Apple Breakfast Bars Recipe

These Easy Apple Breakfast Bars are a healthy and sweet fall treat your whole family will enjoy. They’re simple to make with just a few wholesome, basic ingredients and have a taste and texture that is almost sinful. You’ll definitely fall for these tasty apple treats.

Why I Love These Healthy Apple Oatmeal Bars

• Perfect use for fresh apples in the fall.
• Healthy breakfast bars everyone in the family will love and also great for snack time.
• Prepare early in the week, reheat pieces each morning.
• SO moist, yummy, and applelicious!
• This is one of those recipes I have to have hidden from me or I won’t stop eating it.

These Apple and Oat Breakfast Bars are so good I have to let my boys hide them from me. Seriously. These simple bars are so moist and yummy and so hard to stop eating. 

And they’re not just for easy breakfasts! These apple oat bars also make a tasty afternoon or after school snack or even a healthy dessert on their own or broken up onto some ice cream with a drizzle of caramel sauce.

These chewy bars are a great way to use up extra apples in the fall, or really any time of year. They also make a great meal prep option. Just make them in the beginning of the week and slightly heat them up to soften them a little each morning.

What is a Breakfast Bar?

A breakfast bar is an easily made quick breakfast treat starting with a base of oats mixed with other ingredients like eggs, butter, sugar, and different fruit to make a dense batter. The batter is then baked, and sliced into individual bars perfect for breakfast or snack.

Apple Breakfast Bar Recipe Ingredients

This easy recipe uses fresh, wholesome ingredients for best tasting results.

Oats - Old fashioned rolled oats preferred. Check the package label for GF friendly.

Flour - All-purpose flour or almond or oat flour for a GF variety.

Baking soda - Use fresh for the best results!

Salt - Any variety.

Eggs - Large and fresh.

Brown sugar - Light or dark brown will both work well.

Applesauce - Store-bought works great, or make a batch of homemade applesauce!

Butter - I love salted butter, but unsalted works too.

Honey - Honey, agave, and pure maple syrup can be used interchangeably, depending on what you have on hand or prefer.

Vanilla extract - Fresh tastes best!

Apples - Use one tart, one sweet for best results.

How To Make Apple Breakfast Bars

Follow these simple steps for great tasting apple crisp breakfast bars

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper and set it aside.

Step 2

In a large bowl, combine the oats, flour, baking soda and salt. Mix these dry ingredients well.

Step 3

Add the eggs, brown sugar, applesauce, butter, honey and vanilla. Use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture until combined. Fold in the diced apple.

Step 4

Spread the mixture inside the prepared pan, using a rubber spatula to spread an even layer and to press into the corners.

Bake in the preheated oven for 23 minutes, or until crispy and golden brown around the edges.

Step 5

Remove from the oven and let sit in the pan at room temperature for 10 minutes. Carefully lift the parchment onto a flat surface and cut into bar form.

Recipe Notes & Tips 

• This apple oat bar recipe can be made healthier by replacing some (or all) of the brown sugar with honey or maple syrup or agave nectar.
• If you’re feeling indulgent, drizzle some caramel sauce over the top.
• Add some dark chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or butterscotch chips. 
• Add some chopped nuts or use crunchy peanut butter for a great texture component.
• Using parchment paper in the pan saves having to clean the pan and makes it easy to lift the bars out of the pan.
• Spread the bar mix evenly in the pan so it cooks evenly.
• Allow the bars to cool a little before attempting to lift them from the pan. I like to give it 10 minutes or so.
• Add a little bit of cinnamon or apple pie spice.
• Use your favorite gluten-free flour.
• Check the label of the oats to ensure they are gluten free if required.
• Use a dairy free butter or refined coconut oil if you avoid dairy.
• Use sweetened or unsweetened applesauce depending on your preference.

List of Baking Apples

Honestly, some apples will definitely hold up to baking better than others. Choose a crisper, firm type of apple that can take the heat, and stay away from the kind of apples with a soft, mealy texture that can potentially turn to mush. I like to use one tart and one sweet apple for this recipe. 

Sweeter Apple Varieties:

• Cortland
• Fuji Apples
• Honeycrisp apples
• Pink Lady
• Red Delicious

Tart (or Slightly Sour) Types of Apple 

• Braeburn
• Granny Smith Apples
• Idared 
• McIntosh 

NOTES: 

1. Softer apples don’t really stand up to heat as well and the result could be a mushier breakfast bar.
2. Tart apples like Granny Smith tend to have a more distinguished flavor in baked goods

How Long Do Apples Last in the Fridge

Properly stored apples can last up to 6-8 weeks or longer in the refrigerator. Here are a few tips to help make them last.

• Store apples in crisper or low humidity drawer.
• Keep them away from other ethylene producing fruit as the excess will cause both to rot more quickly.
• Store the apples unwashed and wash when ready to eat.

Using Applesauce in Baking

If you didn’t already know, applesauce is a great baking replacement hack for oil, butter, sugar or eggs.

• For oil or butter, sub applesauce in a one to one ratio.
• As an egg replacement, use 1/4 - 1/3 cup of applesauce for each egg.
• Use applesauce in a 1:1 ratio to replace sugar. You will need to slightly lessen the amount of other wet ingredients for the recipe to accommodate for the moisture of the applesauce.

How to Serve Apple Oat Breakfast Bars

Serve these easy breakfast bars on their own as a quick grab-and-go breakfast option or as part of a larger breakfast. These are a few of my favorite items to go with breakfast bars for a complete meal.

• Serve them with a small bowl of fresh fruit or fruit smoothies or breakfast shakes.
• As a sweet side with scrambled eggs, bacon and breakfast potatoes.
• Great option for get-togethers and brunches.
• Perfect as part of a breakfast pastry platter when you have guests or for the holidays.
• Chop up a bar or two and add the pieces to a scoop of ice cream.

How to Store Breakfast Bars

Store prepared breakfast bars in an airtight container or plastic bag in the fridge. Stored properly, breakfast bars will be at their best for 5-7 days.

You can also slice and freeze the bars for up to 2 months in a freezer safe bag. I like to put a piece of parchment or wax paper between them so they don’t stick together when frozen.

How to Reheat

These bars don’t really require heating, but if you want to warm them up a bit, especially throughout the week, you can place them in the microwave and heat on high for 10-15 seconds.

More Breakfast Ideas with Apples

Apple Cinnamon Waffles
Blueberry Apple Muffins
Caramel Apple Pancakes
Apple Banana Bread