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These strawberry oatmeal bars are thick, gooey, and loaded with juicy strawberries and melted chocolate. Naturally sweetened with bananas, they need just 5 main ingredients.
Craving for more oatmeal bars? Try my no-bake oatmeal bars, oatmeal raisin bars, and oatmeal chocolate chip bars next.
If you regularly make my healthy granola bars but want something with a bit more substance to it, you’ll love my strawberry oat bars.
They’re the best of both worlds. With a gooey, soft texture and delightfully sweet flavor, you’d never guess they’re packed with fiber and super healthy.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Diet-friendly. These bars are naturally flourless, vegan, oil-free, and made with no added sugar.
- Easy to customize. You can add, swap, or substitute most of the ingredients to completely transform the flavor.
- Perfect any time of the day. I’m a dessert for breakfast kind of guy, but they also make a great midday snack or post-workout treat.
- They’re great for meal prep. These bars freeze like a dream and can be easily packed in a lunch box for a healthy treat.
★★★★★ REVIEW
“Very good, very easy! I was expecting a firmer texture, more like a granola bar, but no, these were soft and yummy. Next time I would add double the strawberries because I really enjoyed those little bursts of sweetness.” – Diana
Ingredients needed
- Rolled oats. Also called old-fashioned oats, they provide a chewy texture we love in bars! Use gluten-free rolled oats if needed, but I suggest avoiding quick oats or steel-cut oats since their texture won’t really work in this recipe.
- Peanut butter. Smooth and drippy peanut butter with no added salt or sugar. You can also use almond butter if you prefer.
- Banana. The riper the banana, the sweeter these bars will be! Banana also helps hold the bars together without the need for eggs or butter.
- Fresh strawberries. Obviously needed for a strawberry recipe! Reserve a few sliced up to top the bars with.
- Vanilla extract. Optional, but I love the subtle flavor it adds.
- Chocolate chips. Again, optional, but you can never go wrong with some chocolate chips!
How to make strawberry oatmeal bars
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Prep. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line an 8×8-inch baking dish with parchment paper.
Step 2- Combine ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, banana, peanut butter, and vanilla extract. Stir in the strawberries and chocolate chips.
Step 3- Bake. Transfer the mixture to the lined pan and spread into an even layer. Sprinkle extra chocolate chips and strawberries on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Step 4- Cool. Let the bars cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe tips and variations
- Swap the berries. I tested this recipe with raspberries, blueberries, apples, and even pineapple, and let me tell you, they all tasted incredible!
- Make ultra-gooey bars. Fold in ¼ cup of strawberry preserves for softer, more tender bars.
- Adjust the sweetness. These bars rely on bananas, strawberries, and chocolate chips for sweetness. Taste the batter and add a dash of maple syrup or brown sugar if needed.
- Make them nut-free. Swap the peanut butter for sunflower seed butter or tahini.
- Don’t skip the 10-minute rest time. Trust me, if you try to move or slice the bars before they’ve cooled down, they’ll be way too soft.
- Serve the bars with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a healthy dessert.
- Change the flavor. Fold in cinnamon, lemon zest, or chopped nuts for a totally different flavor profile.
Storage instructions
To store: Strawberry bars should be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to one week.
To freeze: Freeze the bars in a freezer-safe container (or in individual containers for meal prep) and freeze them for up to 6 months. Let the bars thaw overnight in the fridge.
To reheat: While not needed, you can microwave the bars for 10-15 seconds to soften them up, but they’ll be VERY soft.
More recipes using oats
- Brownie baked oatmeal
- No-bake chocolate oat bars
- Oatmeal breakfast cookies
- Blueberry baked oatmeal
- Or any of these recipes with oats
Strawberry Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats gluten-free, if needed
- 1/2 cup peanut butter can sub for any nut or seed butter of choice
- 2 large bananas mashed
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup strawberries chopped
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line an 8 x 8-inch pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine your oats, banana, peanut butter, and vanilla extract and mix until fully incorporated. Fold in your strawberries and chocolate chips.
- Transfer the batter in the lined pan and spread out on an even layer. Top with extra chocolate chips and strawberry, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden on the edges and a skewer comes out clean from the center.
- Allow the bars to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published June 2020, updated and republished April 2024
What is the sugar content?
These bars are so simple & delicious. I add a half scoop of vanilla protein powder & used white chocolate chips & 1/2 cup of strawberries. Delicious!
Thank you for a great recipe!
So welcome, Linda!
You MAKE my day!!!! Thank you
You are so welcome!
Can you use oat flour instead of whole oats for a different texture?
Yes you can!!
Oh my! Perfect snacking! Thank you!
Very good, very easy! I was expecting a firmer texture, more like a granola bar but no, these were soft and yummy. Next time I would add double the strawberries because I really enjoyed those little bursts of sweetness.
I love these bars! So easy and so many ways to make them different with various fruit. I add cinnamon too and use sugar free chips.
Thank you for a devious recipe for breakfast, or anytime snack.
This is my new go to breakfast!
This is the best breakfast bars, all these delicious flavors mixed together. Second batch in Two days! Everyone loves them.
This is the best breakfast bars, all these delicious flavors mixed together. Second batch I. To days! Everyone loves them.
What I can use instead of banana please ?
You could try applesauce.
Honestly I love anything delicious(a MUST!), quick, easy and healthy(a bonus!). So I gave these a try yesterday, as I have a huge amount of strawberries in the fridge. Did everything the same but substituted for wow butter because I wanted to test it for school purposes. The kids both loved this and made those heavenly faces. It stayed nice together, but definitely delicate to handle so I made sure to cut in smaller sizes. Also, the middle was soft and a it was a nice twist in flavour combos. I was wondering about using lemon and blueberry but I wonder if the nut flavour wouldn’t pair well… your thoughts?
Thanks again for another delicious recipe, preparing our second batch tonight <3
This was so delicious! I used raspberries instead and added some coconut flakes. Delicious!
These were easy and yummy!
Made these using frozen strawberries. These are fantastic, I’ve really been enjoying them as a pre-workout bar. Thanks so much for this easy recipe!
Can I use frozen strawberries instead of fresh?
Yes!
How do you store these? Can they be frozen and how many days do they last unfrozen?
Under storage tips in the body of the post.
Made this today…it was fantastic, thank you for the recipe!
So welcome!
Hi I ended up adding the extra 1/2 cup of quick oats. They are perfect! Thanks for the recipe!
What if I used more of them? Like an additional 1/2 cup?
Feel free to experiment and see. Try 1/4 cup first.
All I have a quick oats!! What can I do?
Use them, but your bars will be soft.
That wasn’t my question. I was asking if the texture of the monkfruit in the raw sweetener used in another recipe was similar to powdered sugar. I wouldn’t use it in this recipe because it’s not called for.
Good morning. I asked this on two previous posts,but what is the texture of the monkfruit in the raw sweetener like that you linked to in the recent almond flour brownie recipe post? I have a bag of stevia in the raw that substitutes cup-for-cup with sugar, and it’s powdered sugar texture. Is that what the one you linked to in the brownie post is like?
Hi Emma, I’ve only used whatr is there, so feel free to experiment and see!
Hi Emma, I’ve only used what is there, so feel free to experiment and see!