Easy Strawberry Oatmeal Bars Recipe

There is nothing worse than having to rush out the door for work in the morning and not having any time to eat breakfast or have time to pick something up on the way. Well, don’t worry — we have you covered with these delicious and healthy strawberry oatmeal bars! These decadent bars are the perfect light dessert or the most brilliant breakfast that is easy to make, store, and grab while you are rushing out the door.

These bars are really easy to prepare and only take 40 minutes to bake. These healthy strawberry bars are the perfect alternative to those granola bars you buy from the store and are significantly more tasty than a bowl of oatmeal. These bars are so delicious that even kids will enjoy eating them. There are a lot of different ways to customize these oatmeal bars, so don’t forget to check out the tips and tricks sections before scrolling down to the recipe.

Tips Before You Begin

• For all of my gluten-free friends reading along, don’t worry, this is completely customizable to be gluten-free. The two ingredients that you will need to swap out are the old-fashioned oats for gluten-free oats and switching the all-purpose flour to a gluten-free or almond flour. Don’t let that pesky gluten keep you from baking and enjoying this sweet treat.
• In this recipe, we are using light brown sugar instead of classic brown sugar. Regular brown sugar is made with more molasses than light brown sugar and has a more intense caramel flavor to it. The lighter the sugar the less molasses there is in it, so for light brown sugar there is about a 3% difference in how much molasses is in it. Since there is less molasses in the light brown sugar, it has a much more mild flavor and isn’t as intense as dark brown sugar. So if you have light brown sugar on hand then that is the best option for these strawberry bars but if you don’t mind more of a caramel flavor then you should be able to get away with regular brown sugar.
• Use fresh strawberries because when you bake them, the strawberries begin to crystallize and create a jam consistency. If you are in a pinch and don’t have fresh strawberries then frozen strawberries will work if needed.
• Want to add some macros to your strawberry bars? Throw in a scoop of vanilla protein powder to your dry mixture to get those gains and get all of that good protein in your system.
• The vanilla glaze on these bars is smooth and decadent but if you are trying to watch your sugar intake you can skip the glaze and put a scoop of Greek yogurt on top instead. In case you are using these bars for a dessert you don’t want to miss scooping a touch of vanilla ice cream on top. It’s a recipe for a mouth-watering experience.

Healthy Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

• Time needed: 55 min
• Servings: 8-10 bars

Ingredients:

For the bars:

• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ⅓ cup light brown sugar
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• 6 tbsp melted unsalted butter
• 2 cups diced strawberries
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar, divided

For the vanilla glaze:

• ½ cup powdered sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp milk

How to Prepare

• To begin, we are going to start by stirring together all of our dry ingredients together. In a medium bowl, pour in your cup of old-fashioned oats, ¾ cup of flour, 1/3 light brown sugar, and a smidge of salt, and whisk until it’s all combined.

• Pour in 6tbsp of melted butter (it has to be melted) into your mixture and mic until everything is well saturated. Now, it won’t be completely smooth and may have some crumbles but don’t worry it isn’t going to ruin your bars.

• Now, this is where things get a little different. Scoop ½ cup of your mixture out into a separate bowl. Take an 8×8 baking pan and line it with parchment paper. The parchment paper is going to make things way easier after everything has baked. The last thing we want to do is have to scrape oatmeal bars off of the bottom of a pan.

• Once you have your pan lined with parchment paper, dump the rest of your mixture into the pan. Press the mixture with either your hands or a spatula until you have a nice even layer on the bottom.

• Bring on the strawberries! Take half of your split strawberries and layer them over your oats; don’t worry the other half will come later. Squeeze the juice of one lemon over your freshly place strawberries and ½ tsp of cornstarch. The cornstarch will help to thicken things a little easier and cement everything together.

• To add a touch of sweetness, sprinkle ½ tablespoon of sugar over your first layer of strawberries and then finish off the rest of your strawberries by adding on another layer. Once you have all your strawberries layered it’s time to revisit that half cup of oatmeal mixture we put to the side.

