These healthier blueberry oatmeal bars are soft, chewy and bursting with blueberry flavor. The oatmeal bars need just 4 ingredients. They don’t contain any flour, eggs, dairy, refined sugar, butter or oil. They are a healthier breakfast, snack or dessert.
A stack of four blueberry oatmeal bars

These oatmeal bars are an easy treat. They work great for back to school, on-the-go, or just whenever you need a quick snack. You can make a large batch and keep them in the fridge or freezer. These bars are like healthier blueberry pie bars. The outside is soft and chewy oats and the center is a thickened blueberry puree that tastes similar to blueberry pie filling.

Ingredients

  • Blueberries
  • Quick oats
  • Bananas
  • Maple syrup

Blueberries: Fresh blueberries are made into an easy puree by simply blending them in a small blender. Blueberries naturally contain pectin so the puree will thicken on its own without the need for additional thickeners. When the puree is baked, it becomes almost jam-like and has a similar consistency to blueberry pie filling.

Quick oats: This recipe works best with quick oats which bind better than rolled oats. I tested this with rolled oats and the bars fell apart a little when cutting them. Quick oats are rolled oats that are thinner and smaller.

Bananas: Mashed bananas are used to naturally sweeten the oatmeal bars and to act as a binder. You can substitute with applesauce. You may need to add a little more syrup if you use applesauce since applesauce is not as sweet as bananas.

Maple syrup: A little maple syrup is added to help bind and sweeten the oats. I found that just bananas not quite sweet enough for me. But if you are looking to keep these low sugar, you can leave out the maple syrup.

How to Make Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

  • The quick oats, bananas and maple syrup are mixed together until evenly combined.
  • Divide the mixture in half. Take half of the mixture and press it across the bottom of your prepared pan.
  • Add the blueberries to a small blender and blend until it becomes liquid. Pour the liquid over the oatmeal mixture. The liquid should be thick enough that it should mostly stay on top of the oats.The steps to make blueberry oatmeal bars
  • Take the remaining half of the oat mixure and press it thinly on a sheet of parchment paper until it is the same dimensions as your baking pan. Use a thin cookie spatula to lift the pressed oat mixture and transfer it to lay on top of the blueberry puree. It’s okay if it breaks a little as you are transferring. You can gently press it together again once you have the oat mixture on top and mostly covering the blueberry puree.
  • Bake for about 30 minutes or until the surface is turning golden brown and is no longer wet. Allow the bars to cool fully before cutting and serving.

Texture

The oatmeal part of the bars are soft, chewy and lightly sweet. The center is a jammy blueberry puree.
The jammy blueberry puree inside a blueberry oatmeal bar

Expert Tips

  • Don’t blend the blueberries until right before you need to use them. If you blend them too early, the puree will thicken too much as it sits, making it difficult to spread across the pan.
  • These blueberry bars are only very lightly sweetened. If you prefer sweeter, you can add more maple syrup or other sweetener.

A bite taken from a blueberry oatmeal bar

More Oatmeal Bar Recipes

5 from 12 votes

4 Ingredient Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

These oatmeal bars are soft and chewy with a blueberry pie-like center. They are a healthier snack, breakfast or dessert. They are just 4 ingredients and don't contain any flour, eggs, refined sugar, dairy, butter or oil.
Servings: 12 bars
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
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Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups (274g) mashed very ripe bananas
  • 2 1/2 cups (214g) quick oats
  • 2 tbsp (1fl oz/30ml) maple syrup, or more as needed to taste
  • 1 1/4 cups (171g) fresh blueberries

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line an 8 inch by 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang for easy removal later.
  • Add mashed bananas, quick oats and maple syrup to a large mixing bowl. Mix with a spatula until everything is evenly combined. You can taste and add more maple syrup if desired. Your mixture should be thick and moist but not too wet or runny. You should be able to shape the mixture with your hands. If your mixture is too wet, you can add a little more oats. If it's too dry, you can add a little more mashed banana.
  • Divide the oat mixture in half. Add one half of it to your prepared baking pan and use your hands to spread and press it evenly across the bottom of your pan. The mixture will be thin, but you should have enough to cover the entire bottom surface.
  • Add blueberries to a small high powered blender. Blend until the blueberries become a thick liquid. It's okay if there are specks of blueberry skin, but there should not be any blueberry pieces left. Carefully pour the blueberry puree over the oat mixture. It should be thick enough that it sits on top. Use a spatula to spread it evenly across the surface of the oats. It's important to wait until right before you are about to use the puree to make it. The puree thickens a lot when it sits out and will be difficult to spread if you make it ahead of time.
  • Place the remaining half of the oat mixture on a sheet of parchment paper. Measure the interior dimensions of your baking pan. Even if you are using an 8 x 8 inch pan, it may measure a little less than 8 x 8 inches inside. Use your hands to shape, press and spread your mixture into a thin square on the parchment paper, with the same dimensions of the inside of your baking pan. This will be the oat crust placed on top of your blueberry puree. Use a thin cookie spatula to loosen and lift the oat mixture off of the parchment paper. It's okay if the oat crust breaks as you start to remove it from the parchment paper--you won't be able to lift it all in one piece without it breaking but with the help of a spatula you should be able to lift large pieces of it. It will be like a puzzle that you need to put back together. Gently place the oat mixture crust pieces on top of the blueberry puree. Once all of the oat crust is on, you can gently press together any cracks or breaks. Just don't press too hard because that will squeeze up the blueberry puree. You should have a fairly even covering of oat crust over the blueberry puree.
  • Bake for about 30 minutes or until the oats on the surface are golden brown. The surface of the bars should look dry and cooked. Let bars cool fully before removing them from the pan and cutting and serving. The bars are easier to cut when fully cooled. Store uneaten bars in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

Notes

  • Sweetness note: These bars are only very lightly sweetened. You can add more maple syrup or sugar to taste.
  • Banana note: Make sure to finely mash the bananas until very few lumps remain. I recommend using a whisk instead of a fork to mash. Measure out 1.25 cups after the bananas are mashed. You will need around 3 large or slightly more than 3 large bananas.
  • If your blueberries are not sweet, you can also add some sugar to the mixture before blending. It's best to blend in a small high powered blender. I used my Nutribullet* which works really well for blending small portions without needing to add any liquid. If you don't have a small blender, you can mash the berries a little to release the juices before adding them to the blender to help the blender blend them.
  • Make sure to use quick oats and not rolled oats. Rolled oats don't bind as well and they fall apart a little when you cut into the bars. I used Happy Belly Quick Oats*
  • *These product links are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Serving: 1bar, Calories: 100kcal, Carbohydrates: 21g, Protein: 0.4g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 0.3g, Sodium: 0.4mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 6g, NET CARBS: 18
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. This is not a comprehensive list of all the nutrients in the recipe (i.e., does not include vitamins, cholesterol, etc). I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
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