Healthy no bake cookie bars are thick, chocolatey and just 6 simple, wholesome ingredients! They make a great afternoon snack, lunch box treat or dessert!
Here we are at Friday, but I'm a little less excited than usual.
We're potty training this weekend. (If that sounds familiar, yes, we attempted this several months ago. J wasn't ready.)
But he's almost 3 now and it's time. So bye-bye diapers, hello big boy underwear.
I have a feeling there will be lots of laundry in my future.
But on to happier thoughts. Like chocolate and peanut butter!
I have to admit, I felt a little duped the first time I made no bake cookies years ago.
I thought from the title it meant I would have a cookie ready to eat in 5 minutes. But you have to boil everything, let it cool and then let it set up for what felt like eternity. (No patience here.)
Luckily, after having waited, not so patiently and perhaps with a few grumbles, I was rewarded. Oooey, gooey, soft, chocolatey, peanut buttery goodness. Heavenly.
So I cleaned up the recipe a bit to make some slightly more healthy no bake cookie bars.
I put these in a glass pan to get a really thick bar instead of dropping them onto wax paper like you do with the regular no bake cookies.
Cause it’s so satisfying to hold these thick slices and sink your teeth into them! ❤️
(It’s kinda like my peanut butter chocolate chip snack bars that are like a giant, chewy cookie!)
But given my earlier disillusionment, let me be clear: These are NOT ready immediately.
Yes, you can eat the mixture while it’s warm and yes, it’s delicious. (Please give it just a second to cool or you might burn your tongue.)
But the serious goodness comes if you wait and let them set up in the refrigerator. It’s about an hour. 45 minutes if you must.
But they are absolutely worth the wait! ❤️
So much chocolate and peanut butter flavor running through these. They taste like pure dessert but they're really on the healthier side.
- Packed with whole grains ✅
- Naturally sweetened with no added sugar ✅
- Protein from the peanut butter (and milk) ✅
So dig right on in!
Now, I’ve got some notes, tips and substitutions coming up below. Just tryin’ to be helpful.
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Notes on healthy no bake cookie bars:
- Milk: You can use cow’s milk (skim, 2%, whole) or soy milk or another alternative milk. Whatever ya got.
- Oats: I almost always use old-fashioned rolled oats in my recipes, but I found they have too much of a raw oat taste here so I prefer quick-cook oats. If all you have is old fashioned oats, just pulse them briefly in a food processor or blender to break them up a bit before using them in the recipe.
- Peanut butter: I've made these with a natural peanut butter and just regular creamy peanut butter (Jif), and both ways worked great.
- Servings: You can get 9 very large bars or 16 smaller bars out of this recipe, depending on the size of the squares you want to cut them into.
These bars are gluten-free as is, so long as you are using certified gluten-free oats. (All oats are gluten free, but they can become contaminated in the field or during processing, so choosing certified gluten-free is important if you have an allergy or intolerance.)
They can also easily be made dairy-free. Just use your milk alternative of choice (such as soy or almond milk) and be sure to use dairy-free chocolate chips. Easy!
Need them to be vegan? Totally do-able! Use a milk alternative, dairy-free chocolate chips and use maple syrup or agave syrup in place of the honey.
Also, peanut butter is traditional but if you want to send these cookie bars to a peanut-free school, feel free to substitute almond butter or another nut butter.
Definitely lots of ways to make these work for a variety of needs.
You can also scale the recipe up or down if you'd like.
You can make a half-batch in an 8x4 bread pan. Just line it with plastic wrap and spray with cooking spray so you can easily lift them out once chilled.
Or, if you are feeding a crowd, you can double this recipe and use a 9x12 glass pan. Cookie bars for everyone all week long!
Finally, a few storage tips for your goodies!
Storage Tips:
- These keep best stored in the fridge. You can keep them in the same 8x8 pan that you put them in to set up and just cover with plastic wrap.
- Or you can cut them into squares and store these in a plastic or glass storage container in the fridge.
- They'll keep for up to 5-7 days in the fridge. If they last that long.
Then if you want to take one on the go, remove it from the fridge and wrap in plastic wrap or put into a plastic bag or small container.
I hope you give these healthy no bake cookie bars a try for an easy summer treat or an after-school snack.
And I hope you’ll send me some happy vibes this weekend as we potty train our second child.
(Oh, and just for fun, I put together a silly potty training essentials post for anyone attempting this same miracle.)
Have a wonderful weekend!
XO,
Kathryn
P.S. Need some more healthy dessert recipes? Check out 5-ingredient raw date brownies, which are so popular, or these 10-minute chocolate cookie balls that are great for toddlers and up. And I love making chocolate chip zucchini brownies when I have extra zucchini.
Healthier No-Bake Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup milk of choice
- 3 cups quick-cook oats, see notes
- 1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Grease an 8x8 glass pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- Combine peanut butter, honey and milk in a medium pot over medium heat. Stir until well combined.
- Add remaining ingredients, turn off heat and stir until the chocolate is melted.
- Pour mixture into prepared pan and let cool slightly. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for an hour.
- Cut into bars and serve!
Vivian | stayaliveandcooking
Ohhhh yumm! I attempted these a while ago but didn't add any milk and then they were quite dry. But I'll definitely have to try your recipe, they look so good! And we love snacks like these here - so easy to grab & go.
Have a great weekend!
Kathryn
Agree -- grab and go is so helpful for those busy afternoons! Hope you do try these - they are far from dry and super delicious!
