Name: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour; 1/2 organic brown sugar (- firmly packed); 1/2 cup coconut sugar; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 3/4 cup dairy-free butter (- so you can cut it into the flour mixture); 1 cup quick cooking oats; 1 1/2 cups Granny Smith apples (- cut into little pieces); 16 ounces chocolate chips; 1 cup walnuts (- chopped into small pieces. The Food Processor works really well for this.)

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars are one of the best vegan chocolate bars ever. Layered with oats, apples, nuts, and more. A perfect recipe for a snack at any time of the day.

Three layered square treats stacked on top of each other in a green bowl.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars have turned out to be the bar that is made mostly in our house. Bars are so easy to make, and they seem to be really appreciated.

There is a bit of apple in the top layer along with the chocolate. Tart Granny Smith apples are used to have the perfect balance of tart and sweet.

You could use any of your favorite baking apple varieties because it will all be good, but I'm partial to Granny Smith's. They bake up so beautifully with a nice balance to the sweets.

Jump to:

🍏 Best apples for baking
🥘 Ingredients
🔪 Instructions
🍎 Best apple recipes
💭 Can you freeze these bars
📋 Recipe

These oatmeal chocolate chip bars are really really easy to make and you will have a great treat in no time.

Here is a view of the ingredients and they all come together perfectly for these tasty layers. Watch the video so you can see how easy it is.

Overhead photo of all of the ingredients in their own small bowls.

🍏 Best apples for baking

These are the most readily available from the east coast to the west coast.
Braeburn
Honeycrisp
Fuji
Cortland
Granny Smith (my fav)
Gala
Golden Delicious
Gravenstein
Winesap
Jonagold
Jonathan
McIntosh

This vegan chocolate bars recipe fills a nice large pan size measuring 9" x 13". The layers are nice and thick with lots of texture.

If these chocolate chip bars didn't already have the best base layer the topping really puts them over the top.

The topping is a crumbly mix that you can put in your hand and sprinkle nice and thick. Besides that, it bakes up nice and crispy/chewy with all the flavors working so well with each other.

🥘 Ingredients

Whole wheat flour adds more nutrients and gives the treat some weight.
Organic brown sugar sweetens layers with a deep rich sweetness.
Coconut sugar adds a different type of sweet flavor in a very understated way.
Baking soda helps the bars rise.
Dairy free butter adds the buttery creaminess needed for the layers.
Quick-cooking oats add heft and nutrients to the base.
Granny Smith apples are fruity and tart which makes them just right so many times in baking recipes.
Chocolate Chips add a mild crunch and more sweetened chocolate flavor.
Walnuts add protein and another mild crunch factor.

Chocolate Chip bars stacked on top of each other on a wooden picnic table.

🔪 Instructions

Grease a 9" x 13" baking pan with dairy-free butter.
In a large bowl mix the flour, sugars, and baking soda.

Two process photos of the dry ingredients being measured and stirred.

Cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter or two knives until it resembles a coarse meal.
You can use any of your favorite dairy-free butter whether it is in stick form or from a tub just make sure it's cold.

Two process photos showing butter being cut into the dry mixture.

Press half of the mixture into the prepared baking pan.
To the remaining flour mixture add the oats, apples, chocolate, and nuts.

Two process photos of chopped apples, chocolate, oats, and nuts being worked into the mix.

Sprinkle onto the top of the mixture that is already in the pan so there are two layers.
Press in very lightly.
Bake at 375° F for 35 to 40 minutes.

9x13" baking pan filled with vegan chocolaet bars waiting to cool and be cut.

Cool 5 minutes and cut into bars.
Store in an airtight container.

🍎 Best apple recipes

Next to these apple crumb bars are some shining recipes that I think you just might like to check out.

For something completely different you can make this wonderful Apple Broccoli Salad.
Slow Cooker Apples and Oats really makes a nice and easy breakfast.
If you want your socks knocked off then you have to make this Coffee Cake with Apple Cinnamon Streusel.
Apple Waffles have shredded apple mixed in the batter.

And do you know there are eighteen more Apple Recipes on this blog? Thumbs up!

💭 Can you freeze these bars

After the vegan chocolate bars have cooled you may freeze them in a freezer bag or in a hard sided freezer container.
They defrost quickly so it really doesn't take any planning. Just put them on a plate for an hour or two and enjoy.

Three vegan chocolate bars stacked in a green bowl.

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If you take a photo of your layered chocolate bars I would love to see it. Follow me over on Instagram and tag me on your photo @vegan_in_the_freezer.

Your opinion means a lot to me and if you'd like to leave a comment and possibly a star rating I'd love to hear your thoughts.

📋 Recipe