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 delicious…and are made without eggs or dairy for friends with allergies.
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 toddler smoothie, yogurt for babies or toddlers, or cooked eggs. Or sometimes just water, depending on hunger levels.
I often put half of the batch of oatmeal bars 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 toddler meal or preschool snack, too.
(You may also like my Banana Bars, Blueberry Date Bars, Peach Crumb Bars, and Healthy Breakfast Bars.)
Table of Contents
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Ingredients You Need
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make these oatmeal 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.
- 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. You can also use frozen blueberries.
- 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 oatmeal bar recipe so you know what to expect. Scroll down to the end of the recipe for the full information.
Step 1. Preheat the oven and line a pan with parchment paper. Add the ingredients to a bowl.
Step 2. Stir together gently, trying not to smash the berries.
Step 3. Press into the prepared pan, pressing evenly to the edges.
Step 4. 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 oatmeal bars 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 oatmeal for kids in a bowl, in these oatmeal bars, in Breakfast Bars, Oatmeal Energy Bites, and in Banana Oatmeal Pancakes. You might find an option they prefer by trying a few different recipe ideas.
These oatmeal 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 oatmeal bars 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 oatmeal bars fully before slicing to prevent the bars from crumbling when slicing.
- Find more healthy oatmeal recipes to try.
- 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 in these oatmeal bars.
- 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).
- If you have more blueberries to use after making oatmeal bars with them, try my Blueberry Banana Smoothie, Blueberry Popsicles, Blueberry Mini Muffins, and Blueberry Banana Bread.
Related Recipes
Breakfast
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.
These were delicious but mine turned out too dry. I followed the recipe exactly and did the low end of baking time but maybe it was still too long? Great flavor though!
You could add 2-3 tablespoons milk perhaps to the batter
What are your thoughts on using grated zucchini instead of carrot? I have so much right now! I know it’s more watery so maybe if I squeezed it really good or if I reduced the amount of liquid in the recipe?
You can totally use it if you squeeze it very dry. Enjoy!
How do we feel about trying with strawberries?
You can substitute finely diced strawberries for the blueberries.
Made these for my 2 year-old grandson. I think he will really like them since he is more into textures than when he was younger. I used butter, maple syrup, and the egg. Loved the consistency of them and they weren’t too sweet. I loved them.
Hi! Do you think I could use avocado oil instead of coconut oil or butter? Hoping to use what I have on hand 😛
Probably, though they might be a little more crumbly since it’s not solid at room temp like coconut oil is.
These are awesome! My 15 month old absolutely loves them. I subbed 1/4 cup “no sugar added” apple sauce instead of the maple syrup and they turned out great! I’ve also used cashew butter and peanut butter and both have worked fabulously.
So glad to hear that!
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.