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Making Friday even sweeter with these Healthier Dark Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie Bars. These one-bowl homemade oatmeal cookie bars with dark chocolate chunks and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt are the perfect way to end the week. They’re super easy and made a touch healthier with a mix of whole grain oats, whole wheat flour, coconut or olive oil, and a reduced amount of sugar. But most importantly, everyone LOVES these oatmeal bars! Plus, they’re pretty difficult to mess up…they always turn out GREAT.

side angled close up photo of Healthier Dark Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie Bars

Going back to my childhood roots with these oatmeal cookie bars. For any of you that know anything about my mom, you know that when my brothers and I were growing up, she’d have dessert on the table before dinner was even a thought. Her staples were chocolate chip cookies, special K-bars, chocolate cake, and her famous oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that she’s been making ever since her friend Lora gave her the recipe (before I was even born).

Oh her cookies. My memories of them are so fond and perfect. We’d always eat them a little warm and gooey right after baking and always with a cold glass of milk. Very classic, right? To this day, these are some of my favorite memories. Baking in the kitchen with mom and zero brothers around.

Fun fact? My purpose in life as a kid was to figure out a way to get mom all to myself without any of my five brothers. It was tricky, but when I made it happen I loved every minute of our one-on-one time.

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Anyway, when my mom wasn’t feeling like baking her round chocolate cookies, she’d make oatmeal cookie bars. Her recipe is EASY and it’s the BEST. You simply cannot beat a one large bowl, ten-minute prep, and pantry staple cookie bar.

Mom would make her oatmeal cookie bars once a week. And there were definitely many weeks she’d make them twice. When a recipe is as easy and as delicious as her bars, it becomes a staple in the kitchen. But here’s the truth. Over the years I’ve adapted her recipe, making small tweaks here and there to adjust them to be a little bit healthier and taste maybe even better?

Maybe…

It’s hard to beat an oatmeal cookie bar baked by my mom, but these healthier dark chocolate chunk oatmeal cookie bars come very, very close.

overhead photo of Healthier Dark Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie Bars

Here are the very simple details.

This recipe requires just one bowl and a spoon…no mixer. It’s completely no-fuss, and takes ten minutes to toss together. You can’t mess these bars up. They are practically foolproof.

In your mixing bowl combine all of the dry ingredients. Now, add all of the wet ingredients. Mix away until you have a crumbly dough. Stir in plenty fo dark chocolate chunks, then press the dough into a baking dish. Bake twenty minutes and sprinkle with flaky sea salt once you remove them from the oven.

Smell the wonderfulness? Do you see the melty chocolate?

I don’t love the word perfect, but these oatmeal cookies are pretty close to it.

overhead photo of Healthier Dark Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie Bars

A few notes and keys to success…

Normally I’m all for butter, but with this cookie recipe there is no sub…oil is what works best, and is a bit healthier too. Over the years I’ve discovered that you can use melted coconut (which I prefer) or extra virgin olive oil (which is also delicious but adds a little flavor to the cookie).

To make these a heartier cookie, I replaced half of the white flour with whole wheat flour and reduced the sugar by half. And of course, was sure to stir in plenty of antioxidant-rich dark chocolate.

Oh, and you can’t forget a nice dusting of flaky sea salt. You don’t have to, but it sure is good…

One thing I do want to note is that these cookie bars are crumbly. It’s just the way they are, and it’s apart of what makes them delicious. So embrace the crumbly cookie bar. Promise you, it’s so good.

overhead photo of Healthier Dark Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie Bars

What I love about these cookies is that they’re so easy to make. They require no chilling and truly take just thirty minutes from start to finish. I almost always have these ingredients on hand. So when it’s Friday night and the urge for a delicious yet slightly healthier chocolatey cookie comes on? These cookies are always what I bake. Always.

They’re just perfectly crisp on the edges but soft and gooey in the middle. The best kind of cookie.

Bake these tonight, or sometime this weekend. Then make them again whenever you’re craving something sweet. Perfect for any time of the year bar, and such a great staple recipe. Hope you ENJOY!

overhead close up photo of Healthier Dark Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie Bars

Looking for other healthier desserts for the weekend? Some favorites…

Healthy…ish Homemade Samoas Cookies

Fudgy Avocado Brownies with Chocolate Fudge Frosting

Homemade Vegan Twix Bars

Lastly, if you make these healthier dark chocolate chunk oatmeal cookie bars, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Healthier Dark Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie Bars

Author: Tieghan Gerard
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 24 bars
Calories Per Serving: 262 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

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Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish with butter or line with parchment paper. 
    2. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the oatmeal, flour, whole wheat flour brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda, salt, coconut oil, eggs, and vanilla. Beat until the dough is moist and all the ingredients are combined. The dough will be crumbly. Mix in the chocolate chunks. 
    3. Press the dough into the prepared baking dish. It will seem crumbly. Transfer to the oven and bake 18-20 minutes or until the edges are set and the bars are golden. Sprinkle with flaky salt (if desired). Let cool and then cut into bars. 

