Baked Oatmeal Breakfast Bars Recipe

If you’ve been following along, you know I’m a big fan of oats. What’s not to love? Oats are cheap, healthy, versatile, and delicious! But you’ve probably eaten protein overnight oats, banana oatmeal breakfast cookies, carrot cake overnight oats, and oat flour banana bread a million times already, so it’s time for something new. That’s where baked oatmeal breakfast bars come in!

You might think of a granola bar when you hear “oat bar,” but these oatmeal bars are cake-like, so it’s almost like eating dessert for breakfast! They remind me a lot of bread pudding both in flavor and texture. 

How to Make Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

The good news is, you probably have all the ingredients you need in your pantry, and if you don’t, you can make substitutions to your liking. Here’s how to whip up a batch:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 ℉. Grease an 8×8 pan. You can line it with parchment paper instead if you prefer. 
2. Mix together wet ingredients (almond milk, applesauce, eggs, maple syrup).
3. In a separate bowl, mix together all dry ingredients except for the berries (oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon).
4. Combine dry and wet ingredients and let sit for 10-15 minutes. This will soften the oats and help your oatmeal bars stick together better when baked.
5. Fold in berries and other add-ins.
6. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Let cool and then cut. I like to cut into 6 pieces for a breakfast-sized portion.

Tips for Making Healthy Oatmeal Bars

There are so many ways to customize these healthy oatmeal bars! Keep these things in mind as you’re customizing your recipe:

• Use old fashioned oats. These help the bars keep their structural integrity. Quick oats will create mushier bars.
• Blend some of the oats for a smoother consistency. You can create your own oat flour by blending your oats. If you’d like the bars to be more bread-like, blend a ¼ – ½ of the oats before mixing them with the rest of the dry ingredients. 
• Soak your mixture. You want to soak the wet and dry ingredients for 10-15 minutes (see step 4 above). This will make sure the oatmeal bars stick together and are a soft consistency.
• Change up your sweetener. You can use honey, agave or another sweetener of choice instead of maple syrup. Sometimes I’ll skip the sweetener, and then top with a drizzle of honey.
• Add fiber. Throw in a couple tablespoons of chia seeds or flax seeds for more fiber and texture.
• Add protein: You can mix in 1-2 scoops of protein powder for a protein-packed snack.
• Frost your bars with yogurt. I like to top my oatmeal bar with a spoonful of Greek yogurt and some fruit! 

Oatmeal Breakfast Bar Recipe Variations

Alright, here’s the fun part! The oats, milk, eggs, baking powder, salt, and vanilla are the base of this recipe, but after that the world is your oyster. You can swap the almond milk for your liquid of choice, replace the unsweetened applesauce with a mashed banana or fruit puree, and skip cinnamon or use other spices.

Because we all love a good theme, here are some of my favorite additions:

• Black forest: cherries, cocoa powder, cocoa nibs
• Cinnamon apple: apples, cinnamon 
• Chocolate banana: mashed banana, chocolate chips, banana slices for topping
• PB&J: peanut butter and jelly swirled into the batter, fresh berries
• Carrot Cake: grated carrot, ground or fresh ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, walnuts
• Peaches and Cream: peaches, pecans, vanilla protein powder

How to Store Oat Bars

You can leave them on the countertop if you’re going to eat them all in 1-2 days, but if you’re meal prepping and plan to eat them all week I suggest storing them in an airtight container in the fridge. Oatmeal bars will last up to 5 days in the fridge. 

You can also freeze oat bars. For ease, wrap them individually and then place in a freezer bag. When you’re ready to eat them, thaw them in the refrigerator. They’ll last up to 3 months in the freezer.

If you’d prefer to skip baking and just make regular oatmeal, here are a few tips on how to make oatmeal taste better. Enjoy!

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5 from 3 votes

Berry Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

These healthy oat breakfast bars have a cake-like texture and can be easily customized to fit your preferences!

Course Breakfast

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 2.5 cups rolled oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cups almond milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup berries (fresh or frozen)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 ℉ and grease an 8×8 pan.
• Mix together wet ingredients (almond milk, applesauce, eggs, maple syrup).
  
• In a separate bowl, mix together all dry ingredients (oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon) except for the berries.
• Mix dry and wet ingredients until combined. Let sit for 10 minutes to soak up flavor and soften the oats.
  
• Fold in berries.
  
• Bake for 35-40 minutes. The top should be golden. Let cool before cutting.
  

Notes

There are many substitutions you can make in this recipe. Here are a few tips:

• Add a mashed banana instead of applesauce.
• Use your favorite liquid (dairy milk, soy milk, etc).
• You can omit the sweetener. If you want a hint of sweetness but less sugar, you can drizzle with a little honey once the bars are baked.