Vegan Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

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Trade in your cereal for these delicious vegan oatmeal breakfast bars made with toasty nuts, dried fruit and peanut butter. Makes a great make ahead breakfast to go or midday healthy snack for the entire family.

vegan oatmeal breakfast bars

Vegan Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

If you find yourself pressed for time in the morning and need a nutritions breakfast to go, these oatmeal bars are here to save the day. A family favorite for the busy days when you just don’t have the time for a tofu scramble, or forgot to meal prep for that walnut pate or roasted veggie spread. Naturally gluten free, dairy free and ready in no time.

oatmeal bars with nuts and dried fruit

Ingredients Notes

  • Quick Oats – basically rolled oats that are partially cooked by steaming and rolled thinner than old-fashioned oats, however they can be used interchangeably in this recipe. The old-fashioned ones tend to be chewier which is actually quite nice in this case.
  • Walnuts – Probably the healthiest nut on the planet, supernatural brain food really, make sure to bring out their nuttiness by quickly toasting them in a dry skillet for a few minutes. They can be mixed with other nuts and seeds depending on what’s in the pantry. I threw some salted roasted pistachios in my mix just because I had some, but most times I go all walNuts!
  • Dried Fruit –  So many delicious ones to choose from, I used golden berries this time but I’m forever changing things up with dried cranberries, figs, apricots and even mulberries. But are they good for you? Learn more from Dr.Gregger on NutritionFacts.org
  • Peanut Butter – Make sure that you go for peanut butter not peanut spread as the latter has tons of oil added to it. I’m partial to a crunchy dark roast but use whatever you prefer. Alternatively you could use hazelnut or almond butter instead, for a nut free option use tahini or sunflower seed butter.

homemade oat bars

  • Banana + Apple Sauce – This is your binder, no eggs needed! Easy, clean and delicious, you’ll need about one cup of mashed banana or so, I just used two regular size bananas and call it a day.
  • Sweetener – Brown sugar is always so delicious but if you want a WFPB complaint option just use maple or date syrup and if available vegan honey. It’s a small amount so I’m okay with whatever I have handy.
  • Plant Milk – Whichever you want to use here is fine, honestly even water works in a pinch. I always have a bottle of homemade cashew milk in the fridge so it goes in everything from my iced coffee to oatmeal, cereal and savory recipes.
  • Cinnamon – because what smells better in baked goods than cinnamon?! A little pinch of nutmeg and vanilla extract is also nice but it’s ok to skip if you don’t have it.

Recipe Tips

  • Storage – Slice your oatmeal bars into desired sizes and individually wrap them in parchment paper before storing in the fridge for up to a week or so. They can also be frozen for up to four months and defrosted on the kitchen counter for about an hour.
  • Variation – If chocolate is your muse feel free to swap the nuts or the dried fruit for vegan chocolate chips. Candied pecans make such a decadent treat as well.
  • Nut Free Adaptation – Swap the peanut butter for sesame or sunflower butter, replace the nuts with more dried fruit, hemp seeds or sunflower seeds.

homemade oat bars

Vegan Breakfast Recipes

how to make vegan oatmeal breakfast bars

vegan breakfast bars

oatmeal bars

Vegan Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

Trade in your cereal for these delicious vegan oatmeal breakfast bars made with toasty nuts, dried fruit and peanut butter. Makes a great make ahead breakfast to go or midday healthy snack for the entire family.
Print Recipe
Prep Time:10 minutes
Cook Time:25 minutes
cooling:1 hour
Total Time:1 hour 35 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 350”F.
  • In a large bowl mash the bananas and combine with the apple sauce, vanilla, peanut butter, sweetener, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
    1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter, 1//4 cup apple sauce, 4 Tbsp maple syrup, 2 bananas, 1.5 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg, 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
  • Add the cashew milk, oats, nuts, dried fruit and baking powder. Mix all the ingredients until combined and a thick mixture is formed.
    2.5 cups quick oats, 1 cup toasted walnuts, 1/2 cup dried fruit, 1/2 cup cashew milk, 1 tsp baking powder
  • Line a 9 inch square baking dish with parchment paper. (Leave a couple of inches of overhang to the sides to serve as handles).
  • Transfer the oatmeal bar mixture to the baking pan and using a spatula spread it out and flatten the top.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until set in the center. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to completely cool before slicing. (If slicing seems messy just refrigerate for about an hour and you should be good to go).
    homemade oat bars

Notes

  • Storage - Slice your oatmeal bars into desired sizes and individually wrap them in parchment paper before storing in the fridge for up to a week or so. They can also be frozen for up to four months and defrosted on the kitchen counter for about an hour.
  • Variation - If chocolate is your muse feel free to swap the nuts or the dried fruit for vegan chocolate chips. Candied pecans make such a decadent treat as well.
  • Nut Free Adaptation - Swap the peanut butter for sesame or sunflower butter, replace the nuts with more dried fruit, hemp seeds or sunflower seeds.

Nutrition

Calories: 231kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 152mg | Potassium: 295mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 15IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Keyword: oatmeal bars, vegan breakfast bars
Servings: 12 bars
Calories: 231kcal
Author: Florentina

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