Welcome to my current dessert obsession. I call them, Healthy Oatmeal Bars with Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt.
This recipe is a healthy re-creation of my all-time favorite childhood dessert. The old recipe was delicious yes, but full of sugar. So of course, I loved them. I made them ALL THE TIME as a teenager.
I’ve been playing around recently to bring back my old favorite, but with a healthy twist. I left out the white sugar and added nutritious ingredients, like coconut oil, almonds, pecans, dates, and dark chocolate.
You can even add protein powder! In my revised version … bonus, no baking is required!
This does not taste like a “healthy” treat. You will not feel deprived at all. I promise!
Healthy No-Bake Treats
First, you should know these freezer snacks require no baking. Thus, you will be able to hide them in the freezer for you and you alone!
Or if you want to share with others, you can ration as you please, because who will think to look in the freezer? Right. Nobody.
Fast and Easy Bar Recipe
Second, I made this version in a bar form because it is uber quick. You do not need to run out and buy a fancy pan though.
You could literally spread the bars out with the palm of your hand or a spoon on waxed paper! Or you could also use your trusty 8 x 8 inch Glass Pyrex Pan. This recipe is very flexible!
The fancy Wilton Non-Stick Tart Pan is super quick too, and a tad prettier. These pans give all desserts an upgrade. I’ve used mine for quiche, fruit tarts, pecan pie bars, and brownies.
What I really love the most though, is the bottom pops out so your dessert is so easy to remove. You will love it! Sorry, I digress.
Fleur de Sel Sea Salt and Dark Chocolate. Oh yeah.
I do need to mention the obvious highlights of this recipe, dark chocolate, and sea salt. Yes, an AMAZING pair.
I ordered the good stuff, Fleur de Sel French Sea Salt from William Sonoma. I’d read the rave reviews about it for a long time and finally pulled the trigger. Try it, you will not be sorry. It’s not cheap so I save it to finish special dishes and treats.
Another highly rated sea salt is Le Saunier De Camargue Fleur De Sel available from Amazon. But don’t despair, you can also use the salt you have on hand to achieve that delicious salty-sweet flavor.
I also use Lily’s Dark Chocolate Baking Chips in this recipe. I absolutely love the taste and that it is sweetened with stevia!
Are Dates Good for You?
Besides dark chocolate, this recipe uses dates for sweetness. Dates are a natural sweetener and contain vitamins and minerals that are good for you when consumed in moderation.
The sugar found in dates is called fructose. It is a particularly damaging form of sugar. Fructose has been found to cause inflammation, deplete minerals, and cause other stresses in the body.
In other words, if you eat too many, they can be bad for your health and your waistline. Just remember to eat and use dates in moderation.
Stay mindful of how much sugar you consume. For more info, check out my post on sugar, The Negative Effect of Sugar on The Body.
So, what do you say? Shall we begin? Here’s what you need to make this recipe.
Healthy Oatmeal Bars Shopping List
Salted Almonds or Almonds & Salt either work great!
Pecans
Oatmeal gluten-free or regular
Medjool Dates I buy at Costco
Coconut Oil I buy at Trader Joe’s
Dark Chocolate Chips I buy Lily’s
Sea Salt for finishing
No-Bake Sea Salt and Dark Chocolate Oatmeal Bar Recipe
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 25 bars 1x
Description
Delicious bars with an addictive salty-sweet flavor!
Ingredients
Bars
1/4 cup Salted Almonds (if using plain almonds add 1/8 tsp. salt)
3/4 cup Pecans
3/4 cup Oatmeal
4 pitted Medjool Dates
1/3 cup melted Coconut Oil
Topping
1/2 cup Dark Chocolate Chips (I use Lily’s)
1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil
Sea Salt Flakes for Finishing
Instructions
Bars
Soak the dates in warm water for 5 minutes to soften, then slice in half and remove the pit. Place the pitted dates and the rest of the ingredients for the bars in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is similar to “cookie” dough texture. Wipe sides of processor down with spatula and pulse again. Press dough flat and even in pan or shape on a sheet of parchment paper. Put in freezer to harden.
Topping
Melt chocolate in a glass container in microwave or double boiler. Stir constantly. Do not overcook. When smooth, drizzle or pour chocolate solid over bars. Your choice! Wait a few minutes for chocolate to set, but not harden completely, then sprinkle sea salt on top. You don’t want the salt to sink into the chocolate, but you do want it to stick to the surface. Let cool. When chocolate is hard, remove bars from pan and slice into bars with a knife.
Notes
- For a thinner layer of chocolate topping or chocolate drizzle Use half the topping recipe. Use 1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips OR 2 oz. (2/3 of one Lily’s Dark Chocolate bar) and 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil.
- For a thicker bar Double bar recipe. It works perfectly either way!
- If using a Cuisinart food processor, use the Metal S blade.
Affiliate link in italics above.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: No-bake
- Cuisine: Healthy
Keywords: Healthy, Clean, Dark chocolate, Sea salt, Oatmeal, Dates, Bars, No-bake, Coconut Oil
I hope you enjoy these healthy oatmeal bars as much as I do. Let me know if you make them in the comments below.
xo,
Cindy
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YUMMY! Super ez and they taste fabulous!!
★★★★★
Yay Deb! I’m sooo happy you liked it.
Love this recipe! Thanks for sharing.
★★★★★
Awesome! I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂
These taste great and they are very quick to make!
★★★★★
I am so glad you enjoyed them Sue! These are my favs at the moment. 🙂
Delicious!
★★★★★
Thank you Kaitlyn!☺️
Delicious, fast and healthy. We’ll be making these again .
★★★★★
So happy that you liked them!
Just made these again and they were so easy and tasty! What a great healthy treat to have in the freezer for the kids as they run in and out- now that summer is here!!
Yahoo! Thanks! These are my favs too. So glad you liked. 🙂
Better than M&Ms! Here comes some health to my sweet addiction. Bless you.
★★★★★
Thanks, Patricia! I’ll let you know when they hit the stores, meanwhile, you can make your very own!
This was a really tasty recipe! I honestly couldn’t tell it was healthy!
★★★★★
I am so glad you enjoyed it John. It’s my personal fave. ☺️
recipe calls for oatmeal – are we actually using cooked oatmeal or raw rolled oats? couldnt tell by looking at the pictures but not sure how it would work to use cooked oatmeal for something like this.
also what if we just topped it with a square of chocolate rather than first melting?
Hi there! I use raw rolled oats. I think chocolate works in any form! 🙂 You could also put chocolate chips in the bars if you are looking for an easy shortcut. Enjoy!