These freezable oat breakfast bars are packed with brain boosting blueberries and are super easy to make!
UPDATED RECIPE – I think a few people were having problems with this recipe so I have changed the ingredients and also the directions to make sure that the bars do not crumble!
So it’s nearly the end of January. How are those healthy eating resolutions doing? I have to say I haven’t had the best month. There have been lots of ups and downs and a ridiculous amount of illness between myself and the kids so there has been a bit too much chocolate consumed (mostly by me!). That said we are still doing really well with our healthy breakfasts. A little too well really. The kids have been eating either porridge or overnight oats every day from Monday to Friday so I think they are getting a little sick of them! I thought it was time to liven up my oaty breakfast repertoire and so these Blueberry Oat Breakfast Bars were born.
Some of you might be wondering why I have called these “oat bars” rather than flapjacks. Well to me a flapjack is slightly hard and crunchy (like these Chocolate Coconut Flapjacks) whereas this recipe is much softer and I thought that “oat bar” sounded a bit more breakfasty!! So flapjacks, oat bars… call them what you want. Just try this recipe cause it is seriously good!
When I blogged my Chocolate Coconut Flapjack recipe I did have a little rant about packaged flapjacks being labelled as “healthy” or “natural” when they in fact contain a scary amount of refined sugars and highly processed oils or margarines. Some homemade recipes are not much better. One popular recipe site listed golden syrup, honey AND white sugar as some of the ingredients for its flapjack recipe. There is just no need for all that sweetener!
My recipe uses either honey, maple syrup or date syrup. Yes these are all still a form of sugar but they are completely natural, not processed and won’t send your blood sugar sky high (and won’t have the kids bouncing off the walls!). I also use coconut oil instead of butter. If you prefer to use butter than that’s absolutely fine.
Ok, so mini healthy rant out of the way, what’s so good about these oat bars? Well firstly they taste incredible! They are wonderfully soft and sweet, just perfect for breakfast. I used almond butter in mine, which gives a very subtle nutty flavour without being overpowering. The fresh blueberries give just a small pop of tartness to the bar and of course provides that wonderful purple colour. You can also customise the recipe to your liking so add dried fruit or chopped nuts, or even substitute the blueberries for raspberries.
What I also love about this recipe is that these bars can be frozen in individual containers or freezer bags. They defrost in super quick time (mine took about an hour) so you can take them out first thing in the morning and they will be ready when the kids get out of bed. You could also pop a frozen bar into the kids’ lunchboxes and it’ll be good to go by morning snack time.
I would like to say that my freezer is now full of these oat bars but the truth is they have all disappeared. (Those food stealing fairies have been in my kitchen again!) But I plan to make a double batch this weekend for handy grab-and-go breakfasts over the coming weeks.
I made this for my own fussy teenager. I’m not sure where to get nut butter from here in Australia, so I used a vegan alternative. OMG they were to die for. My fussy teen has given me the go ahead to make more. These are way better than a similar store bought variety.
★★★★★
Thanks Jane!
So good to have in the house for snacks for the whole family rather than our usual flapjacks! Kids and husband really like these.
★★★★★
Delicious. Made for the first time yesterday. A little crumbly, but mostly sticking together. Will definitely make again.
I make these all the time for my kids. They think it’s a treat and i add in hemp and chia seeds. Thank you for creating something so healthy!
Thank you!
Hi, I don’t have a 10″ x 10″ baking dish, but I have a 9″ x 13″. If I use that how much do you think I should increase each of the ingredients? I wouldn’t want to spread everything too thin and have them burn in the oven, but I don’t know if doubling everything might be too much. Maybe I could increase each by half. Thanks! I’m looking forward to making these! Kim
Hi Kim, yes maybe try increasing by half and hopefully that will work!
I had reservations about this recipe before starting.There were no any real binding agents. The recipe yield granola more than oat bars. Will not use this recipe again.
Do you know the calories per bar?
No sorry I don’t calculate the calories. But if you input the ingredients into any online calculator you should be able to find out easy enough!
Can steel cut oats be used? Or would it come out too dry?
Thanks!
I’ve never tried it with steel cut oats so can’t say, sorry!
Taste Great but fell apart so using as a granola with (dairy-free) yoghurt instead.
