These Applesauce Oatmeal Bars are a delicious easy-to-make dessert. With more than 150 Five-Star reviews and 200,000 shares on Pinterest, these oat bars are one of my most popular recipes.
Delicious Homemade Oatmeal Bars
This recipe first came about when I had a surplus of my home canned applesauce in my pantry. I adapted a favorite recipe for raspberry oat bars and used the applesauce instead of raspberry jam. The result is a delicious apple pie tasting bar!
My kids have always been my official taste testers and I know I have a winning recipe when they keep coming back for more. These bars disappear in no time at all.
Oatmeal Bars Recipe Ingredients
This section reviews the best ingredients and substitutions for this recipe. For an exact list of ingredients and quantities, check the recipe card below.
- Butter - salted butter
- Brown Sugar
- Flour
- Oats - old fashioned oats
- Applesauce - sweetened or unsweetened works fine
You can use any type of oatmeal you have on hand. I prefer to use old fashioned oats in these bars rather than instant or one-minute oats. The old fashioned variety is thicker and adds great texture to the bars.
How to make Baked Oatmeal Bars
In this section, I share step-by-step photos, cooking methods, techniques, and a general overview. For detailed instructions, temperatures, and timing, check the printable recipe card below.
- Place butter, flour and brown sugar into a food processor. Pulse until mixture becomes coarse crumbs.
- Add oats and cinnamon. Pulse just until mixed. The mixture will be dry and crumbly.
3. Add half the mixture to the bottom of a greased pan. Press down firmly with your hands
4. Mix additional cinnamon with applesauce. Add on top of flour mixture in pan
5. Sprinkle on the remaining flour mixture.
6. Bake in a 325° oven for 40-45 minutes
7. Allow bars to fully cool before slicing
Oatmeal Bar Recipe Tips
- Use salted butter that is softened. The butter should be soft enough to spread easily on a slice of bread
- Use old fashioned oats, which are a bit thicker than a quick oat.
- Allow bars to cool before slicing
- Store any leftover bars in a covered container
What if I don't have a food processor?
I mixed this crust in a food processor, but if you don't have one I have a few options for you:
- First, you can place the crust ingredients in a bowl and mix using a mixer with beaters. Make certain the butter is very soft, but not melted.
- Second, you could mix with your hands. Place ingredients in a bowl and use your hands or your fingers to mix. This may be a bit messy, but your hands are really a great kitchen tool. Simply use your fingers to mash butter into the flour and oat mixture.
Oatmeal Bar Recipe FAQs
The bars will last for 2-3 days. Store covered at room temperature.
You may use any type of applesauce in these bars. I use my homemade applesauce but store-bought works great too. Use sweetened or unsweetened applesauce.
Yes, these can be frozen. However, the bars are soft so it’s best to cut the bars and remove them from the pan. Then layer them in a freezer-safe container with sheets of parchment paper or waxed paper between each layer. Best used within 3 months.
More great desserts
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Oatmeal Bar Recipe
Equipment
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (cut into small pieces, at room temperature)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 cup oats
Filling
- 1½ - 2 cups applesauce
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325° and spray a 9 x 13" baking dish with a non-stick spray .
- In a food processor bowl, add butter, brown sugar and flour. Pulse until mixture forms small, pea sized crumbs.1 cup butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 cups flour
- Add cinnamon and oats. Pulse just until incorporated.1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon, 1 cup oats
- Place half the oat mixture into prepared baking dish. Press mixture down with your hands.
Filling
- In a small mixing bowl combine applesauce and cinnamon.1½ - 2 cups applesauce, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pour filling on top of oat mixture. Spread evenly over oat mixture.
- Sprinkle remaining oat mixture over applesauce.
- Bake in a preheated 325° oven for 40 - 45 minutes.
- Allow bars to fully cool before slicing into 12 equal pieces.
Notes
- Use salted butter that is softened. The butter should be soft enough to spread easily on a slice of bread
- Use old fashioned oats, which are a bit thicker than a quick oat.
- Some people prefer not quite as much applesauce filling. You can use 1 ½ cups instead of the 2 cups.
