These healthy oatmeal bars are crispy and easy to make. They only need 3 ingredients and they don’t contain any flour, eggs, refined sugar, butter or oil. They only take 5 minutes to prepare. The oatmeal bars also store well.
My latest snack are these crispy oatmeal bars. I love that they have a delicate crispy texture and aren’t too hard or crunchy. They make a great snack or dessert.
Ingredients
- Oats
- Peanut or Almond Butter
- Maple Syrup
Oats: This recipe uses quick oats which are further pulsed in a food processor until they become even smaller pieces. The small pieces crisp up better and are the key to having light crispy oatmeal bars.
Peanut butter or Almond butter: Make sure to use peanut butter or almond butter with no added oils. The only ingredients should be peanuts/almonds and salt. The recipe will not turn out with peanut butter or almond butter with added oils.
Maple syrup: The oatmeal bars are lightly sweetened with maple syrup. Maple syrup also helps the bars crisp up. I don’t recommend using honey as a substitute. I found that honey did not crisp up the bars enough and caused them to be more crumbly.
How to Make Crispy Oatmeal Bars
- The oats are first pulsed through a food processor until they become the size of small crumbs and some of the oats start to resemble oat flour.
- The oat mixture is then transferred to a large mixing bowl. Peanut butter/almond butter and maple syrup are added. Stir until a thick dough forms.
- Transfer the oat mixture to your prepared baking pan, pressing and spreading it until it is evenly spread out across the pan.
- Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown and done.
Oatmeal Bars Texture
These oatmeal bars have a light crispy texture. They are not super firm and crunchy. When you bite in, they do get a little crumbly because of the thin layers of crispy oats.
Expert Tips
- You can make the bars thinner by using a bigger pan which will make the bars even crispier and slightly less crumbly.
- Make sure to use peanut butter/almond butter with no added oils. The bars will not crisp up if you use peanut butter/almond butter with added oils.
- The bars are very lightly sweetened since they are meant to be healthy oatmeal bars. If you prefer sweeter bars you can add a few more tablespoons of maple syrup.
More Oatmeal Bar Recipes
- 3 Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Bars
- 3 Ingredient Healthy Oatmeal Bars
- 3 Ingredient Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal Bars
3 Ingredient Healthy Crispy Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups (212 g) quick oats
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp (288 g) natural peanut butter with no added oils or natural almond butter with no added oils
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp (4.5 fl oz/133 ml) maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line an 8 x 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang for easy removal later.
- Add quick oats to a food processor. Pulse oats until they become very small and fine and start to partially become flour consistency. See photo in post for reference. I pulsed mine on high for about 25-30 seconds. You should hear a change in the sound of the oats when they are almost ready. It will change from a lot of clanging to becoming much more quiet.
- Transfer the oats to a large mixing bowl. Add in the peanut butter and maple syrup (making sure to scrape the sides of your maple syrup measuring spoon/cup to get all of the syrup to release into the mixing bowl) and stir with a spatula until a thick dough forms.
- Transfer the mixture into your prepared pan. Use your fingers, a spatula or a metal spoon to press and spread the dough evenly across the pan. Use the back of a metal spoon to smooth and even out the surface.
- Bake bars for about 25-30 minutes or until the edges are medium brown and the surface is golden brown The longer the bars cook, the crispier they will be. Let bars cool completely before cutting. Use a large sharp knife to cut the bars. To help achieve smoother cuts, I recommend moving the knife back and forth in a sawing motion as you cut rather than just pressing down with the knife. Just pressing down with the knife will cause the bars to break before the knife cuts all the way through. If you use a more gentle sawing motion, you should be able to cut with the knife all the way to the bottom of the bars. Uneaten bars should be stored in an airtight container and can be kept at room temperature for 1-2 days and longer in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
- These bars have a light, delicate, crispy texture. They are not hard/firm/crunchy. The bars are also a little crumbly once you bite in because of the delicate crispy layers.
- The bars are lightly sweet. If you prefer sweeter, you can add a few more tablespoons of maple syrup. I don't recommend using honey. The bars don't crisp up well with honey and the bars are more crumbly when made with honey.
- I made my bars thick, but you can also bake them in a larger pan for thinner bars, which will also be slightly less crumbly and slightly more crispy.
- I used Happy Belly Quick Oats*, Kirkland Organic Peanut Butter (Amazon | Costco)*, and Maple Grove Farms pure maple syrup (Amazon | Walmart)* to make these bars.
- *These product links are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Did not hold together even with more peanut butter and honey
Are you using honey or maple syrup? We specifically don’t recommend honey being used in this recipe because it does cause the bars to be more crumbly and not crisp up or hold together.
Excellent share, thanx.
We’re so glad you enjoy this recipe!
That will be a nice treat
Yes! They are a great treat!
Yes yum
Thank you!
they were great thank you
We’re so glad you liked this recipe!