Alanna
The fact that these are no-bake AND six ingredients make me so happy!!! Perfect summertime treat - must try 🙂
Kathryn
Thanks Alanna! I love the easy recipes, too!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
I think you could potty train anyone if the reward is THESE 😉
Kathryn
Haha, a little bribery never hurt, right?!
Dawn @ Girl Heart Food
No bake and so few ingredients? What kind of trick is this, lol ? Seriously, though, they look reallllly good! Giving this one a shot and Pinned, of course! I bet the 20 minutes freezer method may just work....no patience on waiting either 😀
Good luck with another attempt at potty training! I feel you may have luck with it this time. Good vibes sent your way 😉
Have a great weekend, girl! xoxo
Kathryn
These bars seriously call to me from the fridge 😉 Thanks for the well wishes. I think he's gonna get it. Fingers still crossed though. Happy weekend, to you my friend! XO
Sarah Grace Spann
I love msking no bake cookies..mostly because I love cookie dough MUCH better than the baked cookie itself! Not sure if I'll be able to wait that 40 minutes though 😉
xo,
Sarah Grace
Kathryn
I'm so with you on that! And you don't have to wait... It's great by the spoon when it's still warm 😉 Happy weekend!
Laura
ahhh may the force be with you this weekend! 😉 We potty trained my son when he was three! Since it's the summer you could just let him run around your back yard naked and tell him to pee on a specific rock when he has to go...I know it sounds silly but less laundry and less pee all over the floor! LOL! Then he'll be able to recognize when he has to go and you can move him back inside..... 😉
Kathryn
Don't think it hasn't crossed my mind Laura! My nephew, 4, still routinely goes outside to pee of the deck of their house. That's probably the only thing giving me pause about this tactic 😉 But maybe if it's just for the weekend... ?! Thanks for the support!
Jessica @ Nutritioulicious
These look awesome! Can't go wrong with PB and chocolate! Can't wait to try them!
Kathryn
100% agree - such a fabulous combo! Thanks Jessica!
Kate @ Framed Cooks
Oh gosh, potty training - Mama is definitely going to need (and deserve) some extra cookies, and these look just plain perfect! Hang in there...
Kathryn
Cookies and booze, just pass me more cookies and booze 😉
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary
Ohhhh, good luck potty training!! I am not jealous of that task! Totally not same same at all, but I've wanted to get a puppy and I haven't because the idea of potty training a dog again is a huge turn off. I know, totally not the same, but it's the first thing I thought of since I don't have children that walk on 2 legs. 😉 LOVE these cookie bars, Kathryn! Love love love that you skinny-ed them up and made them into thick bars! I could eat a dangerous amount of these, but since they are healthier that's allowed, right? 😉 Cheers, dear!
Kathryn
Puppy potty training is no joke either! I remember well... and have also teased with the idea of getting another dog and that's a definite hold-back! And you're absolutely right that these cookie bars are dangerous - in the best of ways 😉 Cheers friend! XO
Jenny
Um, delicious! (If the "batter" is any indication of the final product). Not sure how I will manage to wait for my first grader to get home to try this! Regarding the juxtaposition of "healthier" and 1.5 cups of chocolate chips, I wonder if there is anything one could substitute for some of the chocolate without sacrificing texture or sweetness. Mashed bananas or puréed prunes/figs/dates maybe? I wonder how they would hold up. May have to experiment next time. For today, I think this will be an awesome after school treat. Thanks for the great recipe idea!
Kathryn
Haha, they really are irresistible Jenny!! And while these are much cleaner and lightened up than the original, I hear you that it's a lot of chocolate chips. I think you could try cutting back to 1 cup without a huge flavor sacrifice or other substitutions. More than that might affect the flavor and texture. You could experiment with pureed dates though - would love to hear if you try it!
Jenny
I did try it with the dates! I puréed a heaping 1/2 cup of dates with some of the milk and cut the chocolate back to about 3/4 cups. It came out a little softer and fudgier, but also slightly less rich and just as delicious. my taste tester proclaims they are every bit as good as the first time. Ironically, the dates probably add to the sugar content, but... at least it's a natural sugar?? I was pleased with the change, and both versions are delightful.
Kathryn
So glad it worked out - thanks so much for letting us know about those change-ups! I might have to try it that way next time 😉 I love using honey, maple syrup and dates as sweeteners - sugar still, but all are natural so I feel good about that!
Andrea
I know this is an old thread, but for anyone trying these out and reading the reviews first I didn’t have any chocolate in the house (hardly ever happens) and used 1 tbsp of cocoa powder instead. Definitely fudgey and you would need the fridge time but we really liked them and my picky 5 year old did too!
Kathryn Doherty
I'm so happy you enjoyed them! And thanks for the notes about the substitutions - that's really helpful! 😊
Jules
Hi! I am going to make these tonight, but was wondering how many calories is in one bar? It said 6 KCAL?? What does that convert to in regular calories? Thanks!
Aray
I was wondering the same thing.
Kathryn
Hi there! The nutrition info wasn't calculating correctly so I've updated my recipe card (to use my updated nutrition calculator) and it should be displaying correctly now. One bar has just under 250 calories. I hope that helps!
Holly
These are delicious! I think I’ll try them with bitter sweet chocolate next time instead of the semi-sweet chocolate chips I used this time to cut down on sugar a bit. They’re already much more healthy than my normal oatmeal fudge recipe, and I think I like them more! Definitely try these, people!
Kathryn
Oh I'm so happy to hear you loved them Holly! Thanks so much for sharing!
Arwa
This recipe is awesome! Thanks a lot.
Kathryn
Yay, I'm so happy you enjoyed it Arwa!