The first thing I saw when I turned on the TV today was a commercial for some sort of breakfast-oat-cookie-thing. I wanted one. So, I made some. Except mine are more like soft oat and nut bars instead of cookies.
I have made baked oatmeals, granola, and granola bar-like things before, but this time I wanted to create something soft and almost cake-like. The texture of these bars is somewhere between a soft oatmeal cookie and a piece of cake. They have all the goodness of oats and whole wheat flour, plus tons of nutty goodness, all of which makes them surprisingly filling.
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Unlike cake or cookies, I didn’t make these soft oat and nut bars very sweet. They have just a hint of sweetness from the brown sugar and sweetened shredded coconut, but they’re definitely not dessert-like. You could easily add more sugar to make them into a sort-of-healthy type dessert or even add some dried fruit for extra sweetness. I happened to use plain soy milk to make these bars because that’s all I had in my fridge at the moment. You could definitely use dairy milk, although I think it’s slightly less sweet than soy milk, so you may want to add an extra tablespoon of sugar if you do so.
So, if you need breakfast on the go, try making these deliciously Soft Oat & Nut Bars to take with you on the road!
Soft Oat and Nut Bars
Servings 9Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats ($0.30)
- 1 cup whole wheat flour ($0.38)
- 1 tsp baking powder ($0.09)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1 tsp cinnamon ($0.05)
- 1/3 cup brown sugar ($0.11)
- 1/4 cup room temperature butter ($0.58)
- 1 large egg ($0.17)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract ($0.28)
- 1 cup plain or vanilla soy milk ($0.41)
- 1/3 cup chopped walnuts ($0.88)
- 1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut ($0.26)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together the oats, flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon until well combined.
- In a large bowl, beat together the brown sugar and butter until the mixture is light and creamy (about 2 minutes, medium speed). Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until light and creamy again (30 seconds to one minute).
- Add half of the oat and flour mixture and beat briefly, just until combined. Start on low speed to prevent the flour from flying out of the bowl.
- Add the soy milk and beat briefly again until smooth. Always start on low speed to prevent splashing. Add the rest of the flour and oat mixture, and beat until combined (only about 30 seconds).
- Add the chopped walnuts and coconut. Stir them into the batter. Pour the batter into a 9×9 inch greased casserole dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Allow the bars to cool and then cut into 9 pieces. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 5-6 days, or freeze for extended storage.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Oat Bars – Step by Step Photos
First, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together the oats, whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon until well combined.
In a larger bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until the mixture is light and creamy. Then, add the egg and vanilla (pictured) and beat again until creamy.
See how light, creamy, and whipped it looks after the egg and vanilla have been mixed in? The tiny bits of trapped air will help the end product be light and cake-like.
Add half of the flour and oat mixture. Beat them briefly, only about 30 seconds, until they are mixed together. Always start on low speed so that you don’t get a sudden cloud of flour spraying up in your face.
Add the milk and beat briefly again… (you REALLY want to start on low speeds with liquids)
Add the rest of the flour and oat mixture. Beat it again briefly until they are combined.
Finally, stir in the chopped walnuts and coconut.
Pour the batter into a 9×9 inch greased casserole dish. Bake for 30 minutes.
Allow the bars to cool and then cut them into 9 equal sized pieces.
And then enjoy the heck out of them!
Could you substitute the shredded coconut with shredded carrot? Or would the moisture be too much?
I’m not sure, I’d need to try it first, but I love that idea!
I love making these as an alternative to the Nature Valley soft baked ones I used to get out of the vending machine in college! Nature Valley also makes a dark chocolate banana bread version that my husband loves. Any suggestions for how I could use this recipe as a springboard to try the chocolate banana bread flavor?
I’d try adding some cocoa powder and maybe chocolate chips as well?
These are so good! Tastes like a healthier version of a coffee cake. I added 1 cup of diced peaches and sprinkled the top with a little turbinado sugar for some crunch and a touch more sweetness. I plan to try blueberries and apples, maybe with pecans or almonds, in the future. The possibilities are endless!
Hi Beth. I don’t have an electric blender. If the ingredients to be blended are done so by hand, will the result suffer? Thanks!
