These healthy carrot cake oatmeal bars are soft and moist. They are just 4 ingredients and don’t contain any flour, eggs, added sugar, dairy, butter or oil. The bars are easy to make and store well.
These carrot cake oatmeal bars are an easy breakfast, snack or dessert. They can also be easily customized with additional ingredients to suit your personal preferences.
Ingredients
- Carrots
- Rolled Oats
- Baking Powder
- Unsweetened Cinnamon Applesauce
Carrots: Try to choose thin, younger carrots which are more tender. You will need to peel and remove the stems of the carrots before using. You can also use baby cut carrots which are generally more tender and sweet compared to regular carrots.
Rolled Oats: These bars are made with rolled oats which are also known as old fashioned oats.
Baking powder: Baking powder is added to help the bars rise.
Unsweetened cinnamon applesauce: Unsweetened applesauce acts as a binding agent and also makes the bars soft and moist. I chose cinnamon applesauce because it already includes cinnamon which is a spice that is commonly added to carrot cake. You can also use unsweetened applesauce without any cinnamon if you don’t like cinnamon flavor or you can’t find unsweetened cinnamon applesauce. You can also use homemade applesauce.
If you enjoy other add-ins in your carrot cake like raisins, walnuts, pecans, you can add them in as well.
How to Make Carrot Cake Oatmeal Bars
- The carrots are first pulsed in a food processor until they become finely chopped.
- The rolled oats, baking powder and applesauce are then added in. Pulse in the food processor to blend everything until everything is partially blended but not completely smooth. The oats should be small but visible and there should still be flecks of small carrot pieces.
- The mixture is then transferred to your prepared baking pan and baked in the oven until cooked.
Texture and Sweetness
This is meant to be a healthy version of carrot cake oatmeal bars so there is no added sugar and the bars are only very lightly sweetened from the applsauce. You can customize to make it sweeter if you prefer by adding mix-ins like raisins or adding sugar or syrup to the batter. You can also add a sweet icing or frosting. The bars are very soft, moist and a little chewy.
Expert Tips
- You can make this with baby cut carrots or regular carrots. If using regular carrots, you will need to select thinner young carrots.
- These are meant to be simple healthy carrot cake oatmeal bars. Carrot cake often has a lot of add-ins and variations and you can customize your oatmeal bars with whatever additions you prefer.
- If you can’t find unsweetened cinnamon applesauce, you can add 1.5 teaspoons of cinnamon to unsweetened applesauce.
More Oatmeal Bar Recipes
4 Ingredient Carrot Cake Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- 6 oz (170 g) chopped carrots, peels and stems removed or baby cut carrots (see note before starting)
- 2 cups (475 g) unsweetened cinnamon applesauce
- 2 cups (176 g) old fashioned rolled oats
- 2 tsp (9 g) baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 8-inch square pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang for easy removal later.
- Add chopped or baby cut carrots to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few seconds until the carrots are finely chopped. See photo in post for refernece.
- Add the remaining ingredients and blend on high speed until the mixture is evenly combined but there’s still some texture and visible bits of carrots and oats throughout. It shouldn’t be completely smooth and the oats should be partially broken down but not fully broken down. See photo in post for reference. Scrape down the sides as needed to ensure everything is evenly incorporated.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan, spreading it out evenly with a spatula.
- Bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown, the surface is slightly puffy and has cracks throughout. When you press down on the surface, it will not completely bounce back but it also shouldn’t be mushy.
- Let the bars cool completely before slicing or serving. If desired, you can also frost the bars before serving. Store uneaten bars in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
- Carrot note: Try to choose thinner, younger carrots which will be more tender. Peel and remove stems before using. You can also use baby cut carrots which are more tender and sweet and don't require peeling.
- Applesauce note: If you can't find unsweetened cinnamon applesauce, you can add 1.5 teaspoons cinnamon to regular unsweetened applesauce. I used Whole Foods 365 unsweetened cinnamon applesauce.*
- *These product links are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
- Sweetness note: These oatmeal bars are not sweet like traditional carrot cake. They are meant to be healthy carrot cake oatmeal bars. You can add sweetness by adding sugar, honey or maple syrup to the oatmeal batter. You can also add sweet mix-ins like raisins or chocolate chips. You can also top with a sweet icing.
- If you need these to be gluten-free, make sure to use gluten-free rolled oats.
- Optional Frosting: The bars in the photos are topped with a healthier "frosting" which is actually just vanilla Greek yogurt and some maple syrup. You can substitute with a dairy-free thick yogurt if you need these to be dairy-free. The frosting adds a little sweetness and creates a creamy topping for those who want frosting on their bars but want a healthier alternative.
- 2 cups vanilla Greek yogurt
- maple syrup, if needed
- To make the frosting, add the yogurt to a medium bowl and whisk until it is smooth and creamy. If needed, you can add a little bit of maple syrup to thin it out if you need a runnier consistency. It should have a consistency similar to cream cheese frosting. Frost bars with yogurt and garnish with some finely chopped pecans if desired.
- Estimated nutrition does not include optional frosting.
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.
