These Blueberry Oat Bars are so yummy! Oil-free, refined sugar free, and whole grain – they are so healthy you can eat them for breakfast!
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I’ve been feeling blue lately, but in a happy way.
For the last few weeks I’ve been getting a wonderful harvest from my blueberry bushes. The first few days of picking, I had a garden friend who was not a bluebird of happiness.
It was a bluejay who was anything but happy with me. This little guy would perch on the fence near the blueberries and squawk loudly at me. Then move to the nearby pear tree, followed by the raspberry trellis, and the apple tree, rotating around me squawking from every angle.
He definitely wanted to let me know that I had no business picking his berries!
In the end, I think we came to an understanding. There were enough berries for me to pick and put up for the season, with a few extra for my bluejay buddy and his bird friends to enjoy.
I love using these berries in so many ways, and fortunately I have enough to enjoy some fresh and also freeze plenty to get me through the year.
They find their way into muffins, pancakes, smoothies, oatmeal, berry sauce, and now these blueberry oatmeal bars.
Ingredients in these blueberry bars
For the oatmeal bars:
- Oatmeal – I used regular oats, but quick oats can be used
- Whole wheat flour – for gluten free bars, use a gluten free flour blend
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Maple syrup
- Applesauce
- Vanilla
For the filling:
- Blueberries – fresh or frozen
- Maple syrup
- Lemon juice
- Cornstarch
- Vanilla
- Water
For the optional lemon glaze:
- Powdered sugar – this does add a small amount of processed sugar to the recipe
- Lemon juice – the lemon flavor perfectly complements the blueberries
How to Make These Blueberry Oat Bars
Step 1:
Combine the blueberries, lemon juice, and maple syrup in a medium sized saucepan. Bring the berries to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to simmer, and stir in the vanilla extract and the cornstarch/water mixture. Stir briefly until the filling thickens. Then set aside.
Step 2:
In a large mixing bowl, combine the oatmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt.
Step 3:
In a separate small bowl, stir together the applesauce, maple syrup, and vanilla. Stir the applesauce mixture into the oatmeal mixture, and combine well.
Step 4:
Spread half of the oatmeal mixture evenly onto the bottom of a parchment lined 9″ x 13″ baking pan. Pour the berry filling on top of this oatmeal layer and spread evenly. Take the remaining oatmeal mixture and crumble it on top of the berry layer.
Step 5:
Bake the berry bars at 350° F for 30 minutes.
After baking, let them cool to firm up.
If using the optional lemon glaze, wait until the bars are completely cool before drizzling the glaze over the bars.
Since these bars are sweetened with maple syrup, they are refined sugar free. My husband and I enjoy the lightly sweetened taste of these bars, but if you want them to be a little sweeter, the glaze is perfect and only adds a small amount of sugar per bar. The glaze is flavored with lemon juice, which is a perfect complement to the blueberries.
These make perfect breakfast bars, can easily be packed in a lunch, or enjoyed for an afternoon snack.
For a special treat, these blueberry oat bars would be amazing topped with my vanilla ice cream or a dollop of vegan whipped cream! And if you have a nice harvest of strawberries (or even some frozen strawberries) be sure to try out my strawberry ice cream!
Explore our Plant-Based Handbook
Here are more delicious vegan desserts:
- Vegan Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
- Chocolate Mug Cake
- Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
- Oil Free Vegan Donuts
- Vegan Chocolate Pudding
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Blueberry Oat Bars
Ingredients
Berry Filling
- 3 cups blueberries fresh or frozen
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- 4 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Oat Bars
- 3 cups oats (regular rolled oats, not quick oats)
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup applesauce
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
Lemon Glaze, optional
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
Berry Filling
- Place the blueberries, maple syrup, and lemon juice in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- Mix together the cornstarch and water.
- Add the cornstarch mixture and the vanilla to the berries, and stir until the filling thickens.
- Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
Oat Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, stir together the oats, flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a small bowl, mix together the applesauce, maple syrup, and vanilla.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir together until well combined.Spread half the oatmeal mixture into a parchment lined 9” x 13” baking pan. Use your hands to press it evenly into the pan.
- Pour the berry mixture onto the oatmeal layer and spread it evenly.
- Take the remaining oatmeal mixture and crumble it on top of the filling.
- Bake in a 350°F oven for 30 minutes.
Lemon Glaze, optional
- For the lemon glaze, combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice, and stir until there are no lumps. Add additional powdered sugar or lemon juice to achieve your desired consistency.
- Drizzle the glaze over the completely cooled bars.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition calculations are approximate.
I loved the filling on this, very tasty. Id like to play around with the oat mixture and find a way to make it lighter or maybe I just needed thinner layers, either way a great, healthy recipe!!! <3
My neighbor I shared these with gives them a 5 star. He thinks these would be great to take when they go quading in the desert. He liked them very much and would be happy if I made them again! LOL
I think these are very good. My husband said he liked them but did not go back for a second. He likes things pretty sweet. I’m thinking next time I will add cinnamon and nutmeg to the oat mixture. They are not sweet. The oatmeal is a bit tougher texture due to using applesauce in place of oil – I’m okay with that to be free of the oil and fats that are normally in this type of bar. I used frozen blue berries. I had no trouble with mushy or dry bottom crust. I cooked 30 min 350 on convection bake. I used parchment paper. I will definitely make again
Is it possible to use dried blueberries for this recipe?
I’m not sure if that would work. Maybe if you re-hydrated them. Frozen blueberries work well, if you don’t have fresh.
Delicious but the bottom was a bit dry for me. Is there a way to make them a bit softer? Would adding more applesauce help?
Yes, a bit more applesauce, or maybe reducing the baking time just a bit. I’m glad you enjoyed them.
I made them but the bottoms are gummy .
That’s too bad. I’m not sure what would have caused that. Next time try either reducing the applesauce a bit, or bake them a little longer.
I was wondering how to store these? Can you freeze them? Thanks.
Yes. They should freeze just fine.
Thank you for replying. If not freezing, do you store them in the fridge? How long do they keep? Going to try these out and put them in lunches!
They should keep covered on the counter for about three days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
I am sooo confused. It never says in the description to make any oatmeal. It just says three cups of oats. So when do we make the oatmeal and how many dupes of water for the oats? Just double as regular??????
I’m so sorry for the confusion! The oats are not pre-cooked. They’re mixed in with the dry ingredients, then the wet ingredients in the recipe are mixed in. No water is needed.
These were so good! We ate them for breakfast.
Yum! This is really scrumptious!
Love the blueberry flavor and these are perfect for picnic snacks!
These were so good, and I love that they skipped the refined sugar.
Can I use a gluten free flour? Almond, rice, quinoa, etc
A gluten free flour blend will work fine.
What kind of oats are best? I have quick cooking or regular rolled oats. These sound so good.
I used regular rolled oats. I hope you enjoy them! Be sure to let me know what you think.
Ohmygosh, these are so delicious! A new favorite to be added to our monthly rotation! Thank you!
So happy that you liked them!