Hi! Is it possible to make this recipe without a mixer?
Thanks!
Hi, Susan! While you are welcome to try it out any way you please — since we haven’t tested this recipe without using an electric mixer, I can’t guarantee that you will achieve the same results. Creaming butter and sugar is an extremely important step in baking because it helps break down the sugar crystals (so the texture isn’t gritty) as well as adds air into the mixture, resulting in a lighter, fluffier bake. This will be difficult to achieve without a mixer.
BUT, that being said, it is probably possible to achieve with the right amount of determination and elbow grease. I would start with a wooden spoon or spatula and then switch to a whisk. Keep going until it is visibly lighter and increases in volume (just like you see in the 3rd image of the step-by-step tutorial). Good luck! – Marion :)
Sorry about my double comment. I missed that you responsed on my first comment. Please ignore me 😊
Thanks for such a thorough response!!!
Of course!! :)
Just made these with my daughter and they’re a great breakfast option! We did no nuts, and still lots of texture. I saw another comment about using chocolate milk and might have to try that next time!
I make this for my kiddos for breakfast and call it oat cake. They love it and it helps when they get constipated too 😆
I usually have a Clif bar for breakfast, but they’re very sweet and not that high in fiber, so I just made these as an alternative. Not being a big fan of soy milk or coconut, I used chocolate dairy milk and chocolate chips. They’re delicious, and I plan to make more while I have the milk and freeze them. Thanks for a good breakfast alternative. (I also love your banana and blueberry baked oatmeal!)
Hi Beth! I wonder if I could chop up dried fruit instead of walnuts? My kids aren’t big on nuts.
Thanks!
I bet that would work! :)
How much butter is called for? It looks like it says 1/4 and 1/2 cup but that doesn’t sound right…
Sorry about the confusion, I’m going to go fix that. It’s ¼ cup, which is ½ of a stick (one stick is ½ cup). I hope that helps!
These have been a go to since I discovered the recipe about a year ago!! Taste healthy and sweet- thanks so much :)
I subbed the whole wheat flour for Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose flour, finely chopped almonds for walnuts and added 1/4 soy protein powder for a nutritional boost. Turned out great! Tastes like apple crumble minus the apples! Not too sweet but sweet enough. If I made it again I’d be inclined to add some sort of chopped fruit though, because I’m feeling like it’s missing it. Overall great recipe!
OMG YUM. We don’t use soy milk, so I used regular 2%, increased the sugar to 1/2 c and increased the coconut to 1/2 c (I love coconut). So good!
Second batch: used 1/2 milk 1/2 molasses and added gingerbread spices. Double batch takes 35 minutes to bake. 😋
Don’t add extra sugar if you use molasses tho!
I really love these & make them all the time! Make mostly as is, just add extra walnuts & few dark chocolate chips.
Can’t ever go wrong with dark chocolate!
Beth, will this recipe work doubled and baked in a 9×13 pan? I’m thinking so, but wondered if you’d tried it.
Yes it sure will! I’ve doubled it and done it that way a few times.
Awesome! I’m glad you had tried doubling it because I haven’t. Haha!
I came here to ask this exact question so thank you for sharing!
Can you sub oat for for the whole wheat flour?
Unfortunately it’s hard to predict how it would turn out without testing it. Wheat flour and oat flour can sometimes act very differently in recipes.
Do you think you could sub honey for the brown sugar? Thanks! :)
It’s tough to say without testing it. Brown sugar and honey have very different physical properties, so it will likely change the texture of the bar.
Do you need to add the coconut?
You can leave it out. :)
Thank you very much for the delicious recipe! We do not eat sweets for breakfast in Norway, but we use sweets after dinner on weekends, desserts. Many recipes are full of fat and sugar and almost impossible to eat, but this was a good dessert cake.
I made these oat bars today and they were amazing (just eating my second slice now!). I had to make some adjustments to make them ‘school-friendly’ (because of student allergies, nobody is allowed to bring anything with nuts, coconut, or sesame). I used mini chocolate chips (instead of nuts), and the skin of one medium apple, grated and slightly dried in oven (instead of coconut). I used dairy milk but didn’t add any extra sugar as I figured the chocolate chips would be extra sweetness enough. I know chocolate chips aren’t healthy, but I had to add something that would entice my child to eat these homemade bars instead of the packaged ones. I plan on decreasing the amount of chocolate chips and adding some additional grated apple peel (maybe 3-4 apples’ worth) for the next batch. Thanks so much for this easy and adaptable recipe!
