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These M&M Chocolate Bars have layers of oats, a sweetened condensed milk and chocolate center topped with more oats and M&Ms.
We LOVE Baking with M&Ms – from M&M cookies to M&M cake mix cookie bars, M&M cookie cake– they’re the perfect addition to so many desserts.
Our go-to Dessert
We make dessert all the time, but one of our go-to’s (along with our sheet cake and cookie bars) are these M&M Chocolate Bars. We love them because:
- So Easy – So Yummy! They are so simple and delicious. Everyone asks for the recipe. They’re also great with ice cream.
- The perfect treat to change up. Because of the M&Ms, we love to make this for different holidays using the different holiday candies.
- Make Ahead. This treat can easily be made in advance which is great for busy days.
Even our local firefighters love this treat and request it each year!
How to Make M&M Chocolate Bars
- PREHEAT. Preheat the oven to 350.
- BASE. In a large bowl, mix oats, flour, brown sugar, salt and 1 cup softened butter with a spoon. Remove 1 cup of this mixture and set it aside. Press the remaining mixture into a greased 9×13 dish.
- CHOCOLATE LAYER. In a small pot, melt sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons of butter over low-medium heat. Stir constantly until chips are melted and everything is smooth.
- TOPPING. Pour this mixture over the oats and spread evenly. Sprinkle reserve oat mixture over the top along with the M&Ms.
- BAKE. Bake for about 25-30 minutes. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting.
more Variations
M&Ms now have so many different varieties and colors, that you can create custom M&M bars for every holiday.
- Use Holiday M&Ms for different holidays.
- Use Different flavors of M&Ms to change up the flavor (for example: Peanut Butter M&Ms – even add a few PB chips too!)
- Add other toppings.
- crushed Oreos
- Toffee Bits
- Other chocolate chips (white chocolate and butterscotch are great)
- Reese’s Pieces
- Sprinkles
Storing
- To STORE these bars, just cover tightly with Saran wrap and place on the counter for up to 3 days. If needing to reheat, just do so in the microwave for about 15 seconds.
- Once cooked and cooled, you can FREEZE these cookie bars by placing a freezer-safe Ziploc bag and freezing for up to 2 months.
- Thaw overnight and REHEAT in the microwave.
For more Bars:
M&M Chocolate Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups quick-cooking rolled oats
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened, divided
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 (11.5-ounce) bag milk chocolate chips
- 1 cup plain M&M’s
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-x-13-inch baking dish and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix flour, oats, brown sugar, salt and 1 cup butter with a spoon. Remove 1 cup of the mixture and set aside.
- Press remaining mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
- In a medium pot, combine condensed milk, chocolate chips and remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat. Stir constantly until chips are melted and everything is mixed well.
- Pour chocolate mixture over oat layer and spread evenly. Sprinkle reserved oat mixture over the chocolate.
- Top with M&M’s and bake for 25–30 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan before cutting.
Video
Notes
Variations: Easily change up these bars with different types of M&M’s, such as white chocolate or peanut butter M&M’s. This is not only a great way to change the flavor, but also to customize the bars for holidays by using the fun holiday-colored candies.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do you think I can substitute butterscotch chips for the chocolate chips?
Yes! Absolutely!
These are so easy to make and even easier to eat (the entire pan if you are not careful). Highly recommend!
Absolutely one of my favorite recipe to make for the kids. They would gobble up the entire batch if I let them. So easy to make.
These are always gone quickly. So delicious, and quick fix for your chocolate cravings. I switch back and forth between milk chocolate and semi sweet.
Ooh yes, both milk and semi sweet are so tasty. I’m glad you love the bars!!
Delicious and so fun!
These look awesome! I’m baking treats to include in our free lunch summer program and I know the kids will love them! The question I have is if the chocolate layer solidifies or stays gooey. These need to be packed in the lunches to send home to the families we serve so gooey isn’t an option. Thanks so much for such yummy recipes! Can’t wait to hear from you!
Oh how fun!! I’m so glad you are able to use this recipe for something like that. Yes, the chocolate solidifies a bit, but it’s a soft solid… if that makes sense. 😉 It solidifies enough so when it is cut into a bar, it keeps its shape and the chocolate doesn’t ooze out. You can also freeze the bars before which will help them stay solid and nice for packing into lunches. Best of luck!
Thank you so much! Can’t wait to make them:)
Karen
Delicious!! Made these for my kids last night and they were a huge hit. Definitely will be making these more often. So good and easy.
Oh yay! Glad to hear the bars were a hit with your family!
Love this recipe. It’s simple and so yummy and I love that I can use different m&ms for the holidays
Love these so much. My go to dessert went I head to friends or families houses. So easy and yummy.
These are delicious! And incredibly easy to make. An easy way to get the caramel taste!
Oh my goodness. These are so yummy. My entire family ate them up over the weekend and there were none left. Will definitely be making them again soon.