These healthy apple oatmeal bars are quick to whip up and are great to serve for breakfast or a snack! They are soft textured and perfect for little hands to hold!
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Granola bars can get pretty pricey and many of the ones on the market contain several unnecessary ingredients and a ton of sugar. These apple oatmeal bars are made with simple everyday ingredients that you likely have on hand and are packed with healthy fats!
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What You'll Need
Here is what you'll need to make these healthy apple oatmeal bars:
- Apples: The main star of the show in these bars! I like to use a naturally sweet apple like Honeycrisp or Fuji apples for the best sweetness.
- Applesauce: For more added natural apple flavor. Use an unsweetened, natural applesauce.
- Peanut Butter: For added healthy fats and flavor. Use an all natural peanut butter that doesn't contain added ingredients or sugar.
- Rolled Oats: I use equal parts whole rolled oats and oat flour. You can make your own oat flour by grinding up rolled oats into a flour like texture. Gluten-free rolled oats make these bars gluten-free.
- Maple Syrup: For added sweetness to the bars.
- Cinnamon: Provides an extra warm spice and subtle sweetness.
- Baking Powder: Leavening agent to help the bars rise.
Step By Step Instructions
- Combine the rolled oats, oat flour, cinnamon and baking powder in a bowl until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the applesauce, peanut butter and maple syrup until smooth. Grate the apple using a box/cheese grater.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients along with the grated apples. Mix until combined.
- Press this mixture into a parchment paper lined pan loaf pan. Use a spatula to flatten and evenly smooth out the top.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.
- Allow it to cool completely before slicing into bars.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Peanut butter: The peanut butter may be replaced with any nut butter, seed-based butter, or granola butter.
- Maple Syrup: The maple syrup may be replaced with honey (if you are serving the bars to little ones over the age of 1). If you prefer not to add any sweetener, you can omit the maple syrup, but be mindful that the bars will not be as sweet. If you are omitting maple syrup, add an extra 1 to 2 tablespoons of applesauce to make up for the loss of moisture.
Storage Instructions
Once cooled, slice into bars and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4-5 days. To freeze, store in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag for up to 3 months.
Recipe Notes
- Use all natural peanut butter with peanuts listed as the ingredient. I highly suggest drizzling the top of the bars with some peanut butter for added flavor.
- Use naturally sweet apples (like Honeycrisp or Fuji apples) for the best flavor and added sweetness to the bars.
- I used a 9 by 5 loaf pan for this recipe, but you may use an 8 by 8 brownie pan for a thinner bar. Alternatively, you can use these silicone mini bar molds.
- The combination of oats and oat flour help the bars bind together better. If you do not have oat flour, just blend rolled oats into a flour like consistency!
Frequently Asked Questions
These bars are soft-textured and perfect for little ones to bite and chew. They are not crunchy like a typical granola bar.
Yes! The maple syrup is for added sweetness but can be omitted as the bars will still have some natural sweetness from the applesauce and grated apples. If you are omitting maple syrup, add an extra 1 to 2 tablespoons of applesauce to make up for the loss of moisture.
Here are some other bar and snack recipes you may like!
📖 Recipe
Healthy Apple Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup rolled oats
- ½ cup oat flour
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ cup grated apples about 1 medium or half of 1 large apple
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
- Combine the rolled oats, oat flour, cinnamon and baking powder in a bowl until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the applesauce, peanut butter and maple syrup until smooth. Grate the apple using the largest hole of a box/cheese grater.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients along with the grated apples. Mix until combined.
- Press this mixture into a parchment paper lined pan loaf pan. Use a spatula to flatten and evenly smooth out the top.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.
- Allow it to cool completely before slicing into bars.
Notes
-
- Use all-natural peanut butter with peanuts listed as the ingredient. I highly suggest drizzling the top of the bars with some peanut butter for added flavor.
- Use naturally sweet apples (like Honeycrisp or Fuji apples) for the best flavor and added sweetness to the bars.
- I used a 9 by 5 loaf pan for this recipe, but you may use an 8 by 8 brownie pan for a thinner bar. Alternatively, you can use these silicone mini bar molds.
- The combination of oats and oat flour help the bars bind together better. If you do not have oat flour, just blend rolled oats into a flour-like consistency!
Nutrition
Hi, these look great. Can I use normal porridge oats instead of rolled oats?
Hi Hik! I believe porridge oats are the same as old fashioned rolled oats😊
hi could this recipe be used to make my bird cake i have lots of apples we throw away every fall i used to mixe lard to hold every thing together but could the apple sauce replace the fat ingredient to bind every ting the ingredient are similar oat,corn,seed,flower i make 80 cake twice in winter i freeze my 2 pound container i do not cook give me your input thank you
So good!! Followed the recipe to a T and they were great. After freezing them, how do you recommend thawing them?
I’m so glad that you liked them! You can either microwave for a few seconds or you can thaw them in the fridge or counter overnight! I usually microwave for a quicker thaw and let them cool before serving😊
These are so great! My 16 month old loves them she asked for more! Im having a hard time finding snacks she enjoys definitely a thumbs up! I just left the peanut butter out because she can’t have nuts, still great!
I'm so happy to hear that your little one loved these and that they still turned out well without the peanut butter!😊
Yum!!!
These were really quick and easy. My 18 month old also loved them! Win for mama and win for baby! 🙌
I'm so happy to hear that you both enjoyed them! Thanks for sharing your great feedback, Katlin!😊
Can these be frozen?
Yes, they can! Once cooled, slice into bars and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4-5 days. To freeze, store in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag for up to 3 months.
Can you omit the maple syrup?
Hi! Yes you can definitely omit the maple syrup, they will just be less sweet but will still get natural sweetness from the applesauce and grated apples😊
When not using oat flour, do we still use 1/2 C of oats or do we do a cup?
Hi Trina! Yes, you can use 1 cup of oats but I would recommend taking 1/2 cup of oats, blending it into a flour, and then combining it with the rolled oats to get the same texture of the bars!
I just made these today for my 16-month old & they are already a favorite. The batter smells so good even before baking! The bars are the perfect size for snacks. I will definitely be making these again.
I’m so happy to hear that your little one enjoyed these bars! Thanks for sharing your feedback, Sophia!😊
I want to try this out for my 11month old. He can eat peanut butter but his 5 year old brother can’t. Can I substitute with almond butter instead so both of them can enjoy it?
Hi, yes you can definitely use almond butter instead of peanut butter! I hope that your boys like them!😊
Hi! How do you make the peanut butter drizzle?
Hi Celia! The peanut butter in these bars is just natural peanut butter (the kind with only peanuts and salt listed as the ingredients). Those variations tend to be more runny in texture and I usually drizzle it on top with a ziploc bag with corner tip cut off!😊
Thank you! Made this today and my toddler and I devoured it! Thanks for another delicious easy recipe!
I'm so happy to hear that!! Thank you for sharing!😊
These are perfect. So delicious, healthy, easy, literally amazing perfection.
Thank you for sharing your great feedback, Michelle! I’m so happy that you love them!😊
Hi! Is it alright to sub applesauce with butter?
Hi! I haven’t tested out replacing applesauce with butter but the applesauce also provides main flavor for these apple bars so I wouldn’t suggest that substitution to retain the same taste. Hope that helps!
Is it ok to use another type of flour?
Hi! I’ve only tested out these bars with rolled oats, so I’m not sure how they would turn out using a different type of flour but the combination of rolled oats and oat flour do help with the overall texture of the bar!
Hi! I made these this morning using regular white flour and they turned out great! My toddler loved them too.