Breakfast Bars
on Jun 12, 2024, Updated Jun 23, 2024
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Soft, chewy, and perfectly sweet, these Breakfast Bars make for an easy on-the-go breakfast snack. Featuring chewy cranberries, crunchy walnuts, and more, these breakfast bars are packed full of flavor.
Mornings can be tough, but being able to have breakfast ready to go can make things run a little bit smoother. These breakfast bars are here to save the day! The flavorful, hearty ingredients will keep you coming back for more and keep you energized throughout the morning. Each ingredient in this breakfast bar recipe plays a specific role in giving you that soft and chewy texture, as well as a sweet flavor!
There are so many ways to customize these bars to get a different flavor. Try swapping out the nuts and dried fruit or adding ingredients like chocolate chips to create a variety of bars. These bars are also easy to store for long periods of time, making them a great snack to add to your weekly or monthly meal prep.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It is full of flavorful, filling ingredients.
- These bars stay fresh for a long time, making them easy to store for busy mornings.
- You can add extra ingredients to customize the flavor of your bars.
Recipe Ingredients
- Old Fashioned Oats—It is important to use old-fashioned oats, not quick oats.
- Eggs—Act as the main binding agent and give structure to your bars.
- Whole Milk—Can be replaced with any kind of milk or a dairy free alternative.
- Applesauce—Adds moisture to your bars. You can use sweetened or unsweetened applesauce.
- Sugar—White granulated.
- Dried Cranberries—Give your bars a pop of sweetness.
- Walnuts—You can also use pecans or almonds.
- Honey—Acts as an additional binder and sweetener.
- Baking Powder—This will help the bars rise, giving them a chewier texture.
- Vanilla Extract—Amplifies the flavor of the sweet ingredients.
- Ground Cinnamon—Adds some warmth and spice to your breakfast bars.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Breakfast Bars
Step #1. Preheat your oven and prepare baking dish. Whisk together the eggs, milk, apple sauce, vanilla, and honey in a large mixing bowl until the eggs are thoroughly beaten and the mixture is homogeneous.
Step #2. Add the baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, walnuts, cranberries, and oats to the mixing bowl. Fold the ingredients together until the wet and dry ingredients are fully combined.
Step #3. Transfer the oat mixture to the prepared dish and bake until they are set.
Step #4. Allow the dish to come to room temperature before slicing into bars. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
Both the wet and dry ingredients in this recipe play a role in giving your breakfast bars the best texture possible! One important way to ensure they aren’t too dense is to avoid overmixing the mixture before baking. You want to mix your ingredients just until they are fully combined. In addition to making your bars easier to slice, allowing the breakfast bars to fully cool will leave you with the ideal chewy texture.
I recommend using old-fashioned or rolled oats to make these breakfast bars. Old-fashioned oats will maintain their structure while baking, giving your bars a better texture. These oats also bind better to the other ingredients. Old-fashioned oats also contain the most nutrients including fiber and minerals that will nourish your body! If you’re in a pinch, quick oats will work fine, but there will be a slight difference in texture.
How to Store Breakfast Bars
These breakfast bars can be stored in a container or Ziploc bag on the counter for up to a week, in the fridge for 2 weeks, or in the freezer for 3 months, making them a great option to meal prep! You can enjoy these bars straight from the fridge or heat them up in the microwave for 15-20 seconds to make them a bit softer.
Allow frozen breakfast bars to thaw in the fridge before you serve or reheat them. Giving your frozen bars time to defrost before reheating them will ensure they reheat evenly.
What to Serve With Breakfast Bars
You can treat these bars like a snack or make them a whole meal. Serve with eggs, homemade yogurt with fruit, or a refreshing fruit smoothie for a balanced meal.
Expert Tips
- For some extra flavor to these bars, you can replace the apple sauce with peanut butter or add ¾ cups of chocolate chips to the oat mixture!
- You can replace the walnuts with any other kind of nut. We like to switch things up and use almonds or pecans to keep that crunch but add a new taste!
- In addition to cranberries you can also use raisins or other dried and chopped up fruit!
- It is a good idea to press the mixture into the baking dish with your hands or the spatula to ensure it will cook evenly and properly!
More Breakfast Recipes To Consider
Simple Gingerbread Recipes
Homemade Gingerbread Syrup: Cozy Holiday in a Bottle
Muffin Recipes
Spice Up Your Morning With Gingerbread Muffins
Pancake Recipes
Stack ‘Em High: Golden Cornbread Pancakes
Sourdough Recipes
Sourdough Cinnamon Swirl Bread – A Perfect Breakfast Loaf
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Breakfast Bars
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- ½ tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup chopped walnuts
- ¾ cup dried cranberries
- 2 ½ cups old fashioned oats
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and coat an 8×8 inch glass baking dish with butter or nonstick cooking spray.
- Whisk together the eggs, milk, apple sauce, vanilla, and honey in a large mixing bowl until eggs are thoroughly beaten and the mixture is homogeneous.
- Add the baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, walnuts, cranberries, and oats to the mixing bowl. Fold the ingredients together until the wet and dry ingredients are fully combined.
- Transfer the oat mixture to the prepared dish and bake for 25 minutes.
- Allow the dish to come to room temperature before slicing into bars.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- In addition to cranberries you can also use raisins.
- Old fashioned oats give these breakfast bars a little more texture, but you can use quick oats as well.
- Allowing your breakfast bars to fully cook makes them much easier to slice and allows the flavors in the bars time to settle.
- You can replace the walnuts with any other kind of nut. We like to switch things up by using almonds or pecans.
- For some extra flavor your can replace the apple sauce with peanut butter or add 3/4 cup of chocolate chips to the oat mixture.
- Store your bars in a container or Ziploc bag on the counter for up to a week, in the fridge for 2 weeks, or in the freezer for 3 months.
- You can enjoy these bars straight from the fridge or heat them up in the microwave for 15-20 seconds. You will want to let frozen breakfast bars thaw in the fridge before you serve or reheat them.
