Healthy Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

Oatmeal Raspberry Bars are a mostly healthy recipe that begin with an oat-maple syrup crust that is layered with tart, juicy raspberries and topped with a buttery crumble. Pop them in the oven and bake to golden brown perfection.

We love fruit desserts, if you are looking for more try these Strawberry Cheesecake Bites, topped with mini chocolate chips. Or make this Banana Chocolate Oat Bread, it only has 4 ingredients!

Did I want to make this a decadent raspberry dessert, yes I did. However, the year has just begun and I know you are looking for those healthy recipes to start the new year off right.

So, today I have got you covered and am arming you with this raspberry recipe that can be eaten for breakfast, is an oh so perfect snack, or a healthy dessert.

And guess what, I use frozen raspberries in this recipe so that it can be made all year long. JOY! And you will want to be making it throughout the year. Trust me.

Since this raspberry filling is made with real raspberries, it doesn’t end up overly sweet like a raspberry jam would be. It’s full of good for you ingredients, to keep you fueled without the guilt.

Serve these baked oatmeal bars with greek yogurt, whipped cream, a scoop of frozen yogurt, or ice cream for a special treat.

What are Raspberry Oat Bars?

Whole raspberries get cooked with sweet maple syrup and thickened with a little cornstarch to create the gooey, warm filling. This gets layered onto the almond buttery oatmeal crust that doubles as the crumbly oat topping.

Once these fruit bars have cooled, they can be cut into squares and picked up. Or if you eat them warm after they come out of the oven, you’ll probably need a fork.

These raspberry crumb bars are full of wholesome ingredients which makes them filling and will help keep you energized throughout the day.

Raspberry Bar Ingredients

Here are the simple ingredients needed to make raspberry crumble bars, check out the recipe card at the bottom of this blog post for full ingredient amounts.

Crust Ingredients

• Almond Flour: Almond flour has more nutrients than all purpose flour or coconut flour and is lower in carbohydrates.
• Rolled Oats: You want the old fashioned oats. Use gluten-free oats if you have a gluten intolerance.
• Baking Powder: Make sure the baking powder is still active by adding a pinch to a tiny bowl of vinegar. If it fizzes it is still good.
• Maple Syrup: Maple syrup is a natural sweetener. You can also use honey, but the recipe will no longer be vegan.
• Almond Butter: This is used as a replacement for a fat. You could also use coconut oil in its place.
• Vanilla: Make sure to use vanilla extract not imitation vanilla flavor.
• Cinnamon: Just a little ground cinnamon.
• Salt: Just a small amount of salt is used to help bring out the natural flavors.

Raspberry Jam Ingredients

• Raspberries: I use frozen berries that are unsweetened.
• Lemon: Use real lemon juice and not bottled lemon juice.
• Maple Syrup: Only a tablespoon is needed to add some sweetness.
• Cornstarch: Is used as a thickener in the raspberry filling.

How to Make Raspberry Bars

• Pre heat oven. Preheat oven and line a 9×9 square pan with parchment paper. Add a little olive oil, avocado oil or coconut oil to a paper towel and grease the parchment. Set aside.
• Mix dry ingredients to make the crust/topping. In a large bowl, mix together the almond flour, oatmeal, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
• Add in wet ingredients. Next, add in maple syrup, almond butter, and vanilla extract. Mix with a wooden spoon until well combined. Press the crust into the bottom of the prepared pan, keeping aside 1/2 cup for crumb topping.

• Make raspberry filling. In a medium pot, add in frozen raspberries, lemon juice, maple syrup, and vanilla. Cook for 3-4 minutes on medium heat, smashing up the berries. Add cornstarch and cook another minute. Pour raspberry mixture over the oat crust.
• Oat topping. Take the remaining oat mixture and crumble it as evenly as possible over the raspberry layer.
• Bake. Place the baking dish into the oven to bake.
• Let set and refrigerate. Remove the bars from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once cooled down, place into the fridge for a few hours to harden. They will be easy to remove from the pan by lifting up the parchment. Cut into bars and enjoy!

Tips for Success

• Line the baking pan. Use parchment paper to line your baking dish, leaving some overhang to easily remove the bars and then coat with a thin layer of oil.
• Use old-fashioned oats. You want to use old fashioned oatmeal, not instant oats or quick oats for best results.

Recipe Variations

• Use raspberry jam. If you are short on time, substitute in raspberry preserves or raspberry jam for all of the filling ingredients. It won’t be as natural and will be sweeter because of the extra sugar. You will need about 1 1/4 cups of jelly and just omit all of the other ingredients for the filling.
• Different sized pan. You can use a 9×9 square baking pan for thinner bars, but you will need to reduce cooking time.
• Almond extract. Replace the vanilla extract with almond extract.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Can I use fresh raspberries? You can use fresh berries, but if you do reduce the cornstarch down to 2 tablespoons instead of 3 tablespoons.
• Is this recipe gluten free? As long as you use gluten free oats, this is a gluten free recipe. The flour that is used here is almond flour which does not contain gluten.
• Is this recipe vegan? This recipe is vegan unless you use honey instead of maple syrup.

How to Store & Reheat

Let the bars cool and put in an airtight container. They should last about 4-6 days in the refrigerator.

How do you reheat bars? You can pop these bars in the microwave for a bit until heated to desired temperature.

Can I Freeze Raspberry Bars?

How to freeze raspberry bars? Let the bars cool completely before putting into an air tight, freezer-safe container. They can be frozen for 3 months, just be sure to label with the recipe and date.

How to thaw raspberry oat bars? Thaw frozen cooked raspberry bars on a plate in the refrigerator overnight until defrosted.

Try these other fruit recipes!

• Apple Cinnamon Bread
• Triple Berry Crisp
• Apple Crisp with Gala Apples
• Air Fryer Peach Cobbler
• Cranberry Lemon Bars

If you’ve tried this raspberry oatmeal bars recipe, don’t forget to give me a star rating and leave me a comment below in the comment section. I love to hear from people who have made my recipes!

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