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.
Protein bars, granola bars, energy bars - they all seem like such great snack options, but have you ever read their ingredient lists? So many of them are loaded with sugar or filled with questionable ingredients, and for that reason I'd much rather stick to homemade options when I can. I've tried my hand at everything from peanut butter protein bars to strawberry cereal bars, and I promise you - the from-scratch version is always better!
These apple oat bars are no exception, combining just a few whole food ingredients to make a quick, easy snack that actually tastes good - without sacrificing on nutrition. And if you have a food processor, you're just a few minutes away from having them in the oven!
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!
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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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Storing and Shelf Life
Once cooled to room temperature, transfer the baked oatmeal bars to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. They can also be kept at room temperature for up to a day or two, so don't worry about keeping one cold if you're taking it to work or school!
When kept refrigerated, they should stay fresh for at least 1 week.
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.
FAQs
For this recipe, we use a combination of medjool dates (a particularly juicy date variety), fresh apples, and, if needed, a small amount of water to act as the "glue" that keeps the bars together.
Unlike many snack bars that are much less healthy than they appear, these have quite a few things going for them on the nutritional front! They're made with complex carbohydrates (oats), high in fiber (again thanks to the oats, plus the apples), and completely free of added sugar.
Looking for more?
More Healthy Snacks
If you enjoy these oatmeal breakfast bars, you'll also love these recipes:
Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal Bars
Rolled oats, toasted pecans, and fresh, juicy apples come together to make this easy snack that's both tasty and healthy! These apple oatmeal bars are gluten-free, dairy-free, and made without added sugar.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 10-12 bars
- Category: snack bars and bites
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 2 cups (227 grams) raw pecan halves
- 2 cups (163 grams) old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 ½ cups (234 grams) pitted and halved medjool dates
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (227 grams) chopped apples, skin on (I used granny smith)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
Instructions
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Add the chopped apples to the food processor along with the vanilla extract, if using, and pulse in until there are no longer any large chunks left. Then, process for several minutes, stopping to move things around with a spatula as needed, until all of the ingredients clump together into a fine-textured mixture. If necessary, you can drizzle in up to ¼ cup of water, one tablespoon at a time, to help everything come together.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan, using a wide, flat spatula 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.
- Bake 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.
Notes
Ingredients Notes:
- Pecans can be substituted with other nut varieties as desired.
- Quick cooking oats can also be used. Use certified gluten-free oats to make this recipe gluten-free.
Storing and Shelf Life:
- Once cooled to room temperature, transfer the bars to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. They should stay fresh for at least one week. Bars can also be kept at room temperature for up to a day or two.
Have you made this recipe?
If so, I'd love to hear your feedback; you can leave a rating and review in the comments section below! It's also so helpful if you help spread the word by sharing this post on your favorite social media channel. If you happen to snap a photo of what you've baked, be sure to share it on Instagram and tag me (@brighteyedbaker) so I can give you a shoutout!
This post was originally published in 2013. It has since been updated with additional information to help readers make this recipe successfully, including step-by-step photos, and a suggestion to add water to the bars to help them come together.
Emily
Just made these to fuel my half-marathon training...talk about awesome! These are amazing. I love how healthy they are, way to ditch guilty snacking. I added some chia seeds just to boost the health factor even further. And an added bonus, my sister (who has a dairy-free diet) can eat these too!
alexandra
I'm so glad you liked them! Chia seeds seem to be all the rage recently, so I guess I should try adding them to some bars too. :)
Don Martin
How many calories per bar? thanks.
alexandra
I don't have that information, but you could easily figure it out by plugging the ingredients and amounts into a nutrition calculator online. Hope that helps!
jeannette
hi
are you able to use other nuts . or just pecan ?
alexandra
Another nut should work just fine!
Kristi Rimkus
Fantastic and simple ingredients. Breakfast bars are often on our first of the morning list of foods, so I'm always looking for homemade recipes.
alexandra
Thank you Kristi. :) If you get a chance to try the bars out, I'd love to hear about it!
jeannette
hi can you use other nuts or does it have to be pecan ?
alexandra
You can use another type of nut if you'd like. I would use the same about by weight if possible, but if you don't have a kitchen scale, just match the volume measurement.
Kari
Just made these and they are fantastic!!! Next time I may add raisins because I love to muck with things although they are perfect the way they are!!
alexandra
That's awesome! Thanks so much for taking the time to tell me. :) I think raisins would be an awesome addition (although I would suggest adding them at the end if you don't want them to get completely chopped up!)
Riley
Never mind! Just went to the store!
alexandra
Great! I was going to try to help you out as best as I could, but that's best that you just went out and bought all the ingredients. I have some other recipes using dates on the blog, if you have extra leftover! Cinnamon will always come in handy when you're baking too. :)
Riley
These look so good and healthy! I was wondering if fuji apples would work as a substitute? And can I use raisins instead of dates? Just trying to use what I have at home without going to the store! haha also, what other spices can I use to replicate cinnamon? Thanks!
Jocelyn @BruCrew Life
I wish I could help you out, but I am quite the organizational mess myself. Half written notes, magazine recipe pages, post its, and a stack of bills are all over my desk right now. Maybe some good for me energy bars are what I need to motivate myself into some sort of routine and organized living! These bars sound great!!!
alexandra
Hah :) Well it's good to know I'm know the only one! But I think that's a smart plan: healthy snacks = healthier, more organized life, right?
Melinda @cookingalamel
I'm also a mess when it comes to actually writing recipes down - when I finally do, it's scribbled on the back of some random piece of paper, and I'm lucky to find it again. I think you succeeded with these bars, though, for sure! They look and sound fantastic. I'll definitely be trying them ASAP. Especially since I gave in and bought Nature Valley's apple crisp bars today cause I really wanted an apple bar.. I was meant to see this recipe!
alexandra
Exactly! It's a really annoying problem and it would make life so much easier to just stay really organized. I think you were meant to see this recipe! I like making my own snack bars because then I know exactly what's in them and I can make sure they're actually healthy. :)
Ashley
I'm always looking for new homemade snacks - these sound great. Apples, cinnamon and pecans are always a great combo. And I totally do the same thing with too many tabs open on my browser. It gets ridiculous ... and then it will crash and I'll get really mad at myself for not saving anything lol.
alexandra
Thanks Ashley! I've definitely been through the whole computer/web browser crashes problem... SO frustrating! Except sometimes I think I'm secretly a little glad when just the web browser closes because it gets rid of all the tabs that I can't quite get myself to close yet. :)
sally @ sallys baking addiction
apples and cinnamon are one of the best combos on earth. I could use a bag of these bars at my office to get me through the afternoon. I love healthy snack bars like this!
alexandra
Cinnamon is good with so many different flavors!
I can just imagine you sitting at your work desk pulling out a big ziploc full of bars lol...
sandra rose
You have me on these! They are my now absolute favorite of all breakfasts! And I really love the fact that they are so healthy! Thanks for the recipe!
Rebecca
It happens that energy bars and cereal bars are high up my To-Bake list ;) So I will definitly give these ones a try, too :D (I am addicted to everything with apples, can't help it ;))
Take care!
alexandra
Awesome! I'd love to hear what you think if/when you get a chance to try them out. :)
Jamie
I'm making them tonight... Can't wait to try them x
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
Love the flavors in these bars, they'd make a great afternoon snack!