These blueberry oatmeal bars are made with a thick layer of oatmeal crust, a sweet bubbly layer of fresh blueberries, and topped with more cinnamon crumble. They’re simple to make, easy to freeze, and delicious any time of day.
Need another healthy breakfast or snack option with fresh blueberries? Try these blueberry muffin energy bites or naturally sweet blueberry popsicles.
I had some blueberries remaining from a 5-pound box and I wanted to use ingredients I had on hand — the final product was these gooey blueberry oatmeal bars. But these blueberry baked oatmeal is another great option.
Blueberry Oatmeal Bars
Imagine your favorite buttery crumb topping on coffee cake muffins. Take all of of that sweet goodness and press it into the bottom of a pan, top it with gooey blueberry filling, and more crumb topping sprinkled on top.
That’s exactly what’s happening in these blueberry oatmeal bars!
There are three layers, but you only need to make 2 of them because the top and bottom layers are from the same dough. This simple dessert makes such a statement!
I highly recommend serving them warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the perfect dessert. I love warm fruit desserts with ice cream (helloooo peach apple crisp).
Reader Reviews
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Made these this afternoon and they are DELICIOUS! I could hardly wait for them to cool to dig in to them!” – Jill
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “LOVE these bars! They are on rotation in our home and are a fun treat with coffee in the morning. I have also made them with mixed berries and loved that variation as well. Molly’s recipes never fail!” – Elizabeth
Next time you have extra blueberries or are just craving a sweet to go with your cup of coffee, I hope you think of these blueberry oat bars (but you wouldn’t be mad if you made a blueberry muffin either).
Looking for a breakfast version? Try this blueberry baked oatmeal next!
The Simple Ingredients
Here are the simple ingredients for these easy blueberry oatmeal bars. Most are pantry staples and easy (and affordable) to find in the grocery store. Jump down to the recipe card for exact measurements.
- Unsalted butter: I love the flavor butter gives this recipe. We tested these with vegan butter and it worked well, but you could also use coconut oil.
- Flour: White whole wheat flour is a great option for whole grains. We also tested this using 1:1 gluten-free flour (Bob’s Red Mill). 3/4 cup
- Old fashioned oats: This is the best type of oat for this recipe, but instant oats or quick oats will work if you have those on hand.
- Cinnamon, vanilla extract, and salt: For extra flavor.
- Brown sugar: I like to use the brown sugar if I’m making it for dessert, but I opt for coconut sugar or maple syrup for the breakfast version.
- Blueberries: Fresh or frozen work well (so you can have these year round!)
- Pure maple syrup: This helps sweeten up the blueberries just enough.
- Lemon juice: The acid balances the sweetness in this recipe. Add a little lemon zest too if you feel like it!
- Corn starch: This helps the blueberry layer become extra gooey. Great subs for this are tapioca or arrowroot starch.
How to Make Blueberry Oatmeal Bars
Here are the basic steps, with images, for these blueberry oatmeal breakfast bars. Skip down to the recipe card below for the full instructions and a printable recipe.
Mix the oatmeal crumb Add all of the dry ingredients to a large bowl with the melted butter and mix well until it starts to come together and creates large, sandy clumps.
Press it into a square pan. Reserve 1 heaping cup of the mixture then firmly press the rest into the bottom of a square pan lined with parchment paper.
Make the blueberry filling: Mix all of the blueberry filling ingredients together (you can use the same bowl).
Assemble: Pour the blueberries evenly on top of the bottom layer. Sprinkle the reserved crumble on top.
Bake: Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until the top turns golden brown and the blueberries are bubbling.
Success tip: check the bars with 15 minutes left and cover the pan with foil if the top is browning too much.
Variations and Dietary Modifications
- Use other fresh fruit: If you’re not a big fan of blueberry flavor or you have peaches or strawberries on hand, they would be great options!
- Gluten-free: Use 1:1 gluten-free flour and gluten-free rolled oats.
- Dairy-free: Swap the butter or vegan butter or coconut oil.
- Refined sugar-free: Use coconut sugar and maple syrup instead of brown sugar and granulated sugar.
- Add protein: Serve with a scoop of Greek yogurt or drizzle natural peanut butter on top.
