4-Ingredient Healthy and Easy Baked Oatmeal Bars
Use this base recipe to make a versatile breakfast bar! These 4-ingredient baked oatmeal bars are perfect for meal prepping or grab-and-go breakfasts!
Looking for a breakfast that’s healthy, filling, and doesn’t take a lot of fuss? This simple baked oatmeal recipe is made with just a few simple ingredients and come together in no time. They bake up soft, chewy, and perfectly portable.
The best part? You can mix in whatever you like—chocolate chips, berries, nuts, or dried fruit—to make them your own. This easy recipe is perfect for meal prep and is easy to grab on busy mornings. Those individual portions make an easy breakfast option when you’re in a hurry!
What’s in 4-ingredient baked oatmeal?
This base recipe uses a few basic ingredients to create a canvas you can personalize with add-ins!
- Oatmeal: I recommend quick oats for this recipe. You can use any type of oats: instant oats, rolled oats, steel cut oats. Each style will give you a different texture.
- Milk: Any milk will work in this recipe. I use whole milk, but oat milk, unsweetened almond milk, or coconut milk will all work!
- Honey: You can sub this with pure maple syrup or agave syrup in a 1:1 ratio.
- Eggs: You need 2 eggs for this recipe. You can sub this for 1 banana, but your bars will have a denser texture.
- Mix-ins (Optional): Create tons of new flavors with add-ins! Chocolate chips, peanut butter, almond butter, vanilla extract, chia seeds, berries, or nuts are all fantastic!
Making baked oats
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until well combined. Add any mix-ins you’ll be using. I added blueberries to mine!
Pour the oatmeal mixture into a 9×9 square baking dish lined with parchment paper or sprayed with cooking spray. Smooth out the oat mixture in the prepared baking dish, and feel free to sprinkle with more mix-ins before you bake!
Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow the bars to cool, then cut them into squares. You can also add a sprinkle of brown sugar, a drizzle of glaze or chocolate, or any of your favorite toppings to the tops!
Flavor Ideas
There are so many different ways to dress these basic bars up for endless variety in your quick breakfast! Here are a few of my favorite different flavors:
- Blueberry Almond: Mix in blueberries and almonds before baking. Finish with a powdered sugar glaze.
- Peanut Butter Chocolate: Add 2 tbsp of peanut butter and 1/2 cup of chocolate chips to the batter before baking. Finish with a chocolate drizzle.
- Banana Walnut: Sub 1/2 banana for one of the eggs and add walnuts to the batter. Sprinkle with brown sugar before serving!
- Salted Caramel: Add 1/2 cup caramel chips to the batter. Sprinkle with fine sea salt to garnish.
FAQs
Let them cool completely, then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the fridge for up to a week. They also freeze really well—just wrap individually and thaw as needed.
They’re great eaten as-is for a grab-and-go breakfast, but you can also warm them up and top with yogurt, nut butter, or a drizzle of honey.
You can easily swap the milk for almond, oat, or coconut milk. If you want extra richness, try using canned coconut milk.
4I-Ingredient Baked Oatmeal Squares
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups quick oatmeal
- 1 cup milk of choice
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
- optional mix-ins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Stir until well combined.
- Line a 9×9 baking dish with parchment paper. Pour oatmeal mixture into prepared pan and smooth out.
- Bake oatmeal at 350° for 25-30 minutes. Oatmeal is done when the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow oatmeal to cool to room temperature. Cut into squares.
- To store: place in airtight container in refrigerator for up to a week.
