This post, Steel Cut Oat Breakfast Bars, has been updated as of 12/9/2020 to reflect changes made to the recipe. The changes are intended to help clarify the recipe directions based on questions from readers.
You guys. I’m reeeaaally needing new breakfast ideas. That doesn’t feel like a very food blogger thing to admit. Here’s the thing, despite being a food blogger who is supposed to enjoy testing out new and exciting recipes regularly I can also be a stick in the mud about food sometimes. Though I do love variety, I also somehow am the type of person who eats the same single dish, over, and over again, every day, for a very, very long time. Until I get completely and utterly sick of it anyway. I think I’ve told you guys about my year (yes a literal year) of eating nothing but scrambled eggs for breakfast that occurred back in my North Dakota days?
In more recent years my eat-everyday-for-way-way-too-long breakfast has been peanut butter toast. I’m pretty sure I’ve already crossed the “eat it for a year line” with this one. And the thing is, if I have to look at a piece of peanut butter toast in the morning (heck any time of day at this point) I may cry, or scream, or otherwise carry on.
Given my pattern in the past, I know I’m not going to to be able to face peanut butter toast in the morning for a good two to five years. I mean at this point I will finally eat eggs in the morning again… but it took about five years for me to get to that point.
I need new breakfast choices here friends. I’m starting to revert to my old high school breakfast habits: i.e. eating random stuff and leftovers. Think rice and stew peas, 1/2 a leftover Chickfilla sandwich, lunch meat and cheese, part of a leftover apple pie galette…. In high school my favorite breakfast was leftover spaghetti and meatballs. My Mom always made really good meatballs.
I’ve always felt like this was kind of a weird habit. And not always healthy or practical. Spaghetti and meatballs isn’t exactly portable when you need to get your kiddo to school in the morning and eat on the go.
So. I need new breakfast choices. Obviously, right?
I have been being a good little food blogger and experimenting some with new recipes. I have a quinoa breakfast bowl in the works that isn’t quite right yet, but will probably be very good when I figure out what’s missing. And of course, as you can probably guess, today’s Steel Cut Oat Breakfast Bars are a result of a productive and most successful breakfast experiment.
Here’s what I love about these breakfast bars:
- They are somewhat healthy for you, especially if you decide to forgo the glaze. (Steel cut oats, nuts, fruit!)
- You make a batch of breakfast bars once on the weekend and then you have a significantly more portable than meatballs grab and go breakfast all week.
- My kids eat them happily and without complaint.
- The are yummy: a nice lightly grainy texture, a touch of sweet from the brown sugar and the fruit (or more sweet with the awesome maple glaze!), packed with toasted nuts and whatever other good stuff you want!
- They are very pretty when you take pictures of them. (lol. Food bloggers, right?)
- They actually keep me full until lunch. (Whole grains, protein!)
- These in no way shape or form resemble peanut butter toast. Or eggs. (Still iffy on too many eggs…)
- They are most excellent served with fresh fruit for a nice sit down breakfast if you have time. (I did dried cherries inside and served with fresh cherries one morning when I had the time.)
So. I think you know what you have to do now.
Go make a batch of these lovely bars for yourself of course. That’s totally what you were thinking too, right? But, before you go if you’ve got any brilliant breakfast ideas for me lease leave a comment and let me know! I’ve really gotta stop eating things for so long in a row. I’m ruining some really good foods for myself. Thanks in advance for the suggestions.
Steel Cut Oat Breakfast Bars
Thick, chewy delicious breakfast bars made with steel cut oats.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 9 large squares 1x
Ingredients
Bars:
- 2 1/2 cups steel cut oats (*Please see note below about using different types of oats.)
- Water- Use the amount of water the package directions for your oats suggests.
- 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour (*Note: If you don’t have available it’s OK to use an extra 1/2 cup of all purpose instead.)
- 1/8 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons melted butter or coconut oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup assorted nuts, dried fruit, etc. (I used almonds, pecans, walnuts, and dried cherries.)