Notes

To Make Gluten Free: Use an equal amount of your favorite gluten free flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour. I recommend Cup4Cup gluten free flour. 
To Replace Coconut Oil: use an equal amount of olive oil, melted butter, or canola oil.
Storing: these cookies keep well for 3-4 days at room temperature. 
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overhead horizontal photo of Healthier Dark Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie Bars

This post was originally published on May 15, 2020
4.07 from 1090 votes (982 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  1. I just made these and I was totally disappointed because they were crumbly! The batter didn’t stick together after mixing it but I thought it would melt together in the baking process. I used whole wheat flour, not white whole wheat flour and not the pastry whole wheat flour and I used canola oil instead of coconut oil but other than that I followed the recipe exactly. I guess I am worse than idiot.

    Reply

    1. Hey Jerri, you are not an idiot. These bars are just crumbly bars, but they are meant to be. If you do not like crumbly bars than these are not for you, but we really love them. The crumbly factor makes them different and in my families opinion delicious.

      So sorry they were not what you where hoping for! Thanks for giving them a try though.

      Reply

      1. In the instructions, you said the dough should mix together and appear oily. Mine was not sticking together at all and didn’t look oily. Should I have added more oil or another egg?

        Reply

  2. My previous comment was in response to another post, but it doesn’t display under theirs, so without context, I realize It looks random.

    By the way, I randomly love your name, Tieghan. Very unique name (at least in my experience).

    Reply

  3. You could omit the sugar and integrate certain substitutes such as honey (considered a “superfood”), which still contains fructose; but there’s actual nutritional value in honey and antioxidants. You could also add in fruits or dates for natural sweetness. That’s what I would do, anyway. Other than the sugar and all-purpose flour, it’s pretty solid. I appreciate the recipe as a base, I’ll make my own adjustments as needed. This should make a good post-workout snack after I add some protein powder and it’s a good way to integrate oats into my diet.
    Late comment, but still wanted to get my thoughts out.

    Thanks,

    Kyle

    Reply

  4. I was looking for a healthy breakfast bar to eat on the fly then your Pic’s caught my eye. They are like food porn got me instantly. The one bowl cleanup didn’t hurt either. So I’m going for what looks like incredibly yummy over healthy. They’re not unhealthy just not what I need for breakfast. 🙂

    Reply

  5. Just made these the other night and they are AMAZING!! I left for one night and came home the next day and my boyfriend pretty much ate the whole tray!!
    I will definitely be making these again!

    Reply

  6. I just made these for my dairy-allergic friend, and wow–talk about idiot-proof! They were definitely fail-for-me-proof, which amounts to the same thing 🙂 I’ve photographed them and plan on posting the recipe/photos soon. Thank you so much for sharing this!

    Reply

  7. I am totally making these right now! I have coconut oil too that I have yet to use in a recipe. They look so yummy!

    Reply

  8. Can I just double the amount of all purpose flour if I don’t have white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour?

    Reply

  9. I’m going to make these this week. If you have a Trader Joe’s around, you can get chocolate bars that are 85% cocoa, so that’s even better if you’re trying to reduce the sugar content!

    Reply

  10. i just made these last night. wow. these things are seriously some of the most delicious treats i’ve made. i had to cut myself off last night and bring them to work and let my coworkers partake of the goodness. thank you so much for sharing!

    Reply

    1. I would not really recommend doing that. You could try replacing half the oil with bananas, but I think the bars will become cakey. Let me know if you have any other questions and I hope you love these!

      Reply

  12. I saw this recipe over the weekend while my husband and I were in a cafe waiting for the car to have its MOT. I only had to show my husband and he remembered- when i asked him the following evening if he wanted me to make anything ‘tasty’ (code for cakes treats muffins… basically something thats not a balanced meal!) and he said ‘oh how about those chocolate thingies you showed me the other day’…. so i managed to get the ingredients converted (http://www.onlineconversion.com/weight_volume_cooking.htm) to UK grams and ive made them! wow- they are delicious. i think my baking tray was a little shorter as they came out quite thick, but they were cooked enough inside. I WILL be making them again, but think i will make them a bit thinner. They taste great with a cup of tea!

    Reply

  13. These look like a dream come true and I can’t wait to make them! I just needed to double-check though, the coconut oil is measured after it’s melted, right?

    Reply

    1. I actually measure before I melt it, so I stuff in a glass measuring cup and then melt it. It normally comes out to the same measurement every time. Sorry if that was confusing!
      Thanks Stacey! Hope you love these! 🙂

      Reply

  14. I asked my husband to make these for me last week so we could take them to friends. He accidentally left out 1 cup of whole wheat flour. They came out perfect – soft, chewy, and stayed together. I made them today using 1 cup of white and 1 cup of whole wheat flour (per the recipe). They are still delicious, but very crumbly. I think I’ll make these with only 1 cup of flour in the future! Thanks for a delicious recipe. My family loves these and they are safe for my son who has severe peanut and tree nut allergies!

    Reply

    1. SO happy you love these, Jennifer!! These are very crumbly, but I am glad you found out like them better with less flour!!

      Thanks again!

      Reply

  15. YUM! I just made these tonight and ate more of this than my actual dinner! Thank your mom for me and thank you!! I sprinkled mine with coconut chips from trader joes so it had a toasted coconut crunch on top! Delicious. Dangerous. Thank you!

    Reply