You’ll be able to grab a few chocolaty, fiber-filled Cookie Dough Oatmeal Breakfast Bars on your way out the door tomorrow with this easy recipe!
Oats are an extremely versatile ingredient. Here’s an example: You can make a bowl of oatmeal taste like a Japanese breakfast with a poached egg, soy sauce, seaweed, and green onions. You can take that same basic bowl of oatmeal and instead add peanut butter, chocolate chips, dried tart cherries, and maple syrup to make breakfast taste like dessert. Oatmeal is a blank canvas just waiting for you to add your favorite flavors.
That’s great and all, but some mornings, we don’t have time to sit down and eat a bowl of oatmeal, much less prepare poached eggs or track down dried tart cherries in the cluttered pantry. That’s what breakfast prep is for! I’m far more likely to grab a pre-made oatmeal breakfast bar on busy weekday mornings, and that’s what this recipe is all about.
Crank breakfast up a notch with this cookie dough oatmeal breakfast bar recipe. It’s chocolaty, full of nutrition, and you won’t be able to tell, but there are chickpeas in this dish! These bars have the perfect amount of sweetness to perk you up in the morning, and there are enough nutritional macros in them to keep you going long into the day. Whip up a batch of these for your next breakfast meal prep; you won’t regret it!
Are Cookie Dough Oatmeal Breakfast Bars Healthy?
Absolutely. These breakfast bars have plenty of fiber from the chickpeas and oats and protein from the chickpeas to keep you full and energized until lunch. The bars are low in fat per serving and have fewer calories than plenty of less nutritious store-bought breakfast bar options. The bananas give these bars a lot of natural sweetness, along with a dose of potassium. Feel free to use a sugar alternative (such as stevia) instead of coconut sugar and sugar-free chocolate chips if you’re sensitive to sugar.
Overall, this dish is vegan and gluten-free (as long as your oats are!), so the bars can be a healthy part of many different diets.
Mix Up The Ingredients
As with any sweet breakfast recipe, you can jazz these oatmeal bars up any way you like. Think of the “cookie dough” as an invitation to add things you enjoy in your cookies! Here are a few of my faves.
- Add chopped walnuts: I know there’s a peanut butter vibe already going in this recipe, but walnuts are my absolute favorite nut in a cookie. A few chopped walnuts will not hurt anything here!
- Add dried fruit: There’s a lot of heavy flavor in this recipe from both the chocolate and the peanut butter, and dried fruit can cut through a bit of that heaviness to provide a nice contrast. Try golden raisins, dried tart cherries, or even dried pineapple chunks.
- Add cinnamon: Every single ingredient in this recipe goes great with cinnamon! Add a dash of it to give your breakfast bars that special holiday feeling.
- Change up the nut butter: Not a fan of peanut butter? Use almond butter, sunflower seed butter, or walnut butter instead!
Can I Prep This Ahead?
Absolutely! In fact, they’re excellent for weekly breakfast prep. Store these cookie dough oatmeal breakfast bars in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 4 days. You can also freeze them in freezer-safe Ziploc bags or containers for up to 2 months. Simply pull out the portions you need the night before, place them in the fridge, and let them thaw overnight. They’ll be ready for you in the morning.
Serving Suggestions
These little bars are an excellent on-the-go breakfast by themselves, but you can also eat them as a mid-afternoon snack. I could also imagine a plate of these as a healthy option on a breakfast spread, alongside hot breakfast items like Buttermilk Pancakes, Soft Scrambled Eggs, and Baked Maple Bacon.
If you’re eating one of these as an afternoon snack, I totally recommend pairing it with a smoothie, such as this Green Smoothie or a Blueberry Smoothie.
Ingredients
For The Base:
- ¾ cup overripe banana mashed, 180 grams
- 2½ tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup rolled oats gluten-free, if needed, 50 grams
- 5 tablespoons powdered peanut butter
- ¼ cup oat flour gluten-free, if needed, 26 grams
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
For The Cookie Dough Topping:
- ⅔ cup chickpeas skins removed, about ½ a can
- 3 tablespoons powdered peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons agave nectar
- 2 tablespoons overripe banana mashed
- 1 tablespoon natural smooth peanut butter
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of baking soda
- 1½ tablespoons dairy-free mini chocolate chips plus additional for sprinkling, optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350℉ and grease an 8×8-inch baking pan.
For The Base:
- In a large bowl, beat together the banana, coconut sugar, and apple cider vinegar until well mixed.
- Add in the oats, powdered peanut butter, oat flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, and stir until well mixed. Spread the mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan and set aside.
For The Cookie Dough Topping:
- If you haven't already, remove the skins from the chickpeas by gently rubbing them between your fingers and peeling off the papery thin skin that lifts up. Add the skinned chickpeas into a small food processor.
- Add in all the remaining ingredients except for the chocolate chips, and blend until smooth and creamy. Stop the processor to scrape down the sides with a spatula occasionally. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the chocolate chips.
- Gently spread the cookie dough evenly on top of the oatmeal base until it's fully covered. Sprinkle with extra chocolate chips, if desired.
- Bake until the edges are lightly golden brown and beginning to pull away from the sides, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 17-18 minutes.
- Let the bars cool completely in the pan before slicing.
Nutrition Info:
Nutrition information are estimates only and may vary based on the specific brands, ingredients, and portion sizes you use. This data is provided for informational purposes only.
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