Glaze:
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- tiny splash of milk or water
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350*. Line a 8×8 baking pan or Pyrex (*Please see note below on pan sizes.) with a piece of parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Follow the package directions for cooking your steel cut oats. However, only cook the oats for 10 minutes, regardless of the package’s suggested cook time. Drain the oats, getting rid of as much water as possible. Set aside to cool.
3. In a large mixing bowl add flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon baking soda, and salt. Stir so that all the ingredients are evenly distributed.
4. Add the cooked oats, butter or coconut oil, eggs, and vanilla, mix until the the ingredients are well combined. The dough will be moist, and very thick. Add the 1 cup of assorted add ins and mix gently until evenly distributed.
5. Dump the dough into the prepared pan and use your hands or a rubber spatula to flatten the dough into an even flat surface. Bake at 350* for 30-35 minutes. The bars will be set, but still soft when you press gently on them, when they are done. Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan before cutting. If you are glazing the bars, you may do so right away, but still allow the bars to cool fully before cutting.
Glaze:
1. Add the powdered sugar, maple syrup, and splash of milk or water to a small sauce pan over low heat. Allow the ingredients to melt together mixing regularly to prevent burning. When fully melted and combined drizzle over the breakfast bars.
Notes
- This recipe was written and tested with regular steel cut oats. Using quick cooking oats may change the final outcome of the recipe. However, many readers did have good success with the recipe using other types of oats. Please see the comments section for thoughts on how to modify this recipe to use other types of oats.
- I made my bars using an 8×8 pan which does fill the pan completely to the top and yields a very thick bar. A 9×13 pan can be substituted for thinner bars. Also, depending on the brand of oats you use, etc. your oats may expand more than mine did and fit better in a larger pan as well. Just be sure to check your bars a little sooner if you use a larger pan as they may cook faster since the mixture is spread out more in a larger pan.
Keywords: steel cut oats, breakfast bars, steel cut oat bars, health breakfasts, steel cut oat breakfast bars
Adapted from Half Baked Harvest.
OMG! Michelle, these look great! I love oatmeal – these look like they would be tasty and easy to take with. I have a local place that makes a version of these. I have a feeling that yours will much better. – Food Fun Fab
Thank you! Also, got a chance to take a look at your blog today, everything I’ve checked out looks amazing!
I have quick cooking steel cut oats you boil for 7 minutes. How should I alter this recipe? Thanks! Super excited to try this.
Stephanie,
Well, I haven’t tested the recipe with quick oats, so I can’t guarantee the results, but… With quick oats I would not pre-cook the oats at all. Just toss them right into the batter with everything else, uncooked. They should cook completely when you bake the bars in the oven. Let me know how it turns out with your substitution!
I’ve made this with instant steel cut oats (Bob’s mill). I cooked the oats fully according to package details and the result is great. I even added 1 large banana to the mix and some baking powder. I cooked it for 20 min, pressed evenly on a large rimmed pastry sheet in order to obtain breakfast bars instead. Wonderful!
Heidi,
I love love love the idea of adding the banana! I’ll have to try it that way next time I make them, my kids adore banana! Also thanks for the feedback on using the quick cook oats. Very helpful!
The batter is in the oven as I write this and I used quick cook steel cut oats. They blew up to around eight cups after being boiled and I turned them off after about 5 minutes of simmering because I couldn’t stir the pot anymore. They had absorbed all of the water. I adjusted the recipe a lot! And ended up using only half of the oats and the rest I will keep for breakfast. More when I see how they turn out.
Hey Patty,
The recipe really isn’t designed for quick cook steel cut oats. Quick cook oats behave differently then the non quick cook variety. For example, they generally require different amounts of water to cook, and cook way, way faster then regular steel cut oats. I would suspect that would explain the issues you are describing with the recipe.
Some of the other readers have also used quick cooking oats instead of regular; but followed the packages directions for cooking the oats rather then my directions (which are for cooking regular oats) and had that turn out well. Another thought, you could also try not pre-cooking the oats at all if you want to use quick cook and just toss them in the batter as is… though disclaimer, I haven’t tested that myself.
