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 made without eggs or dairy for friends with allergies.
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. The combo of the two really adds such yummy flavor.
We love these for snack time and also breakfast. I like to pair them with a smoothie, yogurt, or a hard-cooked or scrambled egg. Or sometimes just water, depending on hunger levels.
I often put half of the batch into the freezer to save for a future week—they freeze really well—and that helps us to be excited about eating them since we don’t have to eat them all at once.
These are a yummy shortcut meal or preschool snack, too.
Your toddler won’t eat? Help is here!
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Ingredients You Need
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make these bars so you know what to pick up at the store—or get out from the pantry.
- Quick or instant oats: You can also use regular rolled oats ground up in the food processor or blender so they’re a finer texture that blends in nicely with the batter.
- Whole wheat flour: A little flour in the mix helps the batter hold together. You can use all-purpose flour if that’s what you have on hand.
- Baking powder: A little baking powder helps the batter from being too dense, so we use it here.
- Cinnamon: A little cinnamon adds nice flavor to the base of the bar.
- Melted coconut oil or butter: Melt this, then let it cool for a minute or two so it’s not piping hot when you add it to the batter.
- Creamy unsweetened almond butter: You can use sunflower seed butter as needed for a nut allergy or peanut butter would work, too.
- Maple syrup: Honey will also work here (though avoid it for kids under age 1.)
- Grated carrot: I prefer to grate a whole carrot on a box grater for the finer texture versus using shredded carrots from the store, but both would work.
- Blueberries: If the berries are very large, I recommend cutting them in half with kitchen scissors.
- Egg: This is totally optional but makes the bars a little more cake-like than the slightly crunchy texture they have without an egg.
TIP: You can use regular all-purpose flour, gluten-free cup for cup, sunflower seed butter 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 of making this recipe so you know what to expect. Scroll down to the end of the recipe for the full information.
- Preheat the oven and line a pan with parchment paper. Add the ingredients to a bowl.
- Stir together gently, trying not to smash the berries.
- Press into the prepared pan, pressing evenly to the edges.
- Bake and remove from the oven. Let cool completely before slicing.
TIP: I like to line the pan with parchment paper so the edges hang over the sides. This makes it easy to lift out of the pan once the bars are baked, cooled, and ready to slice.
Frequently Asked Questions
This oatmeal bar recipe will last for about 5 days in the fridge or much longer in the freezer. You can also leave them at room temperature for a few days if you prefer.
Try serving oatmeal in all sorts of forms, including regular oatmeal in a bowl, in these oatmeal bars, in Breakfast Bars, Oatmeal Energy Bites, and in Banana Pancakes. You might find an option they prefer by trying a few different recipe ideas.
These oat bars have whole grains, healthy fats, produce, and protein and are a nutritious meal or snack option to share with the kids.
How to Store
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.
Best Tips for Success
- Cool fully before slicing to prevent the bars from crumbling when slicing.
- Gluten-free: Use cup-for-cup gluten-free flour mix instead of whole wheat flour.
- Nut-free: Use sunflower seed butter 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 best in this recipe (frozen ones can cause the batter to seize up and be hard to press into the pan).
Related Recipes
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Healthy Breakfast Bars with Jam
Breakfast
Easy Homemade Granola Bars
Snacks
3-Ingredient Cereal Bars
I’d love to hear your feedback if you try this recipe. Please comment below and rate the recipe!
Easy Oatmeal Bars (with Blueberry and Carrot)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup quick or instant oats (or rolled oats ground up in the food processor or blender)
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil (or butter)
- ¼ cup creamy unsweetened almond butter
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 egg (optional)
- ½ cup grated carrot
- ½ cup blueberries (cut in half if very large)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees 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. (Add the egg if using.) Stir in the blueberries gently.
- 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 let it sit 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.
Video
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 sunflower seed butter instead of almond butter.
- Adding an egg makes these bars slightly cakier than the slightly crisp texture (like a cookie bar) you get without an egg. It’s up to you.
- 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 best 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
This post was first published August 2020.
Tried this today and it’s delicious! Thank you.
Wondering, could mashed bananas be used instead of blueberries or would if effect the texture?
Thank you
Amazing recipe and so easy to make! I have made this a few times now and top it with different fruits / jams and it works great. My toddler loves it (and so do I 🙂 ).
