A Nature Valley copycat recipe: soft-baked Oatmeal Bars! These peanut butter flavored bars are thick, chewy, and dotted with peanut butter baking chips. These naturally gluten-free bars are made with better-for-you ingredients.
Try our other gluten-free treats: Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cake, Healthy Chocolate Cookies, or Blueberry Oatmeal Bars.
The Best Oatmeal Bars
On a recent road trip, we tried Nature Valley’s® Peanut Butter Oatmeal Squares. The kids and I loved how soft they were, but I didn’t love the ingredients used. So, when we got home, I decided to make my own version of oatmeal bars.
These homemade oatmeal bars are soft and chewy. They taste a lot like peanut butter cookies mixed with oatmeal. I use natural sweetener like honey, plus good ingredients like peanut butter, oats, and oat flour. The peanut butter chips have some sugar, but you can switch them with dark chocolate to make the bars more nutritious.
Oatmeal Bars Ingredients
- Peanut Butter: This provides the main flavor, structure, and is filling due to its protein content.
- Honey: Naturally sweetens the bars and is rich in antioxidants.
- Light Brown Sugar: Adds a bit more sweetness, used minimally (only 1/4 cup).
- Egg: Stabilizes the batter, adds flavor and protein.
- Vanilla Extract: Gives a subtle flavor enhancement.
- Baking Soda: Prevents the bars from being too dense.
- Oats and Oat Flour: These form the base of your oatmeal bars, providing structure and chewiness. You can make oat flour from these same oats.
- Peanut Butter Chips: They add a fun element, but you can replace them with nuts or dark chocolate chips for a healthier option.
Quick Tip
Line the pan with parchment paper and leave an overhang for easy removal. These oatmeal bars stick to the pan and be nearly impossible to pull out without the parchment paper.
How To Make Oatmeal Bars
- Prep: Preheat your oven and line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Mix: In a large bowl, combine peanut butter, honey, brown sugar, an egg, vanilla extract, baking soda, salt, old-fashioned oats, and oat flour. Beat until smooth. Then, fold in the peanut butter chips.
- Bake: Pour the batter into the pan and smooth it out. Bake.
- Cut and Serve: Let the oatmeal bars cool in the pan, then cut them into squares.
More Easy Snack Recipes
Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup oat flour (See Note 2)
- 1 cup peanut butter chips
- Optional: 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
Instructions
- PREP: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal, and set aside.
- BARS: Combine all the ingredients except the peanut butter chips in a large bowl. Beat with a hand mixer until smooth. Add in the peanut butter chips and fold with a spatula to combine.
- BAKE: Transfer batter to the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. They may look a bit underdone or gooey in the center, but as long as they don't jiggle at all, they are done. These bars continue to set up and firm as they cool.
- CUT AND SERVE: Remove bars from the oven and let cool completely in the pan. Use the parchment paper overhang to pull out the bars and cut into 12 squares with a sharp knife.
- OPTIONAL: (This is for the peanut butter fanatics!) Once bars are cut into squares, place 1/4 cup of peanut butter in a small resealable bag. Cut off a tiny corner tip of the bag and pipe the peanut butter on the top of the bars.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I haven’t had a nature valley bar in soooo long … I used to eat them all the time though!! I love that you made this recipe! So many good ingredients in here … and I can never ever ever turn down peanut butter : ) Happy friday friend!
I am obsessed with them. I think I have them almost daily haha! Thank you Ashley! 🙂
Yum, these look delicious! I love finding a good gluten free granola square/bar recipe!
They are my new go-to bar! Thanks Kelly 🙂
Okay, you’ve convinced me. I am going to make these and I’m sure they’ll be delicious. I like the Nature Valley ones, I’ve only tried the brown sugar oat ones but I would love to make them from scratch without all the preservatives. Thanks Chelsea! By the way, they look so delicious!
Thank you so much Jessica! Oh gosh the brown sugar ones are so good! Now I need to recreate those 🙂
These look amazingly scrumptious! So glad you finally nailed the recipe – I know how great that feels :). I can’t even tell you how excited I would be to have these for breakfast – can’t think of a better way to start the day!
Thank you Kathi! 🙂
Congrats on this awesome recipe, Chelsea!! I seriously eat nature valley oatmeal squares ALL THE TIME, but I will be making these bars this weekend because they look WAY better and I love that I can pronounce all the ingredients in them! Pinned : )
Omg I have them almost every day haha, they are so good! thanks Jenn and thanks for pinning 🙂
These look amazing, checking them out from freedom fridays and I pinned this! I also really, really love peanut butter, so these are perfect! 🙂
Cathy
Thank you so much Cathy! 🙂 PB is the best!
These looks fantastic! Pinning!
Thanks for the pin Anna! 🙂
I feel like I’ve pinned every last recipe you shared! need to get to work! I think it’s best to have a jar of peanut butter for baking and for eating! these are right up my alley. I love how there is very little sugar. my kiddo and I would eat these up!!
Chelsea, these look so perfect. Glad you were persistent even though it took a few tries to get them just how you wanted them. Can’t wait to make them!
Thank you so much Julie!
Oh my gosh! I actually love those soft baked oatmeal squares and I eat them at work. The cinnamon version is always sold out at my store, so I’m usually buying the PB ones. I cannot wait to try out your version that I know will be even better. Pinned!