Storage Tips
These can easily be a meal prep recipe! Kids love these in the morning, so follow the instructions to individually wrap each oatmeal crumble bar separately if you want to freeze them so they last longer.
Storage: Allow the bars to cool to room temperature and store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freezer: Cut the bars into squares then wrap each one in plastic wrap. Place them in a freezer bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight then warm in the microwave until warmed through.
If you make these delicious blueberry oatmeal bars, I’d love for you to give it a star rating ★ below. You can also tag me on Instagram so I can see it!
More Blueberry Recipes
Looking for more delicious recipes with blueberries? Give these recipes a try next time:
- Blueberry overnight oats are an easy breakfast to prep ahead of time and even take out the door with you!
- Overnight blueberry waffle casserole is layered with thick waffles and juicy blueberries and covered in cinnamon crumble.
- Brown butter blueberry coffee cake is always a crowd pleaser.
- Blueberry muffins with crumb topping are bursting with fresh blueberries and piled high with streusel topping.
- Lemon blueberry turnovers are like blueberry pie bars with a puff pastry outer layer.
Oatmeal Blueberry Bars
Save this Recipe!
Ingredients
Crust and Crumble Topping
- 1 cup (2 sticks; 227g) unsalted butter melted
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (gluten-free if needed)
- 1 1/2 cups (150g) old-fashioned rolled oats (gluten-free if needed)
- 1 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (200g) light brown sugar packed
Blueberry Layer
- 16 ounces fresh blueberries
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice (juice from 1/2 lemon)
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line an 8×8-inch metal pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, stir together the melted butter, flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. The mixture will be dry and sandy with some larger, well-formed crumble pieces. This makes up the crust and crumble. Set 1 heaping cup (I used almost 1 1/2 cups) of the mixture aside for the crumb topping.1 cup (2 sticks; 227g) unsalted butter, 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 cups (150g) old-fashioned rolled oats, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 cup (200g) light brown sugar, 1 teaspoons cinnamon
- Transfer the remaining crumb mixture to the prepared pan, and use a spatula or your fingers to press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan to create an even crust.
- In the same or a separate large mixing bowl, add all ingredients for the blueberry layer and toss to coat the berries in the sugar and cornstarch. Dump the blueberries over the bottom layer.16 ounces fresh blueberries, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- Sprinkle the reserved crumb topping over the blueberries. There will be blueberries still showing, this is what you want.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 50-55 minutes, or until the crumble is golden and the blueberrries are bubbling around the edges. Check the bars with 15 minutes remaining and cover with foil if the top is starting to look to brown.
- Allow the bars to cool for 30-60 minutes then use the parchment paper overhang to remove the bars and cool them completely. You can place them in the freezer to speed up the cooling process. Slice cooled bars into squares and enjoy.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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These are delicious. I didn’t have quite enough blueberries so I chopped up a peach to add to the berries, worked out well. Thank you for the recipe. This will be a regular.
Yum! Thanks April!
Easy & Delicious! My family gobbled these up – I plan on making these for my son’s 1st upcoming bday party which is berry themed.
#whatwemade
Love the birthday theme idea!! Thanks Olivia!
Delicious! We made this for a brunch picnic at the cemetery for Memorial Day and it travelled well. We used coconut sugar and maple syrup. Love that it can also be gluten and dairy free which is our preference. May become our Memorial Day traditional recipe to kick off blueberry season!
#whatwemade
Love this. Thank you so much for sharing, Elizabeth!
I made this over the weekend and they were so good! My daughters and husband have been devouring them for breakfast. #WhatWEMade
Love this. Thanks Nicole!!
AMAZING! NEW favorite! Thank you!!!
Love this. Thanks Michelle!!
This was delicious and very easy. I made it exactly as written except I used salted butter because it’s all I buy and, usually, I prefer a little more balance for sweet recipes but I should have decreased the salt for this one. Still yummy but a little strong on the salty note, my mistake! However, we topped with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream and it actually balanced out well with the additional sweetness. My husband couldn’t wait for it to cool so we just spooned it into bowls and ate it while still warm – so good!
#whatwemade
Thank you Mallory!!