It tastes good and turned out exactly like the picture 🤩
This recipe is amazing!! I didn’t grind up the oatmeal and topped it with frozen blueberries after pressing the batter into the pan. I used peanut butter instead of almond butter thinking that the flavor would be overpowering but you can barely taste the PB. Also used only half of the maple syrup. It came out exactly like in the pictures. It’s DELICIOUS and the whole family loved it. Including it into my weekly rotation for sure.
Kids and parents loved this recipe! It was devoured the same day and baked again in the same week.
Do you squeeze out the moisture from carrots first?
No, usually there isn’t much to come out of them.
These are fantastic and my picky kids loved them!
Thoughts on using frozen berries ?
Works similarly!
Holy moley these are phenomenal!!! I made these for my 18 month old son who loves blueberries & isn’t a fan of veggies. I have already had 3 bars hahah
These were perfect for my 1 year old. I didn’t use eggs but used a very ripe banana in its place. I also didn’t use any maple syrup as I’m trying to keep her sugar intake low- they were still plenty sweet and tasty.
These are delicious! Baby loved them and so did I! Due to allergies I used sun butter and applesauce instead of eggs. They still came out great! The texture was perfect and easy for my baby to eat.
How could I make this without the nut and seed butter?
You can replace it with an egg.
This recipe is perfect! I replace the carrot with grated apple and use the egg. It came out like a soft cake. I like to eat it hot. Haha. Got to bake more. I reduce the nut butter because I’m not a fan 😅
Obsessed! Perfect breakfast treat! I skip the brown sugar because I like it a little less sweet.
This recipe is delicious. My one year old loved it. I added the egg for a cake like texture, I figured it’d be easier for her to eat. I saw a comment with someone asking if they can use baby cereal, and yes It works. I used gerber oatmeal cereal and it worked perfectly. And I used chocolate pbfit instead of nut butter. It turned out perfect and really good. Thank you!
Glad to hear that!
Love these for baby and I made extra the second time around so I could eat them too! I have a question though, baby boy was just diagnosed with low iron. Do you think there’d be a way to incorporate some of the iron fortified baby oatmeal in these and should I lessen another measurement? Thanks so much!
I haven’t tried this so I can’t say for sure if this would work, but I think you could use 1/4 cup of the baby food oatmeal and 1/2 cup of instant oats.
Made these as I thought they’d be a good copy cat of Oaty Chomps. I really liked them. I used less maple syrup but the coconut oil and carrots made them slightly sweet which was perfect for us. Can’t wait to let MG little one try them!
Just made these. I used sunflower butter for a group of kids. I didn’t have carrots so I tried a 1/2 cup of apple sauce as another commenter mentioned. I included the eggs. (My husband has already eaten two!) I wanted to say that I baked these on a large cookie sheet with a silicone liner. I just laid it into a big ~8×16 biscuit shape about a 1/2” tall.. when it was about halfway cool, I used a pizza cutter to slice it and there was no crumbling! I have beautiful bars! I’m excited to have my boy try them in the am!
So delicious- thank you for the recipe. I have to remember to leave some for my toddler! I like to pack out with other veggies by adding mashed sweetened potato and grated zucchini!
How much of those veg did you add?
Any suggestions to make this school friendly – no nut or seed butter? If I skip it and use chia and eggs would it be ok?
sunflower seed butter or an egg instead of the nut/seed butter
These are great and my daughter loves them. I sometimes add a bit of shredded zucchini as well!
I really want to love these, but they are such a crumbly mess even after cooling. So tasty though. Any tips for a more uniform/firmer texture?
My toddler really enjoyed these!
I’m so glad to hear that!
Easy to make and taste good! Mine were very crumbly & messy, but I also tried it with an egg. I used nut butter in mine and it worked out well! Thank you for sharing 😊
These were a hit with my toddler and baby. So easy to make and keep stored in the fridge for a snack or quick breakfast. Thinking of doubling it next time so my husband and I have our own bars to snack on too!
These were a hit with my veggie hating toddler! And thanks for always have allergy substitutes. Your instagram gave me inspiration to cook again after new allergies made it seem impossible to feed everyone.
I’m so glad to hear this!
