These strawberry oatmeal bars pack sweet fresh strawberries between layers of buttery oat crumble for one delicious and healthy fruit recipe!
Why are these the best strawberry oatmeal bars?
- Made with pantry staple ingredients.
- Vegan and gluten free options included.
- More oatmeal crumb topping than similar recipes.
- Perfect for a healthy breakfast, snack, or light dessert.
- And they taste like traditional summer strawberry crisp, in the convenient form of a soft, wholesome snack bar!
Also try these Chocolate Oatmeal Fudge Bars
These strawberry oat bars are delicious! The recipe is quick to make and the taste is lovely – I don’t think anyone would ever know that these are healthy!
-CHRISTINe (READER Comment)
Homemade strawberry oatmeal bars
The oats give the bars a deliciously chewy texture, and the natural sweetness of the strawberries lets you use much less sugar than you’ll find in packaged breakfast bars.
Add a touch of cinnamon, and these strawberry bars are impossible to resist!
Bring them to potlucks, barbecues, book clubs, or bake sales. Pack the bars into a lunch box, or grab one on your way out the door for a quick on-the-go snack.
Another reader favorite: Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars
Step by step recipe video
Above, watch the video showing how to make the easy strawberry oatmeal bars.
Key ingredients
Oats – Go with quick oats, old fashioned rolled oats, or even instant oats. For the best chewy texture and bars that hold together, do not use steel cut oats.
If making the recipe for someone following a gluten free diet, either buy certified gluten free oats or substitute rolled quinoa flakes.
Strawberries – You can use fresh or frozen strawberries. Thaw frozen berries before use, and blot away excess water with paper towels. I do not recommend freeze dried strawberries for the filling, although you can sprinkle a handful on top if you wish.
Flour – The recipe works with whole grain spelt flour, oat flour, gluten free all purpose flour, or classic all purpose white flour. Almond flour yields crumbly (albeit tasty) results, and coconut flour should be avoided because of its dry properties.
Sugar – White sugar gives you a crispier oat topping, while brown sugar turns out softer bars. If you want added sugar free strawberry oatmeal bars, choose xylitol or granulated erythritol.
The sweetener in the strawberry filling can be any dry or liquid sweetener, including regular sugar, honey, or pure maple syrup.
Oil or butter – Sunflower, vegetable, or melted coconut oil are all good options. Butter or dairy free plant based alternatives also work.
Using salted versus unsalted butter is totally your choice, as I’ve tried both ways and the difference is imperceptible.
Other ingredients – The recipe also calls for baking powder, cornstarch or arrowroot powder, a little salt, and ground cinnamon for flavor.
How to make strawberry oatmeal bars
- Start by gathering your ingredients.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a square eight inch baking pan with parchment paper, or grease the pan very well.
- Stir the oats, flour, cinnamon, salt, sugar, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.
- Stir in the oil or butter, then very firmly press two thirds of this dough into the pan. Reserve the remaining dough.
- Mix together the berries, cornstarch, and one tablespoon sweetener, then press this on top of the mixture in the pan. Sprinkle the reserved oat dough on top, and press down firmly.
- Bake on the oven’s center rack for forty five minutes. Let cool, then refrigerate for an hour or more before cutting, during which time they will firm up considerably.
- The strawberry squares are yummy on their own, but they are even better with a drizzle of peanut butter or melted coconut butter. Or sprinkle the snack bars with powdered sugar or shredded coconut.
Feeling fancy? Top with Homemade Nutella
Frequently asked questions
Can I use jam instead of fresh berries? For strawberry oatmeal bars with jam filling, swap the cornstarch, one tablespoon of sweetener, and half of the strawberries with one cup of strawberry preserves.
How do I turn the recipe fat free and oil free? Replace the oil with an equal amount of applesauce or mashed banana. The streusel topping and crust texture will be similar to that of a fluffy muffin.
What if I want to make strawberry rhubarb bars? This is an easy variation. Simply substitute one cup of the strawberries for one cup of diced rhubarb. Or use this same option to create blueberry, raspberry, peach, apple, or blackberry flavors.
