With wholesome ingredients and not a lot of added sugar, you can quickly bake up Healthy Breakfast Bars to serve for breakfasts or snacks throughout the week. And they are SO good!
Healthy Breakfast Bars
Having easy breakfast options on hand can make mornings with kids so much easier. We love this easy recipe for kids to make ahead and have ready and waiting in the mornings. I like to pair these bars with a simple smoothie or a glass of milk for an easy and yummy breakfast to share with the kids.
This recipe is naturally egg-free and can be made nut- and gluten-free so it’s great for families with allergies in the mix.
The base of this breakfast bars recipe is rolled oats, which is a whole grain that is a great source of complex carbohydrates and fiber. It also has some protein from nut or seed butter, which makes the oatmeal breakfast bars extra satisfying.
They are soft and easy to chew, so not crunchy. You may want to cut them into bite-size pieces for a 1-year-old to make sure they don’t get too much in their mouths, but a 2-year-old should be able to bite and chew a 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.
Ingredients You Need
To make this breakfast bars recipe, you’ll need:
- 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.
- Baking powder: Baking powder helps the crust rise just a little and not be too dense.
- Honey: This helps the batter hold together well. 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.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s a look at how to make this breakfast bars recipe. Scroll down to the bottom of this post for the full information.
- Stir together the wet ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix together the batter for the base of the bars.
- Make sure it holds together easily when you press a little between your fingers.
- Set aside ¾ cup of the dough. Press the rest into the bottom of the pan or baking dish.
- Spread the jam on top of the base dough. Crumble the remaining dough over the jam.
- Bake and let cool.
TIP: We love the combined flavors of peanut butter and jelly, and they come through in this recipe. You can use Sunbutter if you need the bars to be nut-free. I highly recommend serving these with milk—or your own tea or coffee!
Jam to Use in Breakfast Bars
I’ve made these with natural strawberry preserves, raspberry preserves, leftover cranberry sauce, fig jam, and lower-sugar Chia Jam, and they all work. As long as the jam or preserves aren’t too runny or liquidy, it should work well.
I suggest using a “natural” jam (fruit-juice sweetened or honey sweetened or something along those lines!) rather than a conventional one if you’d rather these not be super sweet.
How to Store
I tend to like these 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. You 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
- Use “natural” or honey-sweetened jam or preserves for mellow sweetness. You can also use Blueberry Chia Jam if you prefer.
- Line the pan with parchment paper so the bars are easy to lift out of the pan and slice.
- To make these nut-free, omit the nut butter and use sunflower seed butter. To make gluten-free, use gluten-free 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.
- 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
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup peanut butter (or Sunbutter)
- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour (or gluten-free flour blend)
- 1/4 cup milk (dairy or nondairy)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 2/3 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.
My son and I love these, but unfortunately my son can no longer eat gluten (his new diet has been such a headache for me to try and figure out). Have you tried any other options apart from gluten free flour (I’m not a fan of some of the ingredients they add in gluten free flours). We also have to avoid corn and rice. I was looking into cassava flour, buckwheat flour, coconut flour… although I know these are not direct substitutes for wheat 🙁
I think you could try it with all oats (or all oat flour) or with buckwheat. Just be sure to let them cool totally in the pan before you lift them out as they may be a little bit more delicate.
Would chia jam work the same way? We have a one year old and would like to reduce sugar intake.
It should as long as it’s not too runny to start with and is a normal jam consistency!
This was perfect!I’m not even a baking kind of mom, and I will be making these all the time. I usually buy the breakfast bars in store, but they have so much garbage in them, I figured I would try some online recipes. I’m so glad I found yours. The only thing I changed, was I added maple syrup as a substitute for the vanilla, as I have a vanilla sensitivity. They turned out great! So much flavor!
I’m so glad you love them as much as we do!
Is there another option to whole wheat or gluten free flour?
All-purpose flour would work!
So yummy!
Waiting for mine to cool rn! Looks amazing so far. My batter was SUPER sticky, to the point where i could barely get it in the pan, because it was mostly on my hands :). Wondering if maybe i did something wrong?
The batter is pretty sticky. You can wet your fingers next time to help press it down without it sticking too much!
Great, thanks! It was delicious btw!
Would this be possible without parchment paper?
Yes, I think so. Jjust grease the pan with nonstick spray and let cool fully before trying to slice and remove from the pan.
I just made these, they are delicious!! I used strawberry preserves, it was the perfect amount of sweetness. I added all of the dry ingredients together in my food processor and then I warmed the peanut butter with maple syrup (just a tase preference). I combined the rest of the wet together and blended everything into the food processor with the dry. I will definitely be adding this into my breakfast/snack rotation for my family. Thank you!
I’m so glad to hear that!
I added raw sunflower seeds with the oats when grinding into course flour. Kids enjoyed it even as raw dough! I also found wetting my hands to press down the mixture into the pan helped it not stick to my hands. They are now cooking and I’m excited to see how they turn out!
I hope you all enjoy them!
I’m a cook for a preschool program, and I made these for breakfast this week – they were such a big hit! Thanks for sharing such a yummy recipe, a great addition to my breakfast rotation!
I’m so glad to hear that!
Love these! I added some frozen spinach into the pureed strawberries (squeezed out all the water and forked it in) they look amazing! Can’t wait to dive in!
What a great idea!
I’m so glad to have found your recipe, thank you! I made it with the intention to give to my 19 m/o – who loves it, by the way!
However my taste-testing hubby gobbled up over 1/2 the pan before our daughter was up to eat!
So another batch was made that same day, with his comment “way better than store bought!”
I love that and I’m so glad that your husband (and your toddler!) like them!
Could I sub quick cut oats and skip blending?
Yes, I think that should work!
Amazing! I’m obsessed with these bars! Made them for my 1 year old and he loves them too. This recipe will be a staple in our home now! Thank you!
I’m so glad to hear this!
Looks yummy! Can I make this with almond butter instead?? My LO is allergic to peanut butter.
I think that should work well!