Couldn’t wait to eat these and they crumbled (per your warning!) but are so good! I subbed mini chips for blueberries because I didn’t have any but they are amazing! Thanks!
Just made this again for the 2nd time today! My family couldn’t stop munching!
Wow! Toddler and mommy approved! I figured this would make extra to freeze, well my daughter and I ate half the pan! Great texture and flavour!
what about strawberries instead of blueberries?
Would be fine, though dice them up first.
Love this recipe! How would you recommend thawing them out from frozen??
You can thaw overnight in the fridge in a container or bag or at room temperature for 30-60 minutes.
These bars are delish! We make them egg and nut free for my son’s school. The whole family loves these!
I used aquafaba in place of egg and added a little ground flax and chia seeds and reduced the flour slightly. They are excellent! I’m going to try with blackberries next since we are surrounded by them. Yum!
I’ve made these bars many times now, I’ve been meaning to leave a comment long ago as they are one of our favourite breakfast bars for both me and my son, I usually make them once a week. I just made them so that we can enjoy them tomorrow morning. Thank you so much ❤️
I’m so glad to hear that and thank you for the comment!
These were delicious and easy to make! I followed the recipe exactly. Thanks so much for creating and sharing this recipe! 🙂
Hi! Can’t wait to try this! Can I use peanut butter instead of almond butter?
I was wondering this too!
You totally can!
Yes, totally
Amazing! 22 month old loved them immediately and he’s usually weird about fruit in his baked goods making me eat those spots. With these he’s all in. Thank you!
My son loves these! I wonder if doubling the recipe and baking in a 9×13 pan would work, any thoughts?
That should work, though it may take a little longer to get the center of a larger pan to bake through so just look at that part of the pan when checking for doneness
These were so good for breakfast and as a little treat in my toddlers lunch box. I did blueberries on half and added some chocolate chips on the other for more of a treat. I can’t get my daughter to eat carrots ever so this was a nice way to work them into her diet. Will definitely be making again!
This is a wonderful recipe! I’ve made it three times this week. First I followed your recipe. It came out a little dry but I think 24 minutes was just too long for our oven. The second time I used sun butter, zucchini and chocolate chips. So delicious! And today I made them with sun butter, pear and blueberries. I love how versatile it is. Thanks for sharing!!
My daughter is 13 months old. Would this be soft enough for her to eat? Thanks!
Yes, they should be
Can I use frozen blueberries if i let them thaw first ?
That should work similarly.
So good! My 17 month and I loved this! Thank you for sharing
I made these and thought they tasted pretty good but even after fully cooling, they were still really crumbly and fell apart easily. I did grind up the oats and use GF flour. Could that be the problem?
I’m finding the same thing. I wonder if adding an egg would help hold it together?
Do you think there’s a way to pack more veggies (carrot, zucchini) in? Would you recommend balancing with more/less of a different ingredient?
I haven’t made these any other way, so I am not sure—but just adding more to the recipe as it’s written isn’t likely to hold together. (You could consider serving these with a smoothie with veggies or veggies on the side which may be easier?)
I always make them just as we are running out. It’s become a staple in our freezer. It is now fall so blueberries are hard to come by so I’m going to try with apples I will let you know how it goes. 🤞
I cannot thank you enough for this one! So easy and so good! We live in Hawaii where fresh blueberries are super expensive so I opt for frozen but they still turn out great! I press them into the batter at the very end after I’ve already spread the batter out and they bake in nicely! My son literally just stole the one I was sneaking out of my hands 😂 I also started serving them frozen while he finishes up another battle with teething and he loves it! He’s 17 months now and handles the chewing well lol
I am so glad to hear that!
These are so delicious! I was curious about the almond butter being an overwhelming flavor, but nope. It’s perfect. My whole family loves them! Thank you for a wonderful breakfast/snack idea.
Made for my two year old and at first was not a fan. After insisting he try again he loves it! Thank you for creating a yummy treat that’s also healthy!
I added a snack cup of apple sauce and didn’t grind up the oats and these were perfect!
I’m so glad to hear it!
