Soft-Baked Oat Bars

 
Six years ago, Dad and I planned an epic baseball trip. I poured over the official MLB schedules in March and eventually pinpointed a week where multiple Midwestern teams all played at home. We saw 5 games in 7 days — including Tom Glavine’s historic 300^th win at Wrigley Field! — and only drove across, oh, 4 states in the process.  

With that many miles of farmland crops and counting cows, we heavily relied on gas stations for snacks to get us through the trip. While Dad seemed satisfied with a bag of peanuts or some sunflower seeds, I craved fresh fruit and lean protein. Since AMPM’s and ARCOs rarely stocked those, I often wandered around for a bit before grabbing granola bars instead.

My limited options included Nature Valley, Nutri-Grain, and Clif bars, with only a few flavors of each. (Think honey, strawberry, and chocolate chip.) At least they felt healthier than the greasy donuts and hot dogs at the check-out counter!

Since our current trip spans 3 cities and 2 days of driving, I planned ahead (just like for breakfast!) and baked my own snack bars… These healthy soft-baked oat bars, to be exact!

I made them soft and thick like some of my favorite cookies, with a subtle sweetness from honey and a slight nuttiness from whole wheat and peanut flours. They’re completely clean-eating friendly, and if my dad’s excited expression is any indication, we won’t have to stop at a single gas station this week for snacks!
 

KEY INGREDIENTS TO MAKE HEALTHY SOFT-BAKED OAT BARS

I already teased a few of them… Here are the key ingredients you’ll need to make these soft-baked oatmeal bars!

Oats. I’m sure you’ve already figured this out! For this recipe, you’ll need instant oats. They’re also called “quick cooking” and “one-minute” oats — but they’re not the kind that come in individual packets with flavors like apple cinnamon or maple brown sugar!

Instead, instant oats only contain one ingredient (oats!), just like old-fashioned rolled oats. However, they’re smaller and thinner, and that’s really important! It means they soften faster, which yields the best chewy and soft texture in your healthy soft-baked oat bars.

Flour. I already spilled the beans earlier… You’ll use whole wheat flour to make these healthy oat bars! It has more micronutrients and fiber compared to all-purpose flour. It also provides a subtle nuttiness and cozier flavor!

Tip: If you’d like to make your soft-baked oat bars gluten-free, then use certified gluten-free instant oats and see the Notes section for my gluten-free flour recommendation!

Tapioca flour. Tapioca flour creates an even softer texture in these oat bars. It traps moisture in the dough (similar to how cornstarch works in these cookies!) to yield an irresistibly soft and chewy consistency after baking. You can find it at some standard grocery stores, many health-oriented ones, and online as well!

Peanut butter. This helps bind together the ingredients and adds a hint of nuttiness in the background. Remember to use creamy peanut butter, not crunchy! (And if you’re up for making your own, I have a super quick and easy recipe!)
 

 
Powdered peanut butter. Yup, a second type of peanut butter! Powdered peanut butter is a fine dry powder with a consistency similar to cocoa powder. It’s made from partially defatted peanuts, meaning it’s much lower in fat and calories compared to regular peanut butter, so it adds a bright pop of peanut flavor while still keeping these healthy oat bars low calorie and low fat. It also gives them a big protein boost!

Hint: You can’t substitute regular peanut butter because that would throw off the ratio of wet and dry ingredients. However, powdered peanut butter is much easier to find than it used to be! Many mainstream grocery stores now stock it, and you can also buy it online.

Egg. This binds together the mixture… Just like you’d expect!

Raisins. A surprise secret ingredient! I looked at the ingredients lists of some of the store-bought granola bars I used to eat, and I noticed many of them contained raisins… Yet I could never taste, detect, or spot them. It completely puzzled me — until I figured out their secret!

You’ll blitz the raisins into a paste in a blender or food processor. That paste adds natural sweetness, and it also helps bind together the other ingredients. Kind of a neat trick, right??

Sweeteners. That’s right — plural. You need two! My family loves the combination of peanut butter and honey, but I found that the honey flavor could overwhelm the cozy peanut taste in these oat bars when I used it as the sole sweetener. To combat that, I turned to agave as the second sweetener. That yielded a lovely flavor balance — and they’re both clean eating friendly!
 

HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY SOFT-BAKED OAT BARS

Now let’s quickly cover how to make the best soft-baked oatmeal bars! They’re simple and straightforward to whip up, and I also have a handful of tips for you to ensure your batch turns out perfectly.

Hydrate the raisins. This is really easy to do! You’ll add the raisins to a microwave-safe bowl, cover them with water, and put a lid or plastic wrap on top. Pop that in the microwave, and then let them sit and soak up the water.

This hydration step makes the raisins extra plump and juicy. It also makes them easier to blitz into a paste before adding them to the batter!

Mix by hand. That’s right — skip the stand mixers and hand-held mixers! Those tend to overmix low fat and low calorie batters and doughs, like this one, which then leads to a tough, gummy, or rubbery texture. However, if you mix by hand, you’ll end up with the best soft oatmeal bars!

Bake. After pressing the dough into the pan, slide that in the oven. These bars bake relatively quickly, so don’t stray too far from the kitchen!

Cool completely. I know… It feels virtually impossible to wait — especially with their tempting aroma wafting through the house! Yet for the best chewy and soft texture in your healthy oat bars, wait all the way until they’ve reached room temperature and finished setting to slice them. I promise they’re worth the patience!
 

 
Time to eat! And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy soft-baked oat bars!

