Homemade Oatmeal Bars (Quaker Copycat Recipe)
Make these deliciously wholesome Quaker oatmeal bars, a perfect breakfast or snack. Packed with rolled oats and toasted walnuts, they’re a guilt-free treat!
I’m all for having quick and easy grab-and-go snacks in the house. These kinds of things are ideal for growing (and ravenous!) teenagers.
But have you read the ingredient list on a box of granola bars from the grocery store? There are so many additives in them. That’s why I love making my own versions of those kinds of snacks at home.
Too busy to make this right away? Pin it for later! Pin this post to your favorite board on Pinterest and it will be there when you’re ready!
Making my own homemade snacks means that I can control all of the ingredients, like with today’s recipe for oat bars.
These delicious bars are perfect for a quick snack or breakfast on the run.
Except for the icing, there is no added sugar. The sweetness comes from real maple syrup instead.
Best of all, this recipe is easily adjusted to suit your family’s taste preferences. Sounds like a major win to me!
Prep time: 2.5 hours
Cook: 20 mins
Total: 1 hr 15 min
Yield: 8-12 servings
Oatmeal Bars Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened or nonstick spray
- 5 cups rolled oats
- 1 1.2 cups toasted walnuts, chopped
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 4 1/2 cups milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 eggs, beaten lightly
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Icing:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 4 oz cream cheese, room temp
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 F.
2. Butter or spray your pan.
3. In a large bowl, combine oats, walnuts (save 1/3 cup for top), cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together milk, heavy cream, vanilla, eggs, and maple syrup.
5. Pour the wet ingredients over the top of the oat mixture and stir to make sure everything is incorporated and there are no dry spots. Press the mixture into a 9×13″ baking dish.
6. Bake for 40-45 mins until golden brown and no liquid is left on the surface.
To make the frosting, mix cream cheese and butter until smooth.
1. Add in the powdered sugar and heavy cream or coffee creamer.
2. Let the oatmeal bars cool for at least 10-15 mins before cutting into squares and drizzling the top of the bars with frosting.
3. Sprinkle on extra walnuts.
Variations:
- I prefer to use old-fashioned oats for this recipe, but you could try a combination of old-fashioned and quick oats if you wanted.
- Make oatmeal chocolate chip bars by adding white, milk, or dark chocolate chips in with your dry ingredients. You could also use mini chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or mini M&Ms.
- Include chopped dried fruit, like raisins, cranberries, or apricots.
- Try different nuts or add in some chia seeds.
- If you don’t have maple syrup, you can substitute a 1/2 cup of honey instead.
Tips and Tricks:
- Save yourself the clean up and line your baking dish with parchment paper. It will prevent any sticking and, if you leave some excess hanging over the edges, it makes lifting the bars out of the pan so easy.
- Once you have cut the oat bars and they have cooled completely, wrap each one individually in plastic wrap before storing them. This makes it so easy to throw one into a lunch kit, backpack, or purse on the way out the door.
- Store the bars at room temperature in an airtight container.
I would love to hear about your favorite version of this delicious recipe for baked oatmeal bars! Be sure to check out these crunchy oatmeal bars too – they have tons of five star reviews!
If you love this homemade oatmeal bars recipe, please give it a five star review and share it on Facebook and Pinterest so others can enjoy it too!
Homemade Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter softened or nonstick spray
- 5 cups rolled oats
- 1 1.2 cups toasted walnuts chopped
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 4 1/2 cups milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 eggs beaten lightly
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- Icing
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 4 oz cream cheese room temp
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- 2. Butter or spray your pan.
- 3. In a large bowl, combine oats, walnuts (save 1/3 cup for top), cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
- 4. In a separate bowl, mix together milk, heavy cream, vanilla, eggs, and maple syrup.
- 5. Pour the wet ingredients over the top of the oat mixture and stir to make sure everything is incorporated and there are no dry spots.
- 6. Bake for 40-45 mins until golden brown and no liquid is left on the surface.
To make the frosting, mix cream cheese and butter until smooth.
- 1. Add in the powdered sugar and heavy cream or coffee creamer.
- 2. Let the oatmeal bars cool for at least 10-15 mins before cutting into squares and drizzling the top of the bars with frosting.
- 3. Sprinkle on extra walnuts.
Nutrition
What size pan?
Sorry! a 9×13 baking dish
Have you tried using this recipe for cookies rather than bars? I’m wondering if they will flatten out. I haven’t found a classic oatmeal cookie recipe that doesn’t do that.
I have not BUT you should try my grandmas chocolate chip oatmeal cookie recipe (it an older blog post but they are my go-to oatmeal cookie). https://homemadeheather.com/classic-chocolate-chip-oatmeal-cookies/