These easy homemade berry oatmeal breakfast bars are made with pantry ingredients. They are gluten-free and the perfect on-the-go breakfast or healthy snack! Make them for a little sweetness and a lot of crunch!
These healthy homemade oatmeal bars are so easy to pull together and the perfect make-ahead breakfast recipe!
Ingredients
- Old fashioned oats
- Ground flaxseed
- Ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger
- Salt
- Maple syrup or brown sugar
- Nondairy milk
- Pecans or walnuts
- Fresh or frozen blueberries, blackberries, or cherries
Once you’ve gathered your ingredients, this recipe comes together in just 5 minutes! A quick mix and it’s ready for some time in the oven.
Directions
To make this recipe, you’ll just need a mixing bowl, a standard loaf pan, and parchment paper to make it easy on yourself.
Add the oats, spices, flaxseed, and nuts to the bowl.
Add the milk. Stir. Pour into the parchment-lined loaf pan and bake in a preheated oven.
Recipe substitutions
This recipe is very forgiving. Use what you have in your pantry to make it work for you and your family.
Nuts and seeds: You’ll notice that the picture above includes chopped walnuts though I initially made this recipe with pecans. Use either one or even sunflower or pumpkin seeds.
Fruit: I’ve made this recipe with fresh and frozen berries like blueberries and blackberries, dried cherries and blueberries, and leftover homemade jam.
Milk: To keep the recipe vegan, use a non-dairy milk. Shaken canned coconut milk adds a subtle sweetness. But you can use cashew, almond, or hemp or dairy milk equally in this recipe.
Sweetener: I use maple syrup for the flavor. But that can get pricey. I know. Feel free to swap in a ¼ cup brown sugar for a less expensive option.
Benefits of flaxseed
Flax seeds provide an extra boost of protein, fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and lignans that may help reduce the risk of certain cancers and improve health.
Ground flaxseed keeps these homemade oat bars together. It must be ground not whole flax – since these will not provide any binding benefits.
I find ground flaxseed in the baking or sometimes in the “health foods” aisle at the store. If you don’t have flaxseed, you can use ground chia seeds and if you don’t need to avoid eggs, you can use one egg.
Freezer-Friendly Idea
Once the bars are cool, slice them and enjoy within a couple of days.
Or freeze the bars: Separate the bars so they don’t stick. I usually lay them into a zip-top freezer bag, leaving enough space between the bars.
Eat the bars within 3 months or so. They will be fine after that but for quality, I recommend enjoying these bars sooner than later.
To reheat: Place in a conventional or toaster oven at 350 F for 15 minutes or until the center is warm.
These Almond Butter Oat Cups are another freezer-friendly recipe you’ll want to make!
Try these other breakfast recipes
Peanut Butter Banana Breakfast Cookies
Triple Berry Hemp Oat Smoothie
Honey Nut Toasted Oat Breakfast Bites
Vegan Berry Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 2 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 ¼ cup cup nondairy milk
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries, blueberries, or cherries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl until well mixed. Let sit at least five minutes until some liquid is absorbed. Fold in the blackberries being careful not to break them up too much.
- Line a 9 x5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Pour the oat mixture into the pan. Bake 45-50 minutes until the center is set.
- Remove from the pan. Set on a cooling rack. Once cool, slice into 8 bars.
JD
Totally delicious and nourishing!
I slightly underbaked and they came out with wonderfully — less crunch and more chew texture that I just love! Topped with Greek yogurt and cinnamon 🙂
Marisa
Thanks for sharing. Yes. I love adding Greek yogurt for breakfast!
Larissa
This is awesome ! So good and easy a must add to meal
Prep
Lisa
I saw this recipe on Instagram and made it today in anticipation of giving birth any day now and knowing I would want lots of easy, freezer breakfast and snacks stashed. I doubled the recipe and used frozen cherries and raspberries plus oat milk. Just tasted a bar and it was delicious. Super easy, pantry-friendly and will be perfect new mom fuel because oats and flaxseed are supposed to help with breastfeeding. I know my son will love then too! Thanks for sharing.
Marisa
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Lisa! And that you are all stocked up!
Kristen
These were so good! I used the wrong pan and threw in some coconut, and not even my fumbling in the kitchen could ruin these… that’s saying something
Marisa
Yes to the coconut! It’s a nice combo! What pan did you use? Now I’m curious? 🙂
Mollie
Just made these, the bars are absolutely gorgeous and perfectly sweet. My whole family commented on how good they made our house smell while baking. Excited to pair with greek yogurt in the morning!
Marisa
I love having them with yogurt! Thanks for the feedback on the sweetness too… I often feel like I’m the only one that doesn’t like overly sweet foods.
Anna
These bars were so easy to make and are a perfect healthy snack! I didn’t have flaxseeds so subbed chia seeds and they still turned out fantastic!
Marisa
So glad you enjoyed them! And also great to know these work well with chia seeds. THank you!
Hayley
THESE. ARE. AMAZING!
I made mine with blueberries and walnuts and they are to die for! Perfect with my afternoon coffee! Today I spread a little almond butter on top…game changer. Great base recipe, I can’t wait to experiment with some different berries and seeds! Great job!
Marisa
Yes! Almond butter smear for the win!
Mary Lloyd Parks
So easy and loaded with healthy stuff I had on hand. Mine are slightly underdone, or just really moist – but holding together well. I might bake them 5 or 10 minutes longer next time. These are perfect in flavor for me – the berries shine and are not overwhelmed by too much added sweetness. Thank you!
Marisa
Glad you enjoyed the recipe, Mary. And I agree. I also don’t enjoy overly sweet foods… this one is pretty low.
Andrea T
I hate to bake but had a huge jar of thick rolled oats in my pantry. These bars made me a convert. Now I bake a batch every Sunday morning to enjoy throughout the week. Easy, scrumptious, and freezer friendly. THANK YOU
DEBORRAH PALMER
Made this last night.
I used I cup blueberries and I cup blackberries and walnuts.
Very tasty but really heavy. Can only eat a very small amount
Christina
Love these bars! These are my go to for early morning hikes because I can make them the night before, eat them at the start of the hike and they sustain me for miles. I’ve subbed 3 and 1/2 bananas for the sweetener and they taste a bit different but are just as delicious. Thank you!
Lori
Can a 8 x 8” pan be used in place of a loaf pan? What would the cooking time be?
Marisa Moore
I haven’t used an 8×8 so cannot say for sure. If I were to try it, I’d start checking around 25-30 minutes. Since these are vegan there’s no real risk with underbaking – you’re looking for them to set to easily slice them.
Kiki
I used a glass brownie pan, I think it’s 8×8. Worked fine. They are just thinner, might need to tweak the cooking time.
Kiki
I just made these and we enjoyed them! Great with frozen blueberries and also dribbled maple syrup on top before eating, yum!
We were impatient after 45 minutes, next time I’ll bake a bit longer so they get crispier. Would be great crumbled over vegan ice cream, or crisp in toaster oven then add to a bowl with milk for cereal! Thanks!
Nicole
I just made these to bring on an early morning paddle with a friend who is going vegan and cutting out refined sugars and oil. I was thrilled to find something I could make with ingredients I had on hand that we can share tomorrow. I made mine with frozen cherries and pecans and they taste great! Now I want to try more fruit/nut combos. Thanks for this!