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.
Have you tried this with maple syrup instead of honey?
Yes it works well!
I made it with maple syrup this morning for my 10 month old. We ate them still warm and soft and he loved it!
I’m so glad to hear that!
The dough for these is so sticky—I recommend using a sheet of parchment paper between the dough and your hands when you’re pressing it down.
Do you think that I can sub in coconut flour?
I usually don’t recommend it as a sub for regular flour since it absorbs moisture differently and the mixture may end up too dry. You can certainly give it a shot though! (Maybe increase the wet ingredients a smidge.)
these sound super yummy! I just included them in one of my blog posts about healthy snacks for kids because I think these would make great snacks too! Thanks for sharing. =)
Awesome, thanks!
My 18 month old loves these! I made them once, and actually cried when I couldn’t find the recipe again. I finally found it again though, yay! I love these too, and I love that they are low sugar.
Could I use apple butter for the jam?
I haven’t tried it that way but I think it would work! It might be a little softer is the only thing.
Can I use coconut flour instead of whole wheat flour? Also is the flour you’re referring to plain or self raising?
Coconut flour doesn’t absorb liquid the same as regular wheat flour, so I wouldn’t recommend you try it here. And the flour I use here is standard flour, not self-rising.
Do you think this would work with chunky almond butter??
Hi! Would I be able to use maybe applesauce or a banana in place of the nut butter?
I haven’t tried it that way so I can’t say for sure. It’s possible that 1 egg would work in place of the 1/4 cup nut butter if that’s an option for you.
Can i use almond butter?
I believe that should work just fine!
These are delightful. I loved being able to make the dough entirely in the food processor. My kiddos and I really liked them. Thank you!
I’m so glad!
This recipe is amazing! It is one of our favorites! The whole family loves it! Thank you!
I’m so glad!
I just made these!, turns out I had no jam so i blended a banana, some blueberries and a little cinnamon and used it as the jam. They came out so good and just the perfect amount of sweetness. My toddler loved them! I also used quik oats and maple syrup instead of honey.
When the crust base is ready, remove it from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes while you finish the jam.
Would almond flour work in place of all purpose flour?
I haven’t tried it that way so I can’t say for sure, but let me know if you do!
I really love how these turned out, but because I made them for my 17-month daughter I thought 2/3 cup jam was too much in sugar (using Strawberry Darbo jam) so I only used 1/4 cup. Definitely wishing I didn’t skimp on this…will be making these again soon!
You could try using a lower sugar jam or something like apple butter next time to lower the sweetness. One person even did half jam mixed with applesauce and had good results (you’d just want the applesauce to be very thick to start with so it’s not too watery).