These healthy cinnamon apple oatmeal bars are soft and chewy. They are just 3 ingredients and don’t contain any flour, eggs, butter or oil. They are an easy one-bowl recipe that takes only five minutes to prepare. They are great for a quick breakfast, snack or dessert.
These Fall-themed oatmeal bars have been the newest addition to my oatmeal recipe collection. They are so easy to make and can store well in the fridge or freezer.
Ingredients
- Quick Oats
- Cinnamon Applesauce
- Peanut butter or almond butter
Quick oats: This recipe works best with quick oats. I have made them with regular old fashioned oats as well but the regular oats don’t bind as well as quick oats.
Substitution: You can use rolled oats but you will need to pulse them in a food processor until they become smaller pieces like quick oats.
Cinnamon applesauce: To give these bars their cinnamon and apple flavors, I used cinnamon applesauce. I used sweetened cinnamon applesauce but you can also use unsweetened. Even with sweetened applesauce, these bars are only lightly sweetened.
Substitutions: You can use unsweetened cinnamon applesauce. If you use unsweetened, you may want to add about 2 tablespoon of sweetener like maple syrup or honey to add some more sweetness to the bars. You can also use regular applesauce and add 2 teaspoons of cinnamon to it.
Peanut butter or almond butter: Peanut butter or almond butter is used to help bind the ingredients and add some healthy fat to the oatmeal bars. Make sure to use natural peanut butter or natural almond butter where there are no added oils. The only ingredients should be peanuts, salt or almonds. If you use peanut butter you will taste the peanut butter but the flavor is light. I prefer almond butter because I think it pairs well with apple flavor and the almond flavor is much more subtle.
Substitution: If you need a nut-free substitute, these bars should also work with natural sunflower seed butter.
How to Make Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal Bars
- The applesauce and peanut/almond butter are first mixed together until the batter is uniform. The oats are then mixed in until they are evenly incorporated.
- The mixture is then transferred to your prepared baking pan. The oat bars will only need about 15-20 minutes in the oven.
Texture and Sweetness
These oatmeal bars are soft and chewy. Because they are meant to be healthy oatmeal bars they are not that sweet. They are very lightly sweetened. If you prefer more sweetness you can add an additional 2 tablespoons of sweetener or you can add sweet mix-ins like dried fruit or chocolate chips.
More Oatmeal Bar Recipes
- 3 Ingredient Crispy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
- 3 Ingredient No Bake Chewy Oatmeal Bars
- 3 Ingredient Blueberry Oatmeal Bars
3 Ingredient Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup (252 g) sweetened cinnamon applesauce
- 6 tbsp (100 g) natural peanut butter or natural almond butter
- 2 cups (186 g) quick oats
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 applesauce and peanut butter/almond butter to a large mixing bowl. Stir until the ingredients are fully mixed and the mixture is uniform in color. Add in oats and stir until they are evenly mixed in. You can taste and adjust sweetness if needed. If adding any mix-ins, add them in now.
- Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Use a spatula to evenly spread it across the pan and smooth the surface.
- Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the bars look set and cooked. The surface should also be dry. Let bars cool fully before removing them from the pan and cutting and serving. Store uneaten bars in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
- These oatmeal bars are only very lightly sweetened since they are meant to be healthy bars. You can taste the batter before baking. If you prefer sweeter, you can add 1-2 tbsp of sweetener (such as honey or maple syrup) to the batter. You can also add mix-ins like chocolate chips or dried fruit. If you prefer more cinnamon flavor you can also add another 1 tsp of cinnamon.
- The bars can be made with rolled oats but they fall apart more easily. I recommend that if you do use rolled oats, you pulse them in a food processor until they become smaller pieces that are about the size of quick oats. Quick oats bind better in these bars.
- You can use regular applesauce and add 2 teaspoons of cinnamon.
- You can use unsweetened cinnamon applesauce and add your preferred sweetener or add no sweetener if you are okay with the bars having a very low amount of sweetness.
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.