I hope your version of the recipe ends up turning out ok anyway; if it does, perhaps you could share with us what you did? I’m sure others out there want to make the recipe with a quick cook oats as well and all ideas on how to make it work are very welcome.
Thanks for your feedback!
Could you add protein powder to this recipe? If so, how much would you recommend?
Wendy,
I don’t see why not. My little disclaimer: I haven’t tested the recipe this way, so I can’t guarantee the results. But.. If I was going to try it I think I would try replacing 1/4 -1/2 cup of the flour in the recipe with protein powder. I’m not sure if with replacing the flour you would need to add additional water or not. I think you’d just need to watch the texture of the dough to see if you need more. You are looking for a very thick sticky dough, in fact it should pretty much resemble cookie dough. If it’s too dry with the protein powder I’d add an 1/8th of a cup of water at a time and mix and recheck.
Another possibility you could try would be to leave in all the flour, and add a tablespoon of protein powder at a time and an additional 6-9 tablespoons of water. If you keep those proportions I bet you could add a few tablespoons with good results.
I’d love to hear how the recipe turns out with any changes you try!
This was my first recipe with steel cut oats. Was looking for a muffins recipe but came across this recipe and decided to try. This is great bar to have with a cup of coffee in the morning. I will use this again. Moist and chewy!
Gale,
Really pleased to hear you enjoyed the recipe! I love having them with coffee too. :)
I added some nutella and a banana to this with pecans and raisins and added a touch of almond extract in addition to the vanilla. Very moist and tasty. I would definitely want to try a 13×9 pan next time. I switch to a 9×9 cause I thought there was too much dough for a 8×8. Still super thick and I am not sure the middle was fully cooked through. Definitely going to make it again and try new combinations. Might try all almond flour next!
Jackie,
The nutella, banana, pecan, and raisins sound like wonderful additions! However, bananas can add quite a bit of moisture to a recipe, so that may have been why the center was under done. I’d consider adding a little extra time to fix the problem. I bet they would be really good with almond flour as well! I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Do you have any recommendation on storing the bars? I put milk in the glaze and not sure if I should put them in the fridge.
If you have milk in the glaze I would definitely store them in the fridge in an air tight container. You might want to warm them slightly before eating.
Sugar is a preservative, so frosting and glazes generally don’t need to be refrigerated. It’s a common misconception that all foods containing a dairy product must be refrigerated. For glazes, in particular, they contain mostly powdered sugar and very little milk and they dry on top of the baked good, allowing them to last a very long time at room temperature, at least as long as the actual baked good. The bars, themselves, will probably go bad/stale before that glaze does!
Well there you go! Safe to store at room temp. Thanks for the info Kelly.
Though, I’ll probably still store mine in the fridge anyhow. I’m admittedly over cautious when it comes to food storage. I always air on the side of extra caution with this kind of thing. ?
Hi Michelle, these look incredible! I would love to try this recipe out, do you have any suggestions for leaving out or substituting the eggs due to allergies?
Well, I’ve never tried this without eggs, which definitely act as a binder in this case. I’ve heard that applesauce, banana, flaxseed, and Ener-G Egg Replacer, among other things all make a reasonable substitute for eggs, so I’d probably start there. You might want to check out this article from the kitchn on egg substitutes. I’d love to hear how it turns out and what you end up using if you give the recipe a try!
Hi Michelle! Wondering how this freezes? We tried the recipe – it was great! – but too much for our small family to eat in a reasonable amount of time. Do you have any ideas about how it might freeze?
Hi Amy,
Glad you enjoyed the recipe! I have never tried freezing the breakfast bars. But I would guess they would freeze fine. I think I would probably wrap the bars up nice and tight in plastic wrap and then put them in a ziplock with as much air removed as possible. I don’t think I’d freeze them for longer then a month (maybe three absolute max) because I find baked goods degrade fairly quickly in the freezer. Please let me know how it works out if you do freeze them!