• Sprinkle the rest of the oatmeal mixture over your strawberries, almost so it resembles a cobbler, but just make sure that it’s evenly spread.

• That’s it for the prep! Pop is in the oven at 375ºF for 35-40minutes until it has a gorgeous golden color to it.

• If you want to add the vanilla glaze to your strawberry bars, mix together ½ cup of powdered sugar, a splash of vanilla extract and a tablespoon of milk. As soon as you don’t have any clumps drizzle all over your warm strawberry oatmeal bars.

• If you are wanting to serve this as a dessert then scoop on some vanilla ice cream on top or maybe some fresh whipped cream if you want something a little less sweet.
• Eating these bars for breakfast? Maybe add on a spread of peanut butter, Greek yogurt, or just east them as is.
• Whatever you decide to do with these bars or whatever you decide to top it with, you can not go wrong with these handheld treats!

Frequently Asked Questions

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Yield: 8-10 bars

Easy Strawberry Oatmeal Bars Recipe

Print

These quick strawberry oatmeal bars are made from scratch using wholesome ingredients. They're perfect for breakfast or dessert!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

For the bars

• 0.7 pound (2 cups) diced strawberries, diced
• 3 oz (1 cup) old fashioned rolled oats
• 3.4 oz (¾ cup) all purpose flour
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar, divided
• 2.6 oz (⅓ cup) light brown sugar

For the vanilla glaze

• 2.2 oz (½ cup) powdered sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp milk

Instructions

1.  In a medium sized bowl mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar and salt until it’s all well combined.
2. Pour in the melted butter and stir until everything is evenly moistened.
3. Put ½ cup of the mixture aside and transfer the rest of it in a 8x8’’ baking pan lined with parchment paper ( make sure that the parchment paper overhangs two sides, like handles).
4. Press the mixture into an even layer in the bottom of the pan.
5. Put half of the strawberries over the mixture.
6. Evenly sprinkle the cornstarch and pour in the lemon juice all over. Sprinkle half a tablespoon of sugar on top of it.
7. Add the other half of the strawberries and sprinkle the half cup of the oat mixture that you put aside earlier.
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 375°F (190°C) for 35 to 40 minutes until it’s golden.
9. While it’s baking, make the glaze by mixing all of the glaze ingredients together.
10. When it’s done baking, wait for it to cool down and drizzle with glaze.
11. Use the handles of the parchment paper to lift it and slice it.

Notes

For all of my gluten-free friends reading along, don’t worry, this is completely customizable to be gluten-free. The two ingredients that you will need to swap out is the old-fashioned oats for gluten-free oats and switch the all-purpose flour to a gluten-free or almond flour. Don’t let that pesky gluten keep you from baking and enjoying this sweet treat.

In this recipe, we are using light brown sugar instead of classic brown sugar. Regular brown sugar is made with more molasses than light brown sugar and has a more intense caramel flavor to it. The lighter the sugar the less molasses there is in it, so for light brown sugar there is about a 3% difference in how much molasses in it. Since there is less molasses in the light brown sugar, it has a much more mild flavor and isn’t as intense as dark brown sugar. So if you have light brown sugar on hand then that is the best option for these strawberry bars but if you don’t mind more of a caramel flavor then you should be able to get away with regular brown sugar.

We use fresh strawberries for this recipe because when you bake them, the strawberries begin to crystallize and create a jam consistency. If you are in a pinch and don’t have fresh strawberries then frozen strawberries will work if needed.

Want to add some macros to your strawberry bars? Throw in a scoop of vanilla protein powder to your dry mixture to get those gains and get all of that good protein in your system.

The vanilla glaze on these bars is smooth and decadent but if you are trying to watch your sugar intake you can skip the glaze and put a scoop of Greek yogurt on top instead. In case you are using these bars for a dessert you don’t want to miss scooping a touch of vanilla ice-cream on top. These warm strawberry bars right out of the owen with a scoop of ice cream on top, WOW! It’s a recipe for a mouth-watering experience.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 346Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 44mgCarbohydrates: 55gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 8g