Baked Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

By Samantha Seneviratne

Published Jan. 29, 2025

Baked Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
40 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Rating
4(644)
Comments
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Perfect for breakfast, these bars feel like cake but taste like a granola bar in the best way. They are light but substantial. Instead of old-fashioned rolled oats, these bars call for quick-cooking oats and a little bit of all-purpose flour. Rolled oats don’t soften enough in a quick bread but quick-cooking oats bake up soft and fluffy. Delicately flavored with cinnamon and a bit of applesauce, they are simple but satisfying and easily dressed up. Try adding up to 1½ cups of mix-ins like chocolate, shredded coconut or dried fruit, or a combination. Leftover slices are delicious toasted in a skillet with butter and sprinkled with flaky sea salt.

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Ingredients

Yield:16 bars
  • 1 cup/240 milliliters plain whole-milk yogurt
  • ¾cup/165 grams packed brown sugar
  • ½cup/120 milliliters unsweetened applesauce
  • 2 large eggs
  •  2 tablespoons grapeseed or canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1¾ cups/161 grams cups quick-cooking oats
  • 1cup/128 grams all-purpose flour
  • 2teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (16 servings)

146 calories; 4 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 25 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 12 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 141 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two opposite sides.

  2. Step 2

    In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, brown sugar, applesauce, eggs, oil and vanilla. Add the oats, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Fold by dragging a large flexible spatula under and over the mixture, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as you go, until no dry streaks are visible. Transfer batter to the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 27 to 30 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Transfer to a rack to fully cool. Once cool, using a paring knife, separate the two edges without parchment from the pan. Then using the parchment overhang, lift out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 16 pieces with a serrated knife.

Tip
  • Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. To reheat, wrap in foil (no need to thaw if frozen) and bake at 325 degrees until warm, about 10 minutes (longer if frozen).

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Ratings

4 out of 5
644 user ratings
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Comments

LAZ

If you soak the old-fashioned oats in the yogurt and applesauce overnight, they work too.

Erin

If you have rolled oats, you can blitz them in a food processor or blender to create quick cooking oats.

AKG

Just like granola, these make it easy to sub in other spices, add nuts or seeds, throw in some coconut, etc. As for the many comments on the sugar content and the fact that these bars are “just cake”: pretty much 100% of muffins are actually “just cake,” dressed down. So too are many types of banana bread, zucchini bread, and many other things some people choose to routinely eat for breakfast. If that’s not what you want for breakfast, maybe don’t eat it.

Mx

Without spices and extra mixins like dried fruit, nuts or seeds, the bars are dull. They resemble Kind soft breakfast bars if you bake them in a larger pan so they are thinner. If you have to rely on food pantries, this recipe is a good way to utilize the bags of quick cooking oatmeal they give out. None of the other ingredients are expensive but that's relative.

Sean

I only had steel-cut, so I pre-cooked them to soften. I also didn't have applesauce and substituted raw sugar for brown sugar. Still, these are delicious to me. I would probably try with some chocolate chips as a way to entice my kids.

VA

Made as written with just a smidge more spice. Loved the texture, but it didn’t wow me, so four stars it is.

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