Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal Bars

These cinnamon apple oatmeal bars are perfect for those days when you need a quick grab-and-go snack that's both filling and nutritious. With just 6 wholesome and all-natural ingredients, they couldn't be easier to make! These simple bars are also kid-friendly, gluten-free, and vegan.

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What You'll Love About These Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bars

• Real Food Ingredients: Apples, pecans, oatmeal, dates... there's just a handful of ingredients in this recipe, and they're all simple, familiar, and minimally processed.
• Low Effort: You'll need about 15-20 minutes of hands-on time for this recipe, and your food processor will do all of the heavy lifting.
• Convenient and Versatile: Serve these as apple breakfast bars, a mid-day snack, or even a healthy dessert. They work for any occasion and they're easy to take on the go.
• Dietary-Friendly: These bars are naturally vegan and gluten-free (use gluten-free oats to be sure!) and made without flour or added sugar. Plus, if you can't eat pecans, I've heard from many readers that the recipe works well with other nuts too!

Ingredients and Substitutions

I promised an easy recipe, so this is a short list! You only need six ingredients to make my apple and oatmeal bars:

• Raw pecan halves - The naturally sweet, maple-like flavor of pecans is one of my favorite pairings for dates (like in my date scone recipe) and apples (apple crumble anyone?), so they're my go-to nut for these bars. That said, readers who have made this recipe have also successfully used hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios, walnuts, and even various seeds, so feel free to experiment!
• Rolled oats - Old fashioned oats act as the base of these apple cinnamon bars and soak up all of the liquid naturally present in the apples. If you need to make sure your bars are gluten-free, use gluten-free oats. Quick cooking oats - which are essentially rolled oats that have been processed to an even finer texture - can also be used and will minimize a bit of the work your food processor needs to do.
• Medjool dates - You'll need to pit and halve your dates before measuring them, or you can buy them pre-prepared this way. Because we're relying on the dates to add moisture and sweetness to these bars, I would not recommend other varieties of dates like deglet noor, which tend to be less sweet and juicy.
• Cinnamon and salt - Cinnamon pairs especially well with the apples, dates, and pecans in these bars, and a little bit of salt helps bring out the flavor in all of the ingredients. If you'd like, you can also add a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
• Apples - I've always made my cinnamon oatmeal bars with granny smith apples, but feel free to try a different variety. In the spirit of keeping things simple, there's no need to peel them!

How to Make Healthy Apple Oatmeal Bars

1. Toast the pecans and oats: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spread the pecans and oats out in a thin, even layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, or until they're fragrant and appear lightly toasted.

2. Prep baking pan: Keeping the oven on, line an 8" square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving enough overhang on at least two sides to be able to easily lift the bars out of the pan once they're finished baking.

3. Process the "dry" ingredients: Add the toasted nuts and oats to a food processor along with the dates, cinnamon, and salt. Using the blade attachment, process until the mixture is coarse and crumbly, with no large pieces remaining.

4. Add apples: Add the chopped apples to the food processor and pulse in until there are no longer any large chunks left. Then, process for several minutes, until all of the ingredients clump together into a fine-textured mixture. It does not need to be completely smooth.
   
   During this time, you'll likely need to stop the food processor occasionally and use a spatula to help move things around, since the mixture will be very thick. If needed, you can drizzle in up to ¼ cup of water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to help everything come together. You can also add vanilla extract at this step, if using.

5. Transfer to pan: Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan, using a wide, flat spatula (or bench scraper) to pat it down into a flat and compact layer. To prevent sticking, I like to fold the extra parchment from the sides of the pan back over the surface of the mixture to use as a barrier between the bars and my spatula. These bars will not spread or otherwise change shape while baking, so do your best to make them as flat and even as you can before you put them in the oven.

6. Bake and slice: Bake your cinnamon apple bars in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, at which point they should be slightly darker in color. Cool for 10-15 minutes, and then lift from the pan and slice into 10-12 individual bars.

Quick Tips and Tricks

Before you head to the kitchen, here are a few key things to keep in mind when making this cinnamon apple oatmeal bars recipe!

• Do: Feel free to try this recipe with a mixture of different nuts and/or seeds! You can also add additional spices, like a touch of nutmeg or cloves.
• Do: Use gluten-free oats if you need to make sure your bars are 100% gluten-free.
• Do: Use a spatula to assist your food processor by helping move the ingredients along if they get stuck while processing.
• Do: Place a layer of parchment under your spatula when pressing the mixture into the pan.
• Don't: Be afraid to add a small amount of water (or juice) to help bring the bars together in your food processor.
• Don't: Attempt this recipe with a weak food processor, unless you plan to make the mixture in batches.

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