October 10, 2024

Restaurantrecs

Food, couldn't ask for more.

Easy Strawberry Oatmeal Bars | Joyful Healthy Eats

Made with fresh, juicy strawberries and a buttery crumble topping, these easy Strawberry Oatmeal Bars are a crave-worthy breakfast, snack or dessert. Each bar contains only 132 calories!

Want more Oatmeal Bars? I’ve got your back! Try out my Lemon Blueberry Oatmeal Bars or my Almond Oat Raspberry Bars!

A strawberry oatmeal bar leaning against another bar with a fresh strawberry in the foreground

Healthy Strawberry Oat Bars

Delight your taste buds with the fresh strawberry flavor packed into these homemade oatmeal bars. Combined with warm cinnamon, zesty lemon juice, sweet brown sugar and more, it’s hard to believe that these babies are so low in calories! Whether you serve them for breakfast, snack or dessert, get ready to experience some sweet strawberry bliss.

Many oat bars are loaded with granulated sugar to sweeten them up, but this recipe uses raw honey instead. Paired with a small amount of brown sugar, this gives your bars the most amazing flavor with minimal refined sugar included. They also use whole wheat flour to keep them as nutritious as possible.

The bright berry filling is topped with a crispy, buttery crumble that doubles as the crust on the bottom. I can’t even describe how wonderfully it complements the flavor and texture of the filling! All in all, you only need 10 ingredients to bring this dreamy dish to life.

Let’s get baking!

A bowl of rolled oats, a small dish containing ground cinnamon and the rest of the bar ingredients on a marble countertop

What You’ll Need

Why don’t we start by going over the ingredients you’ll need. Remember to scroll down to the recipe card to see the specific amounts.

For the Crust & Crumble

  • Unsalted Butter: Melted.
  • White Whole Wheat Flour: Weigh your flour with a food scale to ensure accuracy.
  • Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats: Don’t try to substitute these for quick or steel-cut oats!
  • Honey: Raw and unfiltered honey is best.
  • Brown Sugar
  • Ground Cinnamon
  • Salt: A small pinch of salt helps enhance and balance out the other flavors in the bars.

For the Strawberry Filling

  • Fresh Strawberries: Rinsed, dried and sliced.
  • Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed.
  • Vanilla Extract
  • White Whole Wheat Flour
A close-up shot of a strawberry oatmeal bar with portions of other bars shown beside it

How to Make Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

These oat bars are so easy to make, there’s no need to break things down between the crumble and the filling. All of the prep work will be done in just 5 minutes!

Heat Oven & Prep Pan: Preheat the oven to 350°F and line the bottom of an 8×8-inch pan with parchment paper. Spray the lined pan with cooking spray.

Make Crust/Crumble: Add the melted butter, flour, oats, honey, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt to a large bowl. Mix until everything is just combined – the mixture should be a little crumbly. Scoop out 1 cup of the mixture and set it aside to use for the crumble.

Add Crust to Pan: Add the remaining mixture to the prepared pan. Spread it out and use your fingers to press it into the bottom of the pan so the crust is in an even layer.

The oatmeal mixture pressed into a square pan lined with parchment paper

Make Filling: Add the prepared strawberries, lemon juice, vanilla extract and flour to a small bowl. Toss to combine the ingredients.

Spread Over Crust: Add the strawberry mixture on top of the crust and spread it out evenly.

Add Crumble: Evenly sprinkle the remaining crust/crumble mixture over the top of the bars.

The crumble topping on top of the filling and crust in the prepared baking pan

Bake: Bake your oatmeal bars in the preheated oven for 50 minutes.

Let Cool, Slice & Serve: Remove your strawberry oatmeal bars from the pan and let them sit for at least 10 minutes before you cut and serve them.

Nine strawberry oatmeal bars on top of a sheet of parchment paper

Tips for the Best Results

Keep these helpful tips in mind while you’re preparing your ingredients and putting together the bars. As a result, the final product will be flawless.

  • Avoid Over-Measuring the Flour: Flour can be difficult to measure accurately due to its tendency to pack into the measuring cup too tightly. To prevent this from happening, spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off at the top with a butter knife, fluffing up the flour before picking up each spoonful. If you have a food scale, utilize that to ensure accuracy.
  • Old-Fashioned Oats Only: Quick oats and steel-cut oats will not work for this recipe! Be sure to reach for regular rolled oats instead.
  • Line and Grease the Pan: I like to grease my pan with a thin layer of cooking spray after I line it with parchment paper. This makes for easy removal of the finished bars.
  • Don’t Skip the Resting Time: These oatmeal bars need to sit for at least 10 minutes before they’re cut. Otherwise, it would be difficult to slice them into even servings.
A bunch of homemade strawberry oatmeal bars on top of a sheet of parchment paper

Variation Ideas

Want to put a spin on these strawberry oatmeal bars? Be my guest!

