These soft, easy homemade oatmeal breakfast bars are tasty, hearty, nutritious and guaranteed to keep you energized for hours. They’re filling, kid-friendly, and packed with delicious ingredients like peanut butter, banana, and honey.
Why You’ll Love These Peanut Butter Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
- Go-To Recipe. These oat breakfast bars are one of the very first recipes I ever posted on my website. Since then, many of you have told me how these bars (along with healthy oatmeal cookies) have become a weekly staple in your homes (and your kids love them too!).
- Healthy and hearty. Forget the granola bars from the store! Just like my healthy granola bars and peanut butter protein bars, these easy, healthy oatmeal bars will help you stay full. With protein, fiber and healthy fats, they will fill you up for hours.
- Cozy goodness. This soft baked oatmeal breakfast bar recipe combines the three musketeers of breakfast flavors: peanut butter, banana and oatmeal. It’s a trio that’s calming, homey, and classy in the best possible way.
- SIMPLY! A one-bowl wonder, this recipe is so quick and easy, your littlest bakers can help.
This is one of those recipes that you will return to on a regular basis and will never let you down!
5 star rating
“I made these bars for breakfast every day last year!! They are amazing: keep me full all morning, slightly sweet.”
– twilight –
How to make oatmeal breakfast bars
The ingredients
- Old-fashioned oats. Makes these breakfast bars digestible, filling and slightly chewy. For best results, do not switch to instant oatmeal as this will affect the overall texture of the bars.
- whole wheat flour. I will always take every opportunity to incorporate some whole grains into a recipe.
- Cinammon. Warm, earthy cinnamon pairs perfectly with nutty rolled oats and creamy-dreamy peanut butter.
- banana. Adds moisture and naturally sweetens the bars (just like in Healthy Banana Bread).
- Honey. Helps bind ingredients together, adds sweetness and ensures bars caramelize and turn golden brown in the oven.
- peanut butter. Adds a subtle peanut butter flavor to these oatmeal bars. Almond butter, sunflower seed butter (a nut-free variety), or cashew butter can also be used.
- applesauce. Another all-natural sweetener for these healthy oat bars that moisturizes and helps hold everything together. (Same goes for these applesauce muffins.)
- milk. Helps bring everything together into a cohesive dough.
- baking powder. Gives these bars a smooth rise and soft baked texture.
- egg. Keeps those bars soft and tender.
- Vanilla. Just a kiss of pure vanilla extract to make the bars taste exquisite.
The directions
- Combine the dry ingredients. Don’t forget to preheat your oven.
- Stir together the wet ingredients. Make sure this bowl is big enough for the wet and dry ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Stir to combine.
- Fold in the banana. Pour the batter into your baking pan.
- Bake the bars. Bake the breakfast bar for 35 minutes at 180 °C. Cut into bars. ENJOY!
storage tips
- To store. Once cool, the bars can be individually wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 5 days.
- To warm up. If you wish, you can gently reheat the bars in the microwave.
- Freeze. Freeze bars in a freezer-safe zip-lock bag for up to 4 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.
leftover ideas
Crumble leftover bars over a bowl of Greek yogurt for a tasty twist on the granola.
What to serve with these easy breakfast bars
Sometimes one breakfast bar is enough for breakfast, other days you need more! Here are some ideas of what goes well with these bars:
- baking pan. Perfect for making these soft baked oatmeal breakfast bars.
- measuring cup. Also works as a mixing bowl, so you don’t have to wash as many dishes.
- mixing bowls. This set is sized for the wet and dry ingredients.
Recipe tips and tricks
- Swap at will. Not a fan of bananas? Swap them for other fresh or dried fruits. Blueberries make a wonderful substitute, and raisins or dried cranberries are another great option. No whole wheat flour on hand? You can swap it out for an equal amount of all-purpose flour.
- Use the right oatmeal. Please do not use oatmeal or instant oatmeal for this recipe as this may negatively affect the texture of the bars. Old-fashioned oats ensure the bars hold together and have the ideal texture.
- dress her up. While these oatmeal bars are good on their own, my favorite thing to do is eat them reheated for breakfast with added banana slices and peanut butter. You can also add chocolate chips, grated coconut, chopped nuts, or any other topping you like.
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Center rack and preheat oven to 375F. Lightly coat an 8″ x 8″ square pan with cooking spray.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the rolled oats, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
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In a separate large bowl, mix together the milk, applesauce, egg, honey, peanut butter, and vanilla.
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Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir. The dough will be very wet.
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Fold in the diced banana, then pour into the prepared baking pan.
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Bake for 35 minutes or until batter is set and golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool, cut into bars and serve.
- TO STORE: Once cooled, the bars can be individually wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for 5 days.
- FREEZE: Freeze bars in a freezer-safe ziplock bag for up to 4 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.
- BIGGER BATCH: You can increase the amount of ingredients by 1.5 times and bake in a 9×13 inch pan for 25–30 minutes to get more bars.
Portion: 1(of 8)Calories: 224kcalCarbohydrates: 40GProtein: 8thGFat: 5GSaturated Fatty Acids: 1GPolyunsaturated fat: 1GMonounsaturated fatty acids: 2Gtrans fats: 1GCholesterol: 23mgPotassium: 349mgFiber: 5GSugar: 13GVitamin A: 133IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 104mgIron: 2mg
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frequently asked Questions
No. As written, this recipe is not gluten free. When trying to make a gluten-free oatmeal breakfast bar, readers have reported success by substituting an equal amount of oatmeal or almond flour for the whole wheat flour. Note that the texture of the bars may be slightly different when using one of these swaps. Make sure you use gluten-free oatmeal as well.
Honestly, I don’t recommend skipping the applesauce. The applesauce binds and moisturizes the bars, so it’s an important ingredient! The best I can suggest (and readers have reported success) is mashed pumpkin, although it affects the flavor. Another idea would be to replace it half with oil and half with yogurt. I haven’t tried it that way though, so it would be an experiment.
Possibly. I haven’t attempted to make these oat bars vegan so it would be an experiment. I would suggest replacing the honey with maple syrup and the milk with your favorite non-dairy milk of choice. As for the egg, you could try replacing it with a flaxseed egg.
Yes! Breakfast bars are a good idea for a crowd. You can increase the amount of ingredients by 1.5 times and bake the bars in a 9×13 inch pan for 25-30 minutes to get more bars.