- Allow bars to cool before slicing
- Store any leftover bars in a covered container
- First, you can place the crust ingredients in a bowl and mix using a mixer with beaters. Make certain the butter is very soft, but not melted.
- Second you could mix with your hands. Place ingredients in a bowl and use your hands or your fingers to mix. This may be a bit messy, but your hands are really a great kitchen tool. Simply use your fingers to mash butter into the flour and oat mixture.
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted in February 2018.
Jane says
Super easy recipe with wonderful results! My husband and I delivered them to several people we thought needed cheering. We had many requests for this recipe. Thank you for sharing Kathy!
Kathy says
Thank you so much! How wonderful for you to spread cheer! They probably enjoyed the company as much as the treat! 🙂
Annie says
Have you tried freezing these?
Kathy says
Hi Annie,
Yes, you can freeze these bars after they are fully baked and cool.
Enjoy! 🙂
Melissa says
Just made these and oh my gosh… AMAZING. Definitely going to be in my rotation of treats! 😍
Kathy says
Thank so much!!!
Jennifer Breton says
I'm so excited to find this recipe! The first recipe I learned in home economics was very much like this one and I have lost it somehow. Thanks for posting this yummy treat!
Kathy says
Yay!!! I hope you enjoy! I learned how to make cinnamon toast in the oven in my home ec. class. Ha-Ha!!!
Luella says
I can't wait to try these do they have to be refrigerated after they are cooled? Family get together on saturday.
Kathy says
Hi Luella,
The bars do not need to be refrigerated.
Enjoy! 🙂
Janet says
Excellent! Thanks for a keeper. We have ours with vanilla ice cream.
Kathy says
Thank you!!! 🙂
Terri says
This is a very nice recipe, I’d like to make more recipes from beyond the chicken coop seeing this recipe went so well!
I like when recipes actually work!
Thank you!
Kathy says
Thank you!!! I appreciate you leaving a comment and I hope you enjoy many more delicious recipes! 🙂
Kathy
Neb says
at best these were "ok" i used homemade applesauce from an early picking of Chehalis apples so a bit tart apple sauce i made them 1x as listed just bland
2nd batch i doubled cinnamon lots better but still lacking flavor 3rd batch 3x cinnamon and added raisin's soaked in a bit of bourbon and walnuts then they were "good"
just my 2cents
Kathy says
Thank you for your feedback. 🙂
Jane says
Have to wonder if the brand of cinnamon we use would make a difference.
Kathy says
Hi Jane,
I haven't compared different brands of cinnamon so I don't know. Use what you have on hand.
Kathy
Alicia says
Hi! I'm wondering if I could use coconut oil instead of butter for this recipe. Trying to stay away from dairy. Thanks!! Alicia.
Kathy says
Hi Alicia,
I have not ever used coconut oil in baking before. But I did a quick Google search and it looks like you can replace the butter for coconut oil with a 1:1 ratio. Give it a try and let me know how they turn out!
Kathy 🙂
Neb says
remember butter has about 18% water in it so wile you can sub 1 to 1 butter with coconut oil it might come out a bit greasy or dry as ur not getting that 18% liquid in your recipe
April S. says
How long are these good for if stored on the counter in an airtight container? I didn’t have a food processor so I used a hand mixer (ninja blender didn’t work haha) so my crumble was bigger and they were very soft once cooked but delicious reheated/toasted!! YUM!
Kathy says
Hi April,
These should be good for 2-4 days stored on your counter. Glad you are enjoying them!
Kathy 🙂
Paula says
These bars are delicious and so easy.
Kathy says
Thanks!
Gayle Marie says
I made these last week for my 20 mos old grandson. He and the kids loved them. My daughter compared them to that "Christmas Crack" that you can't stop eating!!
I added some dried cranberries and was afraid they would absorb liquid, so I used the full 2 cups of applesauce. They took forever to cook and still came out a bit too soft but oh they were delicious!!! ❤
I have another batch in the oven.......used 1 stick of butter and 1/2 cup of solid coconut butter. Hoping once the coconut butter melts, it doesn't ruin the crust and crumble on top. I still put in dried cranberries but decreased the unsweetened applesauce to about 1 1/2 cups. Will cook them longer but keep any eye on them.
