were delicious. I was exhausted late at night but knew I needed to make something to have ready for my family for the next morning and this was a hit. Thank you Sally! I did salted peanuts as my add in. Next time I will do coconut flakes for variety.
I came across this recipe and decided to try it. I did not tell my family what was in it because often if I say “gluten free” or “vegan” they immediately turn up their nose at it. I made these and really appreciated that it does not require an oven, especially since it’s been in the high 90s here with 100% humidity. They loved them!! Ate almost the entire pan in one day. Next time I’ll double the recipe. Thank you for these! 10/10 would recommend.
I made these today and the whole family loved them. My add-ins were coconut, pecans and dried cranberries. My seven year old liked them so much, she requested them for her birthday!
I made these the other day and they did not last long in my house! They came out great. I’ll be making more this weekend 🙂
I would love to try, except my daughter is allergic to coconut. Can another oil be used?
Hi Karen! Butter would be the next best option- you need an oil that solidifies at room temperature or when chilled, like coconut oil.
These are amazing! My husband is loving them! We used dried cherries because he doesn’t love raisins& salted caramel chips (I have some extras that need to go). Fabulous! Great texture & taste:)
These are SO delicious !! I get so many requests for the recipe every time I make them. I also add a little chia seed and any extra dried fruit I can find. Thanks so much!
Hi Sally, I’ve made these before with semi-sweet chocolate and they were REALLY REALLY REALLY good, but I was wondering if you happened to know how they would taste with milk chocolate. Also, would homemade coconut oil and homemade almond butter work in this?
Ooh, and I made your Easy Cinnamon Rolls from Scratch and they were fabulous! As in, some of the BEST rolls I’ve ever tasted in my 14 years of living!! I topped them with a coffee cream cheese glaze (my sis loves coffee and I love cream cheese, so I combined the two and it was the BEST glaze I have EVER tasted.) It’s funny b/c I made your Cinnamon Roll Cake before the Easy Cinnamon Rolls and I thought that making the cake was easier than the rolls.
hi angie! milk chocolate, homemade coconut oil (sounds amazing!!) and homemade almond butter would all be wonderful! i have to try them with AB now that you mention it.
I’m not sure how I came upon your blog but I am so glad I did. These chewy fudge granola bars are so yummy. The first time I made them I used dark chocolate, and toasted coconut and chia seeds for add ins and they were delish. My family loved them too. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes. Thanks!!
These look and sound delicious! Any suggestions on using less chocolate and more fruit (apple or banana)? I’m looking for a healthier option for my 3 year old instead of the 100 ingredient preservative store bought variety! But they have to remain chewy which it sounds like the coconut oil is for. Thanks!
Hi Meagan! I would suggest using more peanut butter (about 3/4 cup all together) to replace the chocolate chips. I’ve done this before and love it!
Is there any substitute for the peanut butter?
hi amy – there is no substitute for peanut butter, besides another nut/seed butter. almond, cashew, pecan, nutella, or sunflower seed butter would work.
Wow these are amazing! Just made some and can’t believe how tasty and easy they are. Thank you Sally for this awesome recipe and website!!
Would honey work in place of maple syrup?? Sounds awesome!
Hey Nichole, yes honey is a great sub for the maple syrup.