These gluten-free Soft-Baked Oatmeal Breakfast Bars are ultra chewy and loaded with flavor. They’re packed with oats, nut butter, and dark chocolate–plus they’re made with better-for-you, wholesome ingredients — perfect for a grab-and-go breakfast on a busy morning.
A delicious on-the-go breakfast
We love Soft-Baked Oatmeal Breakfast Bars–they’re our favorites for grab-and-go breakfast or snacks. They’ve got great ingredients, and are filling, tender, soft, and ultra chewy. These bars taste like a mash-up of soft granola bars and a bowl of oatmeal; you’ll get wholesome-tasting, surprisingly-filling oat-filled bars.
Thanks to the nut butter and plenty of oats, these bars have substantial protein and fiber, and that helps your body feel fuller for longer.
How to make Soft-Baked Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
These bars are one of the easiest recipes ever. They’re made in one bowl and can be whipped together in minutes.
- Combine all the ingredients (except the dark chocolate) in a large bowl and mix to combine.
- Coarsely chop the dark chocolate (we want some in every bite!) and add to the batter.
- Mix the batter and then transfer to a lined 8×8-inch pan.
- Bake until lightly browned at the edges and firm in the center.
Soft-Baked Oatmeal Breakfast Bar ingredients
- Old-fashioned oats: The oats make up the base of these bars and give them that soft chewiness. Make sure to use old-fashioned oats — quick oats are too processed and will make the bars overly dry; steel-cut oats won’t soften enough.
- Oat flour: No need to buy specialty flour. Oat flour can be made with quick or old-fashioned oats; read more on this below.
- Cinnamon: This spice adds a really nice complementary flavor to the oats, but it’s completely optional. If you aren’t a cinnamon fan, leave it out!
- Salt: Salt helps balance all the flavors in these Soft-Baked Oatmeal Breakfast Bars.
- Peanut butter: Peanut butter contributes structure and stability (as well as protein).
- Coconut oil: The coconut oil gives the bars a nice flavor and moistness.
- Honey: We sweeten these primarily with honey, and natural sweeteners are always a great choice.
- Light brown sugar: We’ve also got a little brown sugar in there; we found the bars needed a little more sweetness, and were too wet with 100% honey, so we added 1/3 cup.
- Vanilla extract: This ingredient contributes to a nice subtle flavor.
- Egg + egg yolk: The egg provides stability to the batter and adds flavor and protein. The second egg yolk adds additional structure and flavor. Use the leftover egg whites in this egg wrap!
- Dark chocolate: Dark chocolate has antioxidants in it, among other benefits. If you aren’t a fan of dark chocolate, you can use milk or semi-sweet chocolate, but it will make the bars a bit less healthy. Alternatively, chopped nuts can be added instead (or in addition).
How to make oat “flour”
If you have quick oats or old-fashioned oats, you can have oat flour ready for in flash.
- Place the oats (old-fashioned or quick oats–not instant or steel-cut ones) into the bowl of a food processor or a small blender jar.
- Pulse the oats until ground into a powder-like consistency that resembles regular flour.
- Stir the oats around if needed, to be sure all the oats are finely ground.
- Make sure to measure your oat flour after it’s been turned into flour.
Soft-Baked Oatmeal Breakfast Bar tips
- Line the pan with parchment paper and leave an overhang for easy removal. Sticky batter like this will be nearly impossible to remove without the parchment paper. If you don’t have parchment paper, I recommend thoroughly greasing the pan.
- Let the bars cool. You may be tempted to eat one straight out of the oven (and hey — you do you!), but these bars are crumbly and a bit gooey while hot. They thicken up a lot as they cool and become easier to cut and serve.
- Don’t overbake. Remove the bars when they are slightly browned on the edges; the middle and top of the bars may look a bit wet or gooey, but as long as the bars don’t jiggle when slightly shaken in the pan, they’re done. Overbaked bars won’t be very soft or chewy and will also lack flavor.
Quick Tip
Make sure the ingredients are gluten free. If you are gluten intolerant, make sure to check all the individual products to be sure they are indeed gluten free. Pay particular attention to see that they are processed in a facility that doesn’t have gluten; this will be indicated on the label. While these bars are naturally gluten free, some products aren’t processed in a strictly gluten-free environment.
Storage
Store Soft-Baked Oatmeal Breakfast Bars in an airtight container at room temperature, and they’re best enjoyed within 2-3 days of making. Feel free to warm individual bars for 5-10 seconds in the microwave if you like them warm.