Awesome and easy recipe! I did it with apple sauce instead of carrots and it turned out very good! I just tried it with coconut flour ( the mixture was a bit thicker so I added 2 applesauce instead). Hope it turns good if not I’ll just keep using regular flour. Thank you for the recipe! Me, my 2 year old and my 1 year old all love it!!! 💕
Similar to others, I found these to be super tasty but super crumbly. I did reduce the maple syrup by maybe 1/3, if that had an effect? Even with the reduced sweetener, toddler and I both still found them to be super tasty!! I do have him eat them outside though, due to the crumbles. 🙂
Yes, reducing the liquid would change the consistency. Glad they’re still being enjoyed!
Would it work without honey or maple syrup? Is there any other substitute ?
I haven’t made them any other way but it’s possible that you could add 1 egg and 2-4 tbsp sugar.
I make them without added sweetener and just use a very ripe banana. I only mash up a half of a banana. I think applesauce may work too.
These taste sooo good! I made them today and I will definitely keep making these a lot! And they’re so healthy too! Thank you Amy for this wonderful recipe!
I’m so glad to hear that!
I made these yesterday and they turned out dry! Not sure what I did wrong. The flavor is yummy but the consistency is odd! I used gluten free flour – could that be the case?
It’s possible that the gf flour had a different mixture of flours and made them dry. Which one did you use?
Loved these! I didn’t have time to blend the rolled oats I had on hand so just used as is, and it worked great! I also had just used all of our blueberries on your recipe for chia seed blueberry jam and so mixed a spoonful of that in instead. Delicious! Thank you for all of the yummy recipes that kiddos (and adults) enjoy. 🙂
I’m so glad to hear that!
These are delicious! Is there anyway I can get them to be less crumbly though? My 1 year old and 3 year old walk around eating them and I find them to be super crumbly. Any ideas on what I can add/revise?
You could try increasing the almond butter a little? It’s possible adding an egg would help with the crumbliness, but it may also make them much more cake-like…
I tried making these today with 1/3 cup almond butter after reading the reviews. They turned out tasting dry and were hard to eat. I’m going to spread some jam on top and try them again for breakfast though!
i have a question if i have a pre-fab granola bar sheet with 12 granola bar “slots” can i use it or do they have to be baked brownie style? (kinda like making cupcakes instead of a cake)
I haven’t tried that but I see no reason why it wouldn’t work!
I’ve now made two batches of these because my 10 month old gobbles them up. I’m also a huge fan so I can see why he likes them so much. The blueberries add such a nice pop of fresh flavor! I actually subbed pumpkin puree for the almond butter b/c I already had a can open (from making another one of your recipes!), and it worked GREAT. A fun substitution for fall! Thanks as always for such healthy, delicious recipes.
I’m so glad to hear that!
Made this over the weekend and loved it! My child helped make them but didn’t want to eat them so I ended up consuming too many but didn’t feel guilt because the sugar is so low. Will have this in regular rotation.
We just made our second batch of these! I used peanut butter and pre-shredded carrots from the store. I tossed the carrots in the blender with my rolled oats and they ground up so finely that you can’t see them at all in the bars. I also used frozen blueberries the first time, but thawed and rinsed them first and it worked fine. Great recipe!
Awesome! And thanks for sharing that about the carrots!
These are SO good, thank you!! I love finding healthy and yummy recipes for my 18 month old and these did not disappoint, he loves them. Now I just have to freeze them quick before I eat the whole pan 🙂
I am so glad to hear that and you can always make another batch:)
Can you post the nutritional content? Excited to try these!
It’s at the bottom of the recipe! It will vary slightly according to how many slices you make.
Amy, these are amazing! I made them for my 2.5 year old son for breakfast tomorrow. He already had a piece for a bedtime snack and LOVES it. I’m going to have to make another batch because half is gone. I loved them too!
I also added 1 banana because I wanted to use it up and it still turned out great. You are amazing!!!
Awesome and I’m glad to know that adding banana works too, thank you!
I dont have almond butter, what can I use instead?
Any other nut or seed butter (peanut butter, sunflower seed butter) should work too. Or if you don’t have any, I bet an egg would work. (I haven’t tried that but it’s usually a good alternative!)
I just made these with my 18-month old and what a hit! I love that it includes healthy ingredients and it was easy to have her help me while I was making them. I replaced the whole wheat flour with a whole-grain gluten-free flour blend so that I could enjoy them as well. So easy and delicious! Thank you, Amy!
I’m so glad to hear that and thank you for letting me know—I appreciate it so much!