These Oatmeal Granola Bars are made to taste like an iced oatmeal cookie — in a more nutritious form of course! These bars are simple to make with no baking required!
Try some other favorite granola bar recipes next — Chewy Granola Bars with miniature M&M’s, Chocolate Granola Bar with three types of chocolate, or Homemade Granola Bars with almonds and chocolate chips.
Oatmeal Granola Bars
The Clif® Kid Z bars are one of the all-time favorite store-bought bars. They’re soft, chewy, and reminiscent of a soft oatmeal cookie! The kids love them too, and it’s surprising how quickly a Costco-sized box disappears.
Since they aren’t the cheapest granola bars, it was time to try making something similar at home. While these bars turned out a bit different from the Clif Kid Z bars, they taste like an iced oatmeal cookie in a delicious, soft granola bar way. These bars are soft, chewy, sweet, and perfectly finished with sweet white chocolate icing. Honestly, these are even better than the Clif bars!
How To Make Granola Bars With Oatmeal
- Prep: Line an 8×8 pan with parchment. Leave extra parchment hanging over the sides for easy lifting later.
- Blend Oats: Turn 1 cup oats into flour-like consistency. Make sure no large chunks remain for a smoother texture.
- Blend Dates: Process dates into a paste and mix with oat flour. Soak hard dates in hot water first to soften.
- Combine: Mix in almond butter, syrup, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and remaining oats.
- Set: Press the mixture evenly into the pan and refrigerate for 1 hour. Firm pressing helps the bars stick together.
- Glaze: Melt white chocolate with oil, then blend in vanilla, sugar, and milk.
- Finish: Chill with glaze for 20 mins, then cut into bars. Use a sharp knife for clean cuts.
Oatmeal Granola Bars Tools Needed
- High-powered blender: Dates can be tough on a blender, even when fresh and soft. To break them down into a thick paste without burning out the motor, use a very high-powered blender (like Vita-Mix or Blend-Tec) and scrape down the sides as needed.
- Hand mixer or stand mixer: Mixing all the ingredients in a large bowl can be too much for a wooden spoon. An electric hand mixer or stand mixer works best to ensure everything is thoroughly combined for the right flavor.
- 8×8-inch baking pan: This mixture fits perfectly in an 8×8-inch baking pan.
- Optional but helpful: Line the pan with parchment paper for easy removal and less mess. A firm spatula is great for scraping the bowl and pressing down the mixture.
Oatmeal Granola Bar Ingredients
The ingredients in these bars greatly impact their flavor and texture.
- Old-fashioned oats: Half are blended into oat flour, while the other half remains whole, giving two textures from one ingredient.
- Deglet Noor dates: Dates provide natural sweetness and a chewy texture. Fun fact: dates are fresh fruit, not dried! Leftover dates can be used in a Cauliflower Smoothie or Gluten-free Zucchini Muffins.
- Almond butter: This adds flavor, nutrition, and helps make the bars filling. Choose a slow-roasted, lightly salted almond butter you enjoy on its own.
- Pure maple syrup: A natural sweetener made from boiled-down maple sap, not to be confused with pancake syrup, which is made from corn syrup and maple extract. Maple syrup adds both flavor and stickiness to these bars.
- Vanilla extract: Enhances the cookie-like flavor.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and boosts flavor.
- Cinnamon: Essential for that classic oatmeal cookie taste.
Quick Tip
What makes granola bars stick together? Granola bars stick together due to sticky binders like almond butter, maple syrup, and blended dates, which act as natural adhesives in the mixture.
Oatmeal Granola Bar Tips
- Be sure to use old-fashioned oats. Quick oats and steel-cut oats will both create the wrong texture and won’t work properly in these bars.
- Use the right ingredients. Even “tried and true” substitutions (think honey for maple syrup or peanut butter for almond butter) don’t work the same in these bars — this recipe is fairly particular.
- Cut the bars with a large, sharp knife. Once the bars have firmed up, use the parchment paper overhang to remove the bars onto a cutting board and then cut with a sharp knife.
- Make gluten-free Oatmeal Granola Bars. While the ingredients in these bars are naturally gluten-free, make sure to check all your ingredient labels to verify they weren’t processed in a facility with gluten.
Storage
Granola Bars With Oatmeal Storage
After the bars have set, wrap each one in plastic wrap and store in a container or resealable bag in the fridge for up to a week—great for on-the-go snacks!
To freeze: Place bars on a lined tray in the freezer. Once firm (1-2 hours), wrap individually and store in an airtight bag or container for up to 6 months.
To thaw: Let sit for 30 minutes or microwave for 10-15 seconds.
More Nutritious Snacks
- Trail Mix made with five different variations
- Oatmeal Energy Balls with coconut and chocolate
- Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding naturally sweetened and naturally thickened
- Almond Granola with coconut flakes
- Overnight Oats with four different recipes
Quick Tip
Take your time pressing the granola bar mixture into the pan; the harder and firmer you press down, the better they’ll hold together.
Oatmeal Cookie Granola Bars
These Oatmeal Granola Bars are made to taste like an iced oatmeal cookie -- in a more nutritious form, of course! These bars are simple to make with no baking required!