To freeze: Wrap individual bars tightly in plastic wrap and then place in an airtight freezer-safe container. Thaw individual bars at room temperature, and if desired, warm through for 5-10 seconds in the microwave.
More healthy breakfast recipes
- Healthy Breakfast Cookies no baking required
- How to Make Oatmeal with four flavor variations
- Yogurt Bowl with eight flavor variations
- Peanut Butter Overnight Oats reader favorite
- Acai Bowl four delicious recipes
Soft-Baked Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
Equipment
- Baking pan 8 x 8-inch
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1/3 cup oat flour finely ground oats
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk save the whites for another recipe or discard them
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang (these will be nearly impossible to get out otherwise).
- To make oat flour, place old-fashioned or quick oats in a blender and pulse until they resemble flour. Measure after blending to make sure you have the right amount.
- Combine the ingredients except for the dark chocolate chips in a large bowl and stir until smooth and well combined. Coarsely chop the dark chocolate chips and add to the batter. Stir to combine. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
- Bake 23–26 minutes or until set at the edges (it will look slightly wet in the center, but as long as it doesn’t jiggle, it’s done. The bars will firm up as they cool; be careful to not over bake).
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hey Chelsea! Thanks for this recipe. I love it! I tried to make a higher protein version and I thought I’d share in case anyone else thought about making adjustments.
I soaked the oats in a cup of milk for about 15 minutes while preparing everything else (I didn’t like the chewiness of the oats, though other people might prefer not to do this).
I replaced a 1/4 cup of the wheat flour with vanilla soy protein powder.
I used 1/4 cup + a tablespoon of brown sugar.
I didn’t add the 1/2 cup of milk (because I’d use a cup in soaking)
I added a quarter cup of applesauce.
I also added a half cup each of walnuts and raisins (these reminded me up the raisin walnut clif bars so I thought I’d try it out).
I am very happy with the end result! It’s cake-ier, more like baked oatmeal and not as sweet but I might actually prefer it! So thanks for the original recipe. It’s delish!
I just made these and they were a little too dry, even with some sultanas added. I did leave off the glaze (these are for car eating). Next time I’ll use quick oats and add maybe a quarter of a cup of apple sauce or half a stick of melted butter.
Hmm these have never been dry for us, did you omit any of the ingredients or mis-measure? The applesauce or melted butter is a great idea though if needed! 🙂
Made these the other day, they are delicious, I’m thinking of putting in some add-ins next time (maybe chocolate chips or raisins. My 16 month old even gave me a thumbs up 🙂
Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Thanks so much for the comment and so glad to hear you liked these! Love the idea of adding in chocolate chips or raisins!!
thank you very much … i will be watching for it .. i was very leary of the info on that site, that is why i brought it to your attention .. that was quite a huge difference in calories from the nature valley ones so was very skeptical ..
thank you .. sorry it took me so long to get back !!
thank you very much .. i will be watching for it .. i didn’t believe them anyway .. that is quite a difference in calories …
it is funny, because when i try to go back to the site (i had it saved in my e-mail) to give you the link now the site seems to have disappeared .. here is the link in case you can get it to work .. it won’t work for me now…
https://spoonacular.com/%7BNature-Valley-Copycat%7D-Cinnamon-Brown-Sugar-Soft-Baked-Oatmeal-Squares-544163
So weird it looks like it’s been removed. It also appears that was a spam site so I wouldn’t trust what you read. I can get you an accurate nutrition label for this recipe tomorrow as I’m away from my computer today. Thanks!
wow, i just found another site with the nutritional and calorie count of these, why is it so much higher than the nature valley ones.. they are 150 calories, and it says these are 305??? what is the difference and why so much higher in calories???
What site listed these at 305? Did it have the correct serving size?
can you give us the calorie information compared to the store bought ones?? i am sooooooooooo going to make these because i love the nature valley ones .. just wondering how they compare calorie wise ??? thanks .. can you email the info in case i don’t see it here?? thank you
Hi Chelsea! I wanted to let you know I made these last week and ate them warm out of the oven for breakfast. Sooooo yummy!
This is awesome! I’ve been looking for peanut butter/nut free snacks like this for my son. He starts kindergarten in a few days, and his school is 100% nut free 🙁 Can’t wait to try these! But I don’t have oat flour….can I simply grind up more oats?!
Blending oats to a flour consistency makes oat flour. All you need is a food processor!
These look amazing, but when I was making them I totally left out the cinnamon because it wasn’t on the instructions 🙁
SO sorry about that Taylor! I updated the recipe to include the cinnamon in the instructions!