Easy Nutella Bars
These Nutella bars are an easy dessert made with a chewy oatmeal cookie bar base, topped with Nutella and chocolate chips and then finished with a crumbly crust! It’s the ultimate cookie bar for those that love the beloved taste of hazelnut chocolate spread.
Can we all agree that creamy Nutella is fantastic? Whether it is a small jar of Nutella, a large jar or even homemade Nutella there is something special about this beloved chocolate hazelnut spread that gets us Nutella lovers excited!
These easy Nutella bars are another quick and delightful homemade treat made with the indulgent spread. Both the crust and top are made with the same soft and chewy brown sugar oatmeal cookie mixture, which makes these bars so easy!
While I love my hazelnut cream version of magic cookies bars and these no-bake Nutella cheesecake bars are perfect during summer, this Nutella bars recipe combines it all, taste, texture and ease, too!
Why You’ll Love Nutella Bars
- Flavorful texture: These bars are crunchy, chewy and gooey all while being sweet and buttery with the best chocolate hazelnut taste.
- Easy to make: Simple ingredients and only 20 minutes of hands on time are needed to make this easy recipe!
- Portable: I love cookies and bars recipes for their convenience! They are just as perfect for picnics and on-the-go days as they are for a weekday treat.
Recipe Ingredients
- Nutella: You can use any store-bought brand of the chocolate hazelnut spread.
- Heavy cream: Or whipping cream, this will be used to thin the Nutella into a creamy consistency.
- Butter, brown sugar, oats, flour, salt and baking soda: These ingredients will combine to be both the Nutella cookie bar base and the crumbly top.
- Mini chocolate chips: Use mini semi-sweet chocolate chips or mini dark chocolate chips to ensure the best taste in these chocolate Nutella cookie bars.
Substitutions And Variations
- Chocolate chips: Use dark chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips or even peanut butter chips instead of semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- Top with flaky sea salt: Before baking, sprinkle the tops of the bars with sea salt.
- Nuts: Add some chopped hazelnuts on top to enhance the Nutella taste.
- No nutella? That’s okay! You can use peanut butter, almond butter or even something like Biscoff.
- Browned butter: Brown butter will add a depth of nutty flavor to the oat layer.
- Shortbread crust: If you prefer shortbread over oats, make these coconut jam squares and use Nutella instead of jam.
- No oats? It’s okay you can still make these bars! Just use the crumb crust from my peach crumb cake for a similar texture that is made without any oats.
How To Make Easy Nutella Bars
In a medium bowl, add the melted butter, brown sugar, rolled oats, flour, salt and baking soda, mix well.
Press dough on the bottom of the prepared cake pan and spread into an even layer then bake.
In a small pot on the stovetop, add Nutella and cream, then over low heat whisk constantly until smooth. Set aside.
Remove the pan from the oven and immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips, spread the Nutella layer on top.
Sprinkle remaining dough on top of the Nutella.
Bake the bars until the edges are slightly browned then remove and let cool to room temperature.
Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate for approximately 2 hours or even overnight. Cut into squares and serve.
expert Tips
- Line pan with parchment paper: This makes the bars much easier to remove from the pan. Leave some parchment paper hanging off the sides then you can just lift all the bars out of the pan to cut easily.
- Type of pan: I use a metal square baking pan. Glass pans and ceramic pans will bake differently and may require adjusting the baking time and temperature of your oven.
- Measure your ingredients accurately: For best results, use a digital scale for measuring your ingredients, especially the flour.
- Cool completely: Let the Nutella bar recipe cool in the pan before removing and cutting into squares. Place in the refrigerator to speed up the process!
Why are my bars too dry?
This could be for a few reasons! If you did not measure your ingredients accurately or you baked them too long they could be dry and crumbly. Also ensure that you are using fresh brown sugar for the best chewy texture.
How to serve the Nutella Bars?
Serve slightly warm with some whipped cream or no churn vanilla ice cream for the perfect treat with extra indulgence!
More Nutella Recipes
- No-Churn Nutella Peanut Butter Chip Ice Cream
- Nutella Kit Kat Oreo Ice Cream Cake
- Stuffed Nutella Cookies
- Nutella Crumb Cake
- Homemade Nutella Crostata
So whenever you crave something delicious and made with that creamy hazelnut cream why not make these Easy Nutella Bars? Enjoy!
Easy Nutella Bars
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Nutella
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup butter melted
- ¾ cup brown sugar (lightly packed)
- 1 cup rolled oats (not instant) (if the oats are large, place them in a food processor and pulse a few times to break them up, but be careful they don’t turn to powder)
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1¼ – 1½ cups mini dark / semi sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350F (180C), grease and flour or line an 8 inch (20 cm) square cake pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl add the melted butter, brown sugar, rolled oats, flour, salt and baking soda, mix well.
- Place half the mixture, I used a little more than half on the bottom of the prepared cake pan and bake for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile in a small pot add the Nutella and cream, over low heat whisk constantly until smooth. Set aside.
- Remove the pan from the oven and immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips, spread the Nutella Cream mixture and then sprinkle with remaining dough. Bake 15-20 minutes or until edges are slightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature, the cover with foil and refrigerate for approximately 2 hours or even overnight. Cut into squares and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
What type of oats to use?
For these Nutella oatmeal bars, it is best to use old-fashioned rolled oats. Not instant oats or quick oats. In Italy, rolled oats are quite large in size, so if that is your case as well, pulse a few times in the food process to obtain the best texture.What is the best way to cut the bars?
After the Nutella bars have cooled completely, run a sharp knife under hot water then wipe dry. In between cuts of the bars, wipe the knife clean. This will give you cut bars that are perfect squares!Is it possible to add nuts or dried fruit to the recipe?
Absolutely, you can add nuts like walnuts or almonds, or dried fruits like cranberries for extra texture and flavor.How to store the Nutella bars
After cooling completely, store the Nutella bars in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3-4 days. Store bars whole or cut into squares in a freezer safe container for up to 4 months. I like to wrap pieces individually in plastic wrap so I can thaw them one at a time for a quick treat.Nutrition
Updated from July 8, 2016.
What is the purpose of heating the nutella with the cream? Does it make the nutella layer thicker so it doesn’t squeeze out when cutting? Does it just make it easier to spread?
Hi Mel, it makes it into a glaze almost like a frosting and it’s also richer in taste and easier to spread. Hope that helps. Take care and have a great weekend!
Is there an alternative to Nutella🤨 never liked that flavor
Hi Karen, you could use a chocolate cream spread, this is a homemade recipe https://breadsandsweets.com/chocolate-cream-spread/ . Take care.
Rosemary, I just don’t even know what to say, except you are a genius. I may have to make these with caution–or with guests around so I don’t hog them all to my self!
Hi Kristen, haha thanks you can’t get away from Nutella here!
OMG! You just keep on coming up with great recipes. This one is sure to be a hit with the entire family. Thanks Rosemary. Have a nice weekend.
Thanks Ann, glad you like it. Have a wonderful weekend you too.