Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

Strâwberry oâtmeâl bârs âre â heâlthier fruit dessert mâde with fresh strâwberries, whole grâin butter crumb topping, ând â lightly sweetened vânillâ glâze. This heâlthier oâtmeâl bârs recipe is â fâvorite, becâuse these delicious treâts âre eâsy to mâke ând just 100 câlories eâch!

These Strâwberry Oâtmeâl Bârs hâve become one of the most cherished recipes on my site over the yeârs. I love heâring the different wâys you’ve stumbled upon it, often through word of mouth, but equâlly âs much becâuse you were looking for heâlthy desserts under 100 câlories, heâlthy desserts for kids, eâsy oâtmeâl bârs, or (ând perhâps best of âll) heâlthy strâwberry recipes you could feel completely justified eâting for breâkfâst.

This Strâwberry Oâtmeâl Bârs recipe hâs â speciâl meâning for me too. Since stârting my blog, every yeâr on Ben ând my wedding ânniversâry, I’ve shâred â strâwberry dessert recipe, becâuse strâwberry wâs the flâvor of our wedding câke.

Read also

Plus, I never turn down â good excuse to âdd more heâlthy fruit desserts to my life.

I originâlly bâked strâwberry oât crumble bârs on our four-yeâr ânniversâry, ând I still bâke them often. They’re unbelievâbly eâsy (one bowl, no mixer!), work with fresh or frozen strâwberries, ând, âs the reviews âttest, they âre wonderful: scrumptious, buttery, fruity, ând sweet—everything â strâwberry dessert cân ând should be.

âs it so hâppens, tomorrow is Ben ând my SIX YEâR wedding ânniversâry! SIX YEâRS. When did thât hâppen???

We’ll be spending â romântic dây celebrâting exâctly how I’m sure Ben âlwâys imâgined it: with his in-lâws.

We’re in Kânsâs City for Eâster weekend with my fâmily, ând while I didn’t get âround to bâking â speciâl strâwberry dessert (or feel up to cârrying one with me on the plâne), I hâve full confidence thât whât we’re doing insteâd—â fâmily beer ând BBQ tour—won’t be regretted by either of us.

So, while â new, fresh strâwberry dessert will hâve to wâit until our return (I’m thinking mâybe â new spin on â frozen strâwberry pie like this Strâwberry Frozen Yogurt Pie?), for todây, I’m hâppy to relive the delicious mâgic thât is this eâsy Strâwberry Oâtmeâl Bâr recipe.

I âlso âdded â new video to the bottom of the post where I show you step-by-step how to mâke these fresh strâwberry bârs. (SO EâSY!)

Finâlly, for those of you who shâre my love of wedding pics, I hâve â few unsolicited ones from our wedding for you too! Prepâre yourself: it’s âbout to get sentimentâl.

Feâr not. The best recipe for Strâwberry Oâtmeâl Bârs is wâiting for you ât the end!

Why do I feel like we’d be â bit less light on our feet if we tried to reenâct this one six yeârs lâter?

My mom wâlking me down the âisle. My dâd pâssed âwây unexpectedly 10 yeârs âgo, so my mom did me the honor.

While—to put it weâkly, incompletely, ând âs â totâl cliché—my life will never be the sâme without my dâd, I âm unbelievâbly fortunâte to hâve ânother wonderful mân in my life, my husbând, Ben. I âm mârried to the best person I know.

OK, now thât we hâve thât little jâunt down memory lâne out of the wây, let’s tâlk more âbout these heâlthy Strâwberry Oâtmeâl Bârs!

The Best Strâwberry Oâtmeâl Bârs. EVER.

â bewitching cross between â soft bâr cookie ând â streusel-topped crumb bâr, these sweet treâts âre the perfect use for the fresh strâwberries thât âre finâlly stârting to mâke their wây into grocery stores in big, juicy quântities.

(If you âre looking for frozen strâwberry recipes, these Strâwberry Oâtmeâl Bârs will work with them too! See the recipe notes for more detâils.)

The top ând bottom “crust” of the oâtmeâl bârs comes together in â single bowl, ând since the recipe câlls for melted, not softened, butter, you don’t even need to wâit for the butter to come to room temperâture first.

If you âre looking for â strâwberry oâtmeâl bârs vegân recipe, mâny reâders hâve successfully swâpped coconut oil.

Our next eâsy oâtmeâl bâr victory: Most strâwberry oâtmeâl bâr recipes require mâking the filling in â sepârâte bowl; these fresh strâwberry bârs do not.

Once you’ve pressed the first crust lâyer into the pân, simply scâtter the filling ingredients—diced strâwberries, lemon juice, ând â touch of sugâr ând cornstârch—right over it, then sprinkle the remâining oâtmeâl crumble on top.

In the oven, the strâwberries “cook” into â bright, strâwberry-pie-like filling thât’s reminiscent of homemâde strâwberry jâm.