Soft-Baked Oat Bars

© Amy's Healthy Baking

Yields: 10 bars

Just like cookies can be crisp and crunchy or soft and chewy, so can oat bars! These wholesome, healthy oatmeal bars are perfect for breakfasts and snacks. They’ll keep for at least four days (if not closer to a week!) if stored in an air-tight container.

No ratings yet

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients 

• 2 tbsp (20g) raisins
• 2 tbsp (30mL) water
• ½ cup (50g) instant oats (measured like this and gluten-free if necessary)
• 1 ¼ cups (150g) whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
• ½ cup (52g) powdered peanut butter (see Notes!)
• 2 tbsp (15g) tapioca flour (see Notes!)
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ⅛ tsp salt
• 1 large egg white
• ¼ cup (60mL) agave
• 2 tbsp (30mL) honey
• 1 tbsp (16g) creamy peanut butter

Instructions

• Combine the raisins and water in a microwave-safe bowl, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave on HIGH for 45 seconds. Let the raisins sit for at least 30 minutes to continue soaking up the liquid.
• Preheat the oven to 300°F, and coat an 8”-square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• Add the raisins and remaining water to a food processor or blender, and pulse until fairly smooth. (There may be a few larger chunks remaining; that’s okay!)
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats and next 5 ingredients (through salt). In a separate bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy. Stir in the puréed raisins, agave, honey, and creamy peanut butter until smooth. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet in 3 parts, stirring after each addition until just incorporated.
• Press the dough into the prepared pan. Bake at 300°F for 17-20 minutes, or until the edges just begin to turn golden. Cool completely to room temperature before slicing into 10 bars.

Notes

IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It’s extremely important to measure the oats and flours correctly using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Too much of either will dry out the bars and leave them cakey, bready, or dry, instead of soft and chewy.

 

IMPORTANT PAN SIZE NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Pan dimensions are measured along their top rims, not their bottom sides. Some square baking dishes have sloped sides, so they’re 9” across the top and closer to 8” across the bottom. If that’s true for your baking dish, it’s actually a 9”-square pan and too big for this recipe. Because it has a larger surface area (81 in²), your bars would turn out really thin, barely hold together, and be prone to overbaking.

 

OATS NOTES + ALTERNATIVE: Instant oats are also known as “quick cooking” or “one-minute” oats. They come in large canisters, just like old-fashioned oats. They are not the ones in the small flavored packets of oatmeal.

 

In a pinch, to make your own, add the same amount of old-fashioned rolled oats to a food processor, and pulse 10-12 times or until the oats are about ¼ to ⅛ of their original size.

 

FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the whole wheat flour. Oat flour (gluten-free if needed) may also be substituted, but be very careful when measuring it because it tends to be more absorbent than wheat-based flours!

 

POWDERED PEANUT BUTTER NOTE: Powdered peanut butter is made from partially defatted peanuts. This means it’s lower fat, lower calorie, and higher protein compared to regular peanut butter or finely ground peanuts. (It kind of looks like tan cornstarch and has a similar ultra-fine, almost dusty texture.)

 

If you can find powdered peanut butter that contains nothing except peanuts (or peanuts and salt), that’s my top recommendation (such as PBfit Pure Peanut, PB2 Pure Peanut Butter Powder, or Crazy Richard’s 100% All Natural Peanut Powder).

 

I know it’s not always easy to locate, so more widely available products like PB2 Original or PBfit Original are decent second choices.

 

I don’t recommend making your own peanut flour or substituting almond flour. They don’t have the same powdery texture, so the mixture won’t have the same consistency.

 

TAPIOCA FLOUR NOTE + ALTERNATIVE: The tapioca flour (also called tapioca starch — they’re the same thing!) helps keep the bars soft. You can substitute 1 tablespoon of cornstarch for the 2 tablespoons of tapioca flour, if you prefer.

 

SWEETENER NOTES + ALTERNATIVES: Pure maple syrup or agave may be substituted for the honey. Pure maple syrup may also be substituted for the agave. I don't recommend substituting honey for the agave; when using honey as the sole sweetener, the honey flavor can overwhelm the peanut flavor.

 

I generally don't recommend substituting sugar-free maple syrup. It's often water-based, which makes your oat bars turn out more cakey or bready.

 

CREAMY PEANUT BUTTER + ALTERNATIVES: This is my homemade creamy peanut butter recipe. You just need 5 minutes to make it! Do not substitute crunchy peanut butter.

 

GLUTEN-FREE VERSION: Use certified gluten-free instant oats (like these). For the gluten-free flour, use the following: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, ½ cup (60g) tapioca flour, ¼ cup (30g) brown rice flour, and ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends (I like this one from Bob's Red Mill) will also work, if measured like this.

 

VEGAN OPTION: For a vegan version, substitute pure maple syrup or agave for the honey. Substitute ½ tablespoon Ener-G + 2 tablespoons warm water for the egg white.

 

HOW TO STORE: Store leftover oat bars in an airtight container. They should keep for at least four days. (If refrigerated, they’ll keep longer!) These oat bars also freeze really well!

 

{gluten-free, dairy-free, clean eating, low fat, vegan option}

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.

View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
 
 
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡  Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
♡  Almond Butter Oatmeal Bars
♡  Brownie & Oat Snack Bars
♡  Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Protein Bars
♡  Peanut Butter Protein Balls
♡  Peanut Butter Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡  …and the rest of Amy’s healthy breakfast recipes and healthy snack recipes!