A layer of raspberries and chocolate is sandwiched between a streusel-like crust and topping in these vegan, 100% whole grain and dairy-free chocolate raspberry oat bars! Can also be made with all-purpose flour and butter.
My freezer is in a perpetual state of way-too-full. It’s pretty awful and I’m kind of shocked I haven’t broken the freezer yet with just how full I stuff it. The only reason I wanted to make these bars was to get rid of 2 1/2 cups of frozen berries but for some reason I can’t quite understand, I only used 1 1/2 cups.
Then I panicked because only half the crust was covered and that’s when I decided to dump on a bunch of chocolate. It was either that or start all over, which I really didn’t feel like doing, so the chocolate won. And now I get to share these lovely chocolate raspberry oat bars rather than just plain on raspberry bars. I’m okay with that. :)
Last summer, I made these strawberry oat bars and in that post, I said that I wanted to try a version with coconut oil, which would make these oat bars vegan + dairy-free. So in these raspberry bars, I reduced the fat by 4 teaspoons and that worked. The bars weren’t oily and held together well! If you don’t want to use coconut oil, use 3/4 cup butter instead of 2/3 cup coconut oil as listed below.
The raspberries only cover about half the surface so if you don’t want to add chocolate to the middle raspberry layer of the bars (like the above picture), I’d suggest going with 2 1/2 cups raspberries + 7 tablespoons raspberry jam. And adding lemon zest! Because berries without lemon zest is just sad.
If you use frozen berries (which I always do – I don’t like baking with fresh raspberries because they’re so expensive! They’re also great in these Raspberry Oatmeal Bars!) make sure that you’re not using super icy berries that are going to make things soggy. When I completely defrost my berries, I don’t really have any liquid in the bottom of the bowl. If you do, make sure to get rid of that! These oat bars should be slightly soft and chewy and so not soggy.
If you need something gluten-free, these Chewy Apple Oatmeal Bars from Veggie Balance look amazing!
Chocolate Raspberry Oat Bars (vegan, whole grain, dairy-free)
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 16 bars
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (150 grams) rolled oats
- 3/4 cup (94 grams) white whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) brown sugar or raw sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup (149 grams) room temperature coconut oil (should be as soft as room temp butter)1 or 3/4 cup (168 grams) unsalted butter for a non-vegan and non-dairy-free version
- 1 1/2 cups (159 grams) fresh or frozen raspberries2
- 5 tablespoons (100 grams) raspberry jam (make sure to use vegan jam, if necessary)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 3/4 - 1 cup (135 - 180 grams) semi-sweet mini chocolate chips (or regular sized chips / chunks. Make sure to use dairy-free or vegan chocolate, if necessary.)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line an 8"x8" (20cmx20cm) baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix together the rolled oats, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Cut in the coconut oil using a pastry blender, two knives or your fingers, and mix until the dough just comes together. The dough should not be very crumbly, but should stick together.
- Gently press two thirds of it onto the bottom of the prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 10-13 minutes or until the edges just start to brown.
- Meanwhile, prepare the raspberry filling. In a medium bowl, mix together the raspberries, jam and vanilla. Lightly mash with a fork.
- Spread this mixture over the baked crust and then sprinkle about 1/2 cup (90 grams) chocolate chips over the raspberry layer.
- Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture over the chocolate chips.
- Bake for another 22-25 minutes or until the top has lightly browned and the filling is bubbly.
- Remove from the oven and top with more chocolate chips, if desired.
- Let the bars cool completely and then refrigerate for 2 hours before cutting.
- Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. These can also be frozen.
Notes
- If you use unrefined coconut oil opposed to refined coconut oil, these bars will likely have a coconut taste to them. If your coconut oil is liquid at room temperature, you can use melted coconut oil in these bars. Mix all the crust / topping ingredients together and then put the bowl in the refrigerator for 10-20 minutes or until firm enough to be pressed onto the bottom of the pan.
- If using frozen raspberries, halfway thaw them so that there's no icy bits on them and discard of any juice at the bottom of the bowl.
Join over 12,400 readers and sweeten up
your inbox with new posts for free!
This subscription is free of charge and can be canceled at any time.
72 comments on “Chocolate Raspberry Oat Bars (vegan, dairy-free, whole grain)” — Add one!
Delicious! Have made several times with different berry jam combos. So far,I like the raspberries the best. Next batch I am going to try strawberry rhubarb with the chocolate.