Silly question Miss Beth (sorry) but until I go shopping I just have white flour in the house…same measurement?
Well, whole wheat flour does absorb moisture differently than all-purpose, so it may change the texture slightly. It’s hard to guess with this one, though.
These were good but I felt missing something from texture or flavor. Im going to try adding apple chunks or raisins next batch. Thank you for this recipe!
Thanks for a tasty treat. I added in raisins as well. Next time I will add more cinnamon because we like the flavour of it.
Tasty! I added a few raisins and next time would increase the coconut. Very nice breakfast+to-go recipe!
For literally decades I have told myself to find the perfect oat breakfast bar recipe but I am sooo lazy about some things. I just keep having other breakfasts even though what I really want is a truly healthy, truly palatable oat bar. Well today was my day, and yours is the first recipe I saw so I made them. They are the answer to my long-procrastinated desire and I want to thank you sooo much. These are amazing. Thank you.
Thanks for these! I’ve been making a batch on Sunday evenings and then having them for breakfast all week, replacing my usual Luna bar. Played around with additions a few times. I like replacing the coconut with raisins, and I prefer AP flour to whole wheat. I think next time I might try some pumpkin purée.
Oooooooohhhh my goodness. These were SO GOOD! They’re not very sweet, but they’re exactly what I need/want in the morning without the huge sugar crash later on. My entire (picky) family loved them, and I can absolutely imagine adding dried fruit and such if the mood strikes. Thank you for the fantastic recipe!
Looks delicious! Would these work with quick-oats?
They’ll have less texture, but it might work okay otherwise.
I have these in the oven now, can’t wait to try them. I wanted them to taste like fall, so I subbed pumpkin for butter and added in dried cranberries instead of coconut… also instead of milk I used butter milk because it’s what I had. Oh and I added molasses. I’m excited to try these. I feel like your recipe made a really good blank canvas! thanks
The toddler and I enjoyed these for breakfast this morning. I started eating mine while he was milling around the kitchen and soon he was over near my lap wanting a bite. Then I put him in his high chair and he had a whole one and so did I.
Oh man, these were good, and so filling. I added dried cranberries. Absolutely addictive.
I used chocolate chips instead of coconut and these came out great.
We have an athlete in the house who needs healthy home-baked “power bars” but can’t handle crunchy granola bars b/c of braces. :D These soft bars worked out perfectly for us. Thank you!
This was really tasty and my family loved it! I didn’t have whole wheat flour so I used AP. I am sure the consistency was different, but we loved it anyway. Also didn’t have walnuts and used pecans. I will definitely pick up some wheat flour next time and add flax meal like another commenter did. Thanks!
Mmm, these were really good. I upped the sugar to 1/2 cup, because I wanted something that could also serve as dessert. I didn’t have any walnuts, so I doubled the coconut and used vanilla soymilk. The texture is almost like a bread pudding, moist and chewy. I’d love to experiment with these…nuts, chocolate chips, fresh fruit…pretty much anything would be good in these!
These are yummy!
Oh, I’m headed to the kitchen to make these RIGHT. NOW. ;)
I’m allergic to walnuts so I’m subbing in almonds, and I think I’d love them with raisins.
I’m so glad to have found your blog!
This may be a dumb question, but do you need to refrigerate these? Thanks!
It’s not a stupid question. :) I would, just to be on the safe side. Make sure it’s in an air-tight container to keep them from drying out or absorbing odors. They can also be frozen for longer storage.
Thank you, Beth!
Hi, what temperature will I bake this in degrees centigrade?
A quick google search tells me it’s 190 degrees celsius.
Do you think almond milk would be ok to use?
Just read a comment below about almond milk! Perfect :)
Hi Beth,
Congrats on this great blog, I love it!. I just did this bars and they are so soft and healthy. I added some honey and it was great too.
