These healthy Baked Oatmeal Breakfast Bars are soft baked, vegan, gluten free and low sugar compared to other oat bars. They are also made without banana. You can make them ahead of time for a quick breakfast or snack.
The recipe is simple. All you need is a bowl and a spoon to bring everything together. You can also customise the mix-ins to suit what you love. Dried fruit, chopped nuts and chocolate chips all work well.
Healthy breakfast bars
These baked oatmeal breakfast bars are pretty healthy compared to other oat bar and muesli bar recipes. First, they are lower in sugar. They are lightly sweetened with brown rice syrup, which is a low fructose option. You could use another liquid sweetener if you prefer. I also choose less sugary mix-ins that also contain good fats to balance things out.
Second, these breakfast bars are made without refined oil. Instead, using natural almond butter has the added benefit of providing extra fiber and some protein. The result is still a deliciously chewy breakfast bar that is subtly sweet and satisfying.
Which dried fruit is lowest in sugar?
Dried apricots are usually lowest in sugar of all the dried fruits. This makes sense because they have a slightly tart flavor. Depending on the brand, they are usually about 40% sugar, with 40 grams of sugar per 100 grams.
Dried figs are another lower-sugar dried fruit with around 50% sugar. Dried cranberries, dates, raisins and dried apple are usually 60% to 70% sugar. You can check the sugar content by reading the nutrition facts on the packet.
What can I mix into these baked oatmeal bars?
- Chopped nuts: I love to make these baked oatmeal bars with roughly chopped walnuts. However, you could also use almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, pistachios or even macadamia nuts.
- Chocolate chips: Any sort of chocolate chips are perfect in these bars. You can also chop up your favorite chocolate bar to mix in. I usually choose at least 70% cocoa dark chocolate to reduce the overall sugar content of the bars.
- Dried fruits: Tart-sweet dried fruit like apricots, figs or cranberries work so well with dark chocolate as mix-ins. But any dried fruit would be nice.
- Seeds: Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds or chia seeds would be a smart addition for extra nutrients.
- Coconut: Mixing in some coconut flakes or shredded coconut would pair nicely with dark chocolate or dried fruits.
- Sweet spices: I love to add sweet spices like cinnamon, ginger, allspice or nutmeg to oats recipes like these breakfast bars. Pumpkin pie spice mix also works well if you have some at home.
Are oats gluten free?
Oats naturally do not contain gluten. However, they are often processed on the same equipment as wheat so they can have traces of gluten.
If you are strictly gluten free, you can buy oats that are labelled as gluten free. This will usually mean that there is no measurable contamination with gluten-containing grains like wheat, rye or barley.
Ingredients for baked oatmeal breakfast bars
- Rolled oats: Traditional rolled oats form the base of the mixture. Quick oats should also work, although the texture of the bars may bit slightly different.
- Almond flour: I find that blending the oats with some almond flour gives the bars the best texture. You can use oat flour instead of almond flour, but that gives the bars a more gummy texture.
- Almond butter: Almond butter helps to hold the bars together and replaces the need for oil. Other nut butters like cashew butter or natural peanut butter can be used as a substitute.
- Brown rice syrup: I use brown rice syrup, also known as rice malt syrup, to sweeten the bars. It is low fructose and has a mild flavor. Honey also works if you don’t mind the bars tasting like honey.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla gives the base mixture a cookie-like flavor. I use pure vanilla extract.
- Almond extract: Almond extract works really well with the vanilla to give the bars an extra flavor boost. It has a slight marzipan taste, which I personally love. You can leave it out if you don’t enjoy that sort of thing.
- Salt: Seasoning baked goods with a little salt helps to enhance the flavors. I use finely ground sea salt so it distributes evenly throughout the mixture.
- Mix-ins: Feel free to use any combination of mix-ins like chopped dried fruit, nuts and chocolate. I go through some more options above.
More oats recipes
- Banana Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal Protein Bars
- Creamy Homemade Oat Milk
- No Bake Peanut Butter Oat Energy Balls
- Vegan Peanut Butter Oat Protein Bars
- Savory Sweet Potato Muffins
Check out the Oats Recipes page for more ideas.
Baked Oatmeal Breakfast Bars Recipe
Serves
12 bars
Prep time
5 mins
Cook time
30 mins
Ingredients
- 2 cups / 180 g rolled oats
- 1/2 cup / 48 g almond flour (see Note 1)
- 1/4 tsp fine salt
- 1/3 cup / 80 g almond butter (see Note 2)
- 1/4 cup / 60 ml / 86 g brown rice syrup (see Note 3)
- 1/4 cup / 60 ml / 60 g water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)
- 1 cup / 100 g mix-ins (e.g. chopped dark chocolate, nuts, dried fruit)
Method
- Preheat your oven to 160°C fan-forced / 180°C / 350°F and line an 8 x 8 inch / 20 x 20 cm square cake tin or dish with baking paper.
- Mix the oats, almond flour and salt together in a large bowl. Add the almond butter, brown rice syrup, water, vanilla extract and almond extract and stir until well combined. Fold through your chosen mix-ins.
- Press the mixture firmly into the lined tin (see Note 4). Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until lightly brown.
- Allow to cool completely in the tin, then remove from the tin and slice into bars.
Notes
- Almond flour – I find that using some almond flour in addition to the oats gives the bars a more cookie-like texture. You can substitute oat flour for the almond flour if you prefer, but it makes the texture of the bars more gummy.
- Almond butter – You can substitute any natural nut butter like cashew butter or natural peanut butter.
- Brown rice syrup – I use brown rice syrup, or rice malt syrup, because it’s mild in flavor. Honey also works and makes the bars taste sweeter, but the bars will taste a bit like honey. Maple syrup or sugar-free syrups should also work, although I haven’t tested this myself. I’d love to hear if you try.
- Pressing the mixture into the tin – I use a silicone spatula to press the mixture into the tin. The mixture is sticky, so it can stick to metal spoons or your fingers. Alternatively, you can place a sheet of baking paper on top of the mixture and press down with your hands. The baking paper will act as a barrier between the mixture and your hands to stop the mixture from sticking to your fingers.
- Small batch version – To make a smaller batch of 6 bars, you can halve the recipe and bake it in a 4 x 8 inch / 10 x 20 cm loaf tin for 25 to 30 minutes.
- Storage – I store the bars in an airtight container in the fridge. This keeps the healthy fats from the nuts as fresh as possible. You can also freeze the bars, then defrost them in the fridge as needed.
Nutrition Facts
- Serving size: 1 bar (with mix-ins: 40 g dark chocolate, 40 g dried figs, 20 g walnuts)
- Energy: 183 Calories / 766 Kilojoules
- Total Fat: 9.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.9 g
- Total Carbohydrate: 18.5 g
- Dietary Fiber: 3.3 g
- Sugars: 4.8 g
- Protein: 4.7 g
- Sodium: 52 mg
- Potassium: 89 mg