I’m so glad to hear that you’ve been enjoying them! Rhubarb with chocolate?! That sounds interesting. I hope it’ll work out well! Thanks for your feedback. :)
I would like to make these for a friend, he gave me a bottle of raspberry syrup. How can I modify this to use that instead of raspberries and jam
It’s unfortunately not possible to use a runny syrup in place of fruit + jam. :( Sorry about that!
I love this recipe! I followed it completely and it was fairly easy and fast to prepare.
Yay! I’m glad to hear that. Thanks for your comment! :)
Looks delicious! Can I use oil( canola, vegetable or olive) instead of coconut oil or butter? Thanks
Thanks! I’m not so hopeful that that’d work. I’d recommend a fat that’s solid at room temperature. Sorry about that!
These were so delicious! I used butter and fresh raspberries. They were very easy to make and a huge hit at the BBQ tonight. I served vanilla bean icecream with the bars. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so happy that they were a hit! Ice cream sounds like a great addition. Thanks for your comment! :)
Just wanted to say that I tried these using Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-1 Baking Mix and they were great! Thanks for the recipe!
That’s great to know! I’ve been meaning to try that mix in these bars. Thanks for letting me know that they came out well. :) So happy you liked them!
The squares are very crumbly, most of them fall apart when I pick them up, any ideas why? I have made them with coconut oil and butter and it’s the same issue, even after leaving them in the fridge overnight. Any idea why? They are so yummy though!! I don’t want to give up on this recipe!!
Definitely don’t give up! :) I’ve gotten a lot of feedback on this recipe and nobody seems to have had any issues with them being crumbly. Are you refrigerating them before cutting? Did you make any subs or changes at all to the recipe? Are you maybe using super coarse sugar? I’m not sure what else the issue could be if you’re following the recipe. I hope we can find the answer, though!
I made these bars and it was delicious. I couldn’t find the vanilla so I used lemon extract and it gave the filling an extra tart but good flavor! I later found the vanilla and added that too, hehe. My boyfriend can’t get enough!
Haha. I’m always losing ingredients so I can totally relate. ;) I’m so happy you liked them! Thanks for your comment.
Made these using almond extract instead of vanilla. Added chopped pecans with the berries (used raspberries and mixed berries from freezer) and chips. I used Splenda and sugar free chocolate chips and made it diabetic friendly. They are absolutely delicious.
I love your changes! They sound delicious. I’m very happy that it worked out well for you! Thanks a bunch for your feedback. :)
These bars are so delicious! I’ve made them multiple times now and they always work out. The combination of oats, chocolate and raspberry also goes together so nicely!
I’m thrilled to hear that! I love that combination, too. :) Thanks for your comment!
Hi…I loved the recipe…I’l try it tonight and tell you later how it goes…
I was wondering what other name do yoy have for raw sugar. I am from Chile and we don’t have any sugar called raw :-(
Hi there! Do you have granulated sugar? Or turbinado sugar? Both of those should work! I hope you’ll enjoy the bars. :)
Can you use a gluten free flour blend in place of the ww flour, if it’s a blend labeled as a 1:1 replacement?
I haven’t tried it but I’m pretty sure it’d work! And my apologies for the slow reply. I just got back from vacation and wasn’t able to access the page from my laptop where I approve and reply to comments. Sorry about that!
HI I am making this as my healthy recipe for health class for my project. I was wondering if you could give me the nutritional facts. Thanks so much !
You can copy and paste the recipe here for that info. :) Hope you’ll enjoy the bars!
Erin, these were fabulous! I modified it a bit and added some coconut greek yogurt in with the fresh rasberries and it was really yummy! Both my 3 year old and my 16 month old loved as well!
That sounds like a delicious addition! I got your email and can’t wait to see what they look like with the yogurt in there. :) Thanks a bunch for your feedback!
Mine stuck to parchment paper. Why?
I’m so sorry I didn’t see your comment until now! I’ve never had anything stick to parchment paper. What brand did you use? That sounds very strange.
I would just like to say that I’m vegan and just adding coconut oil doesn’t automatically make it vegan. In fact, adding chocolate to it cancels it out for all vegans.
Hi Haley! There’s plenty of vegan chocolate out there (which I mention in the recipe). Here’s some info on vegan chocolate: Is chocolate vegan? Where can I find vegan chocolate? and Your Definitive Guide to Vegan Chocolate. Everything else in the recipe is naturally vegan. I hope that helps!
Do you recommend using quick oats or old-fashioned oats?
Old-fashioned are the same thing as rolled so go with that! I hope you’ll enjoy them. :)
Hello I just wanted to say that since I saw this recipe 3 weeks ago, I’ve already made it three times!!! I love it soooo much and today I made a double batch so I can freeze them and have them whenever I want (which is daily). Thank you so much for this amazing recipe
Haha. I love that you made a double batch and froze them so you can have them daily. :) I’m so happy to hear that you’ve been enjoying them so much! Thanks a ton for your feedback.