Ingredients
- 2 and 3/4 cups old fashioned oats, divided use
- 1 cup (140g) Deglet Noor dates pitted Note 1
- 1/3 cup (91g) roasted and salted almond butter Note 2
- 1/2 cup (157g) pure maple syrup Note 3
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Optional Glaze
- 2 tablespoons white chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1-2 teaspoons milk (plant-based milk works great here)
Instructions
- PREP: Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang for easy removal.
- BLEND OATS: In a high-powered blender, blend 1 cup (105g) of the old-fashioned oats until they resemble flour -- a fine powder. If needed, stir and re-blend to break up larger chunks of oats -- it should look like flour. Now pour all of the blended oats into a large sturdy bowl or a bowl attached to a stand mixer.
- BLEND DATES: See Note 1. Ensure dates are pitted. (Sometimes dates labeled pitted still have a pit that sneaks in!) Using a sharp serrated knife, coarsely chop the dates. Add chopped dates to the blender and blend until a thick paste forms. This takes some patience; you will likely need to scrape down edges and stir a few times in between blending. Once fully blended to a paste, use a spatula to scrape all of this mixture out into the bowl with the oats. It's thick and sticky!
- ADD REMAINING INGREDIENTS: To the bowl with the blended oats and dates, add the almond butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon and the remaining 1-3/4 cups (178g) old fashioned oats.
- BEAT: Using a hand mixer (or paddle attachment on a stand mixer), beat until well combined and ingredients are incorporated. The mixture is a bit wet, but it does set up a bit in the fridge.
- CHILL: Use a spatula to scrape out all of the mixture from the bowl into the prepared 8x8 pan. Firmly press the granola bar mixture evenly into the pan. Cover and place in the fridge to chill and set up for at least 1 hour.
- GLAZE: Combine the white chocolate chips and the coconut oil (measure oil when it is melted). Microwave the mixture in 15-second bursts, stirring in between each burst for 10-15 seconds until completely smooth. Stir in the vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and milk. Stir until a thick frosting has formed and transfer to a small plastic bag. Cut off the tip and drizzle all over the bars. Return to the fridge (covered) until the glaze hardens, about 20 more minutes.
- ENJOY: Using the parchment or foil overhang, remove bars to a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut into bars. Wrap each bar individually and store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Video
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Dates: For the dates, I like to use Deglet Noor made by Sunsweet — You'll find these near other dried fruits, trail mixes, and/or nuts in the store. To ensure the dates blend up nice and smooth for these bars, use new (fresh and soft) dates or soak them in boiling water first. They only need a few minutes in the boiling water to soften. Be sure to completely dry and then remove any pits from the dates before blending!
Note 2: Almond butter: I recommend a slow-roasted and lightly salted almond butter you enjoy eating straight from the jar to ensure the best granola bar flavor.
Note 3: Maple syrup: Not to be confused with corn syrup or pancake syrup, pure maple syrup is the sap from a maple tree that has been boiled down to a thicker consistency (natural, nutrient-filled sweetener -- score!). We rely on the flavor and stickiness of pure maple syrup for both taste and consistency of these oatmeal granola bars.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 217kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 54mg | Potassium: 277mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 4IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Currently looking up snack and meal recipes. I would prefer to make my own granola bars, but haven’t found a simple recipe. I really enjoy just a simple oat granola bar with no protein powder. This one I will have to try! Thanks 🙂
You’ll have to let me know what you think 🙂
Is there anything that can be substituted for the Dates! Thanks!
Not that I know of for this recipe; sorry!
I’m about a thousand years after the fact, but: what does the one cup of oats measure after it’s ground up? I’m thinking of subbing with almond meal.
“My kids” are hooked on the oatmeal zbars! Can’t wait to try this…has anyone ever tried dried figs, the zbar lists that as an ingredient so just curious!
Mmmm… Love homemade granola bars!
I’ve never used dates before in a recipe but the ones I have are in a block form, can you chop them up or best to soak the block in water?
I’m not sure what you mean by block form? If they are hard then you will want to soak them 🙂
One afternoon I made these into granola balls…they didn’t last long enough to get the chocolate drizzle on top. They were sooo good. My kids and husband raved about them. We decided they are a hundred times better than the kids Cliff bars. Thanks for the awesome recipe. We will be making these all summer long.
This makes my day!! I’m honored you all thought they were better than the Cliff bars! Thank you so much for the comment!
These sound yummy Chelsea. Do you know how long they last if you store them without refrigeration? I would like to know if my friends husband can take these with him when he gets deployed for weeks at a time. Thank you!
You sound like such a sweet friend! They would probably be fine for about 3-4 days wrapped well 🙂
Homemade granola bars of any kind are the absolute best! Plus, they usually are much cheaper than the kinds that I buy! These sound wonderful Chelsea!
I’d like to try! I’m allergic to nuts – any substitute for almond butter?
You could try sunbutter? I haven’t tried it, but I know others have substituted in my recipes with great results!
They now have something thats like peanut butter but its called wowbutter i have children in daycare that eats this cause they have allergies