Zucchini Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars
These bars are chocolatey, nutty and crumbly. They're super simple to make and can easily be made gluten free. You can't even tell there's zucchini in them!
Servings: 9 squares
Calories: 362kcal
Equipment
- 1 box grater or shredder
Ingredients
- 1 cup zucchini, shredded (about 1 small zucchini)
- 2 cups quick oats (see Note 1)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 6 tbsp coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled (¼ cup plus 2 tbsp)
- ½ cup smooth peanut butter (see Note 2)
- ½ cup maple syrup or honey
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
- neutral oil or cooking spray, for greasing
Instructions
- Using your hands, cheesecloth or a paper towel, wring as much excess water from the zucchini as possible then set aside (I measured the 1 cup of shredded zucchini BEFORE squeezing out the water, so you'll have a little less after)
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and grease a 9x9" square baking dish then set it aside
- Add the oats to a food processor and pulse a few times, then add the salt, baking soda, coconut oil, peanut butter, maple syrup/honey, eggs and vanilla extract
- Blend until mostly smooth (some very small pieces of oats are fine, just make sure everything is well combined and you have a thick batter)
- Transfer the batter to a large mixing bowl and mix in the zucchini and chocolate chips, reserving a handful of chocolate chips to garnish
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth it out (it will be fairly thick but should spread out easily)
- Sprinkle the top with chocolate chips
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean and the top is golden brown (if you use a silicone baking dish like I do, place it on a baking sheet before putting it in the oven)
- Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes then gently remove from the baking dish and cut into 9 squares
Notes
Note 1: I use quick cooking oats for this recipe. Do not use steel cut oats or rolled oats for this recipe as the texture of the bars may change. For a gluten free version, make sure you use gluten free quick cooking oats.
Note 2: Make sure you use a pure smooth peanut butter for this recipe that doesn't have any added sugar, or the bars will turn out sweeter.
Nutrition Facts are calculated automatically and may be inaccurate.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 square | Calories: 362kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 271mg | Potassium: 278mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 82IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 1mg