Just took this out of the oven and it smells sooo good in here! I did run into a bit of a hiccup though – I thought I’s be smart and cook the oats the way I normally do (boil water, add oats, take off heat, give a good whisking and put the lid on. Let it sit on the counter and by morning its ready). This morning I went to get what water I could out of it and wouldn’t you know it had soaked it all up! Though some could have gone in the dates i chopped up and added to the boiling water too. I just said a little prayer and gave it a shot anyways. I had so much batter that it filled a 9 x 13 pan almost to the top edge. It took about an hour to cook but it looks like I had success! Thanks for a great alternative for breakfast for those of us that have never been able to tolerate the taste of eggs lol
Hey Jane,
Glad they turned out well despite the hiccup! This recipe does make a lot of batter and fill up the pan quite full. I wanted really big thick bars myself. I’m sure you could use a larger pan if you prefer to get thinner ones. Also, dates sound like a delicious addition.
These are fairly filling. I made these with flax seeds in place of eggs, and added chocolate chips and chopped hazelnuts instead of dried fruit. It holds well, though if I decide to make it again, I likely would add cocoa powder to the batter to sweeten the flavor. Otherwise, it is a good recipe.
Elaine,
Coco powder sounds like it would be delicious!
Tried it I liked it a lot, I put 1/4 cup of chocolate chips in and baked in a 9 × 13 pan, it wasn’t as thick as original but thick enough.
Thanks for recipe, will definitely make again.
Ruth,
Very glad you liked the recipe. Sounds like the chocolate chips would be delish.
I’ve commented already about how much we love these but I wanted to add that I just noticed tonight (after making them multiple times) that we’ve been using quick cooking steel cut oats this whole time. They’ve turned out every time for us too. Perhaps it’s a brand thing? Anyway, just wanted to chime in re: the quick cooking oat debate.
Amy,
Thanks for the weighing in on the oats. Very interesting! Perhaps the brand of oats you used ins’t super broken down and didn’t get over mushy as a result? IDK. Either way glad to hear it works. :)
Two questions: 1. should the oats be completely cooled prior to incorporating them?
2. Are the added ingredients 1 cup total or 1 cup per ingredient?
Renee,
The oats only need to be cool enough that they won’t end up ‘pre cooking’ the other ingredients like the egg.
1 cup total.
Hope you enjoy!
Making these now…should the dough come all the way up to the edge of the 8 by 8 pan?? I’m a bit nervous over here…but they sure smell delicious!
Stephanie,
Yes it fills an 8×8 very full! Hope they come out good!
Michelle, these were absolutely delicious!!!! I have to admit that I was a bit anxious, waiting for the dough to spill over the sides of the pan but it all stayed neatly inside. I cut them into 12 squares and took them to church one morning…the ladies went gaga over them and requested your recipe, which I happily provided:) I used golden raisins and walnuts and I put cinnamon in the glaze…absolutely making these again soon!!!! Thank you!
Stephanie,
So glad they turned out well and that everyone enjoyed them! Your choice of additions sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe with others. I’m always happy to hear someone considers something from the blog worth sharing.
These were absolutely delicious!! I used golden raisins and walnuts and added a bit of cinnamon to the glaze….delish!! Definitely making these again very soon:)
Yay!! ?
Hi,
I made these breakfast bars this weekend and the inside as rather gummy. Is that the way they are supposed to be? Could the batter have been to moist? Also, what is the best way to store these? Do they need to be refrigerated?
Thanks!
Hi Beth-
These should be moist but definitely not gummy, even in the center. The batter definitely could have ended up too wet.
A few questions- did you make any substitutions? (I’m particularly thinking of the oats. This recipe really only works steel cut, not quick oats.) Did you drain the oats REALLY well? If not you can definitely end up with too much water in the batter. What sized pan did you use? Smaller then recommend can prevent the bars from cooking properly in the middle. Last thought- how’s your oven? Run slightly cooler at all by any chance? The bars may just need a little extra cook time in that case.
