No-Bake Cookie Dough Bars

Thick and chewy no-bake cookie dough bars that are secretly healthy and packed with 12 grams protein per serving!

No-bake cookie dough AND hitting your protein goals all in one?? Sign me up for this dessert magic all day every day.

This is my healthier version of cookie dough bars and wow, do they ever deliver. We’re skipping the flour, sugar, and butter today and trading them in for healthier ingredients like oats, almond butter, and Medjool dates instead.

A quick trip to the food processor + fridge later and we’ve got cookie dough magic at our fingertips.

The best part? They’re totally one of those desserts you can keep stocked in the fridge for any dessert emergency aka when, you get that inevitable cookie dough craving.

Which I’m just gonna assume is pretty frequently if you’re a normal human.

These Cookie Dough Bars feature…

• A soft and chewy texture studded with mini chocolate chips
• A sweet and salty chocolate coating
• No refined sugar, butter, or flour in dough

Making the Cookie Dough Bars

(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)

Ingredients You Will Need

• Medjool dates
• Almond butter
• Protein powder
• Coconut oil
• Water
• Vanilla extract
• Quick-cooking oats
• Salt
• Semisweet chocolate chips

Tips for Perfect Cookie Dough Bars

1. Use Medjool dates for dough base – the dates naturally sweeten the dough and provide a chewy texture.
2. Use quick-cooking oats – this type of oat breaks down easily in the food processor.
3. Mix dough in food processor – I recommend a good quality food processor for breaking down the ingredients into a smooth dough.
4. Fold chocolate chips in last – transfer the mixed dough to a bowl and fold in the mini chocolate chips.
5. Use a 9×5 loaf pan – I found that this size pan gives the bars a perfect thickness.
6. Sprinkle top with flaky sea salt – a few sprinkles of sea salt on top the chocolate coating gives these bars a wonderful sweet-salty flavor.
7. Chill bars 2 hours – this chill time will give the bars plenty of time to set up and become firm for slicing.

Recipe Variations

Try these ideas for a different twist on these bars.

• Use another nut butter – try creamy peanut butter or cashew butter in place of the almond butter.
• Top with nuts – sprinkle bars with toasted pecans, walnuts, or almonds immediately after pouring chocolate coating on top.
• Make it extra chocolate-y – add 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder to dough.
• Drizzle top with caramel – skip the chocolate coating and instead drizzle with caramel sauce or do a combination of both.

Storing Bars

These bars store well in refrigerator up to 1 week. For best results, I recommend keeping them stored in refrigerator until just before serving so the chocolate topping doesn’t melt.

A batch of these cookie dough bars in the fridge makes for a VERY happy household, trust me on that! One luscious bite of this chocolate-packed chewy goodness and I think you’ll agree.

Stack these bad boys UP.

Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.

More no-bake treats you’ve gotta try next!

• Lemon Cheesecake Parfaits
• Pumpkin Energy Bites
• Orange Curd Mini Cheesecakes

This post was updated with new recipe adjustments and photos on 7/2/25.