Once the kids cut into them, I'll let you know how they came out with the substitution. BTW, my adorable blonde haired, blue eyed grandson walks around with one piece in each fist and don't try to ask for one little bite. Oh no, no, no.......!!!! Thanks again!
Kathy says
Hi Gayle,
How fun you are and how lucky to have your grandbabies! The dried cranberries sound like a great addition. Let me know how the 2nd batch turns out. I've never used coconut butter before so I'm curious how it is.
Thank you!
Kathy
Kim says
Great recipe, thank you for sharing! I do not think it needs 1 cup of butter, I am going to try again over the weekend with 1/2 cup. I also think the butter needs to be harder to cube and make it more like a crumb cake base ... otherwise, love the recipe ... super easy, super healthy - win win!!!
Kathy says
Hi Kim,
Thanks for the suggestions. Let me know how they turn out! I always like to try new tweaks with recipes.
Thank you!
Kathy 🙂
Lisa says
The only substitute I made was using vegan butter to make this a vegan recipe and pumpkin spice in the crust/topping in place of cinnamon; Everything else I left the same. After 40 minutes, mine was very soft, more like a mushy apple pie than any slice-able bars. I ended up baking it another 30 minutes before it was done. The flavor is amazing and i'll definitely make again but next time I will reduce the amount of applesauce to 1 cup or 1 1/2 cups!
Kathy says
Hi Lisa,
Thank you for your comment. I have added your tip of reducing the applesauce as an option to the recipe. I have found when I make this, that the applesauce varies with the amount of liquid each time and that can add to the additional cook time. These are a softer bar, but should not be mushy.
Thank you!
Kathy 🙂
Melanie Adams says
This is a great recipe but I did make a few changes for what I had on hand. I used steel cut oats, very hearty! Subbed a spice mix I had leftover from an apple cake I recently made, instead of just cinnamon. I used 4 single serve applesauce cups, 3 unsweetened and one was strawberry flavored my son brought home from school. I also had 2 snack cups of diced peach and pear so I mixed those in with the applesauce. Lastly, I dotted half the pan with leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving. They are really delicious.
Kathy says
Sounds like a good combination!
Helen says
Could you use almond flour instead? If so, would be same amount (1:1 ratio)?
Kathy says
Hi Helen,
I have not used almond flour before. I did a quick search and read up on almond flour. It should be okay to substitute it in these bars. Sub at a 1:1 ratio. Let me know how they turn out.
Kathy 🙂
erin says
This is one of our family's favorite desserts! Simple and delicious.
Kathy says
Thanks, Erin! I'm so glad everyone loves it. It's one of our favorites too!
Celia says
Easy to make, turned out very well. I cut down the amount of sugar by half in the oatmeal mixture and it was fine. I had a lot of small apples from the tree in my garden to use up. Peeling them would have taken too long to peel them all. So I just cored them and whizzed them in the food processor and the skins weren’t noticeable.
Kathy says
Hi Celia,
Great idea and I loved that you were able to use up what you had on hand.
Kathy 🙂
Katherine S says
I am going to make these today.i am using leftover apple puree from a spiced apple cider I made so there' will bea nice spiced flavour.
Kathy says
Sounds like a good use of that leftover puree! Enjoy 🙂
Sabrina says
Very tasty! We liked that it wasn’t overly sweet. I added some chopped pecans on top and it gave a nice crunch! Already planning to bake again.
Kathy says
Hi Sabrina,
Chopped pecans sounds like a great idea! I'm going to add those the next time I make these bars!
eileen lakritz says
is it a 9 x12 or a 9 x 13 baking dish?
Kathy says
Either one is fine.
Ellie says
Hi, do you use sweetened applesauce or unsweetened?
Kathy says
Hi Ellie,
Either sweetened or unsweetened applesauce works fine in this recipe.
Enjoy!