Tried the freezer but still very crumbly and not ‘bars’.
Does anyone have any suggestions to bind them better? more oil/ honey?
★★★
yummy these are delicious, thanks for sharing this recipe.
Simon
I made these. They were not a big hit for my family. To me they were good enough to want to eat. My husband wanted something sweeter, my son wanted something crunchy. They did taste like a Cliff bar without the funky after taste, which is good in my book. Although they did not come out looking like these pictures, they still tasted good.
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Quick question: Are these the quick 1- minute oats or the old-fashioned oats? Don’t want to use the wrong ones and end up with a disaster…thank you!
Hi Jodi, they’re the old fashioned kind you buy in big packets or bags!
Hi,
My toddle has a peanut allergy and we are avoiding tree nuts for now just to be safe. Any idea if sunflower butter can be used as a good substitution in this recipe? My son LOVES to eat and loves all other ingredients in this recipe in a bowl of oatmeal so I think these could be a big hit.
Hi Nicole, I haven’t tried it myself but I see no reason why sunflower butter wouldn’t work. It has the same consistency as peanut butter so should definitely help the mixture to stick together. Let me know if you try it.
People always as me about breakfast bars, so I am definitely reposting this! Thank you for the idea.
No problem. So glad you like it!
Just made these and they’re a bit of a disaster. I followed the recipe without substitutions and they are a crumbling mess. They did not hold together at all. Much more like not-toasted-enough granola than any kind of bar.
Sorry to hear that Bethany. I’ve made these dozens of times and they always turn out well. Sometimes people’s ovens vary quite a lot in temperature so I would suggest turning the heat up a little and cooking them for longer.
I had the same issue as well. Everything tastes quite good so I don’t mind, but the bars did not bind together at all.
I’m not sure why that happened as mine always stick together. I will make them again to check!
Mine fell apart as well! I just eat them with a spoon. They taste amazing though! w\Would Quick oats hold better?
Try popping them in the freezer to cool. That should help them to stick together.
Okay- so glad I found you! I don’t eat refined either. love your recipes!!!
★★★★★
Thank you Lori!
Can I use frozen blueberries? These sound perfect for my picky eater’s lunch but it’s hard to find fresh blueberries in winter.
Yes you can although I would defrost them first and allow as much of the water as possible to drain away, otherwise the oat bars may end up too soft and won’t stick together!
Ooh these look so so yummy! Think my whole house would like these 🙂 #tastytuesdays
Thanks Stacey. They are a big hit in our house so I hope your brood enjoys them too x
Love these and I make something similar, in fact most days I’m experimenting with oat biscuits, bars or flapjacks, love it! Got some banana oat biscuits for next week! Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays x
★★★★★
You gotta love oats. They are just so versatile!
These look great and perfect for my daughters who never seem to have time for anything in the morning which drives me crazy! I even make overnight oats in a jar for one to eat on the school bus but these are much better. I agree about flapjacks too, scary how much rubbish is in them.
I know, its ridiculous the amount of unnecessary sugar that they contain. Hope these manage to tempt your daughter into eating breakfast!
These looks yummy! Love anything blueberry – definitely pinning this!
Thanks Sophie. Enjoy! x
These look so amazing I just had to pin them for later. I am trying to eat more oats and fruit so this is perfect. Popping over from #tastytuesdays Love the styling too!
★★★★★
Thank Jenny. I hope you like them. They are a big hit in my house!
Pinned to try!
Thank you Laura!
Holy moly, these look good! I made some flapjacks the other day but they were too dry, I will definitely give these a go! x
These are definitely the antidote to dry flapjacks. Hope you like!
These look and sound delicious, perfect with a good cuppa 🙂 x #tastytuesdays
Thanks Kirsty!
These look super delicious, definitely bookmarking these for busy weeks – love the fruity honey oaty combo! Yum!
★★★★★
Thanks Isabella. Hope you enjoy them!
Oh yummy! I’m always looking for quick, healthy breakfast options!
Thank Sian. I have a big batch in the freezer now so I can just take one or two out at a time. So handy!
Oh my gosh, what I would not do to have had on of these for breakfast (instead of my dry toast).
★★★★★
I made another batch last night for breakfast this morning. So good!