With nutritious ingredients and low added sugar, you can quickly bake Healthy Breakfast Bars to serve for breakfast or snack throughout the week. They are SO good!
We love this easy breakfast recipe for kids to make ahead and have ready and waiting in the mornings. It’s rich in fiber, iron, protein, and berry flavor from the jam inside.
These healthy Breakfast Bars are easy to mix up, pop into the oven, and serve on busy mornings. They are soft with a yummy jam center.
I like to pair these bars with a toddler smoothie or a glass of milk for an easy and yummy toddler breakfast to share with the kids. This recipe is also naturally egg-free and can be made nut- and gluten-free so it’s great for families with allergies in the mix.
Why This Recipe Works
The base and crust of the bars is the same batter, which makes the method super easy. And you can vary the filling flavor—and the amount of sugar in the jam you choose—and make a more affordable version of a store-bought grain bar.
Along with my Cereal Bars, Homemade Granola Bars, and Banana Oatmeal Bars, these are an all-time favorite recipe to share with the kids.
Table of Contents
Ingredients You Need
To make this healthy breakfast bars recipe, you’ll need to have the following ingredients on hand and ready to go.
- Rolled oats: These are sometimes called “old-fashioned” oats at the store.
- Nut or seed butter: I usually use peanut butter, but almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter work, too.
- Vanilla extract: This adds a nice base of flavor to the bar mixture. You can use pure vanilla extract or imitation.
- Cinnamon: I like to add a little cinnamon to the mix, too, for extra flavor to amplify the flavors of the nut/seed butter and jam.
- Honey: This helps the batter hold together well and rounds out the sweetness in the jam. You can use maple syrup if preferred.
- Jam: I usually use jam labeled “all-fruit,” but any kind you like will work, even this homemade Chia Jam.
Featured Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“I’ve made these 3x in the last 2 weeks – so yummy! My 4 year old and I both devour them.” —Julie
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s a look at how to make this healthy breakfast bars recipe. Scroll down to the bottom of this post for the full information, including the amounts and timing.
Step 1. Stir together the wet ingredients.
Step 2. Add the dry ingredients and mix together the batter.
Step 3. Set aside ¾ cup of the dough. Press the rest into the bottom of the pan or baking dish.
Step 4. Spread the jam on top of the base dough. Crumble the remaining dough over the jam. Bake.
TIP: We love the combined flavors of peanut butter and jelly, and they come through in this recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use my Blueberry Chia Jam or Strawberry Chia Jam, which both let you control the amount of sugar added. Or, look for a lower sugar all-fruit jam at the store.
If you need to send nut-free snacks to school, just use sunflower seed butter in place of the peanut butter in the recipe. It works the same and has nice flavor with the jam, too.
This recipe works best as written, but you can serve with a toddler smoothie, my easy Chocolate Protein Shake, or a Yogurt Drink to add protein to the snack.
How to Store
I tend to like these Heathy Breakfast Bars chilled so I recommend storing them in the fridge for 3-5 days, though there’s no reason that room temperature in an airtight container wouldn’t work just as well. Y
ou can also freeze them, once fully cooled, in a zip-top freezer bag for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the fridge or at room temperature before eating.
Best Tips for Success
- Line the pan with parchment paper so the bars are easy to lift out of the pan and slice.
- To make without a food processor, use instant oats instead of rolled oats and stir the batter together in a bowl. You may need to really press it to get it evenly mixed.
- If the mixture seems crumbly and isn’t holding together well, add a tablespoon or two of water and that should take care of it.
- To make these vegan, use maple syrup in place of honey.
Related Recipes
I’d love to hear what you think of this recipe if you try it, so please comment below with feedback!
Healthy Breakfast Bars (with Jam)
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup peanut butter (or Sunbutter)
- ¼ cup whole wheat flour (or gluten-free flour blend)
- ¼ cup milk (dairy or nondairy)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅔ cup all-fruit jam
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line an 8×8-inch baking sheet with parchment paper, leaving a few inches overhang on two sides so you can easily lift the bars out when they’re cooled.
- Place the oats into the bowl of a food processor or blender and blitz to grind into a coarse flour.
- Place the honey and peanut butter into a medium bowl and warm in the microwave for about 15 seconds.
