Red, White, and Blue Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars | Vegan + Dairy-Free (Gluten-Free Option)

What’s a holiday without themed party favors! Vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookie bars take the classic chocolate cookie, add chewy oats, and lots of red, white, and blue sprinkles. Plus, they’re undetectably vegan, dairy-free, and egg-free, so you can bake once and share with the group. There’s a gluten-free option, too.

The beauty of cookie bars

I love cookies. Cookie Bars are cookies, but in square form, and even easier to make. They skip the scooping and shaping: just press the dough into a pan, bake, and slice. Whether you’re after big, chewy squares or bite-sized morsels, these bars are as versatile as they are delightful. If you’re busy and feel like you could use more time, cookie bars are a true life hack.

Why weighing ingredients is a baking game-changer

Measuring by weight is a game-changer—it’s the easiest way to bake consistent, delicious results. A cup of flour can vary depending on how it’s scooped, but 120 grams? Always the same. Plus, it cuts down on dishes! But don’t worry, I’ve included cup measurements too, so you can bake however you feel most comfortable.

Turn Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars into party favors

You can enjoy these cookie bars however you want: fresh baked from the oven, cut into bite-sized squares, with vanilla ice cream, or packaged with custom labels and turned into party favors everyone will love.

I make my labels in Canva. Want the labels from the photos? Grab the customizable Canva template here.

Baking tools I recommend for Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Here’s a quick rundown of the key tools that I use to make this recipe:

• 18x 13-inch baking pan: Makes a big batch, that fits in a regular oven, so you have lots to share (and freeze if there are extras).
• Parchment paper: A must for easy removal from the pan and mess-free slicing.
• Silicone spatula: Perfect for mixing and spreading.
• Kitchen scale: For precision and fewer dishes.
• Little bags to package them in: To turn cookies into themed party favors.
• Round labels: To print the custom labels.

The best vegan and gluten-free ingredients

If you haven’t already, grab your free vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free ingredient cheatsheet—it’s got the list of ingredients I keep in my kitchen to bake Goodies that no one would guess are vegan and gluten-free. I buy just one type of gluten-free flour, for example. Once you have the essentials, you can bake anything that you (or those around you) are craving!

Note: This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, helping to support my small business.

Let’s bake: Red, White, and Blue Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Print Recipe

Red, White, and Blue Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars | Vegan + Dairy-Free (Gluten-Free Option)

Author: fetchinggoodies Courses: Dessert Recipe Keys: Dairy Free Egg Free Gluten Free Vegan

Prep Time 30 mins Cook Time 28 mins Total Time 58 mins

Description

America's classic cookie, chocolate chip, made with chewy oats and lots of red, white, and blue sprinkles. No one would guess they're vegan, dairy-free, and egg-free (with gluten-free option, too).

Ingredients

Scale

1/2x 1x 2x 3x

• 28 g ground flaxseeds (4 tbsp)
• 180 g water (12 tbsp)
• 15 ml vanilla extract (1 tbsp)
• 600 g oats (6 cups. gluten-free if needed)
• 360 g flour (3 cups– all purpose flour or King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten-Free Flour)
• 12 g baking soda (2 tsp)
• 8 g baking powder (2 tsp)
• 5 g salt (1 tsp)
• 16 oz vegan butter (4 sticks (453 g))
• 396 g brown sugar (2 cups)
• 198 g granulated sugar (1 cup)
• 680 g chocolate chips (4 cups)
• 1 cup red, white, and blue sprinkles (+ 2 tbsps)

Instructions

1. Prep: Preheat your oven to 350°F and position the rack in the middle. Line a 18x13 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an inch overhang on the sides for easy removal after baking. Set aside.
2. Make flax eggs: In a small bowl, use a fork to mix together the ground flaxseeds, water, and vanilla. Set aside to thicken while you begin to make the dough.
3. Whisk together dry ingredients: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
4. Cream together the wet ingredients: In the bowl of your stand mixer, measure together the plant butter (softened), brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until it's light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
5. Slowly pour in the flaxseed-water-vanilla mixture and beat again on a medium speed to incorporate the flaxseeds evenly into the batter, about 1 minute.
6. Add the dry ingredients: With the mixer on its lowest speed, gradually add the flour-oat mixture. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. Mix until the dry ingredients are just combined — avoid over-mixing to keep the bars soft and tender.
7. Add in the mix-ins: Gently mix in the chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons of sprinkles. If the dough feels too thick for the mixer, switch to a wooden spoon to finish combining everything by hand.

8. Spread the dough evenly into your prepared baking pan, using a spatula to smooth it out. Sprinkle additional chocolate chips over the top, then cover liberally with sprinkles.

9. Bake: Bake in the preheated oven for 28–30 minutes, until the top is just set (no longer shiny) and the edges turn golden and pull away from the pan.
10. Cool: Remove the baking pan from the oven and allow it to cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
11. Slice: Once cooled, use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan and onto a cutting board. To make 24 bars, cut 6 bars the long-way, and 4 bars the short way. Or, make them as large or small as you'd like.
12. Place them on a tray or plate to serve, or pop them into plastic bags with cute labels to make festive party favors.

13. Freeze for later: Place leftover bars in an airtight, freezer-safe container or a resealable freezer bag. Store for up to 6 months, and thaw individual bars whenever you need a quick treat.

Note

I include both the volume (cups) and weight (grams/ounce) measurements in the recipe. I highly recommend baking by weight (i.e. 120 grams per cup of flour, rather than 1 cup of flour). It’s more accurate, consistent, and results in fewer dishes! That said, baking by volume is totally fine if that's what you're more comfortable with. Do whatever is most convenient for you.

Gluten-free option: For gluten-free, I use + recommend King Arthur measure-for-measure gluten-free flour.

For vegan butter, I recommend soy-free Earth Balance sticks, Country Crock Plant Butter, or Violife Plant Butter.

Keywords: 4th of July cookies, oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, vegan chocolate chip cookie