These healthier lemon oatmeal bars are soft and chewy. They only need 4 ingredients and don’t contain flour, eggs, refined sugar, butter or oil. The bars store well and can easily be customized.
A stack of four Lemon Oatmeal Bars

These oatmeal bars make a nice breakfast, snack or dessert. They are soft, chewy with a light lemon flavor and they are lightly sweet. You can also easily customize them by adding mix-ins or a sweet frosting on top.

Ingredients

  • Rolled oats
  • Lemon
  • Dates
  • Milk

Rolled oats: This recipe uses rolled oats also known as old fashioned oats. The recipe works best with rolled oats because rolled oats will absorb the liquid from the batter much better.

Lemon: Lemon juice and zest are used to give the lemon bars their lemon flavor.

Dates: The oatmeal bars are naturally sweetened with dates. The dates will need to be softened and blended. This recipe works best with Medjool dates which have more soft flesh and are easier to blend smooth.

Milk: Milk adds a little fat and moisture to the oatmeal bars. I recommend using whole milk. You can likely substitute with milk alternatives like coconut milk or almond milk.

How to Make Lemon Oatmeal Bars

  • The dates are first soaked in warm milk until softened. The milk and dates are then blended together until you have a smooth puree with only small flecks of date skin visible.
  • Add the date mixture, lemon juice, lemon zest, and remaining milk together. Then stir in the oats until evenly combined. Allow the mixture to sit for about 5 minutes, which will allow the oats to absorb most of the liquid from the batter.Steps to make the mixture for Lemon Oatmeal Bars
  • Transfer the batter to your prepared baking pan. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the top and sides are golden brown.
  • Let the oatmeal bars cool before cutting and serving. If desired you can also add a frosting on top. I added vanilla Greek yogurt and some fresh lemon zest for my frosting to keep them healthier.

Lemon Oatmeal Bars with frosting and lemon zest on top

Expert Tips

  • These are meant to be healthier oatmeal bars so they won’t taste as rich or sweet as regular oatmeal bars. They are only lightly sweet and the texture is like soft baked oatmeal.
  • You can add mix-ins like chocolate chips, dried fruit or chopped nuts.
  • If you prefer a sweeter oatmeal bar, you can add sugar to the batter or add a sweet frosting on top.
  • If you want the oatmeal bars to be less sweet, you can reduce the dates amount to 3/4 cup.

Lemon Oatmeal Bars cut into squares

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5 from 7 votes

4 Ingredient Lemon Oatmeal Bars

These healthier lemon oatmeal bars need just 4 ingredients. No flour, eggs, added sugar, butter or oil. They are easy to make and customize.
Servings: 12 bars
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
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Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups (10 fl oz/296 ml ) whole milk, divided
  • 1 cup (141g) pitted and halved Medjool dates, cup measurement is after dates are pitted and halved
  • 2 tbsp (1 fl oz/30ml) lemon juice + 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 2 cups (186g) rolled oats

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line an 8 inch by 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
  • Heat 1 cup of milk in microwave or on the stove until hot but not boiling. Add it to a small mixing bowl and add in the pitted date halves and let them soak for about 15 minutes until they are very soft. Add dates and the soaking milk into a small food processor or blender and blend until you have a thin smooth puree and there are only very small flecks of date skin visible. Your mixture will be very liquidy. This is normal. Transfer the puree to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the remaining milk into the puree. Stir in the lemon juice and zest. Add in the oats and mix with a spatula until the oats are evenly incorporated. Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes. During this time, the oats should absorb most of the liquid from the batter.
  • Transfer your batter to your prepared baking pan. Smooth the surface with a spatula. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until surface is light golden brown and the bars are cooked through. When you apply light pressure on the surface, it should not completely sink in but should bounce back slightly. Let bars cool fully before cutting and serving. You can also add frosting on top before serving. Store uneaten bars in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

Notes

  • Please note these are meant to be healthier oatmeal bars so they are not as rich and sweet as typical oatmeal bars. They taste like lemon flavored soft baked oats and are lightly sweet. You can add more richness or sweetness with other mix-ins.
  • Dates note: This recipe works best with Medjool dates which have a softer flesh. The gram measurement and cup measurement are for after the dates have been pitted and halved. Don't measure the dates with a cup while the dates are whole because you won't be able to fit as many whole dates compared to halved pitted dates.
  • If you want to reduce the sugar in this recipe, you can use 3/4 cup of dates instead of 1 cup and it will still work.
  • I used Joolies Medjool Dates.*
  • *These product links are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
  • This recipe works best with whole milk rather than low fat or fat free milk because whole milk adds a little fat and richness to the bars. You can likely use a dairy free milk alternative such as coconut milk or almond milk but I did not test the recipe with dairy free milk alternatives.
  • Frosting note: You can use whatever you favorite frosting is. To keep the bars healthier, I just topped them with sweetened vanilla Greek yogurt and some lemon zest. You can also top with lemon flavored Greek yogurt for even more lemon flavor.
Serving: 1bar, Calories: 98kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 0.5g, Sodium: 9mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 9g, NET CARBS: 17
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.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review below!