Made these with olive oil because butter is pretty expensive where I live and they turned out pretty good. These are so filling in the morning, will surely make this recipe again.
Hi Beth,
Can I sub the butter with coconut oil? Also maybe use a GF flour? I’m trying to make it vegan
You can definitely sub coconut oil for the butter, but I’ve never cooked with gluten free flour, so I’m not sure how that would affect it. :P
Thanks for this delicious recipe! I added a bit more nutrition by reducing the oats and whole wheat flour by 1/4 cup each, then adding 1/4 cup of teff flour and 1/4 cup of flax meal. I used 2/3 cup applesauce and 1/3 apple cider instead of the soy milk. I added 1 shredded carrot, about 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg and used 1/3 cup raisins instead of coconut. These were plenty sweet and a wonderful dessert!
Hey Beth! HUGE fan of your food. Seriously I make 2-3 different recipes per week & have yet to find one I don’t LOVE. (Ill be at the bookstore on the 4th to grab your cookbook…cant wait!!) Question though, do you think coconut oil would work in place of the Butter? I’m not a huge dairy kid but these look amazing. Keep it up girl, you got talent.
I do think that would work. They have a very similar consistency (solid at room temp), so I think they are easily swapped. Butter has a higher water content, but that shouldn’t be a problem here.
We liked this recipe. Not too sweet, so much helathier than store bought granola bars. One batch was good for the whole week.
thank you
Hi Beth,
Just found your website/blog, and really like it. :) I like the slant towards economy and health. I like your adventurous mind-set that allows for substitutions and creativity, and just using whatever you have on hand. Personally, I think that’s what makes a good cook and what I strive for. That said, sometimes it works out, sometimes not. So if you ever see an error in my thought process, please feel free to enlighten me!
I also really appreciate the time you take to document the process. Although I know how to cook, this is very helpful, and immeasureably helpful those just learning. And your pictures look so yummy!! So, thank you!
So far I’ve tried the Thai Peanut Sauce and also the Rice Veg Salad with Thai Sauce. I just made the bars above this morning with the following substitutions: used apple/peach sauce in place of butter (usually substitute for oil in a recipe, but figured this was about the same thing), added some date chips, used almonds instead of walnuts, and used 2% milk for soy.
Result: I’m sure they are denser than yours, but still good. Could have been a little sweeter for my taste, but I was concerned about making them too sweet (with the applesauce, coconut and date chips). For those that want just a touch of sweetness, it was perfect.
Anyway, thanks for the work you do. It’s great! I’m now trying to decide what to make for a weekend get-away in the mountains. :) Lisa
These are delicious! I left out the nuts and coconut, added chocolate chips and subbed plain almond milk for the soy milk. Seriously good!
Also, I’m using an oval shaped pan because I don’t have a 9 x 9. Do you think they would turn out ok in a 9 x 13 with a shorter cook time? Thanks!!!!
I bake this in a 9×13 with no problem, reduce the time by only a minute or two because the bars are still pretty thick!
Thanks!!
So excited for this recipe. My 14 y/o requested I make these after having the store bought ones at a friends. Schools starting and she leaves home at 8am with no lunch till 1:40, these are perfect for taking along and eating between class to keep her going.
These were delicious! Perfect to grab on my way to work. The batch I made has been lasting me all week. SO happy I found a replacement to gross store bought granola bars. They are nice and filling too and seem pretty healthy.
I don’t have an electric mixer so I beat everything by hand but it was still easy and came out good. Also used white flour instead of wheat because that’s what I had.
Beth, could you replace the sugar with maple syrup or honey? If so, what amount would you suggest?
Tara, I’m sure you could sub those in, although I can only guess at the amount without trying it first. I think I would start with 1/4 cup because they may be slightly sweeter and you don’t want to add too much more moisture to the batter. Hopefully that will work out for you!
Thanks so much! Oops, one more question. :) Can i use regular ole dairy milk or does it really need to be almond milk? What about coconut milk?
Hmm, well, I haven’t ever cooked with coconut milk, so I don’t know if it acts similarly to the others or not. I think trying it is the only way we’ll know! :) If you do, please let me know how it turned out.