How do I double the recipe to feed a larger crowd? Just double all of the ingredients, and cook in a 9×13 inch pan. Baking time remains the same.
Are the bars low calorie? When cut into 16 squares as shown in the photos, each strawberry bar contains just 100 calories, with over two grams of protein and close to three grams of fiber.
Can I add mini chocolate chips? Of course you can! Just throw in a handful. There’s no need to measure.
Strawberry Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups quick oats or rolled oats (150g)
- 2/3 cup flour (spelt, white, or oat) (80g)
- 1/2 cup sugar or xylitol (100g)
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup oil or butter (100g)
- 2 1/2 cups diced strawberries (300g)
- 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch or arrowroot (7g)
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup or sweetener of choice (15g)
InstructionsÂ
- To make the strawberry oatmeal bars, start by preheating your oven to 350 F. Grease an eight inch baking pan or line the bottom with parchment paper. In a large bowl, stir the oats, flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Stir in the oil or melted butter, then very firmly press 2/3 of the dough into the pan. Stir berries, cornstarch, and maple syrup in a medium bowl. Spread this berry filling on top of the dough in the pan, then sprinkle the reserved dough on top. Press down very firmly again. Bake 45 minutes on the center rack. Let cool, then refrigerate until chilled, as they firm up considerably. Eat plain or drizzled with peanut butter or a dusting of powdered sugar.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
More Healthy Snack Bars
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars
I have made these three times already:
Once with strawberries;
Once with pineapple; and
in the oven right now, blueberries!
I’ve never had such a delicious crumble, it’s just AMAZING!
Thank you Katie!
Pineapple sounds amazing!
Absolutely delicious. Used maple syrup instead of sugar. Healthy ingredients but this is definitely a dessert in my books. I think I could get away with using less sugar next time.
Made one out of strawberries and one with blueberries. Both are great! Thank you for the great recipes!
Has anyone dried this with freeze dried strawberries? I have a huge bag and I wonder if they’d work!
It sounds like a fun experiment! Be sure to report back for others if you try!
I made this with pears tonight and it turned out great!
Hello from Scotland….what type of oil is use did in this recipe? Thanks Lynn 🙂
Hi, you can use canola, vegetable, or melted coconut 🙂
Would Extra light tasting olive oil work? Or possibly regular olive oil?
Sorry I haven’t ever tried it!
Hi Just made these yesterday and the texture was still very mushy after refrigerating overnight. It tastes great, but just can’t form into bars. Any ideas or tips?
They look terrific and so very easy. I usually buy frozen organic berries from costco since the fresh ones from the market are not very sweet. When I return home next week, these will be on my to make list.
The frosting in the pictures looks good. Is there a recipe for it?
I followed the recipe to a t and they arent very firm. Also not sure how you could divide them into 12-16 servings without them being bites. Tastes good though
I just made these with strawberries, but the oat/flour mixture was so dry there was no way to press it into the pan. I added 1/4 applesauce and 1/4 almond butter. Also not enough left to spread over the top so had to improvise there, too. They cooked fine and taste great. More a crumble than a bar, though.
Oh no I have to baking powder! I have baking soda though, what do I do?!
I made 2 batches of these today! Everyone loved them. I used frozen strawberries and they turned out fine. I also cooked mine a little longer than the recipe says. Made them a little more crunchy. Yummo!
I’ve made these three times now, with raspberries instead of strawberries, and they are consistently amazing! Two different people have told me that these bars are their favorite dessert. Thank you Katie!
followed the instructions, but i could barely get enough for 2/3 let alone the crumble on top. and it ended up being super salty. i used 1/4 tsp fine sea salt and then the 1/4 tsp baking powder. should i just exclude the salt altogether next time? i also used oat flour and as someone had mentioned, it was a bit crumbly. would adding 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce be too much? or 1-2 tbsp of milk?
They turned out AMAZING!!! I think I will make this every week! It didn’t last 24 hours! Congrats!
Do you think it should turn out nice with apples too?
Thanks so much!
Greetings from Cyprus!
That sounds even better!