  • Strawberry Jam Bars: If you’d like to infuse these bars with some extra strawberry goodness, feel free to add a layer of Homemade Strawberry Jam underneath the filling. The more the merrier!
  • Chocolate Strawberry Oat Bars: When it comes to fruity treats like these, it never hurts to add some chocolate. I prefer using dark chocolate to keep my bars on the healthier side, but you can go with any kind you like. Simply fold some mini chocolate chips into the crust mixture and proceed with the recipe as usual.
  • Nutty Strawberry Oat Bars: There are a couple of different ways to add some nutty flavor to these fruit bars. You can either fold your favorite chopped nuts into the crumble or make the filling with half a teaspoon of vanilla extract and half a teaspoon of almond extract. Either way, it adds a lovely element.
Three strawberry oatmeal bars stacked on top of one another with a fresh berry beside the stack

Serving Suggestions

If you’re enjoying a strawberry oatmeal bar for breakfast, I recommend topping it with a scoop of Greek yogurt or pairing it with one of these Tropical Superfruit Yogurt Parfaits or my Sweet Cream Iced Coffee. If you’re in a rush, you can always grab a couple of them to eat while you’re heading to work or school. As a dessert, they taste amazing with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of Coconut Whipped Cream on top!

Six strawberry oat bars on a marble countertop with a sheet of parchment paper underneath them

How to Store Extras

After your bars have cooled completely, transfer them to an airtight container and refrigerate them. They will last for up to 4 days, but they may start to lose their crunch after 2. Feel free to pop each bar into the microwave for 10-15 seconds before chowing down if desired.

Do These Freeze Well?

They do! Transfer the cooled bars to a freezer-safe container and freeze them for up to 3 months. If the bars are cut and must be stacked in the container, add a piece of parchment paper between layers to prevent sticking. Thaw out frozen strawberry bars in the fridge overnight before enjoying them.

Print

Nine strawberry oatmeal bars on top of a sheet of parchment paper

Description

Made with fresh, juicy strawberries and a buttery crumble topping, these easy Strawberry Oatmeal Bars are a crave-worthy breakfast, snack or dessert. Each bar contains only 132 calories!


Scale

Ingredients

For the Crust & Crumble

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1½ cups white whole wheat flour
  • 1½ cups regular oats (not the instant kind)
  • ½ cup honey
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • pinch of salt

For the Strawberry Filling

  • 3 cups of sliced fresh strawberries
  • 1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon white whole wheat flour

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Line the bottom of an 8×8 pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray for easy removal.
  3. To make the crust & crumble, to a large bowl add melted butter, white whole wheat flour, regular oats, honey, brown sugar, ground cinnamon and salt. Mix until just combined, mixture should be a little crumbly. Scoop out 1 cup of the mixture and set aside, that will be your crumble.
  4. Add the remaining mixture to the prepared pan. Spread the mixture out and using your fingers press into the bottom of the pan so the crust is in an even layer.
  5. To make the Strawberry Filling: to a small bowl add strawberries, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and white whole wheat flour. Toss to combine.
  6. Add the strawberry mixture on top of the crust and spread out evenly.
  7. Evenly sprinkle the crumble mixture over the top of the bars.
  8. Bake the bars for 50 minutes. Remove the bars from the pan and let sit for 10 minutes. Cut and serve.

Notes

  • Makes 16 small bars or 9 large bars.
  • To Store: Transfer cooled bars to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Feel free to pop each bar into the microwave for 10-15 seconds before chowing down if desired.
  • To Freeze: Transfer cooled bars to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. If bars are cut and must be stacked in the container, add a piece of parchment paper between layers to prevent sticking. Thaw out frozen bars in the fridge before enjoying.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 small bar
  • Calories: 132
  • Sugar: 5 g
  • Sodium: 11 mg
  • Fat: 5 g
  • Saturated Fat: 3 g
  • Carbohydrates: 20 g
  • Fiber: 3 g
  • Protein: 3 g
  • Cholesterol: 11 mg

Keywords: oat bars, breakfast oatmeal bars, strawberry crumble

More Easy Oatmeal Recipes

Oatmeal is a classic breakfast that can be prepared in a million different ways. Check out the following recipes next!

DON’T MISS A RECIPE ->

FACEBOOK | TWITTER | PINTEREST | BLOGLOVIN | INSTAGRAM