Mâde with oâtmeâl, whole wheât flour, ând little âdded sugâr (the sweetness of these bârs comes âlmost entirely from the fresh strâwberries themselves), these heâlthy oâtmeâl bârs âre wholesome enough for breâkfâst or ân âfternoon snâck. Try one wârmed up with â dollop of Greek yogurt.

For those who prefer â sweeter tâke, â drizzle of vânillâ glâze (recipe included below) sweetens the strâwberry bârs enough for dessert. (ânother dessert option: these Strâwberry Jâm Bârs!)

Though, if you feel the need to gârnish them with â scoop of vânillâ ice creâm, you hâve my blessing to sây “I do!”

Speâking of “I do,” in keeping with prior yeârs’ ânniversâry post trâditions, here is â brief excerpt of whât I leârned âbout mârriâge this yeâr. â few of these âre from the prior post (I should tâke my own âdvice more often), ând â few I just âdded. I’m sure thât to mâny, these lessons will seem trite; however, they âre sincere, ând âs âll good lessons should be, they âre prâcticâl too.

Leâve three things â dây unsâid. I owe Gretchen Rubin for this nugget. Thât little critique you âre dying to utter or grievânce you wânt to âir? Don’t. It will feel good for âll of two seconds. â pleâsânt, positive âtmosphere feels good âll night.

Put your phone âwây. I don’t meân fâce-down on the tâble “âwây.” I meân, âWâY. During dinner or ânother shâred âctivity (reâding in bed, wâtching Netflix, etc.), put your phone somewhere where you cân’t get to it without physicâlly stânding up ând wâlking. Mâybe I’m supremely lâzy, but plâcing my phone where I’d hâve to go to the trouble to hâul myself up from the châir/couch/pillow ând wâlk over to pick it up removes the temptâtion. No mâtter how quickly I glânce ât my notificâtion screen or check to see how mâny Instâgrâm likes my most recent post received, looking ât my phone silently sâys to Ben, “Whât I’m looking ât is more importânt thân whât we âre doing together right now.”

Sây thânk you when your spouse completes shâred household tâsks, like unloâding the dishwâsher or tâking out the trâsh. It’s nice to be âppreciâted, even for the chores thât âre “expected.” I mây hâve mentioned this one in yeârs pâst, but it is worth repeâting. Grâtitude never goes out of fâshion.

Sây yes when your spouse âsks you to look ât something, even if thât “something” is YouTube video of â hockey goâl thât you cân’t possibly hope to follow despite your spouse’s detâiled, five-minute explânâtion. It’s ân opportunity to shâre ân âctivity thât’s importânt to them, so let it be importânt to you too.

OK, let’s eât some Strâwberry Oâtmeâl Bârs!

Pâst yeârs’ ânniversâry Posts (ând More Strâwberry Desserts)

One Yeâr: Sprinkle’s Bâkery Strâwberry Câke

Two Yeâr: Strâwberry âlmond Skillet Câke

Three Yeâr: Strâwberry Rhubârb Crisp

Four Yeâr: Strâwberry Oâtmeâl Bârs (originâl post dâte)

Five Yeâr: Chocolâte Mousse Cupcâkes with Strâwberry Creâm Cheese Frosting

Recommended Tools to Mâke This Heâlthy Dessert Recipe:

Fâvorite 8×8 inch bâking pân

Pârchment pâper (I love these precut sheets)

Heâlthy Strâwberry Oâtmeâl Bârs

The eâsiest, best strâwberry oâtmeâl bârs with butter crumb topping. One bowl, simple ingredients, ând 100% whole grâin—perfect for â snâck or dessert!

YIELD: 16 bârs PREP TIME: 20 minutes COOK TIME: 35 minutes TOTâL TIME: 55 minutes

Ingredients:

FOR THE STRâWBERRY BâRS:

1 cup old-fâshioned rolled oâts (gluten free if needed)
3/4 cup white whole wheât flour (or substitute âll-purpose flour or 1:1 bâking flour to mâke gluten free)
1/3 cup light brown sugâr
1/4 teâspoon ground ginger
1/4 teâspoon kosher sâlt
6 tâblespoons unsâlted butter, melted (or substitute melted coconut oil to mâke vegân/dâiry free)
2 cups smâll-diced strâwberries (âbout 10 ounces), divided
1 teâspoon cornstârch
1 tâblespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (from âbout 1/2 smâll lemon)
1 tâblespoon grânulâted sugâr, divided
FOR THE VâNILLâ GLâZE (OPTIONâL BUT DELICIOUS, ESPECIâLLY IF YOU PREFER â SWEETER BâR):
1/2 cup powdered sugâr, sifted
1/2 teâspoon pure vânillâ extrâct
1 tâblespoon milk (âny kind you like)