With nutritious yet accessible ingredients, these easy Oatmeal Bars are a yummy snack or breakfast to share with the kids. They have carrots and blueberries, plus whole grains and protein. They’re so yummy…and are made without eggs or dairy for our allergy-free friends!

Oatmeal Bars

These healthy baked Oatmeal Bars are one of my favorite ways to serve up a lot of nutrients in an easy to eat format. The carrots blend into the batter so while you can see them, the aren’t an obvious texture distraction. The blueberries add some sweetness and vitamins. We love these for snack time and also breakfast (I like to pair them with a smoothie!)

TIP: I often put half of the batch into the freezer to save for a future week—they freeze really well!

Ingredients You Need

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make these bars.

• quick or instant oats (or rolled oats ground up in the food processor or blender)
• whole wheat flour
• baking powder
• cinnamon
• salt
• melted coconut oil or butter
• creamy unsweetened almond butter
• maple syrup
• grated carrot
• blueberries

TIP: You can use regular all-purpose flour, gluten-free cup for cup, Sunflower instead of almond butter, and honey instead of maple syrup. Lots of options!

Step-by-Step Instructions

Here’s a look at the basic process involved in making this recipe. Scroll down to the bottom of the recipe for the full information.

1. Preheat the oven and line a pan with parchment paper. Stir together the ingredients except the blueberries
2. Stir in the berries.
3. Press into the pan.
4. Bake!

TIP: I like to line the pan with parchment paper so that two sides hang over the sides. This makes the bars easy to lift out once they are baked and cooled and slice.

Best Tips for Success

• Cool fully before slicing to prevent the bars from crumbling when slicing.
• Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge. Freeze for up to 3 months in a freezer bag with as much air removed as possible.
• Gluten-free: Use cup for cup flour instead of whole wheat flour.
• Nut-free: Use Sunbutter instead of almond butter.
• Creamy unsweetened peanut butter (I like Teddies or Smuckers) should work in place of almond butter).
• You can use honey instead of maple syrup.
• I prefer the texture of carrots that are grated at home on a box grater as they are finer than those you can buy at the store.
• Fresh blueberries work better in this recipe (frozen ones can cause the batter to seize up and be hard to press into the pan).

I’d love to hear your feedback if you try this recipe. Please comment below and rate the recipe!

This post was first published August 2020.

Easy Oatmeal Bars with Blueberry and Carrot

These bars taste like an oatmeal cookie bar and are great for breakfast or snack. You can make them ahead too!

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 24 mins

Total Time 34 mins

Course Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 16 bars

Calories 98 kcal

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 3/4 cup quick or instant oats (or rolled oats ground up in the food processor or blender)
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil or butter
• 1/4 cup creamy unsweetened almond butter
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup grated carrot
• 1/2 cup blueberries

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line an 8×8-inch pan with parchment paper so it overhangs on two sides so the bars are easy to lift out once baked and cooled.

• Mix together all of the ingredients in a medium bowl except the blueberries. Stir in the blueberries.

• Press into the prepared pan so the batter is even and pressed to the edges.

• Bake for 24-26 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown and set.

• Cool fully. (Really, please cool until it’s cool to the touch! You can pop it into the fridge to speed this up if you’d like. It may crumble a bit if you slice when still warm.)

• Slice into bars and serve or store. I typically cut into 16 small squares, but you can cut them larger if desired.

Notes

• Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge. Freeze for up to 3 months in a freezer bag with as much air removed as possible.
• Gluten-free: Use cup for cup flour instead of whole wheat flour.
• Nut-free: Use Sunbutter instead of almond butter.
• Creamy unsweetened peanut butter (I like Teddies or Smuckers) should work in place of almond butter).
• You can use honey instead of maple syrup.
• I prefer the texture of carrots that are grated at home on a box grater as they are finer than those you can buy at the store.
• Fresh blueberries work better in this recipe (frozen ones can cause the batter to seize up and be hard to press into the pan).
• Cool fully before slicing to prevent the bars from crumbling when slicing.

Nutrition

Calories: 98kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 2gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 53mgPotassium: 84mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 671IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 32mgIron: 1mg

Keyword healthy oatmeal bars, oatmeal bars

Filder Under:Breakfast, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Recipes, Snacks, Vegan, Vegetarian