Made with rolled oats, blueberries, almonds, and brown sugar, these blueberry baked oatmeal bars are the perfect meal prep idea for grab-and-go breakfasts for busy weekday mornings. Not only can they be made ahead of time, but they keep well in the freezer so you can make a batch and store them for months to come.
Oatmeal is one of my favorite cold-weather breakfasts; it’s simple, filling and it’s incredibly versatile. Not only can you flavor oatmeal any way that you like but there are so many different ways to cook it. From a traditional bowl of oatmeal to slow-cooker oatmeal to baked oatmeal and baked oatmeal bars, this recipe for blueberry baked oatmeal bars is just one of the many ways to make oatmeal for breakfast.
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The Best Oats for Baked Oatmeal
When it comes to buying oats, there are basically a ba-jil-lion different types in the store, so I get how it can be rather confusing. Luckily, oatmeal is not as confusing as it seems, so here is a quick reference guide to your oatmeal aisle.
- Steel-Cut Oats: Oat groats that have been cut into two or three pieces, also known as Irish or Scottish oats. Steel-cut oats form takes the longest to cook.
- Rolled Oats: Also known as Old Fashioned Oats, rolled oats are groats that are steamed and rolled. This process helps the oats cook faster, by creating a greater surface area.
- Quick Cooking: Quick-cooking oats are created by rolling the oat flakes thinner, and/or steaming them longer than rolled oats the quicker cooking
- Instant Oats: Oats that are cut, pre-cooked, dried, steamed, and then flattened. Instant oats are the type of oats you find in pre-packaged pots or packages and because they have been the most processed are the least nutritious option.
When it comes to buying oatmeal, I always opt for rolled oats because they are faster and more convenient than steel-cut, but far less processed and have a better texture than quick-cooking oats. Plus, if you need to create quicker cooking oats, you can toss some rolled oats into the blender to chop them up a little to help cut down on cooking time.
I created these blueberry baked oatmeal bars as an alternative to making a pot of oatmeal in the morning for those days when you just don’t have time. They are meant to be a handheld bowl of oatmeal, so they have a softer and more tender consistency than a traditional bar. And they go pretty darn well with a good cup of coffee!
More Baked Oatmeal Recipes:
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Blueberry Baked Oatmeal Bars
These healthy baked oatmeal bars are quick and easy to make and store well in the freezer for months to come.
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Prep Time: 10 minutes -
Cook Time: 30 minutes
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Total Time: 40 minutes
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Yield: 9 bars 1x
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Category: Breakfast
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Method: Baked
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Cuisine: American
Prep Time:
Yield:
Category:
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Cuisine:Ingredients
Oatmeal Bars:
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup almonds, chopped or sliced
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more for greasing
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
Crumble Topping (optional):
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons rolled oats
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon almonds, chopped or sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F and grease a 9×9′ baking pan.
- In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients; rolled oats, brown sugar, almonds, cinnamon, baking powder and salt, and stir to combine.
- In a medium bowl, combine the wet ingredients; milk, eggs, melted butter and vanilla extract, and whisk to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated. Add blueberries and gently fold into the oatmeal mixture.
- Transfer the mixture to the greased baking pan, gently spreading it evenly into the pan with a spatula.
- Optional: In a small bowl, combine the crumble topping ingredients and mix together with your hands until well incorporated, then gently scatter the topping over the top of the pan.
- Transfer baking pan to the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes until bars are cooked and the top is golden brown.
- Once cooked, removed from the oven, allow to cool slightly (5-10 minutes), and then slice into 9 even squares.
- The bars can be served immediately, stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 241 calories
- Sugar: 16 grams
- Fat: 7 grams
- Carbohydrates: 36 grams
- Fiber: 4 grams
- Protein: 7 grams
Keywords: healthy, baked, breakfast bars, vegetarian, gluten-free, easy
Made this morning. I omitted the topping. I also had a pan that was a wee bit larger. They look great. Just got the dish out of the oven. I also used egg whites instead of whole eggs, ( watching cholesterol!) Wish I could post a pic here to show you how fabulous these look.
★★★★★
Absolutely delicious! I’ve made them twice and my husband and I enjoyed them so much both warm and cold! Thank you!
★★★★★
Delicious! I only had walnuts on hand so I substituted chopped walnuts for the almonds, but otherwise stuck to the recipe. Will definitely keep this recipe on hand for future blueberry seasons.
★★★★★
I’ve tried several Oatmeal bar recipes. This is the first one that was amazingly delicious. This is my go- to recipe now.
★★★★★
So happy to hear it, thank you so much for sharing!
Since our schools are nut free, any suggestions to sub out the sliced almonds?
I would recommend omitting them altogether and just replacing them with more oats (1/4 cup). They are most of a flavour/texture thing, the recipe will work just fine without them!
Absolutely, you can use it on any salad!
Absolutely delicious! I’ve made them twice and my husband and I enjoyed them so much both warm and cold! Thank you!
★★★★★
These are amazing! I have very early mornings and I found it difficult to make time for breakfast but these are perfect to take on-the-go.
I love this recipe with the blueberries but I was wondering if just swapping the blueberries out for a different fruit would affect how the bar turns out? I’d love to try apples or maybe bananas.
★★★★★
So happy you enjoyed them! You could certainly easily swap the blueberry for another berry or combination of berries. I have not tested it, however, sliced apples or pear would likely work well. I would not recommend bananas as they will not provide the same texture required for baking.
Could I use another fruit – such as raspberries?
Yes, of course!
Would they still bake the same with almond or oat milk?
Yup! They will taste a little different, but certainly still works.
Did you try these with almond milk, specifically unsweetened? I would like to do the same for calorie purposes but don’t want them to end up tasting bad. That’s a lot of ingredients to waste. I like the taste of unsweetened almond milk, so I think it will be fine, but wanted to ask in case you had done it. Thank you!
Yes, they were tested with unsweetened almond milk. You can always add a bit more sugar if you want them on the sweeter side. The calories are based on 2% milk so using almond milk will decrease the calorie total anyway.
Can you use dried blueberries in this recipe?
I would not recommend it, fresh or frozen are required.
I made these the other day and the whole family loved them! I want to make them again with maybe some different fruits… any recommendations on which would work best? Thanks so much!
★★★★★
I’m so happy you enjoyed them! Strawberries, raspberries, or a mixture of berries would all work quite well.
Casserole dish or a roasting typed baking pan?
Baking pan is ideal but either option will work as long as it’s 9×9.
Hey! Just made this, just unsure on what the consistency is supposed to be once it’s cooked? It still seems wet and it’s been in the oven for like 50 minutes. Is it supposed to be dry or mushy looking?
Thanks!
It should have a cake-like texture, soft and fluffy but not mushy.
I followed this recipe to the tee, and used frozen blueberries. I wasn’t able to attain a nice crumble texture on the top though, as the consistency was pretty soft throughout. Any suggestions? Thanks! Love it.
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