These are a whole lot of DELIGHTFUL!!!
Thanks, Megan! :)
These are awesome!
So happy you liked them! Thanks for the feedback. :)
WoW! I thought these were going to be so difficult to make but after looking through your ingredients and directions, it doesn’t seem hard at all! My 4yr old is going through a raspberry obsession right now. EVERYTHING needs to be raspberry flavored…I’m running out of ideas so this is perfect! Pinning :)
Haha. I love that your daughter is going through a raspberry phase. Better than a candy phase, I guess. ;) I hope that you’ll both enjoy the bars! Thanks so much for your comment and for pinning. :)
I’m totally in love with these bars. I’m a huge fan of anything chocolate raspberry but I especially love they are vegan because I can make them for my brother and SIL :)
Yay! I’m happy I tried out a vegan version. :)
Oh mah worrrrd! I’d eat all of ’em and never share!
Hahaha. That’s the spirit. :D
Ha! We actually did break our freezer (in our rental home) so we ended up buying a brand new one which of course, we’ll take with us when we leave!! These Chocolate Raspberry Bars look exquisite! You just reminded me that I, too, have frozen berries in the freezer (you’d get lost in there, it’s that big!) so I think I’m going to give these bars a try :)
When you leave to go where? ;)
I have the same problem with my freezer! And then making something to “use up” an ingredient, but not using it all. I must have been a hoarder in a former life (ok, fine, in my current one).
The bars look amazing. I love the combination of raspberry and chcoolate.
Haha. That’s so me!
Oh! I am all over these!! If i had a raspberry in sight, I would literally run to the kitchen and make these! Such good flavors! Pinning to my Berry Board!
Thanks so much for pinning!
You have absolutely got it down. All I could think of the whole time I was reading the recipe was yummmm.
Haha. Thanks so much!
I’m so glad you added the chocolate :) These are gorgeous!
Thank you! And I’m happy I did, too. :)
My husband has an obsession with all things raspberries! I might have to make these for Valentine’s day coming up :)
I hope you do make these for him! :)
Hi Erin! Thanks for all your recipes, my family loves them! I have a similar problem with an overstocked freezer- I have too many strawberries and blueberries. How would using one of those change the taste? Is there one you’d recommend? Also, can I substitute whole wheat pastry flour instead of the white wheat? Thanks for all you do!
Hi, Holly! Thanks so much for your kind comment. :) I’ve made a strawberry version (that’s basically the same recipe as this one with a different filling and butter instead of coconut oil) before that’s really good, but I haven’t tried it with chocolate. It sounds good to me but since I haven’t tried it, I can’t guarantee it. And blueberries would work, too! Maybe with white chocolate? :) Or use the recipe I just linked to and add lemon zest! That’d be super yummy. I also haven’t tried these with whole wheat pastry flour but I’m pretty sure it’d work. They may be a little more delicate. I’ve also made these with regular whole wheat and they’re great that way, too. I hope you’ll enjoy them! And don’t forget to drain your berries properly. ;)
This look amazing, Erin! Coincidentally I have a huge bag of berries in my freezer to use up. Do you think if I used oat flour in place of white whole wheat, they’d work ok? Thanks!
Hey, Nora! I’m not so sure. I haven’t had the best experience with subbing oat flour for wheat in bars. I guess because they’re missing the binder, they get kind of crumbly or don’t hold together at all. I’m going to try a version with some added nut butter as binder but I have no idea if it’s going to work or how much to add. If you try it, let me know! I hope you’ll enjoy them. :)
I love the raspberry-chocolate combination. Something about the sweet chocolate against the tart-sweet raspberries makes my taste buds sing!
Exactly! Such a great combination.
Fruit filled oat bars are the best! Love the chocolate raspberry combo!
Same here! I might be planning on making chocolate + raspberry everything over the next few weeks. ;)
I love raspberries, and the idea of these bars, but I think your “mistake” resulted in a better bar. Chocolate is always better, and goes beautifully with raspberries.
I agree! If in doubt, always add chocolate. :)
Mmmm! These look perfect! Valentine’s day treat?!?!
Sounds like a good idea to me! :)
These look so amazing. Berries always make me think of summer, so now I’m staring out the window at multiple feet of snow and feelin pretty sad. I think that means I need these as a dessert to cheer myself up, right?
But it’s chocolate + raspberry! That’s Valentine’s Day-y. ;)