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.
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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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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.
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!!! 💕