NEVERMIND! I just saw the answer to this under “Notes.” But what do you think about the coconut milk possibility?
Beth, could you replace the sugar with maple syrup or honey? If so, what amount would you suggest?
Does anyone have a suggestion for this? To replace sugar with honey or Maple syrup? I sure would appreciate it!
Sorry it took me so long to answer, see my reply to your first comment :)
Love your recipes and blog. Also love your readers/commenters – such a practical group. I saw this and thought, “well, I don’t have coconut but maybe it would work …”. Several people had already provided the reassurance I needed, and confirmed for me that this would be a good place to use up the extra dried cranberries I do have. Thanks!!!
So I ended up making two batches of these yesterday, and they are awesome! First batch was dried apple and cinnamon, and the second batch was peach nutmeg (I’m going on holidays and I needed to use up the peaches in the fridge).
Unfortunately, my 14 year old had used all the eggs and not said anything to me, so I had to use a mashed banana for the 2nd batch – tasty, but should have baked a bit longer. These are so easy! I can easily see them becoming a staple in our house.
These were good and even better for breakfast on the go. I substituted raisins and almonds because that’s what I had on hand. I put a little cream cheese on top this am too -yummy-
I made these last night–so good! Next time I think I’ll add some chopped apple too. Yum!
These bars are delicious! I did, however, make a few successful substitutions. I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk instead of sweetened soy, a “flax egg” instead of a real one, and semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of coconut. They are so cakey and delicious it feels like dessert. I may even try these with half of the sugar! It just seems too decadent for breakfast…
Made this yesterday and it tasted real good. (I didin’t use vanilla extract, though, coz i didn’t have any)
Literally was reading this in bed, realized it sounded delish, and got out of bed to make it. Took very little hands-on time, and came out great!
Yum–made these, too, and added all that coconut because we love it. Tossed in nuts and raisins, too. I like this a lot, in part because it has all the taste and less fat than oatmeal cookies
You just had to make something else awesome I have to try…
I think I shall add chocolate chips and try to get the picky child to try this.
Is there a way to calculate calories?
Check out my FAQ page for links to some websites that allow you to calculate recipe nutrition data.
Is it ok to replace the butter with coconut oil or vegetable oil?? I want to make it more healthier!:)
Yep, I would use coconut oil because it is closer in consistency to butter, plus I bet it will add a really great flavor! You might want to add a touch more salt, though, because my butter was salted.
If you want to make it healthier, definitely dont use vegetable oil. That stuff is terrible for you!
I also saw the commercial for the soft baked oat bars you are referring to and also wanted to make some. School is starting soon and breakfast has to be fast and on-the-go. I can’t wait to try this recipe. And just for the record, I love coconut!
I just wanted you to know that you inspire me with every e-mail. I want to make or do make a majority of the things you make. The recipes have always been successful and tasty! I think we are soul sisters with the cooking because our tastes are so similar. Thank you thank you! Can’t wait to make this recipe!
Aww, that’s so sweet! :D I’m always surprised at how many people have the same taste in food as me!
I made these for breakfast this morning! They were very soft and chewy. I did use 2% milk, because that is what I had on hand, and added about a teaspoon more sugar. That was plenty. I will make these again!! Thanks!
These look great! Perfect for a grab and go breakfast. I’m going to add dried cranberries since I have some on hand.
You are amazing. I was just thinking that I needed to find a recipe for something like this for our 14-hour road trip next week. And here it is!
(for the record, I love coconut!)
Funny that the first few comments are from coconut haters, myself included. It’s a testament to how awesome these bars look that I’m still going to make them!
Oh yeah, feel free to use any nut or dried fruit you like! Coconut is not at all integral to the structure :)
As soon as I get an oven, I am making *these.* Yes, ma’am!
I agree with the above question: how integral is coconut to the structure of the bar? I really can’t stand that texture.
I’m confident I can replace the walnuts with any other kind of nut (I don’t care for walnuts), but what about the coconut? I *REEEEEEALLY* don’t like the texture of coconut. How integral is it to the structure of the bar?
Yep, use any nut or dried fruit that you like! It won’t affect the batter or texture of the cake part :)