Oatmeal Fudge Bars (2024)

These oatmeal fudge bars have a soft and chewy oatmeal cookie base topped with a rich chocolate fudge layer. They're exactly like the Starbucks oatmeal fudge bars - but even better since they're homemade! I tested these bars four times and had multiple people taste test them to get the flavor and texture just right.

These were my absolute favorite bakery item at Starbucks, I'm so disappointed that they got discontinued! But now you can make them at home and you can have the whole batch to yourself. Leftovers freeze great and you can defrost and enjoy them anytime you like.

🍫 Why you'll LOVE this recipe

• Fudge layer: The rich chocolate fudge layer is chewy, decadent, and rich - while not being overly sweet.
• Oatmeal layer: The oatmeal cookie bottom is thick, soft, and chewy. It has a comforting sweet, oat vanilla flavor. So delicious!
• Like the Starbucks oat fudge bars: I developed this recipe to be exactly like the discontinued Starbucks bars. If they were also your favorite bakery item, you can now get to enjoy them again!

📝 Key ingredients

Read through for all the tips you will need for success!
Full steps and ingredients in recipe card below.

For the most accurate results, I tried to match the ingredients I used to the ingredients listed in the original Starbucks recipe as much as I could while keeping the ingredients as accessible as possible:

Rolled oats: I used old fashioned rolled oats in this recipe because they give you a chewier texture and more flavor. You can also use the same amount of quick oats or instant oats. Don't use oat groats or steel cut oats - they're too hard and you might chip a tooth.

Make these caramel apple pie cinnamon rolls with leftover rolled oats you may have. They have the most delicious oat crumble topping!

Chocolate chips: when testing the recipe, I found that a mixture of dark and semi-sweet chocolate gave the most similar results to how I remember the original oat fudge bars from Starbucks to taste like. Not too sweet and not too rich - the perfect in between. If you don't like dark chocolate, you can use milk chocolate but it just won't be as rich and accurate to the original Starbucks oat fudge bars.

Sweetened condensed milk: This gives the filling that smooth and chewy Fudge texture. Don't substitute it with evaporated milk - it won't work for this recipe.

Heavy cream: Helps loosen up the fudge, giving it a creamier, more decadent texture. The original ingredients list also included cream so that's what I used. You can substitute it with butter if that's what you have on hand.

Cornstarch: The secret to making soft and chewy oat bars. Arrowroot starch and potato starch will also work really well. Cornstarch was also an ingredient in the original Starbucks recipe!

👩‍🍳 How to make oatmeal fudge bars

Oat crust step by step

Prep: Line an 8" square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang on the borders to lift it out. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Step 1: In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt. Beat together well with an electric mixer until creamy and smooth.

Step 2: Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until creamy.

Step 3: Add rolled oats and mix well. Sift flour, baking soda, and cornstarch into the cookie dough. Mix until combined. It will form a thick cookie dough.

Step 4: Set aside about half a cup of dough.

Press the rest of the dough into an even layer into the bottom of the lined baking pan. Set it aside while you work on the fudge layer.

Fudge filling step by step

Step 1: Combine chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, cream, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan.

Step 2: Heat on low heat, stirring frequently to prevent the fudge from burning. Stir with a spatula until it becomes completely smooth.

See Also

Calories in Starbucks Oat Fudge Bar and Nutrition FactsTopic bar anyone? Much-loved chocolate bars that fans want backAre Oat Bars a Healthy Snack Option?Nestlé launches new chocolates to replace discontinued bars - but fans unsure

Immediately remove the fudge from the heat and pour it into the prepared crust. Spread the fudge out into an even layer.

Step 3: Top the fudge with flattened pieces of the reserved cookie dough.

Bake for 24-26 minutes. The fudge layer should be crinkly on top and the cookie dough slightly golden brown. Don't over bake them or the bars will be hard and crispy.

Step 4: Let the bars cool completely to room temperature before slicing into 12 rectangular squares (four by three). For very clean cuts, pop the bars in the fridge for about one hour to chill before slicing with a clean, sharp knife. Don’t forget to clean the knife between each cut!

🥄 Make ahead and storage

These bars store great in the fridge. They'll keep well in an airtight container, refrigerated, for up to 5 days. I recommend freezing them in a single layer before transferring them into an airtight container and freezing to store for up to 2 months.

🍫 Why these are the most accurate oat fudge bars to the Starbucks recipe

Before testing the recipe, I checked out the ingredients list on the discontinued Starbucks oat fudge bars to see what they were made of. I made sure that all of those ingredients made it to these oat fudge bars! The only ingredients that I left out were chocolate melts (I replaced those with real chocolate chips) and corn syrup (the recipe works great without it so I didn't think it really needed it).

I also tested these 4 times before settling on this specific formula, and had a whole group of taste testers try them! The oat fudge bars from Starbucks were my favorite bakery item, so I remember the taste and texture very vividly.

I tried so many combinations of chocolate for the fudge layer, but the one that tasted the best and was the most accurate to the original bars was a combination of dark and semi-sweet chocolate. I tried using just semi-sweet chocolate but it wasn't rich enough and tasted overly sweet.

☕ More copycat Starbucks recipes

These are easy Starbucks copycat recipes that you can also make at home:

• Pumpkin spice chai latte
• Gingerbread latte
• Pumpkin cold foam

📖 Recipe FAQs

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