- Add the oats and the remaining ingredients except the jam to the bowl with the peanut butter and honey and stir together. Use clean hands to bring the dough together as needed to form a thick, cookie dough-like texture. It will hold together when pressed between your fingers.
- Set aside ¾ cup of the batter.
- Place the remaining batter into the bottom of the prepared baking pan and press down evenly to cover.
- Spread the jam on top.
- Crumble the remaining dough over the jam and press down slightly.
- Bake for 22-24 minutes, remove from oven, and let cool completely in the pan. (You can speed this up by sticking the pan into the fridge.
- Lift the bars out using the parchment paper and slice into bars.
Video
Notes
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. Or freeze in a zip-top freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the fridge. (They freeze really well!)
- If you want them a little softer, serve them at room temperature rather than chilled.
- Use “natural” or honey-sweetened jam or preserves so these don’t wind up with a lot of added sugar. (I find them to be too sweet when made with super sweet jam.)
- You can use chia jam if you prefer a less sweet option.
- Line the pan with parchment paper so the bars are easy to lift out of the pan and slice.
- You can also use almond instead of peanut butter.
- If the mixture seems crumbly and isn’t holding together well, add a tablespoon or two of water and that should take care of it!
- Nut-free: Use Sunbutter.
- Gluten-free: Use a gluten-free flour blend and certified gluten-free rolled oats.
- To make without a food processor: Use instant oats instead of rolled oats and stir the batter together in a bowl. You may need to really press it to get it evenly mixed.
Nutrition
The post was first published April 2018.
I’ve made these 3x in the last 2 weeks – so yummy! My 4 year old and I both devour them.
Could I use maple syrup instead of honey? Also could I use all purpose flour? This looks awesome! I love your recipes and so does my toddler!
Yes, both of those things should work.
I’ve made these dozens of times since the recipe first came out, and they’re a hit every time 🙂
I love all of your recipes and I’m looking forward to trying this one! Is it possible to use a raspberry purée instead of jam?
Yes, as long as it’s very thick and not watery.
So easy to make! I adapt these recipes for me and my husband (we’re in our 60’s) because they have such a wonderfully nutritious base! I swap out the wheat flour with Tiger Nut flour, then add some oat bran and flaxseeds to pump up the protein and fiber.
Another great recipe, Amy!
The overall sweetness was good, but the honey flavor was overpowering. I recommend making these with maple syrup instead. Additionally, to press the crust into the bottom of the pan, I recommend rolling it out with a rolling pin between layers of the parchment first, and then transferring the parchment to the pan and just filling in the corners. This proves to be simpler and does a nice job of compressing the crust.
I’ve made these on two occasions and didn’t find them to be particularly impressive. The bottom layer is quite bland. It needs something, at least some additional cinnamon, but I’m not sure what else. I would say butter, but maybe they would no longer be healthy 🙂
tasty and fast breakfast! Thank you!
These bars are delicious – the whole family loves them. I use no sugar added strawberry preserves which gives these a lovely sweetness, but not too sweet. I am going to try this with almond butter when I make the next batch.
This is actually one of my favorite recipes right now! I recommend making it as-is for your first go just so you can see how versatile it is, but it is SO EASY to change up. You could do berries instead of jam, add a chocolate chip layer, add a peanut butter or Nutella drizzle, swap out jam for fruit slices or mashed fruit, add sweetness, etc. Have it for breakfast or make it as a dessert. There’s so much you can do with this!
Can I skip the jam ? What would be w good substitute
THey won’t have a lot of flavor if you skip the jam. You could use apple butter or add chopped and slightly cooked down drained fruit like apples possibly
Hi is there a substitute for sun butter? As we don’t have it in the UK.
Any other nut butter or use 1 egg.
Soooo good! I’m having a hard time not eating the whole pan!
I’m so excited to try these! Can I omit the honey/maple syrup for a baby under 1 year old?
I bet you could use mashed ripe banana or applesauce.
Really tasty, made with half pumpkin seed butter and half dairy butter.
Loved them, made with half pumpkin seed butter and half dairy butter (nut allergy and the seed stuff is expensive here). Very tasty, not dry at all.