Last week I was having this major craving for a crumbly oat and jam bar. Something I could really sink my teeth into.
I found a few recipes online, but most had large quantities of sugar and oil, and my goal was to make this an anytime bar. Wholesome, naturally sweetened, gluten free, oil free, and, most importantly, easy and quick to make. I think I ticked off all the boxes!
These healthy vegan bars require only 7 ingredients, 1 bowl, and a half hour. In addition to being gluten free, oil free, and refined sugar free, these bars are also nut free. My daughter loved these bars, and I’m filing this one away for when I have to start making treats to pack for her to take to school. Use your favorite flavor of homemade or store bought jam; I used my dad’s homemade apple blueberry ginger butter. So good!
This recipe makes a small batch, or about 4 large squares, so feel free to double the recipe. I’ve been loving small batch recipes lately; even if we eat the whole batch in one day, it isn’t that big of a deal! Since they are so hearty, though, we were plenty satisfied with one bar.
Hope you give these easy bars a try! They might be the answer to your cravings too 🙂
Healthy Fruit and Oat Crumble Bars – Vegan, Gluten Free, and Oil Free
Inspired by and adapted from this recipe
Makes 4 large squares or 6 minis
prep time: 10 minutes bake time: 20 -25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 cup oat flour (make your own by blending rolled oats in your blender, use certified GF if needed)
- 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds, ground into a course meal in a food processor or blender
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar or other granulated sweetener (date sugar, etc)
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 1/3 cup fruit jam or fruit butter of choice
Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare a small, 5 inch square baking dish (I have one like this) with two strips of parchment paper. Or use half of an 8 x 8 pan.
Mix all ingredients except jam in a bowl. Scoop out a scant 1/2 cup and set aside (this will be the topping). Press the remaining crust into the prepared baking dish. You want it to be quite thick, so only fill about half of an 8×8 pan if using. My little 5 inch square ceramic dish is perfect.
Poke a few holes in the crust with a fork and pre-bake the crust for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and top with all of the jam and crumble the 1/2 cup of reserved crust over top. Bake again for about 12- 15 minutes or until golden. Cool and cut into squares.
Substitutions:
You can probably substitute almond meal or any kind of nut or seed meal for the ground sunflower seeds, but I haven’t tried it myself. Let us know in the comments if you do.
For sweeter bars, add 1 -2 additional tablespoons of coconut sugar, and use a sweeter jam. This will make them more like dessert than a snack bar.
Feed Your Beauty 
I’ve bookmarked this and plan to make it soon. Thanks.
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You’re welcome! Can’t wait for you to try it! Let me know how you like them 🙂
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OMG😍😍😍
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😊😊😊💕
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i think i am going to turn these from “healthy” to “indulgent” and use melted chocolate instead of the jam…that can’t be bad, right?
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Chocolate can never be bad, Dayna! Haha sounds like a delicious idea 🙂
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Yum! Looks like a deliciously sweet way to start off a day!
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Absolutely! Perfect grab n go breakfast or snack! And surprisingly filling too 🙂 thanks for checking them out ❤️
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Hi Larice this sounds so good!definitely going to try them. im starting my blog and i really like yours aaaa lot, i kindly invite you to have a look at mine we have topics in common. I really would appreciated. Thanks in advance, now im following you so ill keep in touch. Regards GT
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Aw thanks so much for the kind note and for following! I’m hopping over to check your blog out now 🙂 best wishes with your new site!
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This recipe is a stunner. I love your photography and writing style. Luckily, I just bought a big container of almond meal and look forward to using it. I want to marry this recipe. Is there any way that I can make my own fruit jam? Thanks for sharing this recipe, and I’m looking forward to future posts! 🙂
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Thank you so much for checking them out, and for the kind comment! You can absolutely make your own quick jam, sometimes I cook a couple of cups of frozen berries with a few splashes of water, some kind of sweetener to taste, and maybe 2 tbsp of chia seeds. Cook over low until it thickens up. If you search pinterest or google you can find all kinds of chia seed jams. Let me know if you give the bars a try! 🙂
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Great idea! I have frozen cherries, so I will certainly give that a shot. Thank you for sharing the chia seed tip, too. Have the best weekend!
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