The classic flavour combo, chocolate + peanut butter, join forces in these delicious and easy-to-make chocolate chip peanut butter oatmeal bars!
This recipe is one that will test your patience. The first time I made them, I failed the patience test. Miserably. I'll explain...
After they came out of the oven, they smelled so good, they looked amazing, and I knew they would also be scrumptious. So I let them cool for a just a few minutes, took them out of the pan and started cutting.
My first indication that this was not going to end well was when I took them out of the pan, the edges started crumbling. But I wanted one...NOW. So, greedily, I continued (ha!).
I started cutting them into squares and as they started to fall apart, I realized that I shouldn't have been so stubborn. I should have waited.
So the lesson here is this:
After your peanut butter oatmeal bars come out of the oven, let them cool completely before removing them from the dish and slicing.
It sounds simple enough, but once you smell them and see them, you'll understand my impatience and eagerness to dig in.
I'm not the only one who gets a little over excited when things come out of the oven, right? Do you?
Because I blog about food and I'm always testing new recipes, you'd think that I would have learned by now to settle down. But, no. That's not the case.
Everything I bake gets me excited. I get excited to taste whatever I've made, to see what the texture is like, and to find out if this was the test that finally worked.
That sounds exhausting but I love what I do, so to me, it's just part of the job.
Luckily, these chocolate chip peanut butter oatmeal bars only took two tries and the recipe is a keeper. Everyone loves them, which is not a surprise, because we all love peanut butter and chocolate together (like in these vegan gluten free peanut butter cookies!). I adore these flavours almost as much as chocolate + mint. Almost.
These bars are oaty (yeah, I know that's not a real word, I make up lots of words when describing food, as you've probably learned if you're a regular around here!), they're loaded with peanut butter flavour, and most importantly, they're chocolaty.
AND, the best part about them? They're vegan and gluten-free, of course!
If that sounds like something you'd like, then I'm pretty sure you'll like this recipe.
And please don't be like me. Be patient after you take them out of the oven. They're worth it. You'll see 🙂
Can I use another type of peanut butter other than natural peanut butter?
I have not tested these bars with any other type of peanut butter other than the natural kind I recommend.
The peanut butter I use only has one ingredient: peanuts. If you use one with added sugar or salt, it will throw the flavours and the texture off, so I would stick with natural peanut butter.
If you like these Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars, you may also like these other recipes:
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies
- Date Coconut Squares
- Customizable Vegan Granola Bars
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies
Pin the recipe to Pinterest and if you make them, show me on Instagram! Tag me, I'm @delightfuladventures.
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
- 3 tablespoons water
- ¾ cup natural peanut butter (see note below)
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup rolled oats (gluten-free, if needed)
- ¾ cup oat flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup chocolate chips
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line an 8x8 inch baking dish with parchment paper.
- Prepare your flax eggs by whisking together ground flax seeds and water. Set aside to thicken.
- In a large bowl, add peanut butter, coconut sugar, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla extract, and flax mixture and mix together until all ingredients have combined.
- In a small bowl, add oats, oat flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and ground cinnamon. Whisk to combine all ingredients.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined.
- Fold in chocolate chips.
- Scoop the batter into the parchment lined pan and ensure it's spread evenly in pan. Smooth out the top.
- Bake for 18 minutes, until golden brown.
- Allow bars to cool fully in pan (or they'll crumble!). When cool, remove from pan using parchment overhang and slice into 12 squares.
Recipe Notes:
- Be sure to use runny, natural peanut butter for this recipe. The ingredient list should just have one ingredient: peanuts, and nothing else. Click over to this recipe to see a picture of what it looks like.
- Brown sugar can be used instead of coconut sugar.
- Don't buy oat flour, make your own! It's really easy and so much cheaper. Here's how to make your own oat flour.
- Coconut flour will NOT work in this recipe.
- Be sure that the bars have fully cooled before cutting or they will crumble.
- Store leftover bars in an airtight container.
- Nutrition info is based on 1 bar and is only to be used as a rough guide. Click to learn how nutrition info is calculated on this website.
Ginnis says
These look amazing and I want to make them. I can't eat coconut oil due to the saturated fat content - can it be left out, or is there a substitute. Thanks.
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
Hi Ginnis! I have not made these without the oil but my usual go-to when replacing oil in recipe is unsweetened plain applesauce. If you try it, please let me know how it goes 🙂
jacquie says
these do look delicious but do i really need to make my own flour? i don't have a blender and i would love to be able to make the recipe.
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
Hi Jacquie! You definitely do not need to make your own oat flour for this recipe, you can buy it if you don't have a blender. The reason why I suggest making it yourself is because it's cheaper and very easy. Store bought oat flour will work just fine 🙂 No matter which way you go, you'll end up with the same bars. If you make them, I hope you like them!