I personally would store these in an airtight container in the fridge.
Hope that helps!
So I’m trying the mix it all together method with the instant steel oats.
I used 2 1/2 cups of oats and 3 cups of almold milk
Instead of flour I used 1/2 cut of flax seed powder.
For sweetening I used 1/2 cup of maple syrup.
Mine is pretty liquidy going in, but I didn’t cook the oats at all, and it’s a 1:2 ratio for quick cook and I about a 1:1.5 ratio.
Fingers crossed!
Hey Krys,
Hope it works out! I will say honestly in my recipe testing I didn’t have good luck when I didn’t precook the oats as described in the recipe, they always ended up too hard for me. Maybe with the extra liquid and some extra bake time it will work though. If you have time please let me know how it turns out.
Yay! I have been dying for a steal cut oat recipe!! Thank you!! I want to try to make them gluten free, thinking about a flour alternative blend, maybe a gf oat flour or adding more almond flour. Any thoughts?? I can’t wait to try this!!
Hey Kathy, I think you could easily sub a cup for cup gluten free flour in this recipe without any trouble. Let me know when what you end up trying!
I just made these bars today and they are very good and moist. The problem I ran in to was:
Do you use 2 1/2 cups steel cut oats before cooking or after cooking? There’s a huge difference. I measured the 2 1/2 cups before cooking, and ended up with so much oats, I put the whole thing in a 9×13 pan. It turned out more like a cake. It’s good though. I also sprinkled brown sugar over the top.
I would think if you’re making this in a 8×8 pan, you would measure it after you cook it.
Hey Carolyn, I’ll be honest I wrote this recipe so long ago I really don’t remember what I meant! However, based on your feedback and another reader I probably used the measurement for the cooked oats. I know someone else ended up using a 9×13 pan. My apologies for any confusion!
I noticed you did this recipe a long time ago, but it’s still really good. It made too much for us so I have to pass some on to our kids. Next time I’ll make it the right way! Thanks for your reply.
If you make it the way I did, you need a really big bowl!
Hey Carolyn, I think that’s my fault! Definitely need to make those instructions a little clearer. I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe even if it made too much! ?
Hi! Can you substitute almond butter for the nuts? I’m wondering what the correct amount of uncooked oats is. I saw a past question and wasn’t sure your answer.
Hey Rebecca,
I’m sorry to take so long to answer you. Your comment ended up hidden in-between several spam comments unfortunately! Anyhow, to answer your question, I don’t see any reason that you could not substitute almond butter for the nuts. It would probably turn out really well. I would probably drop some of the oil out of the recipe though to make up for the oil that will be in the almond butter. I have not tested this substitute myself, so I’d love to hear how it turns out if you try it.
I made a double portion of this last week. It’s definitely something that is breakfast only as it isn’t sweet enough for a dessert.
This look so good! What a great healthy breakfast meal prep for the family!
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
How long are these good for when stored at room temp in an airtight container?
Hi Tierra,
I would store these at room temperature for 3-5 days. However, they will last longer and maintain a better texture in the fridge.
I’m so happy I found your recipe after somebody ‘gifted’ me a large quantity of steel cut oats and I felt I had to make something other than lots of oatmeal porridge with them. I’m eating a square right now for breakfast and I have to say it’s very tasty and filling. I do love wholesome and healthful breakfasts.
I cooked the steel cut oats in an Instant Pot pressure cooker. I set it for 10 minutes of cook time, which worked great, most of the water was absorbed. I also increased the amount of sugar in the recipe (1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup cane sugar), and I used a multigrain gluten-free flour blend instead of regular all-purpose flour. For the cup of add-ins, I used dried cranberries and chopped pecans.
I’m sure I will be making these breakfast bars more often. Next time I’ll mix in chia seeds, which I also have a lot of, but I forgot about this time.
Lol! I’m glad this recipe worked well for you to deal with your ‘gifted’ oats. Love to hear that they turned out so well with the gluten free and additions!