Our Healthy Oatmeal Bars recipe replaces the oil or butter that is traditionally in oatmeal bars with unsweetened applesauce making them a healthier version. These easy oatmeal bars make the perfect addition to breakfast or a healthy snack or dessert.

This recipe makes a large batch so they are a great option for a grab-and-go treat on busy mornings. We chose to add white chocolate chips and dried cranberries to our bars but there are many delicious variations, I will give you some ideas a little later on.

The best thing about our oatmeal breakfast bars recipe, other than eating them of course, is we keep it as simple as possible by mixing them by hand in one bowl. We combine the wet ingredients first and then add the dry ingredients so we only have to dirty one large bowl.

Ingredients:

Just simple ingredients are all you need to make these delicious bars.

See recipe card below for exact measurements.

Ingredient Notes

Oats – we use quick oats (also known as instant oats) because we like the texture. You can use old fashioned oats if that is what you have.

Applesauce – I keep unsweetened applesauce on hand and use it instead of butter (even melted butter) or oil in many recipes. You can even do that when making a boxed cake mix.

Eggs – we use large eggs.

Flour – I use all purpose flour.

Milk – whole milk is what we buy and keep on hand. You can use whatever milk you have.

Chocolate Chips – any variety will work here, we love white chocolate chips.

Cranberries – I love the combination of dried cranberries and white chocolate.

How to Make Our Oatmeal Bar Recipe

Preheat oven to 375°. Coat a 13″ X 9″ baking dish with cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl whisk together the sugar and applesauce until well combined. Add eggs, milk and vanilla and whisk. Add oats, flour, baking soda and salt and mix until well incorporated. Mix in white chocolate chips and dried cranberries.
Pour the oat mixture into an even layer in the prepared pan and bake 35 – 40 minutes or until edges become golden brown and start to pull away from the sides of the pan. Allow bars to cool before cutting.

Storage

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. As with any fresh home baked treat the longer they are around the drier they get.

Pro Tips

Allow cold ingredients to come to room temperature. We take our eggs, applesauce and even our milk out of the fridge about an hour before we plan to make these oat bars. Bon Appetit has a great article about how to do this quickly if you are impatient like me.

Separate the dried cranberries. They tend to stick together so we separate them so they are distributed more evenly.

Reserve some of the chocolate chips and dried cranberries to add to the top before baking to make your bars look like ours.

Substitutions & Variations

You can swap some of the white flour with whole wheat flour to make these better for you.
Swap white chocolate chips with milk chocolate chunks or dark chocolate chips.
Make apple oatmeal bars by swapping the cranberries and white chocolate chips for small pieces of fresh chopped apple and add about a teaspoon of cinnamon.
Use your favorite dried fruit.
Add some nuts. Nuts have healthy fats that are part of a healthy diet.

Are Healthy Baked Oatmeal Bars Good For You?

They can be, especially when compared to other breakfast options such as donuts and some muffins, pancakes, waffles and French toast. These oatmeal bars have wholesome ingredients such as oats, milk and eggs. Plus we have swapped the fat for applesauce. We live with the philosophy of everything in moderation and the sugar in these bars is relatively low when compared to the amount of other ingredients.

Easy Oatmeal Recipes

These recipes are great if you want a healthy bowl of oatmeal that is taken to the next level!

Blueberry

Pumpkin Spice

Apple Cinnamon

Baked Oatmeal Recipes

These are easy recipes the whole family will love!

Blueberry Almond

Chocolate Banana Nut

PB&J Oat Cups

Healthy Oatmeal Bars (an easy one bowl recipe!)